CHAPTER 5

SOME THINGS IN THE KORAN AND TRADITION DERIVED FROM ANCIENT ZOROASTRIAN AND HINDU BELIEFS.

We learn from Arabian and Greek historians that previous to Mohammed’s birth, and during his life, many parts of the Peninsula were ruled over by Persian kings. For example, Kesra Nousherwan having sent an army to Hira put down Harith the king, and in his room placed the subservient Mandzar on the throne. He also sent an army to Yemen, and having expelled the Abyssinian invaders, restored the old king, whose progeny followed him in the government of the land. Abulfeda tells us that "the family of Mandzar, and race of Nasr son of Rabia, were the Kesra's governors over the Arabs of Irac"; also that after the Himyarites, "there were four Abyssinian governors of Yemen, and eight Persians, and then it became ruled over by Islam." It is clear, then, that both in the time of Mohammed and previously, the Persians had constant intercourse with Arabia; and being incomparably more learned than its ignorant people, must have had an important influence on their religion, on their customs, and on their knowledge at large. Both history and Koranic commentaries show that the tales and songs of Iran were spread abroad among the tribes of Arabia. Thus Ibn Hisham tells us that in the days of the Prophet, stories of Rustem, Isfandiyar, and the ancient kings of Persia, were not only current at Medina, but that some of the Quresh used delightedly to compare them with the similar tales in the Koran. He adds as follows:-

The Prophet of the Lord, when he sat in the assembly, used to pray there to the Almighty, read to them from the Koran, and warn the Quresh of what in times past had happened to the unbelieving nations. It so came to pass that one day after he had left, Nadhr son of Al Harith came in and·told them stories of the great Rustem and of Isfandiyar and the kings of Persia. Then he said, "I swear by the Lord, that the stories of Mohammed are not better than my own; they are nothing but tales of the past which he hath written out, just as I have written mine out." Then descended this passage:--

" They say these are fables of the ancients which he hath caused to be written down, dictated by him morning and evening. Say, He hath revealed the some who knoweth the sacred things in heaven and earth; verily he is gracious and mercilul. (Surah 25.6-7) ...When our verses are recited unto him, he saith, - Fables of the ancients.(Surah 68.15) Woe unto every lying and wicked one that heareth the verses of God read unto him, then proudly resisteth, as if he heard them not; wherefore denounce unto him a fearful punishment. (Surah 45. vs.6-7) A

These stories of Rustem, isfandiyar, and other ancient kings of Persia, are similar to what Ferdosi, some centuries after the Prophet, turned into song in his Shahnama. Certainly as the Arabs used to read of the ancient sovereigns, they could not have been ignorant of stories such as those of Jamshid, the ascent of Ahriman out of darkness, Art Viraf, the bridge Chinavad, and such like. Our object is by careful search to ascertain whether these stories and the like had any effect on the Koran and Hadith. We are sure that they had; and that Persian tales and doctrines form one of the Sources of Moslem faith. Many also of the stories, literary, imaginative, and religious, were not confined to Iran, but were current among the Hindus in India, and spread abroad amongst the people traveling by Herat and Merve, and so westward. It will be asked what our proof of all this is; and we propose accordingly to quote some passages from the Koran and Hadith, and then to compare these with what may be found in ancient Zoroastrian and Hindu writings.

1. The Miraj: The Ascent to Heaven

We begin with the ascent,- Miraj-of the Prophet. The following account of it is in

Surah 17.1- Praise be to him who transported his servant by night from the Sacred temple (of Mecca) to the farther Temple (Jerusalem) the surroundings of which we have blessed, that we might shew him some of our signs, for he is both the hearing and the seeing One. In the interpretation of this verse the greatest difference has prevailed. Thus Ibn Ishac gives this account from Ayesha:-- "The body of the Prophet did not disappear, but the Lord carried off his soul by night."(Sirat al Rasul) Tradition also tells us that the Prophet himself said:- "Mine eyes slept, but my heart was awake."' Mohee ood Deen is of the same opinion; writing of the Ascent and Night Journey, he says, in explanation of the above passage:-

Praised be he that transported his servant; that is, released him from material surroundings, and caused a spiritual separa

tion without any change of the body. By night, i.e. in darkness surrounding the physical frame; for the ascent could only be carried out spiritually through the inner senses of the body. From the holy Masjid; that is, from the center of a sacred heart, free from bodily corruption and sensual coverings. To the further Masjid; that is, the fountain of the spirit, far removed from the corporeal world, and close to the manifestation