Promise, Predicament and Perplexity: Isaac Barrow (1630-1677) on Islam 9781463207021, 1463207026

Citation preview

Promise, predicament and perplexity

Gorgias Islamic Studies

17

Gorgias Islamic Studies spans a wide range of subject areas, seeking to understand Islam as a complete cultural and religious unity. This series draws together political, socio-cultural, textual, and historical approaches from across disciplines. Containing monographs, edited collections of essays, and primary source texts in translation, this series seeks to present a comprehensive, critical, and constructive picture of this centuries- and continent-spanning religion.

Promise, predicament and perplexity

Isaac Barrow (1630–1677) on Islam

Clinton Bennett With Latin translation by Daniel Perett

gp 2022

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2022 by Gorgias Press LLC

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC. ‫ܓ‬

1

2022

ISBN 978-1-4632-0702-1

ISSN 2637-3998

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A Cataloging-in-Publication Record is available from the Library of Congress. Printed in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ......................................................................... v Acknowledgments ...................................................................... vii Introduction. Barrow on Islam as Pioneering Christian Empathy ............................................................................... 1 Chapter 1. Life of Isaac Barrow.................................................... 5 Chapter 2. Description of his Work on Islam ............................. 11 Chapter 3. Annotated Translation of Epitome Fidei et religiones Turcicæ, A Muhameto Kureischita Arabum Propheta, Prius in Arabia Deserta, Postea a Successoribus per totum penè Orientem diffusae ................................................................. 25 Brief Description of the Turkish Faith and Religion, Spread First in Central Arabia, by Muhammed Qureishi, the Prophet of the Arabs, and Later by His Successors Throughout Almost the Entire East .................................... 26 Chapter 4. Significance of Barrow’s Legacy ............................... 63 Chapter 5. Extracts from “Of the impiety and imposture of paganism and Mahometanism” and from “Exposition of the Creed”........................................................................... 67 From “Exposition of the Creed” ......................................... 72 References .................................................................................. 75 By Isaac Barrow .................................................................. 75 Works Consulted ................................................................ 76

v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I are grateful to several colleagues who have advised me on various aspects of the contents of this book including Mordechai Feingold, Lejla Demiri, Marcia Hermanson, Samuel Barry and Amir Hussain who responded to queries through the American Academy of Religion Islam section listerv or whom I approached directly. I also thank Justin Ivatts for introducing me to Daniel Perett to help translate Barrow’s Latin text. Justin, a priest of the Episcopal Church, knew me from Westminster College, Oxford of which he is a graduate and Daniel from Virginia Theological Seminary of which Justin is also a graduate. Daniel, who holds a Master of Medieval Studies and a PhD from the Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame, taught Greek and Latin at VTS. I was having difficulty recruiting a Latinist to collaborate on the project because those I contacted said that they only worked on classical texts. I am also grateful to Adam Walker, the editor at Gorgias Press, for patiently waiting for the arrival of the manuscript which, due to the unforeseen event of two medical emergencies and Daniel moving to start a new job, took considerably longer to complete than planned. The Latin text of Barrow’s essay on Islam used for this translation is taken from the 1859 edition of Barrow’s works, edited by Alexander Napier, Volume IX, pages 386–410. In the downloading process, diphthongs, accents and some letters were scrambled. Any errors are ours but hopefully these were correctly restored. The extract from Barrow’s sermon, “Of the impiety and imposture of paganism and Mahometanism” is taken from volume II of the 1700 edition of Works, pages 182–185. The extract on Islam from his “Exposition of the Creed” is taken from Volume VII of Alexander vii

viii

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

Napier’s 1859 edition, pages 66–68. These texts are in the Public Domain and were downloaded from archive. org. The portrait of Isaac Barrow reproduced below is a public domain image of an oil painting by Mary Beale now owned by Trinity College, Cambridge. Clinton Bennett State University of New York at New Paltz Isaac Barrow by Mary Beale (1633–1699) Public Domain

INTRODUCTION. BARROW ON ISLAM AS PIONEERING CHRISTIAN EMPATHY The idea for a book on Barrow’s writing about Islam began when I contributed the entry on Isaac Barrow (1630–1677) in Christian-Muslim Relations: a bibliographical history (2016). 1 Barrow, a Cambridge polymath, after holding the Regius professorship in Greek (1600–1663) served as the first Lucasian Professor of Mathematics (1663–1669) and as Master of Trinity from 1672. Although credited with developing the fundamental theorem of calculus, his posthumous reputation rests mainly on his sermons and theological work rather than on his contribution to mathematics. This theological material includes a Latin essay on Islam (the Epitome, written in Constantinople in 1658), a Sermon on Islam and several other works that set out an embryonic theory of religion which also refer to Islam. His hearers thought his sermons boring when he preached them, but they became popular in printed form. Recent interest in Barrow was prompted by the 350th anniversary of the Lucasian chair’s founding when passing mention was made of his work on Islam. Several references to Barrow describe the Sermon as ‘vituperative’ and the

1

Volume 8, pp. 496–505.

1

2

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

Latin essay as more positive. 2 Yet, although Barrow’s writing on Islam is arguably the first by a mainstream, university based English scholar to move away from total hostility toward an empathetic approach that contemplated the possibility of salvation for Muslims, the Latin text remains untranslated. This book remedies this by providing a translation of the Latin treatise. It also introduces Barrow’s interest in and work on Islam in the context of other relevant aspects of his theological thinking. I had used my own rough translation of the Latin to write the CMR article, but the translation printed in this work is by Daniel Perett, a much more skilled Latinist. While translating the essay, Perett raised interesting questions about objectivity in response to my earlier positive representation of the text in the CMR entry as breaking ranks with much earlier Christian writing on Islam. While Barrow was regarded in his day as an accomplished Latinist, translating his text presented several challenges. His sentences run into each other. At times, he would have benefitted from using bullet points. His tense is also fluid. Some phrases and words are obscure and appear unique to him. Internet searches all resulted by pointing to Barrow’s essay. During the translation process, while searching for help with some obscure words in the Latin text, Perett identified what looked like a German version in a 1664 publication, Chronica Turcica ... auss vielen glaubwürdigen Scribenten und Historicis zusammen gelesen, etc. This is a compilation of works on Turkish history and customs and will be described in more detail in chapter two. The promise of Barrow’s Latin treatise on Islam is that it points forward to a much more contemporary, empathetic, and neutral approach to the study of religion in which interpretation and bias are absent from the text. The aim is to describe what the sources or Muslim voices say, not to critique these. When Barrow wrote his Epitome, arguable no other writing by a nonSee Quinn, Sum of all Heresies, p. 58, Almond, Heretic and Hero, p. 36. See also Matar, Stubbe, p. 216 n65, and Toomer, Eastern Wisdome, p. 244. 2

INTRODUCTION

3

Muslim European from within the academy achieved anything close to objectivity. All represented calumny that perpetuated anti-Islamic myths and rejected any claim to be a divinely revealed religion. Here and there, Barrow’s text can be read as bordering on the sensational, but he resisted inserting negative commentary on what he described. A few of Barrow’s contemporaries wrote with a degree of accuracy or made some positive remarks on aspects of Islam. However, these writers were usually either leaning toward humanism or were anti-Trinitarians such as deists or in the case of Henry Stubbe (1632–1676), 3 an Arian. Stubbe’s work on Islam, written between 1671 and 1676 but not published until 1911, set our both to vindicate Islam by challenging many myths about it and, to castigate Christians for what Stubbe saw as the obscurantism of their Trinitarian dogma. Many aspects of Stubbe’s work was pioneering in taking readers much closer to a Muslim version of Islam than any other European writing on Islam had at the time. Stubbe, though, who earned his living as a physician, wrote from outside the academy and as a layman while Barrow was a Fellow of Trinity, Cambridge, and an ordained clergyman. Nor did Barrow’s Latin essay tackle the subject of Muslim faith and practice within a polemical framework, while Stubbe’s intent can be seen as polemical although this was directed at Christians for their perversion of the true gospel, and unjustified hostility to Islam and not at Muslims. Also, Barrow affirmed the Nicene Creed while Stubbe and some other writers who expressed affinity with Islam, such as John Toland (d. 1772), 4 rejected this. Extraordinary for its time, Barrow’s treatise holds out the promise that a mainstream seventeenth century Christian thinker and university teacher could underOn Stubbe, see Clinton Bennett, “Henry Stubbe,” pp. 472–484, Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Volume 8, ed. David Thomas and John Chesworth, Leiden: Brill, 2016. 4 On Toland, see Clinton Bennett, “John Tolland,” pp. 141–156, Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Volume 13, ed. David Thomas and John Chesworth, Leiden: Brill, 2019. 3

4

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

stand and describe what Muslims believe and do so without always interpolating critique into his text. Barrow’s theology of religion also represents promise. This is expressed in his sermon of universal redemption which signals that a seventeenth century Christian thinker could anticipate, even in the language he used, the non-confrontational, inclusivist approach to religions found in the work of Karl Rahner (1904–1986), the Catholic theologian who influenced Vatican II’s rethinking of the relation between Christianity and other religions. Barrow can be credited with contributing to theology of religion at a time when this did not really exist as an academic field. However, this study will show that Barrow also experienced a predicament when he wrote on Islam. How was he to reconcile his academic with his theological appraisals? While calumny is absent from the Latin essay it is very much present in the Sermon, and in other briefer references to Islam. Perhaps in writing the essay he aimed to describe what he had learned about Islam rather than to comment theologically on this as a Christian preacher. Moving from the privacy of the study into the pulpit may have prompted him to speak more to people’s expectations in the context of a church service while his academic work might more easily provide a venue to challenge these. At the very least, he was aware of a degree of perplexity vis-à-vis Islam. A Christian theologian who articulated exactly what Muslims believe faces the task of unravelling apparent contradictions, such as: is God one or three in one, did Jesus die on the cross, is the Bible corrupt, is Jesus the son of God? Barrow admitted a degree of perplexity when contemplating God's universal salvific will, advising his readers not to waste effort ‘debating how that grace is imparted’. 5

“The Doctrine of Universal Redemption,” Works, Vol. 3, Sermons 39– 43, 1692, pp. 379–423, p. 404.

5

CHAPTER 1. LIFE OF ISAAC BARROW Isaac Barrow was born in London in October 1630. His father, Thomas Barrow (d. 1704), a draper, later became supplier to the King. His mother, Anne or Ann Buggin, died in 1634. His father remarried in 1636. Barrow was sent to Charterhouse, then moved to Felstead after about three years when his father realized that he was not receiving value for the extra money he was paying the school for additional tuition. Felstead’s headmaster, Martin Holbeach (d. 1670), however, took a special interest in Barrow, recognizing his abilities. In 1642, when, due to the Civil War, Thomas Barrow, who followed Charles I to Oxford, could not pay the school fees, Halbreach made Barrow junior tutor to Viscount Fairfax which meant that he could stay at school. In December 1643, Barrow’s namesake and uncle, a fellow at Peterhouse, Cambridge arranged for him to attend as a foundation scholar. After a few weeks, he was back at Felstead with Fairfax; his uncle was expelled from his parish the same year by the Presbyterian authorities. Subsequently, Isaac Barrow (1613– 1680) became Bishop and Governor of Man, then Bishop of St. Asaph. Edward Walpole (d. 1667), a wealthy school friend, soon arranged to pay Barrow’s fees at Cambridge. On February 4, 1646, he entered Trinity as a pensioner. He was again placed in a precarious situation when Walpole left Cambridge. This time, his tutor, the Regius Professor of Greek, James Duport (d, 1679), later Master of Magdalene, provided free tuition and board. Barrow’s father’s situation, too, had improved and he was able to send him an annual allowance of twenty pounds. By the time he 5

6

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

graduated BA in 1649, Barrow had won a college fellowship. Election as a fellow commoner followed. Before taking his MA in 1652, he had built up a reputation as an accomplished scholar in mathematics and the natural sciences although his uncle encouraged him to concentrate on theology. In 1653, his MA was incorporated at Oxford. 1 Barrow’s royalist sympathies, openly expressed when he gave the university oration on November 5, 1651, attracted critics in pro-Parliamentarian Cambridge. Due to the support of Trinity’s Master, Thomas Hill (d. 1653) he avoided ejection but failed to succeed Duport as Regius professor after the Commission on Reforming the University ousted him for refusing to sign what was known as ‘The Engagement’ (which recognised Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate). Aware that he might not survive at Cambridge in the current fractious climate, Barrow applied for and received permission to travel for three years with a modest stipend. He left for Paris in June 1655, where he met with his father who had accompanied Prince Charles into exile. 2 By February 1656 he was in Florence. A plague kept him from visiting Rome. Instead, he took a ship traveling East to Smyrna, where he spent seven months staying with the English consul helping en route to defend the ship off the North African coast during a pirate attack. When he reached Constantinople that summer, the English ambassador insisted on providing hospitality, and an English merchant ‘generously assisted his finances’. 3 In Turkey, he studied the Greek fathers and developed an interest in Islam. In September 1659, he returned to Trinity through Venice, Germany, and Holland. Ordination, still required for an academic career, followed soon after. The Latin treatise on Islam, written to meet the requirements of his travel bursary survived the shipboard fire at Venice that destroyed his baggage because he had sent it back to Venn, Alumni, p. 98. Hughes, ‘Memoir,’ 1830, p. viii. 3 Feingold, Before Newton, p. 51. 1 2

1. LIFE OF ISAAC BARROW

7

Trinity. The Regius Chair in Greek was again vacant. Barrow’s election, this time, was uncontested. With the Restoration, his royalism was no barrier. He held the Chair from 1600 until 1663, when he was elected first Lucasian professor of mathematics which later became one of Cambridge’s most prestigious chairs. He was briefly Professor of Geometry at Gresham College (1662–4). The University awarded him the BD in 1661, when he preached the commencement sermon. He was elected as one of the first one hundred and fifty Fellows of the Royal Society in 1662 but ‘was never an active member’ (Feingold, ‘Isaac Barrow,’ p. 53). 5 July 1663 he preached during his uncle’s consecration at Westminster Abbey. His optical and geometrical lectures were published in 1665. One of his students, Isaac Newton, assisted him. These dealt with problems related to the reflection and refraction of light, and with determining the areas and tangents of curves. His Mathematical Lectures, dealing with metaphysics, were published posthumously in 1683. In 1669, he stepped aside as Lucasian Professor so that Newton could succeed him. He seems to have planned from the beginning to groom a successor whom he considered better qualified 4 and to have regarded his own role as a caretaking function. For some time, he also taught astronomy while the professor was overseas. After stepping down from his chair, he received income from a Welsh parish to which his uncle appointed him and was also made a Prebend at Salisbury. Until Humphrey Prideaux, author of The true nature of imposture fully display’d in the life of Mahomet (London: William Rogers, 1697) succeeded to the parish following Barrow’s death he gave this income to charity. 5 While there is no other link between Barrow and Prideaux, it is an interesting coincidence that the latter’s book shares Barrow’s sermon’s hostility toward Islam. During 1670, he was created DD by royal mandate, and 4 5

Feingold, “Isaac Barrow,” p. 61. Feingold, Before Newton, pp. 81–2.

8

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

appointed a chaplain-in-ordinary to Charles II. In May 1671, he added a canon’s stall at Westminster to his Trinity Fellowship, using the income to pay for his half-sister’s wedding (Feingold, Before Newton, p. 82). From 1672 until his death, he was Master of Trinity, where he greatly expanded the Library and commissioned Christopher Wren to design the new building. He was University Vice-Chancellor 1675–76. He died while in London selecting students for Trinity scholarships from Westminster School, May 4, 1677, and was buried in the south transept of the Abbey on May 7, later marked by a marble bust on the wall. Barrow is considered to have distinguished himself as a mathematician and as a theologian. Despite his accomplishments in the sciences, he took his oath as a Fellow to ‘make Divinity the end of his studies’ very seriously. 6 After 1669, he wrote several theological works, mainly published posthumously, including treatises on the creed, sacraments, and the Decalogue. Several earlier texts had been written under the terms of his Fellowship. Only two of his sermons were published during his life. However, publication after his death secured his reputation for eloquence and reasoning, with volumes of his sermons appearing well into the nineteenth century. Feingold describes Barrow’s sermons as always appealing to his hearers’ common sense because he wanted people to ‘consider’ what he said rather than to respond at an emotional level. Faith had to be reasoned. Instead of preaching fire and brimstone he ‘chose … to persuade his audience to “walk uprightly” in the sight of a good though just God’. 7 Barrow’s father, who outlived him, inherited his papers, appointing the future Archbishop, John Tillotson (d. 1694) and Abraham Hill (d. 1721) as literary executors. During his life, Barrow enjoyed a reputation as an orator, but many thought his

6 7

Feingold, Before Newton, p. 53. Before Newton, p. 308.

1. LIFE OF ISAAC BARROW

9

sermons far too long, and too detailed. 8 His sermon during his uncle’s episcopal consecration at Westminster July 5, 1663, was three and a half hours long. King Charles II ‘called him “an unfair preacher, because he exhausted every topic, and left no room for anything new to be said by anyone who came after him”’ (ibid). Three publications dealt with Islam, a sermon ‘Of the Impiety and Imposture of Paganism and Mahometanism,’ (Works, ed. J. Tillotson, 1686, Vol. 2, Sermon XIV, pp. 179– 185), a Latin treatise, Epitome Fidei et religiones Turcicae (1658), and an unfinished Latin poem, De Religione Turcica (1658). The two Latin texts were first published in the Opuscula (1687). The Epitome gives information on Islam and cannot be described as pejorative, unlike the sermon, which is ‘vituperative.’ ‘Widely circulated,’ it was given credence because Barrow ‘had spent a year in Constantinople’. 9 Perhaps, in the context of preaching, he felt more obliged to conform to popular animosity toward Islam than he did in his less public academic discourse. Written in Latin, only senior Trinity fellows are likely to have read the Epitome before the 1687 publication.

8 9

Overton, ‘Barrow, Isaac,” p. 301. Quinn, Sum of All Heresies, p. 68.

CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTION OF HIS WORK ON ISLAM The Latin treatise, Epitome Fidei et religiones Turcicæ, A Muhameto Kureischita Arabum Propheta, Prius in Arabia Deserta, Postea a Successoribus per totum penè Orientem diffusae was written during 1658, when Barrow was at the British Embassy in Constantinople. He wrote it for Trinity College after receiving a reprimand for his failure to write while on travel leave, ‘to appease his colleagues’ and ‘make up for his long silence’. 1 In Opuscula, it is the first of several items derived from his time in Turkey (pp. 173–85), most of which were omitted from subsequent editions as ‘having no claim to appear among Barrow’s works’ (Works, ed. Napier, 1859, vol. 1, p. xxviii). ‘The Superstition of the Turks’ (pp. 186–9), a list of Turkish officials (pp. 189–91), Adagia quardam turcica (‘Turkish proverbs,’ pp. 192–5) and ‘A True Relation of the Designs managed by the Old Queen … written by … Albert Bohovius’ (pp. 196–210) were dropped. If not by Barrow, these may be material he collected while in Constantinople although, if this is the case, they somehow survived the shipboard fire. Two other items, both poems, Iter Maritimum a portu Ligustigo ad Constantinopolim (pp. 211–26), and the unfinished De religione Turcica (pp. 227– 47), were retained in the later editions, but the other items were not republished until the 1830 Oxford edition. 1

Feingold, Before Newton, p. 52.

11

12

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

Epitome has no marginalia or references therefore it is not known what sources Barrow used. The almost total absence of anything pejorative in the text, and the degree to which it accurately reflects Muslim belief and practice, suggests that he used some type of primary material, and possibly personal observation as well. He had studied Arabic before leaving Cambridge convinced that it was necessary for scientific and mathematical enquiry but struggled with the language. He praised Cambridge’s role in teaching Arabic in an address delivered soon after the death of the first Adam’s professor, Abraham Wheelocke (1593–1653). 2 Later, he would encourage Arabic study at Cambridge even though Wheelocke had discouraged Barrow from pursuing Arabic studies seeing his role as one of scholarly production not of instructing students (see Feingold, ‘Arabic Science,’ p. 449). Barrow, then, did not have the competency to consult Arabic texts directly and it is highly unlikely that he learned any Ottoman Turkish. His transliteration of words that appear to be from Ottoman Turkish or from Arabic through Turkish strongly suggests oral sources. The annotations to the translation comment on Barrow’s text, and identify the Arabic and Turkish terms he uses (which he usually italicized) when possible and indicate Qur’ānic and other sources for content. Barrow’s spelling of Arabic is left unchanged. The Epitome begins with an account of Muḥammad the Qurayshite (Muhameto Kureischita), the Arab prophet who lived among the Meccans and Medinans. From his fortieth year he received revelations from God via the angel Gabriel which, over a 23-year period, became the Qur’ān (Alcoran, id est, Legenda, ‘Qur’ān, meaning “what is to be read”. 3 The Turks handle it with great respect, only touching it if ‘forced by necessity’ because the books, the paper, even ‘exotic letters’ are believed to contain ‘the very name of God’ (ipsum nomen Dei in ipsis notatum in-

2 3

Toomer, Eastern Wisedome, p. 181. Opuscula p. 173.

2. DESCRIPTION OF HIS WORK ON ISLAM

13

veniatur. 4 They hang amulets containing verses from their necks and arms to ward off danger. 5 The next section summarizes the six items of the Muslim creed with impressive accuracy: 1. Belief in God, who is selfsubsistent, one not three, abiding nowhere yet existing everywhere, Creator of all things, unchanging, without beginning or end, color, or shape, and omniscient. 2. Belief in angels, who are God’s obedient servants, who neither sin nor eat, and have no gender, among them Gabriel who communicates to prophets, Esrail (Azrael) who receives dying souls, Israfil who will announce the Judgement Day, and Lucifer or Iblis, who was cast out of heaven for refusing to bow before Adam (Iblis is usually said to be a jinn created from fire; Q 7:12); 3. Belief in the four books, which are the Law of Moses, the Psalms of David, the Gospel of Jesus and the Qur’an of Muḥammad, 6 the first three having been falsified while the Qur’ān is uncorrupted; 4. Belief in the prophets who have been sent by God, beginning with Adam and ending with Muḥammad, who performed several miracles, including the splitting of the moon (see Q 54:1–2) to confirm that he was a true prophet of God; 5. Belief in the Day of Judgement, which starts when ‘Deggial’ (Dajjāl) the Antichrist will appear and will be killed by Jesus Christ, after which Islam will triumph over the armies of unbelief, 7 and the final judgement will separate souls into Paradise and Hell; 6. Belief that all good and evil acts are performed by divine decree and providence. 8 His section on the events of the End Time and descriptions of heaven and hell contain some salacious material that it is difficult to identify in Muslim sources. This may echo Christian claims that men converted to Islam because they were attracted by the promise of limitless sex in paradise. Yet even here Opuscula, p. 174. Opuscula, p. 174. 6 Opusulca, p. 175. 7 Opuscula, p. 175. 8 Opuscula, p. 177. 4 5

14

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

Barrow does not comment negatively on the material which Christians often made the subject of ridicule. Barrow finally turns to the Five Pillars of Islam, which he describes as accurately as the Articles and with as much detail. His description of the daily prayers may be the most complete found in any contemporary or earlier text by a European writer. It is not especially easy to follow due to his choice of terms. The level of detail here suggests that Barrow may have personally observed prayer and taken notes, or he may have asked someone to describe ritual prayer although lack of information means that a written source cannot be ruled out. As the annotations show, his description, which perhaps reflects his mathematician’s interest in numbers, is generally accurate. He also describes a conversion ceremony. In the Ottoman Empire, these were elaborate occasions with public processions accompanied by mounted troops and much fanfare when the convert was from the elite class. Barrow’s account suggests that he might have observed such a ceremony. It overlaps with other available descriptions. Receiving gifts of new clothes was an important feature, which symbolized shedding the symbols of the convert’s former religion. As in other accounts, in his the convert holds an arrow with ‘his index finger extended.’ Similarly, when the Italian Niccolo del Bello converted, he was given an arrow which he held ‘in his hand, with one finger directed upwards’. 9 During his ceremony, Bello destroyed his old hat before the turban was placed on his head. ‘Turning Turk,’ and ‘taking the Turban’ were both used in English to describe conversion to Islam. Graf cites examples of how Muslim converts to Christianity were also required to express their new religious identity by changing their dress. 10 In another account of conversion ceremonies, Abdal Hakim Murad (also known as Timothy Winters) explains the arrow as indicating the convert’s ‘commitment to the jihad’. 11 Thomas Graf, Renegades, p. 61. Graf, Renegades, pp. 62–63. 11 Murad, “Ward,” 2003. 9

10

2. DESCRIPTION OF HIS WORK ON ISLAM

15

Smith (1638–1710), who visited Istanbul in 1688, describing how converts were paraded with freshly shaven heads through the street holding ‘a Lance or Dart’ in their hands saw this is signifying ‘that they are willing to fight for and defend the religion they have newly taken up’. 12 However, arrows were also symbols of friendship and trust in Ottoman culture. Often incorporated into the Sultan’s signature, when given by him or a senior official to a subordinate they indicated that the recipient ‘trusted the giver’. 13 The profession of faith might take place in a mosque, or in the Sultan’s palace or before a Sharīʿah court. Barrow’s account does not include some of the details found in Deringil, who describes would-be converts submitting a petition to the authorities in which they state that they are not ‘needy or destitute,’ are ‘of sound mind’ and wish to convert for sincere reasons of conscience. 14 The applicant’s next of kin or religious advisor would be summoned so that they could try to ‘dissuade the convert.’ A document was then signed by both Muslims and Christian officials. 15 The subsequent circumcision, if required, also involved (as Barrow describes) processions and the playing of musical instruments. After Barrow’s detailed description of the 5th pillar, the essay concludes with a section on the questioning of the dead by the angels Nakir and Munkar. Epitome is noteworthy for its lack of vilification. On occasion, though, Barrow’s tone suggests some incredulity, but he does not resort to explicit ridicule. At a time when Christians routinely referred to Muḥammad as a false prophet he is simply Muḥammed (the first word of the Latin text, which, although his spelling is inconsistent, is close to the standard, or a prophet of God, without any accusation of imposture, satanic inspiration or use of tricks or magic, nor mention of Christian and Jewish collaborators. The description of the Six Articles of Belief, rather Smith, Remarks, pp. 41–2. Dergisi, “Archery”. 14 Deringil, Conversion, p. 45. 15 Deringil, Conversion, p. 43. 12 13

16

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

than the eight commandments that are found in other works from this time (see A. Ross, Pansebeia) 16 may be unique in 17th century Christian literature on Islam. The unfinished poem De Religione also refers to the Articles of Faith (see lines 167, 849). At no point does Barrow impose a Christian critique or categories upon his subject although he may have sometimes had what he saw as Christian parallels in mind. Apart from one or two comments, such as about worshipping the black stone, he presents Muslim belief and practice from what could be described as a Muslim perspective. Alexander Ross, (d. 1654) who was either the translator of the first English version of the Qur’ān of 1649 or involved in publishing this was very widely read but did little more than repeat negative tropes, legend, and calumny in his writing on Islam. 17 Barrow’s use of ‘Muhammed,’ and his relatively accurate transliteration of other terms such as ‘Hitet’ (Hattat) ‘Huffar’ (Ḥuffāẓ), ‘ihram’ (iḥrām), and ‘zekat” (zakāh) was rare at the time for a Christian writer, suggesting that he was employing primary material. His translation of the term ‘Qur’an’ as ‘legenda, what is to be read’ is very close to ‘recitation,’ which is also unusual; Samuel Purchas, for example, cites sources that state Qur’ān meant ‘redemption’ or ‘the law’. 18 Since Barrow was in Constantinople when he wrote Epitome, some type of direct Muslim source cannot be ruled out given that his content broke new ground. Lack of an explanatory preface means that his aims in writing the essay can only be conjectured, though deciphering what this was and exactly how he viewed Islam is further complicated when Epitome is contrasted Ross, Pensebeia, p. 116. On Ross’ writing and his role in the 1649 Qur’ān, translated from André Du Ryer’s French version (1647) see Clinton Bennett, ‘Alexander Ross, Hugh Ross, Thomas Ross,’ pp. 292–325, Christian-Muslim Relations: A bibliographical History, Volume 8, ed. David Thomas and John Chesworth, Leiden: Brill, 2016. 18 Samual Purchas, Purchas His Pilgrimage, London: H. Featerstone, 1614, p. 249. 16 17

2. DESCRIPTION OF HIS WORK ON ISLAM

17

with Barrow’s other writings on Islam, especially his sermon ‘On the impiety and imposture of paganism and Mahometanism’ and possibly with his poem De Religione Turcica. Matar describes Epitome as ‘interestingly … less hostile’ than the sermon, 19 while Toomer contrasts it, as ‘a sober and objective account of Muslim religious belief and practice’ with De Religione Turcica, which is ‘far more pejorative’. 20 Presumably, the original manuscript of Epitome was kept in Trinity College until his literary executors published it in 1687. It is not known if more than one copy existed. In translating the text, some of Barrow’s terms were obscure and initially only appeared in searches in his writing. However, further research identified what appears to be German text, which is strikingly close to Barrow’s so much so that it could be a translation although for various reasons this is unlikely. This was published in a 1664 collection of works on Turkey, Chronica Turcica. Published in Franckfurt am Mäyn by Wilhelm Serlin (d. 1674), a newspaper founder, this 293-page book begins with a reproduction, including illustrations, of a Life of Muḥammad from Acta Mechmeti I saracenorum principis, published in Frankfurt in 1597 and edited by Johann Theodor de Bry (1561–1623) and Johann Israel de Bry (1565–1609). In this work. Muḥammad is called Mehmet I and is depicted as the forerunner of the Ottoman Empire, whose current sultan was Mehmet III (d. 1603). The book, which predicted the empire’s demise, contains the first printed image of Muḥammad wearing the dress of an Ottoman Sultan. 21 Chronica reproduces the original illustrations. The text does not name an author but has been credited to Michael Julius. 22 The first section runs from page 1 to page 44, where part two, “Von Der Turken Religion” begins ending on page 76. This reproduces the first chapter of Johan Matar, Henry Stubbe, p. 217. Eastern Wisdome, p. 244. 21 See Alberto Saviello, “Muhammad’s Multiple Faces,” pp. 87–142, Constructing the Image of Muhammad in Europe. Ed. Avinoam Shalem, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2013, p. 104. 22 Ibiid. 19 20

18

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

Ulrich Wallich’s Religio Turcica (pp. 1–100), which he wrote after working as secretary at the Swedish embassy in Istanbul from 1657 to 1658 in 1659. 23 The full title translated as “Brief, true, veritable and precise description of the Turkish religion; the life, deeds and death of the false Arab prophet, Mahomet; and a comparison between the Oriental and Occidental Antichrists, written and published in German language” and it is this text that closely resembles Barrow’s Latin essay. The German text begins, for example, by referring to Muḥammad as ‘Machomet, Mahomet, Muhamut, Mahumet, Muhammed, Mehemet’ giving a range of renderings of the Arabic while Barrow has ‘Muhammed’ though, as noted, he does not spell the prophet’s name consistently. Wallich Wallich based the first section of his text on a Latin essay by Albertus Bobovius (d. 1675), also known as Ali Ufki bey, who became a Muslim, of which Wallich had a copy. 24 The Latin was published in 1690 as De Turcarum Liturgia, Peregrinatione Meccana with notes by Thomas Hyde (d. 1703), Oxford’s second Laudian professor of Arabic. In his preface, Hyde described the book as giving ‘us Christians Occasion to laugh at their Mysterys … And indeed a view of their Nonsense and Folly (as likewise that of the Papists) may be a Means of confirming all others more strongly in the true Religion. 25 Hyde, who thought that Bobovius intended to re-convert to Christianity, obtained his copy of the tract from Thomas Smith (d. 1710), Embassy chaplain in Constantinople 1668–1771. Adriaan Reland (d. 1718) translated the Latin text into English See Gábor Kárman, “Johan Ulrich Wallich,” pp. 901–905, ChristianMuslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Volume 9, ed. David Thomas and John Chesworth, Leiden, Brill, 2017. The Chronica has larger pages and smaller print thus fewer pages than Wallich’s 1659 text and omits the marginalia. 24 See H. Neudecker, “Albertus Bobovius,” pp. 384–403, ChristianMuslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Volume 10, ed. David Thomas and John Chesworth, Leiden: Brill, 2017. 25 Thomas Hyde, De Turcarum Liturgia, Peregrinatione Meccana, Oxford: Sheldon, 1690, p. 106. 23

2. DESCRIPTION OF HIS WORK ON ISLAM

19

as part three of Four Treatises Concerning the Mahometans (1712) (pp. 105–150). Bobovius attempted to dispel misunderstanding between Christians and Muslims. A Polish captive and interpreter to the Sultan in Istanbul whom Wallich knew Bobovius worked for several years for the English ambassador after gaining his freedom in 1657. At the embassy, he overlapped with Barrow’s time. He had some knowledge of Arabic and Farsi as well as being fluent in Ottoman Turkish. It is doubtful that Barrow would have had access to a copy of Wallich’s German text when he was in Istanbul although it is quite probable that in the tight-knit expatriate community Barrow and Wallich knew each other. If they were writing on Islamic faith and practice at the same time, they might have discussed their research. Barrow sent his essay to Cambridge in 1658, a year before Wallich’s book was published. It is equally likely that Barrow knew Bobovius, given that an essay credited to him was included in the first edition of Opuscula. Wallich added more polemical notes to Bobovius and, later in his book, identified both the Pope and Muḥammad as antichrists and claimed that the current pope and Sultan had a common ancestor. Wallich believed that a northern power would defeat the Ottoman empire. The similarity between Wallich’s German version and the Epitome, however, strongly suggests some link, and, since Wallich was derived from Bobovius’ text that could lie behind both. Bobovius covers more topics than the Epitome does but could have provided Barrow with some of his information, for example, on prayer, the questioning of the dead by Nakir and Munkir, and on the pilgrimage. The Epitome and De Turcarum Liturgia are not identical and some of Barrow’s terms and material are not found in that text including the articles of faith. Bobovius covered prayers, judges and their officers, ecclesiastics (religious officials), the pilgrimage, end of life traditions, circumcision, royal titles, and those of the vizier. While, as did Perett, I briefly considered the possibility that Barrow cheated Trinity and translated someone else’s work into Latin, this sits oddly with what is known of his character and would mean that he had access to a copy of Wallich’s text in Istanbul in 1658. Admittedly, modern citation conventions did not exist then but copying without any acknowledgement would

20

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

still have constituted plagiarism which could ruin, if discovered, an academic career. In this book, whatever the exact relationship of Barrow’s and Wallich’s texts German helped to fathom the meaning of parts of Barrow’s where the same word or terms occur. The Chronica reproduces seven plates from the original Religio Turcica illustrating mosques, dervishes and Turks feeding animals as well as pilgrims adoring Muḥammad’s floating coffin preserving an old trope about magnets suspending this at Mecca. 26 Isaac Barrow probably preached his sermon on Islam in Trinity College chapel in the early 1670s as part of his series on the Creed although the exact date is unknown. Similar content, at times word for word the same, is found in his ‘Exposition of the Creed,’ written in 1669, and this is possibly the reason why this latter work was omitted from the first edition of Barrow’s Works. The ‘Exposition’ was published separately in 1697, then included in the 1700 edition of the Works (Vol 1, pp 443–607, see pp. 468–470). The relevant segment on Islam is reprinted in chapter five below. The sermon ‘Of the Impiety and Imposture of Paganism and Mahometanism’ was published as Sermon XIV in the Works of the Learned Isaac Barrow, vol. 2 1683. In the original pagination it runs over seven pages, from page 197–204. This sermon is the first of three interrelated texts; it introduces the next sermon, ‘Of The Imperfection of the Jewish Religion’ (2nd ed, 1686, pp. 205–218) which leads into Sermon XVI, ‘Of the excellency of the Christian religion’ (2nd ed, pp. 219– 233). However, sermons on ‘The Doctrine of Universal Redemption asserted and explain’d’ (Sermons 39–43, vol. 3, 1692, pp. 379–423) also contain content relevant to understanding what Barrow thought about non-Christian religions. Applying a reverse logic, his argument is that since Christianity is true and proceeds from God, no other religion can ‘with good probability pretend to have thus proceeded from God’ or to be a ‘a general, 26

Chronica, p. 68.

2. DESCRIPTION OF HIS WORK ON ISLAM

21

a perpetual, a complete instruction, and obligation of mankind’. 27 Paganism, Judaism and Islam, Barrow claims here and in ‘Exposition’, 28 are the three religions that present themselves as contenders for the status of revealed truth. Judaism (dealt with in Sermon XIV) began with divine revelation but was never intended to be universal; it was ‘concealed from the rest of mankind both on purpose, and in effect’. 29 Paganism represents the most ancient pretense, but ‘Mahometanism,’ although younger than Christianity, demands attention because it ‘hath continued a long time, and hath vastly overspread the earth’. 30 Here and in ‘Exposition,’ Barrow argues that when the means by which Islam began and spread are examined ‘we shall not find stamped on it the genuine character of a divine original and authority’. 31 The religion’s author had no ‘honest and honourable qualities’ but possessed ‘all the marks of an Impostour, rebellious and perfidious, inhumane and cruel, lewd and lascivious, of a base education, of a fraudulent and turbulent disposition, of a vicious life, pretending to enthusiasms, and working of wonders.’ Mahomet used trickery (‘juggling tricks’) to recruit his associates, who were ‘thieves and runnagates’. Barbarous and void of learning, the Arabs found this religion ‘agreeable to their ... lusts’. It was spread by force, and it allows no examination, ‘forbidding any dispute about its truth.’ It consists of ‘absurd opinions, old stories and uncouth ceremonies’ concocted from ‘Judaism, Paganism’ and ‘Christian Heresies’. 32 From Christian heresies it borrowed doctrines that oppose Christianity ‘as, for instance, when allowing Christ much respect, it yet denies his being the Son of God, and that He really did Suffer, rejecting His true Story, it affixes false ones upon Him’. 33 There are some Works, Vol. 2, 1683, p. 198. Exposition, 1697, p. 48. 29 Works, Vol 2, 1883, p. 206. 30 Works, Vol 2, 1683, p. 201 31 Works, Vol 2, 1683, p. 201. 32 Works, Vol 2, p. 202. 33 Works, Vol 2, 1863, p. 202. 27 28

22

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

‘good and plausible’ aspects, such as ‘precepts of justice and charity although ... confined among themselves’, because these were adopted from Christianity. The Manichees contributed belief in predestination to Islam, and the Jews ‘circumcision, polygamy, divorce, abstinence from swine-flesh’ and ‘frequent purgations by washing’. Muslim beliefs about the after-life in a ‘paradise of corporeal delight, or rather brutish sensuality’, that ‘main and Principal part of Religion,’ are so ridiculous that intelligent people could never think they ‘came from the God of wisdom and holiness’. 34 Barrow goes on to say that Mahomet is supposed to have ‘once touched’ God’s hand, and in consequence the religion teaches ‘that God hath a body,’ although in the Epitome and in De Religione, he had described Islam’s belief in a formless deity. In ‘Exposition’ he said that Mahomet found that God’s hand was ‘very cold’. 35 Barrow thus repeated many popular tropes about Islam including some that emerged in Christian writing within the earliest period of Christian-Muslim encounter. However, Barrow’s critical ideas about Islam’s origin expressed here in sermon XIV needs to be placed in the wider context of his theology of religions, found especially in his preaching on universal redemption, which he defended. In his sermons on redemption, Barrow articulates the belief that salvation is God’s gift, and God’s ‘grace and favour’ cannot be limited. Thus, even before Christian truth was revealed, God’s Spirit guided and moved ‘men to good’, and away ‘from evil’. 36 God saved ‘Melchizedek among the Canaanites … Jethro in Midian’ and ‘Job in Arabia’. ‘Thus, although we ‘cannot be certain about the particular effects thereof,’ it must be affirmed that ‘even Pagans’ and others ‘who have lived outside the Pale,’ by ‘virtue of grace imparted to them, which they owe to our Lord ... obtain some part of salvation, or an imperWorks, Vol 2, 1682, p. 203. Exposition, 1697, p. 51. 36 Works, Vol 3, 1692, p. 400. 34 35

2. DESCRIPTION OF HIS WORK ON ISLAM

23

fect kind of salvation’. 37 Before Jesus’s coming, people were redeemed without ‘explicit knowledge of Christ’ and ‘faith in him,’ so God continues to draw people to Himself, having ‘vouchsafed general testimonies to his goodness,’ including ‘a light of reason and law of nature written upon men’s hearts … attended ... with checks of conscience’. 38 Islam might be a ‘brude of most impudent lewd and cozenage’ 39 but Barrow’s logic does not prevent Muslims from receiving ‘by virtue of grace imparted to them ... some part of salvation, which they owe to our Lord, who may be called in a sort their Saviour’. 40 Here Barrow appears to have anticipated the 20th-century notion of inclusivist salvation which is most famously associated with Karl Rahner. ‘God’s grace,’ he writes, ‘is not like the sea, which if it overflows on one shore, must therefore retire from another’ but is always ready and able to ‘help ... poor Creatures wherever it is needful or opportune’. 41 It could be argued that the Latin essay’s nonpolemical approach to Islam is so severely compromised by the tone of Barrow’s Sermon that any credit due him for the essay is minimal. Yet even if the Sermon shows Barrow’s true view of Islam the essay merits attention as a pioneer example of a non-Muslim writing with considerably accuracy about Islam in the seventeenth century before much of the information Barrow includes was widely known in Europe. At least one other scholar spoke more positively about Islam on one occasion and was almost wholly hostile on another, namely Joseph White (1745–1814), Laudian Professor of Arabic at Oxford when he delivered the Bampton Lectures during 1784 in which he compared Islam and Christianity. The first nine lectures, delivered as sermons in the university church in early 1784 and published in June of that year, were hostile toward Islam. However, on July 4 he preached a Works, Vol 3, 1692, p. 401. Works, Vol 3, 1692, p. 403. 39 Works, Vol 2, 1683, p. 200. 40 Works, Vol 3, 1692, p. 401. 41 Works, Vol 3, 1692, pp. 400–401. 37 38

24

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

tenth sermon before members of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, which, included in the 2nd edition of 1785, presented Islam as a foundation on which missionaries could build in their efforts to evangelize Muslims. In 1829, Charles Forster (1787–1871) suggested in his Mahometanism Unveiled that White’s contrasting views of Islam were shaped by the different circumstances of the first nine, and of the tenth sermon. ‘How different,’ wrote Forster, ‘the lights in which the same subject will present itself under different circumstances …The reader will chuse [sic] between the statement of Dr. White, as Bampton Lecturer; and that of Dr. White as preacher before the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel’ (Volume 1, p. 43). Forster might have made the same comment had he read Barrow’s essay and sermon.

CHAPTER 3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF EPITOME FIDEI ET RELIGIONES TURCICÆ, A MUHAMETO KUREISCHITA ARABUM PROPHETA, PRIUS IN ARABIA DESERTA, POSTEA A SUCCESSORIBUS PER TOTUM PENÈ ORIENTEM DIFFUSAE TRANSLATED BY DANIEL PERETT WITH CLINTON BENNETT

25

26

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TURKISH FAITH AND RELIGION, SPREAD FIRST IN CENTRAL ARABIA, BY MUHAMMED

QUREISHI, THE PROPHET OF THE ARABS, AND LATER BY HIS SUCCESSORS THROUGHOUT ALMOST THE ENTIRE EAST

After reaching the age of forty, Muhammed spent twenty-three years proclaiming amongst the Arabs, especially those of Mecca and Medina, that he was receiving revelations, and that the law established by God was being conveyed to him in verses by the angel Gabriel. Out of these verses sent down from heaven, of course, was assembled that book which is called Alcoran (that is, ‘what should be read’). 1 Among the Turks this book is treated with such great reverence that no one with unwashed body and hands would dare, not just to open it or read it, but even to touch it, unless perhaps compelled by necessity. At such a time it is permitted to lift it up, covered in some cloth or handkerchief. It is impious to turn one’s back on this book, or upon one who is reading it. Hitet, 2 that is, ‘the writers’, who transcribe this book most beautifully, are honored with great rewards. Some trade 3 for the price of a thousand crowns. 4 Huffar, 5 that is, Al-Qur’ān means ‘the recitation’ thus Barrow’s ‘what should be read’ is close. 2 Hattat means Penman or calligrapher in Turkish. The Arabic is khaṭṭāṭ. 3 The verb mercantur is passive in form but as a deponent verb is active in meaning and shouldn’t have a passive sense. If Barrow is using it correctly then the ‘some’ would have to be the Hattat and the verb would mean that they trade or engage in their work for this price. In gender the word ‘some’ could also mean ‘some books’ and if Barrow has made an understandable mistake, using the passive form for a passive meaning, then he would mean that some books are sold for this price. The latter seems more likely in meaning and intent but the former is more correct grammatically. 4 Barrow presumably means a coin equivalent to the crown which would also have circulated in Constantinople at the time. 5 Ḥuffāẓ [plural of ḥāfiẓ] those who have memorized the Qur’ān. Barrow’s production of ‘Huffar’ is intriguing. Unless Turkish has its own 1

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

27

those who preserve this book in their memory, they venerate as though they were great spirits 6 of a sort, and those who have the means to do so invite them to their homes and honor them with incense and with them they celebrate festival delights. All books, sheets of paper, and documents whether written in their own script or a foreign one, they store away carefully lest they be trampled underfoot or handled with insufficient piety, out of concern that some verse of Alcoran, or even the very name of God, may be found written in them. (Because of this they consider the Christians with enmity and curses, since the Christians—forgive the language—wipe their anuses with paper both written and unwritten.) They hang short verses copied from it in the place of an amulet from the neck or from the arms, and they believe most sincerely that in this way they are safe from all dangers of body and soul. To obtain victory or other divine graces they recite certain particular Surath 7 (that is, “chapters”) by the specific edict of the emperor. In a time of storms they reason to turn –az into –ar, this seems very likely to be a misreading of Arabic script, perhaps even by Barrow. In Arabic, z is ‫ ز‬and r is ‫ر‬. Missing a dot would make a ‘z’ look like an ‘r’ to someone whose Arabic wasn’t strong enough to correct the reading automatically. 6 ‘great spirits’ is an attempt at ‘numina’ which in classical and pagan Latin would mean ‘gods’ or ‘goddesses’. No Muslim or Christian should think of anyone who can memorize Scripture (no matter how well) as being truly divine and Barrow immediately acknowledges as much by adding ‘quaedam’ to qualify the word but it is still tricky. It may be intended as when people say, “If you can bring lasting peace to Israel and Palestine people won’t think you’re a brilliant diplomat; they’ll think you’re a god,” or something like that. It probably means that people like this seem to have a uniquely special gift from God (never too carefully defined) that seems miraculous and gives them special status. 7 Sūrah, or chapter (literally, fence. The plural is suwar.) Ending the word –ath is an easy mistake for a beginner to make in transcribing Arabic because a silent ‘t’ ends the word and the ‘t’ would cease to be silent and be pronounced in Classical Arabic if an ending immediately followed the letter without a pause.

28

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

attach them to yard-arms, in time of battles, to standards. Nearly everyone reads, and some so superstitiously that they count the letters, the accents, and the periods, but very few understand; from preachers, however, they hear an explanation; and unless they are very well-approved, they are not permitted to preach. For in this book, containing secular and spiritual laws, it is taught: I. First, that everyone ought to believe that God is one, not threefold, without any companion or comparable being, [He is] the Creator, the Giver, the Preserver, the Transformer of all creatures, free from the title of Father and Son, as one, of course, who has neither been born nor has begotten; He does not dwell in any place, and exists everywhere; He has no visible form, quality, color, or member, He is without beginning, and will be without end. His being is from His own self, and not from another; His nature is always in the same state; and He never undergoes any passions of the mind. If He wishes, He will turn all created things into nothing, and make them again. He needs no one, and all are in need of Him. If all the unfaithful were to enter the faith, and all the impious were to cultivate piety, that would be of no benefit to Him; and if all were to have become heathens, and were not to have worshipped Him, no harm could result for Him. He lives. He knows all things, both hidden and apparent. He knows the number of leaves and seeds, of sands and of hairs. Particular things and universal things, things past and things to come, minds and hearts, things present and things absent He alone, and absolutely no other, holds in knowledge. He does not forget, He does not err, He does not ignore anything. He hears all voices, both the quiet and the loud, and the quietest whispers. He also sees by dark night. He perceives the march of the black ant over the black stone. And His hearing and sight are unlike human hearing and sight. All things, both the bad and the good, are dependent upon His will. He wills the faith of the faithful and the piety of the pious, the unfaithfulness of the heathens and the sins of the sinful. And if He did not will it, no one would be unfaithful, nor would anyone be violent; flies cannot move their wings apart from His will. His mysteries are inexpressible, nor can they be investigat-

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

29

ed by all the keenest talents, nor should we scrutinize them; rather, it suffices simply to believe that He is such as we have said. II. Second, that it be believed that there are angels, obedient servants of God, who neither sin, nor eat, nor drink, nor are of the masculine or feminine sex. Among them, some are drawn close to God, and are even prophets: 8 each is in charge of its own duty and service. Some are on earth some in the heavens, some are standing, some are bowed, some are prostrate. Some sing praises, some have been set over humans, so that they may reckon good and bad deeds, others for humans’ safe-keeping. Some are of massive size and wield extraordinary strength: within an hour they descend from the heavens to the earth, and with one feather from a wing they can lift up mountains and scatter them. The greatest and most powerful of them is Gabriel. Esrail receives the souls of the dying, and is called the angel of death. Israfil is required to sound the trumpet that proclaims the final judgement, which he holds always to his mouth, and he awaits God’s command. When he has been commanded, he will blow into the trumpet; when struck by its blast, all living things, whether they be souls or bodies, shall perish, the trumpeter himself shall die, and the entire universe shall remain empty for forty years. After the aforementioned years, Israfil shall be brought back to life by God, and commanded to sound the trumpet again, at which sound all souls and angels shall be awakened and return to life, and they shall appear for the awesome judgement. Lucifer, who is called Iblis, was once an angel of light. 9 But because he was rebellious against God’s command Angels and prophets are distinct in Islamic thought. Barrow is incorrect here. 9 The standard view, based on Q7:12, is that Iblis is a jinn created from fire not a rebellious angel but some Muslims have described Iblis as the chief angel whom God changed into a jinn after rebelling. Barrow would have been influenced by the Christian view of Satan as a fallen angel. Jinn can be good or evil. Barrow is certainly referring to the 8

30

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

(namely, that he prostrate himself along with the other angels before the newly created Adam) and arrogantly proclaimed that he, created out of light, was superior to the one who had been made out of mud, he was cast out of the heavens, and up until the last day he awaits the hope of grace. This one has born very many children, along with whom he opposes the children of humanity. These are the evil angels and tempters. They can enter into any human member, they seduce and deceive. However, they make suggestions towards unfaithfulness, but they are unable to compel. Let all beware for their own sake of him, and let them know with certainty that he is an enemy to human nature. III. Third, that it be believed that four books, above all others, were sent down 10 from heaven, that is to say the Bible, to Moses; the Gospel, to Jesus Christ; the Psalms, to David; and Alcoran to Mahumet; that all are true, but the three earlier ones, insofar as they have been wrongly copied, interpreted, falsified, corrupted and destroyed by many, are abrogated 11 by Alcoran which was sent down most recently. For in it are found all the things that once were truly contained in the aforementioned books. And this book will suffice until the day of resurrection. It will not increase, nor will it suffer decrease or corruption. IV. Fourth, that it be believed that prophets and evangelists have been sent by God, that they may proclaim the truth. That Adam, the father of the prophets, was assembled out of dry dirt, so that he might demonstrate his Creator to his offspring. This one was the first prophet, just as Muhammed was sent into the world as the last of all. His soul, created from eternity, for the sake of both humans and demons, was preserved in a burning Christian interpretation of the name ‘Lucifer’ as ‘light-bearer’, saying that ‘Lucifer’ was once an ‘angelus lucis’. 10 Demissos, revealed or descended. Scriptures are said to have been sent down (tanzil) to the prophets. 11 Here Barrow’s word could be rendered removed/abolished/ annulled/rendered unnecessary. Abrogation is the usual English term for what is referred to as the doctrine of abrogation, from the Arabic Naskh.

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

31

lamp 12 until the day of his birth. The law, which was given to him, will endure into eternity. His followers are considered the most excellent of all before God. His miracles will exist even after death, as they were in life. From his fingers 13 streams flowed. With a single sign of the finger he divided the moon into two parts, which descended from their own circle with religious veneration into the holy man, and having entered through his bosom/fold/lap, 14 and departed through the openings of his sleeves, they ascended again to their own place. Stones, trees, and animals addressed him and confessed him to be a true Prophet of God. V. Fifth, that it be believed that there will be a day of judgement, and that the things that Muhamet announced concerning the signs that must appear before it are all most true:

In eschatological literature Muḥammad’s soul was created then preserved until his first making him the first prophet to be created but the last to be born. This is linked with the tradition that he possessed a light (nūr). He is a shining lamp at Q 3 3:46. Barrow’s “in a burning torch/lamp” could mean that Muḥammad’s soul was preserved as a shining light in a lamp. 13 Could read fingers or toes but there is a tradition that water flowed from Muḥammad’s fingers (Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 779). Some sources have fingers or toes. The Latin word can mean either or both. 14 Tradition describes half of the split moon entering through one of Muḥammad’s sleeve and leaving through the other. Barrow’s description appears to say that the half entered his bosom or lap. Barrow’s description is quite brief and has the two parts of the moon doing the same thing or at least described in the same way: both entered (ingressae) through a sinus which is a word with a large number of meanings. It describes a curved or concave surface, a fold, bend, or pocket in clothing, or a bay in a coastline. On people it refers to a part of the person that could embrace to hold someone or something, hence both lap and bosom because a child may sit on our lap or be held in your arms (and sinus, in anatomy). The two parts then departed (egressae) through the openings (aperturas) of the sleeves (manicarum). 12

32

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

certainly the coming of Deggial, 15 that is, the Antichrist; the descent of Jesus Christ from the heavens, so that he may kill him; the birth of the Muhd, 16 that is, the leader, from the line of Muhamet, who will come together with Jesus Christ, and will give him his daughter in marriage; at that time in the fortieth year the ‘suna’ faith will dwell throughout the whole earth, and this will have been confirmed by Jesus Christ to be the Mahumetan faith; the outpouring of Gog and Magog, 17 viz. of the Scythians of the far east, who will be 18 smaller than ants; 19 and of the other creeping things that will drink up the waters of the whole earth, on account of which humans will be killed by thirst: of these Gog (and) Magog, 50,000 must/shall dwell in one human shoe, 20 and be astonished that such great halls were previously established; the rising of the sun from the west, and its setting in the east; 21 the death of all the living; 22 the flight of mountains Al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl, the false Messiah in Muslim tradition. al-Mahdī, end time figure who will help to defeat the false Messiah in Sunni; the Hidden 12th Imam in Shīʿah. 17 Islamic traditions depicts the people known as the Gog and Magog pouring out in all direction through a break in the wall that had contained them for millennia. 18 Almost certainly a small and easy typo in our Latin version. It has ‘erant’ which would be a verb about the past in the midst of a stream of future verbs all talking about the end times. To make this verb future as well we only have to change a letter, erant to erunt. This is more likely what Barrow wrote. 19 Muslim sources refer to the Gog and Magog as a race of pygmies which is presumably behind this description. 20 Unclear without knowing Barrow’s source what he means here by 50,000 occupying one human shoe unless it relates to the size of the Gog and Magog or to the great halls. He had obviously heard or read about End Time traditions in Islam. Note that there is an element of ridicule or of humor in how Barrow relates the awe that creatures so small would feel for something that to them seem so great and majestic even if to us it is simply a shoe. 21 Found in traditions. 15 16

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

33

through the air; the melting of the heavens, 23 and after a certain time, their restoration; the resurrection of naked humans from the dead; the gift from Paradise above to prophets, saints, and teachers, of heavenly cloaks (which are called Hulet) 24 and of glittering beasts of burden (which are called Burak), 25 wearing which, and mounted upon which, they will travel beneath the overshadowing throne of God, and there they shall take their rest: but the remaining peoples shall stay behind naked, famished, thirsty, standing on their feet and urinating for fear; after some time they will be gathered together towards the sun, and having approached to a mile from it they will be drenched with burning sweat; some will be immersed in sweat up to their ankles, some up to their knees, some up to their kidneys, some up to the neck, some up to the mouth, and some up to the top of the head; for the space of 50,000 years 26 they shall remain in this condition, and they shall earnestly beg for the recompense for their deeds; after this, a scale shall be applied; the good and evil deeds of every single one shall be set in balance; those for whom good deeds carry the greater weight shall go to paradise, those for whom evil deeds carry the greater weight shall go to hell; unless perhaps God the Best should offer pardon, or they should be freed by the intercession of prophets, saints, teachers, and the just: however the one who dies outside the faith shall be deprived of intercession, nor shall he ever be released from the punishments of hell; but if he dies within the faith and sins carry the greater weight, and if offering and prayer for forgiveness The Gog and Magog will drink all the water in the world and kill all believers who oppose them. 23 Mountains flying is from Q56:4–6, the sun melting is found in traditions. 24 Hullat, a cloak. 25 Buraq (Lightning) is the winged horse that is said to have transported prophets—Abraham from Syria to Mecca, Muḥammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and back. 26 For this “day’ of 50,000 years, see Smith and Haddad, Death and Resurrection, p. 78. 22

34

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

does not follow, for the quantity and the quality of their crimes they shall be burned by Gehenna; 27 after that they shall rejoice in heaven. God will also examine each individual without any mediator; from tyrants He will demand the just recompense of the oppressed; if they have anything of good works He will remove it and confer it upon those who have suffered injustice: if they have nothing of good deeds, He will burden the oppressors with the sins of those affected by injustice. The bridge Sirath, 28 which will be thinner than a hair 29 and sharper than a sword, will be stretched over hell; all the peoples shall be compelled to cross it, some shall go across like a bolt of lightning, some like the wind, some like a swift horse, some like a plodding horse, and some wearily, burdened by their sins upon their shoulders; the condemned shall not make it across, but shall fall down into hell; those not weighed down by sins shall run across, and shall reach the heavens: each prophet shall have his pool, out of which, before they reach heaven, they may drink with their peoples: the pool 30 of Mahumet shall be larger than those of others; from one side to the other shall stretch a month’s journey; on the greenest and shady shores shall be placed pitchers surpassing the multitude of the stars. One who drinks thence once shall thirst no more; the water of the pool shall be whiter than milk and sweeter than honey; once the heavenly ones have entered heaven they shall remain in it never to leave; there shall be no death, no old age, or decrepit years; clothes shall not grow worn, there shall be no excretions or orifices but all shall be purged through sweat; 31 there shall be no sleep, no labor, no suffering: in that Jahannam in Arabic, hell, from the valley where children were burned as offerings to Molloch. 28 aṣ-ṣirāṭ in Arabic. 29 Barrow could be read as saying hair or spear. The bridge is routinely described as hair-narrow. 30 Muḥammad’s pool or river, the largest, is known as al-kawthar. All who loved him on earth will find him there. 31 Barrow presumably heard a version of a tradition that says that people in heaven will not excrete and that “digestion … is by way of a light 27

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

35

same place the heavenly maidens, who are called Hur, and the other women, shall suffer no menstruation or childbirth; there shall be no wicked ways, no hatred, no envy, but eternal and pure and uncorrupted love; whatsoever sort of food or drink they shall wish for, these things shall be brought to them in banquets; these, however, shall not be cooked but are always found already prepared; the ground shall be made of musk, 32 upon which there shall be palaces made with mingled golden and silver sides, overlaid with decorations/mottos of interwoven gold and gems, equipped with pillows worked in the Phrygian manner, and seats crafted out of the most precious stones; wines of the most delightful flavor will be served by the most handsome cupbearers; there will be unions with little girls and little boys adorned with anklets, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings; there will be emission of semen whenever it is pleasing. 33 In hell, on the other hand, the unfaithful and the devils shall remain eternally, and they also shall be immortal; upon the latter, serpents with necks similar in breadth to camels and horrifying scorpions of the size of mules shall inflict torments; the former must be burnt up by waters boiling with pitch; the bodies consumed and turned into coals will again take up new flesh and skin, and they suffer infinite, and cruel, and inexpressible punishment. 34

sweat,” C. Lange, Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016, p. 19. 32 Which Muḥammad considered the most pleasant aromatic. 33 This resembles Christian criticism of the Islamic paradise as a place of carnal excess, even as a brothel. European literature described sodomy as widespread in the Ottoman Empire. Barrow is probably referring to the “cup-bearers” (suqāh) who will serve people in paradise. Their role is not specified in the Qur’ān (56:17–18) but some have suggested sexual availability while others speak of non-sexual love. Q22:23 says that those who reside in heaven “will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearl, and their garments therein will be silk.” 34 From Q4:56.

36

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

VI. Sixth, that it be believed that all goods and evils come to pass by divine decree and providence; whatsoever has been or shall be has been predestined; and in leuh and mahfuz (that is, the Preserved Tablet) the fates of things are set down from eternity; nothing can occur that is contrary to that text; the faith of the faithful and the devotion of the devout, and other goods come into being out of the knowledge, will, predestination, consent, and approval of God, and from the inscription of the aforementioned created tablet; thus, too, the unfaithfulness of the unfaithful, and the transgression of the transgressors, and all evils do indeed come into being from God’s knowledge, providence, predestination, and inscription of the aforesaid tablet, but not from God’s consent and approval. As for these things, why He predestined them, willed them, did not will them—it is not for anyone to investigate, since they are hidden mysteries of God and their reason is clear to Him alone; on the contrary, it will be a very grave sin against God if the secrets of God, impenetrable and impossible to know, are scrutinized. And these are the six articles of the Turkish faith, 35 which they are obliged to believe in their hearts and proclaim in speech, saying “I believe in God, and the angels, and the books, and the prophets, and the day of judgement, and the predestination of good and evil by God most high.” 36 They also maintain their faith through external actions, of course, through bearing witness, in prayers, in alms, in the fasting of the month of Ramadan, and in pilgrimage to Mecca, 37 if their savings for the journey are sufficient. Bearing witness is the saying/formula through which conversion to the Mahumetan sect lies open; it is, of This may be the first reference to the arkān al-īmān, pillars or articles of faith, in a European text at a time when the term five pillars, often described inaccurately, was still unfamiliar. 36 Predestination in Islamic discourse was used to refer to whether all human acts are predetermined by God not only whether God has already decided our eternal destiny. Some say that God has knowledge of what choices people will make but they possess freedom to act. 37 Here Barrow lists the five pillars of Islam. 35

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

37

course: “There is no god but God, and Muhamed is the prophet of God.” Therefore the adult sons of the Turks are urged to repeat this saying/formula. That one, though, who is entering the Mahumetan faith from another faith removes his cap from his head in the sight of the emperor, or of whatsoever other lord, and says that he wishes to become Musulmann, that is, to be saved through the Mahumetan faith; then that great one who is present commands that a linen cloth be brought, with which the convert’s head is wrapped about and redeemed/saved, and an arrow, which is placed in the same convert’s right hand; that one receives this with the index finger extended, and he repeats the prescribed form dictated by the official; 38 finally he leaves and is stripped of his former clothes by another gathering, 39 is dressed in other clothes according to Turkish custom, and with the arrow that he has received, he is brought to the wealthier Turks, who, displaying general 40 joy, show kindness to the one who has newly converted to their sect. Some give gifts of clothing, others of coins. Afterwards he is led to a bath where he is shaved 41 and washed, and finally to circumcision. Now the manner of circumcision is as follows: a room 42 is created with silken cloths and hangings, which the uncircumcised enters

Here Barrow’s word could be translated as priest/lord/minister/high priest indicating that he was unfamiliar with such words as Muftī, ʿĀlim, faqīh, or ḳāḍī, any of whom might have officiated at these ceremonies. Even if Barrow was familiar with any of these words he might have chosen not to use them since they would be unfamiliar to a western audience. If any of those people might have officiated at the ceremony rather than digressing to explain this he might have chosen a word with a similarly broad meaning in Latin. 39 Or conclave. 40 Or universal. 41 Probably refers to the practice of shaving the head; a shaved head was seen as a sign of conversion; see Rothman, Brokering Empire, p. 38, N.8. 42 Or atrium. 38

38

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

along with the circumciser and the sponsor; 43 outside of the room pipers play flutes, drummers strike drums and castanets, 44 and the people who are present exclaim in a loud voice, “God, God!” until the circumciser has completed his task; while he is cutting away the foreskin with a razor, the sponsor standing behind presses a finger smeared with honey on the mouth of the convert, lest he perhaps cry out in fear. When this has been done, the circumciser stops the bleeding with sprinkled powder (as though with the ashes of reeds, or with the shavings of goat skins), 45 following which he displays the foreskin to the spectators; the one who has been circumcised is placed upon a bed, tables are set up all about, they feast through the day, they pass the night with games, in the morning they depart, the (newly) circumcised remains alone with his sponsor until he may arise healed from his wound; then he is washed once again in the bath. The sons of wealthy Turks, though, before they enter the aforesaid room, wander through the streets 46 decorated with

Here, Barrow’s word could be translated overseer/guardian/caretaker. However, in Ottoman circumcision ceremonies a sponsor (sometimes referred to as Godfather) accompanies the candidate. Converts were also sponsored. Called kivrelik, the sponsor acted as a second father to the child or convert. See K. Kaser, Patriarchy after Patriarchy, Berlin: Wein, 2008, p. 54. 44 A large variety of instruments were played during circumcision such as trumpets, fifes, tambourines, drums, flutes and harps; see S.P. Blake, Time in Early Modern Islam, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013, p. 99. 45 Powder made from the dried foreskins of previous circumcised males or ash was used to stem the bleeding. Various healing powders were also used. The word harundo refers to a reed and also things made from one, such as a flute, a pen, the shaft of an arrow, a rod, etc. Because of the shape of nearly all of these the word might have been used as a term that meant penis, but additional research would be needed. 46 Or plazas or bazaars which Barrow would likely have seen in Istanbul. 43

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

39

costly clothing on ornamented 47 horses, where they gather poorer sons or their own servants to be circumcised, so that they may be circumcised without any expense by the generosity of the wealthier, and that man willingly accepts them as a work of charity, and he adopts 48 companions for his son for the comfort of a wavering mind: the Turks also very often have this 49 profession in their mouths, and especially while they are completing their washings: 50 but this is done for the renewal of the faith; for they suspect that it is for slight 51 reasons that the faith is undermined, and weakened, and that it is possible to be torn away from it most easily: some of them who are religious, called Zakir (that is, Rememberer 52 because he always commemorates this form), repeatedly chant without pause day and night [Indented left, Barrow has La ilahe ilellah (“There is no god but God”) below musical bars] but without the addition, Muhammed is the prophet of God; they merely repeat it and impress it upon the ears of those struggling with a clear voice, and they note it with larger letters 53 on lintels, banners, and in other visible places.

Barrow could read covered or ornamented; horses were covered with richly decorated caperons. 48 Admits or accepts. Thousands of poor boys were circumcised in ceremonies staged in the palace grounds. 49 ‘The divisions in the text and transitions are scarcely noted. But I think that with ‘the Turks also very often have this profession in their mouths’ Barrow is essentially beginning a new thought that we would put in a new paragraph. By ‘this profession’ he is probably not referring to circumcision but rather to the ‘there is no God but God’ that he is about to describe. His has ‘this’ is anticipatory, close to ‘the following’. 50 Ritual washing before prayer (wuḍū). 51 Or trivial. 52 Zilir is a variant of ḏikr, remembrance, a devotional act. Barrow is describing a popular ṣūfī practice. 53 The phrase Barrow uses, majusculis literis would mean ‘capital letters’ to any western European. However, Arabic does not have capital letters so this probably means ‘large and emphatic’ or ‘large and vivid’. 47

40

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

The prayer must be prayed five times daily, before sunrise, at noon, in the afternoon, after sunset, and in the first watch of the night (that is, an hour and a half into the night), whether at that very moment in time, which is certainly better, or during the break between them: so that if anyone should have been absent from prayers at the beginning of the morning, he has time to make up for this until noon; but if he should not have performed the noonday prayers at noon itself, he will be able to accomplish this during the interval that is between noon and the afternoon time, and thus also for the others: now the times are announced by heralds 54 from a tower or from high places with a loud voice to the people, with these words: God (is) greatest! which he repeats four times. I confess that there is no god other than God! he repeats this twice. I confess that Mahumet is the prophet of God, this also twice. Be present for prayer, this also twice. Be present for salvation, this also twice. Now begins the prayer, this also twice. Greatest God, Greatest God, there is no god 55 other than God.

This is the müezzin, who recites the call to prayer. Barrow’s choice of word here is odd/interesting. He does not say that there is no ‘god’ (deus) other than God (Deum), but rather that there is no ‘divine spirit’ (numen) other than God (Deum). This is the same word that Barrow used near the beginning to describe how the Huffaz were seen as ‘divine spirits of a kind’. Numen is a word that is not given significant theological description and is quite flexible in meaning. There may be other possible reasons for Barrows choice—it could be like English’s choice between capitalizing the word ‘God’ or not doing so which is how it is represented in this translation. If Barrow was looking for a word to describe the gods of polytheism in Christian Latin he might have used numen since ‘Deus’ is the name of God in the monotheistic faith. Also, possibly: from the perspective of a religious tradition in which the name of God must be treated with very great care (cf. Barrow’s description of Muslim care for any physical text that might contain the name of God), choosing Numen avoids creating a sentence

54 55

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

41

Those who are soon to pray must be untainted by semen, menstruation, blood, and other forms of uncleanness (among which wine and pork meat or fat are considered the most impure), from which they are cleansed in the baths, a cleansing that is called Gast: 56 now before praying there occurs the sacred washing, which is a washing of the hands, the face, the arms, and the feet; and a stroking of the moist right hand over the peak of the head, and of both hands over the rear parts of the neck; all these things are completed according to a certain mandated order, and with some short prayers inserted. But in cases in which water has been absent, in place of water-washing, they perform Tejmum, 57 that is, washing with sand; for having taken up sand of the earth, and certainly very clean sand, they rub down their hands and face, and thus they complete the sacred washing: of the prayers some are Farza, 58 that is, decreed by God in Alcoran, others are Sunna, 59 decreed by the prophet Mahumet: those that have been appointed by God can never be omitted; and if they are interrupted or halted they must be repeated entirely at another time; those, though, that were instituted by the prophet, they are sometimes skipped over by those who are not very devout, particularly the Sunna of the afternoon time and of the first night watch; all the Sunnas are recited in a quiet voice and individually, without a priest; of the Farzas some are said in a clear voice, as are the morning, evening, and nighttime prayers, other are said silently, as are the noon and afternoon prayers; those same prayers are said either individually or with a multitude and a priest: therefore, when they are preparing for prayer,

fragment that would mean ‘God does not exist’, which is what would happen if Deus were used. 56 Presumably the full-body wash (ghasl). 57 Tayammum. 58 Fajr, morning prayer. 59 Tradition or practice derived from Muḥammad’s example, words, and acts.

42

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

whether they be in a temple 60 or in any other place, they turn themselves towards that part of the east in which the temple of Mecca is; now that part is called Kyber; 61 and for the Sunna, indeed, they direct themselves alone by themselves without order, but for the Farza if there are two or three who are going to pray, they both arrange themselves in a line just as a military battle line would, and one of them who is more learned becomes the priest, 62 but the other becomes the crier/herald, who repeats the prescribed words again in the sanctuary, 63 for which reason all raise their hands, and touch the softer parts of their ears with their thumbs, and thus they focus themselves to desire in their hearts to pray: for the prayer of any time, though, there are first of all formulas of intention, 64 afterwards with hands joined over Should be mosque. This might well be what is intended. Western Christian Latin would not have hada word specifically for mosque. Templum is not a religiously specific word—it is used for the Temple of Judaism but also for any polytheistic religious buildings and would be the easiest word to use to describe an unfamiliar religion’s building of religious significance and worship. 61 al-kaʿbah. 62 There are no priests in Islam; the prayers are led by an Imam. However, there are much more common Christian words that mean priest specifically and Barrow is not using any of those in saying antistes. Nor, in context, could he mean anything like priestly orders in Christianity, since he is talking about the potentially ad hoc choice of the best person to lead worship in a group of two or three people. In paganism an antistes might be the caretaker and priest of a particular shrine; Tertullian refers to modesty as the antistes of the temples of our bodies when they have received the Holy Spirit. But the word can just mean religious leader and if Barrow didn’t want to include the word Imam then antistes isn’t a bad choice to represent the person who, say, is chosen to lead an informal Prayer Service or a small group/Bible study. 63 The call to prayer is repeated from the floor of the mosque, known as the iqama. Barrow, though, isn’t teaching his audience this terminology. He has used a different word, delubrum, from templum previously. Barrow could be translated temple/shrine/sanctuary. 64 The prayer of intent, niyyah. 60

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

43

the breast, they speak out this prayer quietly: Glory be to you, O our God, and praise; and may your name be blessed, and may your dignity by exalted, and may your praises be magnified, for there is no other god 65 besides you: next he says, I take refuge with the Lord God from the accursed Devil, in the name of God who shows mercy and is merciful; and then he recites the first surata of the Alcoran, which is their chief prayer: that, now, is called Fatihe, the beginning (or opening): 66 Praise to God sabaoth, the merciful and shower of mercy, the King of the final judgement: we adore you, we pray for aid from you; lead us onto the right path, the path of those whom you have favored, not [the path] of those towards whom you are angry, nor that of those who stray. Amen. After this prayer they recite three or four verses from Alcoran, whichever ones may have been pleasing, and all of these by memory; for it is not permitted to read between praying: when this also has been read through, the greatest God is said, and with strange ceremonies they bow themselves towards the middle of their bodies, and three times, or five times, or another uneven number up to nine, they say Glory to my God, the greatest: afterwards they say, God is the greatest, 67 and they raise themselves up again; then again saying God is the greatest, they bow themselves; and finally they lie forward upon the face, and they say in the aforesaid number, Praise to my God, the highest; and thus one bowing is completed: for the next they raise themselves up again, and they proceed from the prescribed Fatihe, up to the lying forwards in the same manner: after the second bowing also there occurs KaaNumen here as well, and not deus. Cf. note above. Al-Fātiḥah, more properly rendered “the opening.” initium can mean either of these. Originally it meant ‘going in’ as we have in ‘initial’ and is the opposite of going out, from which we get ‘exit’. It can mean ‘how we start things off’ and so ‘opening’. 67 The verb to be can be implied but it needn’t be. That means that this phrase could either be “God is the greatest” or “Greatest God…” as the start of a prayer. The Arabic is usually translated “God is the greatest” or “God is greater”. 65 66

44

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

de, 68 Sitting; in which the prayer is prayed; Blessings be to God, and prayers, and good actions: peace to you, O prophet, and divine mercy, and the blessing of the same, and peace be upon us, and upon upright servants of God: I confess that there is no god 69 other than God; and I confess that Mahumet is God’s servant, and prophet: when this prayer has been completed, if the prayers are only of two bowings 70 he adds this epilogue to the prayers; My God, be well-disposed to Mahumet and to the Mahumetan people, as he was to Abraham and his people, for you are 71 praised and glorified: with this said, with the face turned to the right, and then to the left, they greet the angelic guardians which they believe sit upon their shoulders, saying to each shoulder, Peace be to you and divine mercy: and thus they speak, cleansing their faces with their hands; We have heard and we will obey you: spare us, O our God, and we come running to you. Thus the prayers are finished, which, if they are of four bowings, then after the first sitting, with the epilogue reserved, they raise themselves up again, and they complete two further bowings, just as they had previously done; (except for the fact that these are always recited silently;) 72 then sitting down again they recite the prayer of the sitting and conclude it with the epilogue. The morning (prayer) before the Farza has a Sunna of two bowings and one sitting; after this there follows the Farza, and that same is also of two bowings and one sitting. The noonday service before Farza has a Sunna of four bowings and of two sittings; after the Farza there are two Sunnas, the first of four Probably refers to the sitting position, Tawarruk. Again, numen is the Latin word here. 70 He means two units or rakʿah; bowing is used in English for Rukūʿ, the position Barrow describes as bowing towards the middle of the body. Reland’s translation of Bobovius uses bowings and sittings (see p. 112). 71 Barrow’s tense here could be past or present; the Arabic has, “you are praised and glorified.” 72 Referring to some prayers being recited in a quiet voice while depending on the time some are said loudly. 68 69

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

45

bowings and two sittings; the second of two bowings and of one sitting: the afternoon service before the Farza has a Sunna of four bowings and of two sittings: afterwards there follows a Farza that is similarly of two bowings and sittings; 73 this is followed by a Sunna of two bowings and one sitting. The evening service begins from the Farza, which is made up of three bowings and two sittings; the first sitting occurs after two bowings, the second occurs after the third (bowing): this is followed by a Sunna of two bowings and one sitting. The nighttime service has, before the Farza, a Sunna of four bowings and of two sittings; next follows the Farza with the same number of bowings and sittings: after the Farza it has a Sunna of four bowings and two sittings; but after the second sitting they do not recite the epilogue, as in the other services, rather he raises himself up and grasps the ears by the thumbs, and focuses himself to wish to pray the Vitu, that is, the incomparable prayer, which he begins from the Fatihe, and with that finished, he recites the Doai kun ut, 74 that is, the prayer of standing, which is thus; Our God, just as we beseech help from you, and we ask forgiveness from you, we desire to be guided by you; we believe in you, we turn to you, we place our trust in you, we ascribe all goods to you, we give you thanks, and we are not ungrateful towards you; we reject and abandon those who are defiant towards you: Our God, we adore you, we pour forth prayers to you, and we are bowed prostrate before your face, we return swiftly to you, and we hasten: we hope for your mercy, and we fear your punishment, because your punishment reaches 75 the unfaithful: when this prayOn the face of it, it would seem that similiter doesn’t make sense. Barrow has just said that the afternoon Sunna has four bowings and two sittings; what he says about the afternoon Farza (two bowings and two sittings) does not seem to be the same. There could be a typographical error here or perhaps Barrow made a mistake with his numbers. 74 Dua Qunut 75 Barrow may have used the wrong verb—pertingit is rare and it occurs as a mistaken substitution for pertinet. The first would mean ‘reaches’ or 73

46

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

er has been completed he bows himself, prostrates himself, and sits down, and he recites the prayer of the seating and its epilogue, he salutes 76 the angels, and he finishes: but after the prayers of whichever time (i.e. of day) there occurs a Litany, called Tesbih, 77 which begins as follows: There is one God, there is no other god 78 besides him; alive from eternity, neither slumber nor sleep take hold of him; whatever is in the heavens and on earth, they were created by him: who is the one who can intercede with him, except by his permission? He knows what is before and after them, nor can they comprehend anything of his wisdom, unless he himself wishes it; nor is the preservation of heaven and earth burdensome to God; 79 and this one is the highest and the greatest. Glory to God and this is repeated thirty times, 80 and the sequence of prayer 81 is counted out: on the thirtieth time is said, Glory to God, the highest, the greatest, and Praise always to God; thus thirty times, Praise to God: on the thirtieth time he says, Praise the God, the Lord of hosts: then, Great God; this thirty times as well: on the thirtieth time, God the greatest, the wisest, the most magnificent, the most powerful; there is no God 82 other than him alone, he has no partner, 83

‘attains’. The second would also mean ‘applies to’ or ‘pertains to’. In either case, though, the verb is present, not future. 76 Barrow has salutes or greets. The formula, “Peace be on you” is usually described as a salutation. 77 Tasbīḥ. 78 numen as noted previously. 79 See Q2:255 preserving heavens does not fatigue God. 80 Thirty three times according to a saying of Muḥammad. 81 For ‘sequence’ the word is corolla which is literally a garland or wreath. Perett takes this as a poetic way of describing a sequence of prayers, but this could be a physical object, like a rosary bracelet or necklace, a mas'baha in the Islamic tradition widely used especially in Sufi practice. 82 This time Barrow did not switch to numen but kept Deus. If this is intended and not an error, it is unclear why.

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

47

his is the dominion 84 and the praise, he is even all-powerful: 85 then, with hands lifted towards heaven, all the Turks in prayer, after drawing breath, sigh with discordant voices and great motion Amen seven times; after the seventh Amen they say, O provider of things that are desired, hear [us], O hearer of prayers: again Amen seven times; and, Praise be to God Sabaoth; finally they arise together and depart from the synagogue. 86 Special alms, or contribution is given and consecrated in keeping with divine law; for by it their remaining wealth is sanctified and increased: no one is compelled to this, unless he should possess Nisah hauli; 87 now this is a portion of whatever wealth is possessed absolutely in one year beyond necessary goods and materials, 88 which obliges the faithful possessor to give the aforementioned alms. The necessary goods and materials are called Haget astire, which we enjoy daily, such as clothes, partner/colleague/consort are available translations here. Partner is the standard rendering for the Qur’ānic šarīk affirming that only God is to be worshipped that no other entity is equivalent to God which obviously has the Christian Trinity in view (possibly one that includes Mary as a partner or consort). See Qur’ān 5:116, “O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to mankind, ‘Take me and my mother for two God’s besides Allah’. He said, ‘Be glorified. It was not mine to utter that which I had no right …’” 84 Barrow has regnum, which can be rendered kingdom or rule. The Arabic here is usually rendered dominion which is also is a perfectly accurate translation of regnum so dominion is used above. 85 Or most omnipotent in Barrow. Omnipotens would already mean ‘allpowerful’; Barrow has turned that into a superlative form—‘most allpowerful’. 86 Barrow used temple and synagogue for mosque for which there would not have been an easily available Latin term. 87 Niṣāb, the minimal wealth necessary for zakāh to be given. This is 2½ % of disposable income and objects convertible to cash in one’s possession for one lunar year. 88 Barrow has furniture/supply/resources/goods/utensils. By it, with ‘necessary’ added it means life necessities. But it does not mean ‘expenses’; rather, the things on which one might expend money. 83

48

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

a home, servants, books, farm animals, beasts of burden or for consumption; free [men] enjoy absolute possession; thus one who is a servant/slave as a punishment, 89 that is, one for whom some monetary sum has been decreed/prescribed for his own release/ransoming/redemption, is not bound by this required almsgiving, because even though he be the owner of his own wealth, nevertheless he does not possess his own self: a debtor also gives nothing from whatever amount of wealth suffices to pay his debt; nor is anything given from goods that have been lost by the end of the year, or from those that have been destroyed/lost in shipwreck, or taken away by force: and the robber cannot be convicted by the evidence of witnesses; 90 nor from goods buried in the desert in such a way that the place where have been buried is not known; nor from that credit, which the debtor denied the entire year, but afterwards confessed in the presence of some people that he did owe; nor from things that were taken/usurped/used by some leader/powerful man and returned/restored after a certain number of years; rather, from those goods over which he has been master for a whole, unbroken year, and which a debtor does not deny, even if he should be unable to pay it; and from those things which a debtor does deny, but which are proven by witnesses or the decision of a judge, alms must be given: nor are alms commanded to be given from any other goods beyond gold, silver, camels, cows, sheep, horses, and donkeys, unless perhaps the owner’s intention might servus talionatus which is a pair that appears to be found only in Barrow’s work. The phrase makes it sound as though the person is a slave until an amount is paid, either as judicial punishment for a crime, or perhaps as someone who has been taken hostage and is awaiting payment from those who care about him/her as was sometimes done amongst the nobility in medieval European warfare. Work is needed here on what practices may have been common in Barrow’s time in Istanbul. 90 The phrasing is a bit odd and the punctuation makes it stranger. Barrow may mean, ‘things that have been taken by force and [= even when] the robber cannot be convicted through testimony’. 89

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

49

be to engage in trade: for example if someone should have purchased a slave for his own service, he will pay nothing for him, but if he intends to sell him, he gives in full: Now the portion called Nizab is, from camels, the possession of five camels; from cows, of thirty cows; from sheep, of forty sheep; from gold, whether pure or beaten/forged 91, 20 Miskal (now a Miskal is a weight of 1 1/7 drams), from silver 100 drams, 92 from tradable/commercial goods also those that equal a price of 100 drams of silver: therefore, for however many sets of five camels, whether they are Persian or Arab, 93 one sheep is given, until the point when the ownership has reached 25 camels; for these is offered Ibn, or Binetu Mechazin, 94 that is to say a male or female camel living its second year; 95 up to the point where the ownership of camels has increased to 36, for which Ibn, or Binetu Lebun, that is male or female camel living its third year, 96 is offered, up until 46, for which a hik or a aurum nativum or cusum; ‘Native’ gold in other texts that are a century or so later seems to mean pure, unmixed gold. Cusum is ‘hammered, beaten, pounded, or forged’. 92 Barrow is probably confused here. It’s hard to tell what exact weights he means but Miskal/Mithqal is a recognized weight. By drachma he probably means something like ‘dram’, which would not have an exact weight that would be easy for us to identify. But by his own math, regardless of how heavy the amounts would be, we can tell how they would relate to each other: the amount of silver would weigh 4.375 what the amount of gold would weigh. One modern calculation, though, has the weight of silver at seven times the required weight of gold. The old calculation of twenty dinars (gold) v. 200 dirhams (silver) also has a weight ratio of exactly seven. Barrow would keep the same ratio if instead of ‘C drachmae’ he had ‘CLX drachmae’. This could have been left out through a typo or misreading but if s the same occurs immediately afterward. 93 Barrow’s meaning here is obscure. Does he mean whether they are Bactrian or Dromedary, i.e. whether they have two humps or one? 94 Ibn means “son,” Binetu Mechazin is a term for a female camel. 95 Thus in our way of counting, it is one year old. 96 That is, a two year old camel. 91

50

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

hikka, that is a male or female camel living its fourth year, up until 76: for these are given bineta lebun, 97 that is, two male or female camels living their third year of life, up until 91, 98 after 120, for every fifth one sheep and hikkatan are given, up to 145; from this point Ibn or Binetu mechaz, and hikkatan 99 are given, up to 150; after 150 (camels have been reached) hikak are given, that is three female camels living their fourth year of life; after this it starts again from the beginning, which is to say for every fifth camel one sheep is given, plus hikak, up to 36, at which point the total of camels will be 186: for these Ibn or Binetu lebun, and hikak are given, up to 46, when the number of camels will be 196, for which are given 4 hikak up to 200: and thus as the number of camels increases the almsgiving is increased, starting from the beginning, just as was done after 150 until 200; and thus, always, from every 50, one hik or hikka is added, all the way to infinity: 100 concerning cows and sheep there are certain proportions of alms that have been established on the basis of certain numbers, and these can be found as they are listed in the books of the Muhamedan laws in the chapter Zekiat, 101 and one will be free to contribute an equivalent amount of money in place of the aforementioned animals. Now from the gold, silver, and commercial goods a fourth part of a tenth is given, in such a way that from 40 the result would be one. These alms are distributed among the poor, the needy, slaves, servants, 102 debtors who possess none of the aforemenAlso a term for a female camel. It seems that Barrow did not explain anything about what happens between 91 and 120. 99 Barrow clearly found these terms in a source referring to camels of various ages. 100 An example of Barrow thinking like the mathematician he was. 101 Zakāh, literally “that which purifies” is the obligatory annual payment used for charitable purposes/ 102 Barrow’s use of this word is odd and seems nearly unique to him. It is found in the German text of 1664, but the phrase seems to have confused the author who wrote, ‘servant, called servus talionatus’. 97 98

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

51

tioned portions, to soldiers, to foreigners who have remained behind on their journey, and to those who are far from their possessions: they cannot be given to parents, spouses, servants, young children, the wealthy, or as tribute: it is praiseworthy to give so much, at one time that it is sufficient for a day for a pauper who is (thus) freed from begging for food: and that anyone (give) to those who live in the same city or dwelling place— it is not divided by being sent to other places—unless perhaps the inhabitants of that place happen to be poorer than their neighbours. Another form of alms is Fitu, 103 that is, the breaking of fasting: they ought to give this at the end of the Muhammedan Easter/Feast, on the following/final/last fast 104 of the month of Ramadan, 105 at the beginning of the morning; and the coins that are given may be of uneven/unequal/different/lesser number, nor does one need to be very attentive about the question of to whom it is given. Funeral alms are given according to each one’s ability; Rice cooked with honey and saffron, and the same thickened with butter; they cook boiled meats and sweets, and they share them on the forty-seventh day after the death, and further, at the end of the year. They all praise acts of charity 106 and train themselves in these: if they dream that some of their relatives of acquaintances are in a state of trouble or danger, they buy bread, they break it into pieces, and throw it forth for the dogs wandering through the streets: they care for dogs, especially young [lit. twotoothed] ones with the greatest effort; since for them they make little houses, they spread out old things/trash, and for some period of time they nourish/feed/raise them. It is serious 107 for

Fitr or Fitri refers to the end of the month of fasting. Barrow is searching for an equivalent in Christianity for the Islamic fast. 105 The 9th month of the Islamic calendar 106 ‘They praise all acts of charity’. 107 grave/serious/painful/important/oppressive. 103 104

52

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

those are alone without any guest to dine (by themselves); 108 because of this they leave the doors of their dining rooms open, and some eat food publicly in front of their doors and invite passers-by: on the day of the Feast of victims/sacrifices/ sacrificed animals 109 and at other times if anything good should have happened, or if they are escaping from some trouble, 110 they sacrifice sheep and the pieces of meat are distributed to the poor: they gather waters for communal use from distant places at great expense: some devote themselves exclusively to this service, so that they may provide waters brought from a great distance, on human shoulders or by beasts of burden, to the people in the temples, 111 or to the soldiers in their camps. They celebrate their primary fast from the appearance of the moon called Ramadan until the end of the same, by divine decree; they abstain from food, from drink, and from sex throughout the day from dawn to dusk; after the setting of the sun as many lamps as possible are lit over the towers and in the synagogues; 112 at that time there is a breaking of the fast, which is done with dates or other lighter foods and with a drink of water: after this they perform evenings prayers; finally they recline Because hospes can mean either guest or host, this could mean either those who are alone with no one to host them or those who are alone and have no guests. Either way most of the meaning is clear—that dining alone is generally to be avoided. 109 He means Eid al-Adha. Barrow uses Pascha to describe it, as he also did for Eid al-Fitr. In a Christian context the word would mean Easter, but also Passover, and it wouldn’t be odd for Barrow to be adapting the word to describe another religion’s great feast. 110 danger/trouble/distress 111 As before, Barrow is using templum here but it’s a flexible word, which could mean the Jewish Temple, but also pagan temples, and could, as here, mean ‘mosques’. 112 Again, Barrow is borrowing the term, because he seems not to have a parallel Latin word to describe Muslim gatherings. This begs the question whether he is trying to reflect a real distinction by using templum in some places and synagoga in others. 108

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

53

at the table, until the first watch of the night, at which time they arise and gather in the temple; 113 where, when the ordinary prayers of that time have been completed, 114 they recite prayers that are out of the ordinary and specific to this month, which are called ‘rest’: 115 now this prayer is one of twenty bowings; 116 after every four they rest, and sing antiphons in varied tones; afterward they return home, and all night long they eat, drink, hear musicians, 117 they converse, they consume tobacco and kahuva 118 to avoid sleep, and in the day-time they sleep: Those who are ill or are travelling are freed from the obligation to fast, they make up for it at another time; in other cases if someone has intentionally broken the fast through eating, through drinking, or through sex, the person must pay penalty by means of which atonement is made for such a crime; namely he will have to grant freedom to a male or female servant for a single day 119 The German text says ‘churches’ here where Latin has ‘temple’, but used ‘synagogues’ above where the Latin did as well. 114 This could also mean ‘since the ordinary prayers of that time have been canceled’ but the reading above is more likely from the perspective of classical Latin. However, if Muslim practice is indeed to cancel the regular prayers of that time of night during Ramadan then that must be what Barrow means. The German text interprets the passage this second way and says that the obligation to pray the usual prayers is lifted. 115 pause/rest/relaxation/respite/calm. The German text has the Latin word ‘conquiescentia’ and then calls them ‘Ruhende’. 116 Barrow is describing the special Ramadan practice of offering between 8 and 20 units of prayer known as Tarawih. Over the course of the month, the whole of the Qur’ān is recited. 117 Parett describes the word ‘melicos’ as uncommon. It means ‘musical’ or as a noun in classical Latin could mean a lyric poet. Since classical Latin often used the same words for poetry as for song, he used ‘musicians’ here. The German says ‘singers’ and makes a point of saying both male and female singers (Sänger und Sängerinnen). 118 Coffee. 119 Could also mean ‘for each single day’. The penalty for breaking the fast is a set charitable donation for each day. 113

54

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

of broken fast, and if he is not able to do this, then to fast for sixty days, and if he is also unable to do this, then to prepare a meal for sixty poor people; however if it is by chance, that is to say, if someone washing his mouth has swallowed a bit of water, or has been compelled by force to eat, to drink, or to engage in the act of pleasure, or has vomited from a full mouth, 120 or has eaten in the morning, thinking that it is still night, or has broken his fast in bright day, judging that it is already evening, then he will fast one day for one day of broken fast. 121 If someone sleeping during the day is impure, 122 or, having forgotten, has eaten or drunk, or anointed himself, or has smeared his eyes with eyesalve, or has kissed [someone], or has slandered 123 someone, or has vomited for a brief moment, or if a little bit of water has dripped 124 into his ears, or dust, smoke, or a fly has fallen into his throat, he is absolved. If he has swallowed a morsel as large as a chickpea or meat stuck between his teeth, he will make up another day for that day, but if it was smaller than a chickpea he is absolved, unless, perhaps, once it has fallen out of his mouth he puts it back in and swallows it. And if someone eats a grain of sesame without chewing, he has broken the fast, but if he chews, then he has not: a vomit with a full mouth that is swallowed again, whether by chance or intentionally, breaks the fast, but a small bit of vomit in no way breaks it. Imam Muhamet, though, says that if a small amount of vomit is swal-

It is not entirely clear what Barrow means here. The German says the same and adds, in Latin, salvo honore, to indicate that this is something it’s indelicate to mention. If someone were throwing up and filled their mouth they might then accidentally swallow. 121 The German text does not require the small amount of fasting listed here but continues the list as it does here and concludes by saying that someone who has done any of these things is absolved of guilt. 122 soiled/polluted/stained/made impure. 123 disparaged/belittled/slandered. 124 dripped/slipped/gotten. 120

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

55

lowed again it breaks the fast; but if a large amount, then no. 125 If someone feeble 126 is unable to endure the fast, let him break the fast, and for each day let him satisfy the needs of a poor person, or let him fast at another time, a day for each day missed: A woman who is pregnant or nursing, if they are afraid for themselves or for their infants that they will be made unwell by the fast, they eat without needing to atone for it. If anyone has become unwell in mind for some number of the days of this month, and afterwards has been restored to sanity, he will fast for that same number of days. If someone has been insane for the whole month of Ramadan, he is absolved; but if only for some number of those days, he will pay make atonement. 127 And there are very many other sins 128 by which such a fast is broken, but since they are not fitting for the ears I leave them unsaid: they also observe other fasts out of [a] vow; 129 some fast during the entire year, but many fast for the three months of Regeb, Schaban and Ramadan each year, particularly women of advanced age. There are also those confine themselves, fasting, in mosques/temples for a certain number of days and nights and they do not come out except in order to empty their bowels; at night they receive food, and, beating their chests with their fists, they cry out in a loud voice with vehement sighing Huve! Huve! (that is, God! God!): some lead dances 130 among themselves with

This is strange. But the difference could be in intention—this could mean that with a little bit of food coughed back up a person could choose to spit it all out, but if overwhelmed by a lot might not be able to. Barrow is referring to an ḥadīth of Muḥammad recorded in Tirmidhi that involuntary vomiting does not break the fast but voluntary vomiting does (Book of Fasting, no. 720). 126 Could be old, feeble or decrepit. 127 Soundness of mind is a condition for observing the fast. 128 scruples/failings/sins/misdeeds. 129 vow/pledge/prayer and oath. 130 choirs/dances. 125

56

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

joined hands, and they continually sing the aforementioned Huve, or lau illah illala; this sort of fast is called self-control. 131 Every faithful man who is free, has grown past childhood, is sane, 132 able to see, able to afford the journey and possessing transportation, and leaving his family well-provided with food until his return, must complete the pilgrimage to Mecca ordained by God once in his lifetime, if the road is safe: women, too, must make the pilgrimage together with their husbands or parents [or in-laws] 133 nearby if their dwellings are more than a journey of three days away from Mecca. The time in which 134 this pilgrimage is made, is from the month Schawal, at the beginning of which is there occurs the feast of ending the fast, up to the tenth day of the month Dulhaiat, a day that is called the day of slaying [by cutting the throat], or the feast of sacrifice, which is observed in memory of the sacrifice of father Abraham. There are three Farzas of this pilgrimage. The first is the Naziratus, 135 that is of course the wearing of lower-quality/more common/cheaper/humbler clothing, 136 abstinence from earthly

restrain/self-control/abstinence/continentia. Voluntary fasting as a form of self-restraint is recommended for various occasions such as the 13th to 15th of each month, or on each Monday and Thursday. 132 healthy/sane. Only those suffering a serious illness are excepted from the fast. 133 Parents, parents-in-law. 134 in qua rather than in quo is a mistake that someone with Latin as good as Barrow’s wouldn’t have made. This raises questions about what may have happened to the text before it reached the edition that we have. 135 He is referring to, Ihram, the state of ritual purity into which Muslims enter at the first station of the hajj at Miqat. Barrow seems to be using the term Nazarene, which refers to Jews who took a vow of abstinence and of devotion to God. Bobivius used this same Nazireat (see p. 136). 136 lower-quality/more common/cheaper/humbler, the seamless white cloth. 131

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

57

hunting, 137 from sex, from scents; abstinence from obscene words, from quarrels, from brawls, from the display of hunting, both in action and in speech, from the trimming of the beard, from the shaving of the head and of the hairs of the body, from the trimming of nails, from the wearing of boots, of clothes, of a head-cover, 138 of stockings, 139 or of cloths soaked in dye bearing scent, unless perhaps the scent has faded. The second Farza is, keeping watch on mount Arafat, 140 as will be said below. The third is the procession around the Meccan temple for the sake of visiting it. The places called Mevakit, in which the pilgrims of various nations are gathered, are five: 1. Hulyfa; this place is seven miles from Mecca; it is assigned to people from Medina. 2. Zatark; for the Babylonians, Basrans, and those from Kufa; 141 3. Hugefa; for those from Damascus. 4. Karn; for those from Najd/Nejd, 142 5. Yelemlem; for those from Yemen. 143 Before they enter these places, though, they put aside their clothes covered in dust, they cover their bodies in pure and seamless garments, one of which is worn below the belt, the other one as a cloak, and they uncover their face and head: when a prayer of two Venatio means hunting and terrestris means earthly. The Latin phrase venatio terrestris in medieval Latin certainly did refer to hunting land animals, as opposed to fishing or falconry. In fact, pilgrims must refrain from hunting hurting or killing any animal, or aiding this even if only by pointing at an animal. 138 Not a common word in Latin—used to describe the head-dress of a Persian king in one ancient text. Men are not permitted to wear any head cover while in the state of purity. 139 Men cannot wear socks. stockings and shoes 140 This is a day of prayer. 141 Now merged with Najaf, which is the more familiar name from recent news. 142 In central Saudi Arabia. 143 The language that Barrow uses describes people’s origins, rather than the direction from which people are coming from to visit Mecca, but he has to have known better. Istanbul, of course, isn’t listed and he would have heard about people he met there going on the Hajj. 137

58

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

bowings has been completed, they recite this short prayer individually, God, God, surely I desire pilgrimage, and so make it favorable for me, and receive it from me: then he declares that he wishes to perform a pilgrimage, and says, Behold I am present, and I obey you, O my God; you have no companion; I stand ready to serve you/to act in accordance with your will, for praise and beneficence/kindness and reign/rule are yours 144 nor have you any companion: these words are repeated many times, especially after any prayers during the ascent of hills/mountains and the descent [into] valleys. Having entered Mecca, they proceed first to the Meccan temple, and when they have sighted it they exclaim, God is the greatest, and there is no divine spirit other than God: they go towards the black rock on the right side; this is that black rock, which Mahumetans revere with the greatest veneration, on account of the footprints of the feet of father Abraham, which, because he had continually/repeatedly/frequently mounted his mule/beast of burden from there and dismounted into it, appear imprinted: 145 therefore, approaching this stone, they place their hands upon it and kiss it fondly, if that can be done in the dense

Perett notes that “quia laus et beneficentia tua est, et regnum” has the same cadence, structure, position in prayer, and nearly the same content, as our “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory,” except in reverse order—regnum is kingdom, beneficentia is beneficence but could mean ability to do good things, so power, and laus means praise but also means the glory that people have when receiving praise. The prayer which pilgrims offer at the start of the pilgrimage is, “I am present, O Allah, I am here. There is no partner with you, I am present verily all praise and bounty is for You and the whole kingdom is yours. There is no partner with you” so Barrow is close (Ikram Ul Haq, Companion of Hajj, Bloomington, 2014, p. 43). Bobovius’ version is on p. 129 and has “Competitor” not “Companion.” 145 Various traditions exist about this such as that Abraham’s footprint miraculously appeared on the rock at he began to rebuild the Ka’abh or that he stood on the stone and left the imprint there. Not able to trace this particular legend. 144

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

59

crowd of people without someone being disturbed; 146 if not, they touch it with some other thing, and they kiss that thing: after this they perform a procession of arrival 147 around the temple: this procession is Sunna for who do not reside in Mecca; 148 it is begun from the right side of the gate behind a certain enclosure; 149 placing the cloak beneath the right armpit and throwing part of it over the left shoulder, they circle 150 it seven times; then run in a circle for the first three [times 151] quickly, indeed, but with little steps and shaking/ their shoulders, 152 and each time they touch that black rock, as has been said, and there they finish the procession: after this they complete two bowings in the place of Abraham, or it whatever part of the temple is pleasing [to them]; then they exit, and they climb mount Safa; where they turn themselves toward the temple, saying, God is greatest, and there is no other divine spirit other than God: and they lift their hands, and they pray for what they desire: after this they go toward mount Mervah, running, and they seek its peak, and they do the same as they did on mount Safa; and thus they hasten from one mount to the other seven times; they go back, in turn, to Mecca and perform processions as they wish. On the seventh day of the month a preacher gives a speech, and teaches the pilgrims how they must behave in Mecca; and he explains the ceremonies, the law, and the rite of sacrifice. On the eighth day

someone/anyone being troubled/annoyed/disturbed. Barrow has bonus adventus It is likely cognate to bienvenu and thus also to welcome. The first circuit of the Ka’bah is known as the welcome or arrival tawaf thus either arrival or welcome is appropriate. 148 Barrow has foreign/external/outside nations. This welcome circuit is performed by non-residents of Mecca. Reland’s translation of Bobivius uses “strangers” (p. 135) and “inhabitants.” 149 Pilgrims circumambulate the Ka’bah in an anti-clockwise direction. 150 Barrow has visit it/approach. 151 Barrow has visits/approaches. Times makes better sense. 152 Barrow has shaking/revolving. Most descriptions of this have shaking shoulders. However, pilgrims should not run or jump. 146 147

60

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

they go back into the valley Muna 153 and they remain there until the dawn of the ninth day: on the ninth day they go onto mount Arefat; there the teacher preaches again, and instructs the people up until the tenth day. On the tenth day they go again to the valley Muna; there they begin a sacred rite called Gemerat; 154 that is, early in the morning, when morning prayer has been prayed, they say God [is] the greatest; and with the throwing of rocks or pebbles held by two fingers they curse Satan as though accusing him, and they ward him off and then they keep silent 155 that prayer Lebbeike, 156 and they sacrifice sheep, camels, cows, if they wish, they cut their hair, and more precisely they shave: from the aforementioned abstinence (other than that from sex) the Nazireates are absolved: after the rising of the sun the perform a procession of visitation, 157 and then they are permitted to come together with women. On the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth days they remain in that valley, and they throw the aforementioned stones, first three times, then seven times, now this occurs every day. On the last day, they return to Mecca; and those from outside Mecca go around the temple as a sign of farewell: residents of Mecca, though, head home; they kiss the boundary of the temple; they place their face and chest upon the Multezem, 158 the place between the entrance and the black rock, they take hold of the covering of the temple, and holding on to it for an hour, they pray with suppliant words, they wail, they groan, and walking backward they exit from the temple: whoever, though, has not stayed 159 during a whole day on mount Arefat does not obtain the merit of pilgrimage: because Mina. Jamrāt, the three walls at which pilgrims throw pebbles. 155 There is an asterisk as a note in the printed version though it is unclear what this signifies. 156 Labbayka, “Here I am” used in prayer. 157 The farewell circuit of the Ka’bah. 158 Al-Multazam. 159 stopped/stayed/remained/paused. 153 154

3. ANNOTATED TRANSLATION

61

of this, when the procession has been completed he lays aside 160 Ihram, and in the coming year he renews the pilgrimage again. 161 Mahumetans believe that souls, just like bodies, are held162 in the tomb, until the day of final judgement; that an angel named Munker, bearing 163 a massive, heavy cudgel, along with Nekir, another angel, comes immediately to those who have been buried, and asks the dead about four things: 1. Who is your God? 2. Who is your prophet? 3. What is your faith? 4. What is your Guide? 164 To these questions, those who have consistently professed the faith of Mahumet, reply unafraid, My God is that one who created me; my prophet is Muhamed; my faith is Islam, that is, Mahumetan, (just as/as though Salvation;) 165 my direction is Caba, that is, the temple of Mecca. The others, who are outside of this faith, overcome with supreme terror on account of the extraordinary size of the angels, they will acknowledge the inquiring angel in place of God; for this cause they will struck with the cudgel, and they will be tormented by the shrinking of their tomb; but the faithful will rest peacefully, 166 and through a little window opened to them in the heavens, they will gaze at all the things that are done there, and thus await for the last day. The soul of Mahumet is also preserved in lays aside/casts off/removes. The pilgrimage is a once a life time obligations provided the pilgrim can afford to perform it so it is not correct that they begin this again the following year. 162 hidden/placed/held. 163 wielding/bearing. 164 direction/aiming/alignment/guidance. “What is your Guide”” is usually used for the fourth question. 165 Odd that this occurs in parentheses in the way that it does. If intended to go with what precedes it, it could serve to give the adjective Mahumetana a noun to modify. Muslims answer the fourth question, “My faith is Islam.” 166 Unbelievers’ tombs will become constricted while those of believers will expand for their comfort. 160 161

62

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

a tomb; for he rejected the heaven that had been offered to him, unwilling to possess it without his faithful; all other souls of Mahumetans will follow this soul as [their] leader to heavenly glory.

CHAPTER 4. SIGNIFICANCE OF BARROW’S LEGACY Was Barrow totally opposed to Islam, which Birchwood says he detested, or was his position more complex? Did he separate the task of objectively describing what he learnt about Muslim belief and practice from that of preaching to a Christian congregation, when he conformed much more closely to their expectations? The sermon, in fact, represents a more public statement on Islam than Epitome, which was unpublished at the time when the sermon was preached and which would have been read by very few members of the College. A reviewer of Napier’s 1859 edition of Barrow’s collected works describes Epitome as ‘perhaps even to this day the best existing short account of the faith and practice of the Turkish Mohammedans. 1 The conundrum of understanding Barrow’s attitude toward Islam may remain unresolved. Modifying their sermons in ways that do not offend their hearers but which does not wholly conform with their actual views is not altogether unusual for theologians and Bible scholars who move from desk to pulpit. Bennett admits to doing this! The very complexity, indeed, ambiguity, of Barrow’s legacy signals the difficulty Islam holds for Christians. On the one hand, they may develop a positive appreciation of Muḥammad or Muslim beliefs and practice, while on the Quarterly Review 127, July–Oct 1868, p. 191; cited in Osmond, Isaac Barrow, p. 66.

1

63

64

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

other they are confronted with its rejection of basic Christian doctrines. Struggling with this may result in what appears to be inconsistent when writing on Islam. Comparison of the Latin Epitome, which presents Muslim belief objectively, and the hostile, pejorative depiction of Islam in Sermon XIV and the ‘Exposition’ is indeed perplexing. Of the two, the sermon was the more public, preached to students in the College as well as to other Fellows, while the essay was sent back to the College as part of Barrow’s scholarly obligations while he was on his travel bursary. Even if the difference could be explained by a change in Barrow’s thinking between writing the essay and preaching the sermon, Barrow clearly did not think that Muslims were automatically excluded from enjoying God’s grace. Exactly how he saw Islam may be more difficult to determine. One account could almost be described as a modern scientific study of religions or empathetic approach that reproduces insider beliefs without evaluative commentary. Perhaps that was the task that Barrow set himself in his Latin essay, while offering a Christian or theological interpretation of Islam in the more explicitly Christian setting of a chapel service was the sermon’s intent. Certainly, Christians can understand what Muslims believe about Islam’s divine origin while personally regarding Islam as a construct that drew on existing scriptural and other sources. A Christian, too, can affirm Muḥammad’s sincerity, even that he was divinely inspired, without also accepting the Muslim account of the Qur’ân as revelation. Sermon XIV and Barrow’s treatment of Islam in his ‘Exposition’ are too hostile to allow the conclusion that he saw anything admirable in its origins. Yet he could also produce an account of Islam in the 17th century that resembles a modern, faith-neutral approach, which arguably makes his work pioneering. So does his anticipation of Karl Rahner’s theology of religion. He employed some similar vocabulary about universal salvation, grace and, without using the actual term, implicit faith (he did use the term explicit). The very complexity and ambiguity of Barrow’s position is itself significant for Christian-Muslim relations.

4. SIGNIFICANCE OF BARROW’S LEGACY

65

A Christian theologian who articulates exactly what Muslims believe faces the task of unravelling apparent contradictions, including: is God one or three in one, did Jesus die on the cross, is the Bible corrupt, is Jesus the son of God? Barrow admitted a degree of perplexity when contemplating God’s universal salvific will, advising his readers not to waste effort ‘debating how that grace is imparted’. 2 Pailin observes that Barrow’s ‘recognition of the universal scope of God's providence does not lead him as far as Lord Herbert of Cherbury (d. 1648) (for whom “natural religion” might be wholly sufficient for “eternal salvation”) but it does allow him to accept the good part of other religions’. 3 Short of converting to Islam, a Christian who was well-informed on Islam and able, as Barrow was, to describe the Muslim Articles of Belief without negative comment, will still interpret Islam differently when engaged in Christian theological thinking.

2 3

Works, Vol 3, 1692, p. 404. Pailin, Attitudes, p. 35; see p. 24 on Cherbury.

CHAPTER 5. EXTRACTS FROM “OF THE IMPIETY

AND IMPOSTURE OF PAGANISM AND MAHOMETANISM” AND FROM “EXPOSITION OF THE CREED” 1

…[paganism] was ancienter in standing but there hath even since Christianity started up another, Mahometanism which if not upon other accounts, yet in respect to its age, and to the part it bears in the world, demands some consideration; for it hath continued a long time, and hath vastly over-spread the earth: neither is it more formidable in its looks, than peremptory in his words; wanting itself to be no less than a complete, a general, an ultimate declaration of God's pleasure, cancelling and voiding all others that have gone before. But examining both the substance and circumstances thereof, considering the quality of the instruments by whom, of the times when, it was introduced of the places where, of the people who first, or afterward did receive it; the manner of its rise, progress and continuance; as also the matter it teaches, or injoins; we shall not find slumped on it the genuine characters of a divine original and authority; but have great reason to deem it a brood of most lewd and impudent cozenage. In times of great disturbance and confusion, when barbarous nations, like torrents, did over-flow the world, 1

Fs have been changed to Ss. Original spelling retained.

67

68

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

and turned all things upside down 5 in times of general corruption and disorder in men’s minds and manners, when even among Christians ignorance and superstition, dissension and uncharitableness, impiety and iniquity did greatly prevail; in a very blind and obscure corner of the earth, among a crew of wild thieves and runagates (such have those Arabians been always famed and known to be) this Sect had its birth and fosterage; among those fierce and savage over-runners of the world it got its growth and stature 5 into this fort of people (being indeed in its constitution well accommodated to their humour and genius) it was partly insinuated by jugling tricks, partly driven by seditious violence; the first Authour hereof being a person, according to the description given of him in their own Legends, of no honest, or honourable qualities, but having all the marks of an Impostour; rebellious and perfidious, inhumane and cruel, lewd and lascivious, of abase education, of a fraudulent and turbulent disposition, of a vicious life, pretending to enthusiasms, and working of wonders; but these such as were both in their nature absurd and incredible, and for their use vain and unprofitable: at such a season, and in such a soil, by such means, and by such a person (abetted by Associates like himself, whom his arts, or their interests had inveagled to join with him) was this Religion first planted; And for its propagation it had that great advantage of falling in the way of barbarous people, void of learning and civility, and not prepossessed with other notions or any sense of Religion; who thence (as mankind is naturally susceptive of religious impressions) were capable. We and apt to admit any Religion first offering itself, especially one so gross as this was, so agreeable to their furious humours and lusts. Afterward being furnished with such Champions, it diffused itself by rage and terrour of arms; convincing mens minds only by the sword, and using no other arguments but blows. Upon the fame grounds of ignorance and force, it still subsists; neither offering for, nor taking against itself any reason; refuting all examination, and upon extreme penalties forbidding any dispute about its truth; being indeed so far (whether out of judgment or fatal instinct) wise, as conscious to its self, or foreboding, that the letting in of a little light, and a moderate liberty of discussing its

5. EXTRACTS

69

pretences would easily overthrow it. Now that Divine wisdom should chuse those black and boisterous times to publish his will is, as if the King should purposely order his Proclamations to be made in a tempestuous night, when no man scarce dared to stir out, nor any man could well fee what was done, or hear what was said; much fitter surely to that purpose were a serene and calm day; a time of general civility and peace, like that of Augustus Caesar. That the declaration of God's mind should issue from the desarts of Arabia (that den of robbers) is as if the King should cause his Edicts to be set up in the blindest and dirtiest nook of the Suburbs ; the Market-cross surely, or the Exchange (the place of most general and ordinary concourse) such as, in respect: to the world, was the flourishing Empire of Rome, were more convenient, and wifely chosen for that purpose : that passing over the more gentle and tradable part of his people, a Prince should send his laws to a rabble of Banditti; should pick out for his messenger a most dissolute Varlet; 2 attended with a crew of desperate ruffians, resolved to buffet and rifle all they met 5 were an odd way of proceeding: To communicate his pleasure unto the better and more orderly sort of people (such as were the subjects of that well governed Empire) by persons of good meaning, mild disposition, and innocent behaviour, (such as were the Apostles of our Lord) in a quiet and gentle manner (such as these only used) would surely better become a worthy Prince: Thus even the exteriour circumstances of Mahometanism (both absolutely and in comparison) belonging to its rife, its growth, its continuance (so full of indecency, of iniquity, of inhumanity) ground strong presumptions against its divinity; or, rather plainly demonstrate, that it could not proceed from God, whose truth cannot need such instruments, or such courses to maintain it, whose goodness certainly abhors them. But farther, if we look into the matter and inward frame thereof, we shall find it a mass of absurd opinions, odd stories, and uncouth cerBarrow used this in its earlier meaning of a dishonest, unprincipled man rather than in its later meaning of a male attendant or servant.

2

70

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

emonies compounded chiefly of the dregs of Christian Heresies, together with some ingredients of Judaism and Paganism confusedly jumbled, or unskilfully tempered together. From Christian Heresies it seems to have derived its negative Doctrines, opposite to Christianity 5 as for instance, when allowing Christ much respect, it yet denies his being the Son of God; and that he did really Suffer; rejecting his true story, it affixes false ones upon him: as also some positive ones; for example, that unreasonable opinion, so much mis-beseeming God, that God hath a body (Mahomet forsooth once touched his hand, and felt it very cold) might be drawn from the Anthropomorphites; that Doctrine concerning the fatal determination of all events (so prejudicial to all religion, subverting the foundations of justice between God and man, man’s free choice in serving God, God's free disposal of rewards suitable to mens actions) they probably borrowed from the Manichees, a Sect that much obtained in those Eastern parts. The Jew contributed his ceremonies of Circumcision and frequent purgations by warning, his abstinence from swines flesh, his allowance of polygamy and divorce: I might add that perhaps from him they filcht [sic] that proud inhumane, and uncivil humour of monopolizing divine favour and good-will to themselves; so of restraining their own kindness and respect to persons of their profession, or sect: condemning, despising, and hating all the world beside themselves; calling all others dogs, and adjudging all to certain damnation; and which is more, affirming, that all of their belief, how wicked forever their lives have been, shall at length assuredly partake of salvation; so partial do they make Almighty God, so addicted to a mere name and outward shew; feigning him as in shape, so in passions humane and like themselves. Indeed in this main part of religion, a true notion of God, his nature, his attributes, his method of providence, their doctrine is very peccant, representing him in his nature and actions very unworthily. Their descriptions concerning the state of men after death (that main and principal part of Religion, which gives life and vigour to the rest) whence can we better deduce its original, than from the Pagan notions or stories of Elysium and Hades; what better pattern can we find, whence that paradise of corpo-

5. EXTRACTS

71

real delight, or rather of brutish sensuality, should be transcribed, which any man fees how poor an encouragement it is, how unworthy a reward to virtue; yea, how much it is apt to detract from, to discourage all performances of reason and honesty. The like we might fay of the punishments (which in due correspondence to the rewards they propound) they only or chiefly inflict upon the body; the main part, it seems, of which a Mahometan man consists. And must he not be very stupid, who can suffer himself to be persuaded, that such conceits (conceits favourable indeed to pleasure, and indulgent to the flesh, but contrary to vertue, prejudicial to the spirit and reason of man) should come from the God of wisdom and holiness. Farther, how Mahomet was inspired, his stories alone will evince; stories patched up out of old histories corrupted, mangled and transplaced; interlarded with fabulous Legends, contrary to all probable records of hi- story (the names, places, times, and all the circumstances whereof he most unskilfully changes and confounds) yea repugnant to the nature and possibility of things; so that in a manner every tale he tells is an evident argument of an ignorant, arid an impudent Impostour; And he that blunders and falsifies about matters of Faith, who will trust him in matters of right and reason? which things, if it were worth the while, might by various instances be shewed; and you may everywhere receive satisfaction therein. The like might be said concerning its multitude of silly ceremonies, grounded on no reasonable design, nor subservient to any purpose of vertue; the institution whereof no man therefore without injury to the divine wisdom can impute thereto. But I shall onely add two farther considerations upon this matter: One ; that whatever is good or plausible in this Religion (such as are some precepts of justice and charity, although these confined among themselves) may reasonably be supposed taken from Christianity, which being seniour in standing may (in points wherein both agree) well go for the mistress; and however that upon the score of such doctrines or laws; we have no reason to think this Religion came from God; for why should he reveal that again, which in a larger extent, upon better grounds, with more advantage he had declared before; which also then was commonly embraced and acknowledged? I also

72

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

observe, that this Religion by its own free concessions doth evidently destroy its self: for it admits Christianity once to have been a true doctrine, proceeding from and attested to by God: but Christianity did ever declare itself to be a general, perpetual, perfect and immutable Rule of faith and practice; that never any accessions thereto, any alterations thereof ought to be made or admitted; that whatever spirit (coming after it) should offer to innovate, or pretend to new discoveries contrary to, or different from it, must be suspected of delusion; foretelling and forewarning against such endeavours that should appear, as fallacious and mischievous: this it appears (by the Writings of those, who first planted Christianity; Writings, which no man in his wits can question to be theirs; being through a continual uninterrupted course of times, from the beginning, by general consent of both friends and adversaries acknowledged and attested to as so; all characters within them imaginably proper for that purpose confirming the same; as also by the current tradition of their disciples immediate and mediate, extant in records unquestionable; and by all other means conceivable) this, I fay, it most plainly appears was one grand doctrine and pretence of Christianity at first, which the Mahometans acknowledging originally true and divine in the gross, must consequently grant itself to be an Imposture. And thus much seems sufficient to demonstrate that Religion not to be of a divine extraction. I shall next proceed to consider the pretences of Judaism ….

FROM “EXPOSITION OF THE CREED”

As for Mahometanism, a sect in later times sprung up and vastly spread about the world; neither can that fairly pretend to a Divine original : in times of great disturbance and confusion in the world, (when even among Christians ignorance and dissension, superstition and viciousness of manners had hugely prevailed,) in a very blind corner of the earth, among a crew of barbarous thieves and wild runagates, (such have those Arabians been always famed to be,) this sect did first arise; being accommodated to the genius of such people, and infused into them, partly by juggling pretences to wonder-working and prophecy, partly by

5. EXTRACTS

73

seditious violence; by a person not, as their own legends describe him, of any honourable qualities; but having all the characters of an impostor, (rebellious and perfidious, inhuman and cruel, lewd and lascivious;) propagated it was afterwards by rage and terror of arms, and grew wholly among barbarous people, void of learning and civility; having no Religion before, and therefore (as all mankind is naturally receptive of religious impressions) capable to admit any, especially such an one as this, agreeable to their savage humours and lusts; it subsists upon the same grounds of ignorance and force, refusing all examination, and upon extreme penalties prohibiting any dispute or controversy about its truth; being so far wise, as conscious to itself, that the letting in a little light, and a moderate liberty of discussing its pretences would easily overthrow it. Even these exterior circumstances of its rise, growth, and continuance, (so full of iniquity and inhumanity,) are great presumptions against its Divinity, or rather plainly demonstrate, that it did not proceed from God; whose truth cannot need such courses, whose goodness abhors them: and if we look into it, we shall find it to be a lump of absurd opinions, odd stories, and uncouth ceremonies, compounded chiefly of the dregs of Christian heresies, with some ingredients of Judaism and Paganism, confusedly jumbled and tempered together: from Christian heresies it hath its negative doctrines opposite to Christianity; for allowing Christ much respect, it yet denies his being the Son of God, and his having really suffered; it rejects his true story, and affixes false ones upon him; that God hath a body and a human shape, (Mahomet felt his hand forsooth, and it was very cold,) an opinion so unreasonable and misbeseeming God, he might draw from the Anthropomorphites; and from the Manichees that doctrine concerning the fatal determination of all events; a doctrine so prejudicial to Religion, taking away those foundations of justice between God and man; man's free choice in serving God, and God's free disposal of rewards to men, suitable to their actions. The Jew contributed his ceremonies of circumcision, and purgations by washing; his abstinence from swine's flesh; his allowance of polygamy and divorce. I might add, that from him it borrowed its inhuman condemning, despising, and hating all the world;

74

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

calling all men dogs, (beside themselves,) and adjuring all to certain damnation; affirming withal, that all of their belief, how wickedly soever they have lived, shall at length partake of salvation. The pagan Elysium might be a pattern, whence their paradise of corporeal delight and brutish sensuality might be transcribed; which any man sees how poor an encouragement it is, how unworthy a reward to virtue; yea, how much it rather detracts from and discourages all performances of honesty and reason. He must be very stupid, who can suffer himself to be persuaded, that these conceits did come from the God of holiness and wisdom. And how Mahomet was inspired with truth, his stories alone would evince; stories patched out of old histories corrupted, mutilated, and transplaced, interlarded with fabulous legends; contrary to all probable records of history, (the persons, places, times, and all circumstances of which it most unskilfully confounds,) yea, repugnant to the nature of things, and to all imaginable possibility; evident arguments both of an ignorant and impudent impostor: he that will lie or blunder about matters of fact, who can trust him in matters of right and reason? All which (if time would permit, and it were worth the while) might by manifold instances be shewed. I might add its multitude of silly ceremonies, grounded on no reasonable design, nor subservient to any purpose of virtue. But what is said doth enough declare this Religion to be of no Divine extraction, …

REFERENCES BY ISAAC BARROW

S.S. Theologiæ Professoris Opuscula: viz. determinationes, conc. ad clerum, orationes, poemata, &c. [Works, Volume 4], ed. John Tillotson and Abraham Hill, London: Brabazon Aylmer, 1687, ‘Epitome,’ pp. 173–85. The Works of the Learned Isaac Barrow, ed. John Tillotson and Abraham Hill, Volume 2, London: Brabazon Aylmer, 1683, 2nd ed 1886, 2nd ed corrected 1700, ‘Sermon XIV,’ pp. 197– 204. The Works of the Learned Isaac Barrow, ed. John Tillotson and Abraham Hill, London: James Round, Jacob Tonson, and William Taylor, 1716, Volume 2, ‘Sermon XIV,’ pp. 151–6, (further editions in 1722, 1747 with various paginations). The Theological Works, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1818, vol. 4, ‘Sermon,’ pp. 314–25. 1830, Volume 8, ‘Epitome,’ pp. 145–68. The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow, ed. Thomas Smart Hughes, London: A.J. Valpy, 1830, vol. 5 ‘Sermon XIV,’ pp. 322–5. The Sermons & Expository Treatise of Isaac Barrow, ed. James Hamilton, Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson, 1839, repr. London, 1845, 1852, 1861, Vol. 2. ‘Sermon XIV,’ pp. 204–9. The Works of Isaac Barrow, ed. John Tilotson, Abraham Hill and James Hamilton, New York: J.C. Riker, 1845, Volume 2, ‘Sermon XIV,’ pp. 316–322. 75

76

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

The Theological Works of Isaac Barrow, ed. Alexander Napier, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1859 (repr. Whitefish MT, 2009),” Vol. 5, ‘Sermon XIV,’ pp. 411–26, Vol 9, ‘Epitome,’ pp. 386–410.

WORKS CONSULTED

Almond, Philip C. Heretic and hero: Muhammad and the Victorians. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1989. Bennett, Clinton. ‘Isaac Barrow,’ in Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Volume 8, ed. David Thomas and John Chesworth, Leiden: Brill, 2016, pp. 496–505. Bennett, Clinton, ‘Henry Stubbe,’ Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Volume 8, ed. David Thomas and John Chesworth. Leiden: Brill, pp. 472–484. Bennett, Clinton. ‘Alexander Ross, Hugh Ross, Thomas Ross,’ Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History Volume 8, ed. David Thomas and John Chesworth, Leiden: Brill, 2016, pp. 292–323. Bennett, Clinton. “John Tolland,’ in Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History, Volume 13, ed. David Thomas and John Chesworth. Leiden: Brill, 2019, pp. 118–127. Rothman, E. Natalie. Brokering empire: trans-imperial subjects between Venice and Istanbul, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016. Deringil, Selim. Conversion and apostasy in the late Ottoman Empire, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Dergisi, T.R. ‘Traditional Turkish Archery,’ Yunus Emre Institute, Washington, DC, http://trdergisi.com/en/traditionalturkish-archery/ accessed June 6 2019. Feingold, Mordechai, ‘Decline and Fall Arabic Science in Seventeenth Century England,’ in F. Jamil Ragep, Sally P. Ragep, and Steven Livesey, Tradition, transmission, transformation: proceedings of two conferences on pre-modern science held at

REFERENCES

77

the University of Oklahoma. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1966, pp. 441–470. Feingold, Mordechai, ‘Isaac Barrow and the foundation of the Lucasian professorship,’ in Kevin C. Know and Richard Noakes (eds), From Newton to Hawking. A history of Cambridge University's Lucasian professors of mathematics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 45–68. Feingold, Mordechai, ‘Barrow, Isaac (1630–1677),’ in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, Volume 4, pp. 98–102. Feingold, Mordechai, Before Newton. The life and times of Isaac Barrow, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Forster, Charles, Mahometanism Unveiled, 2 Volumes. London, J. Duncan, 1829. Graf, Tobias P. The Sultan’s renegades: Christian-European converts to Islam and the making of the Ottoman elite, 1575–1610, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Hill, Abraham, ‘Some Account of the Life of Dr. Isaac Barrow,’ in Works of the Learned Isaac Barrow, ed. John Tillotson and Abraham Hill, Volume 1, London: Brabazon Aylmer, 1683, sig Av – Dv (1818 ed, pp. xxxvii–liv, 1830 ed.). Hughes, Thomas Smart. ‘Biographical Memoir of Dr. Isaac Barrow,’ The Works of Dr Isaac Barrow, London: A.J. Valpy, 1830, Volume 1, pp. ix–xc. Matar, Nabil and Henry Stubbe. Henry Stubbe and the Beginnings of Islam: The Originall & Progress of Mahometanism, New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. Murad, Abdal-Hakim, ‘Ward the Pirate,’ 2003, http://www.themodernreligion.com/ht/ward-thepirate.html accessed June 6 2019. Osmond, Percy Herbert, Isaac Barrow, his life and times, London: SPCK, 1944.

78

PROMISE, PREDICAMENT AND PERPLEXITY

Overton, John Henry, ‘Barrow, Isaac (1630–1777)’, in Dictionary of National Biography, London: Smith, Elder & Co, 1885, Vol. 3, pp. 299–305. Pailin, David A. Attitudes to other religions: comparative religion in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Britain. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984. Purchas, Samuel. Purchas his Pilgrimage ... The second edition ... enlarged, etc. MS. notes. London: H. Fetherston, 1614. Quinn, Frederick. The sum of all heresies: the image of Islam in Western thought. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Ross, Alexander. Pansebeia, or, A view of all religions in the world: with the several church-governments, from the creation, till these times. Also, a discovery of all known heresies, in all ages and places: and choice observations and reflections throughout the whole, London: Gillyflower,1606, 6th ed. Smith, Thomas. Remarks upon the manners, religion and government of the Turks together with a survey of the seven churches of Asia, as they now lye in their ruines, and a brief description of Constantinople, London: Moses Pitt, 1678. Toomer, Gerald. J. Eastern wisedome and learning: the study of Arabic in seventeenth-century England. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. Venn, John and J. A. Venn, ‘Barrow, Isaac,’ Alumni Cantabrigienses, part one, Volume one, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922, p. 98. White, Joseph, Sermons Preached Before the University of Oxford, in the Year 1784, Oxford, D. Prince and J. Cooke, 1st ed, 1784, 2nd ed, 1785.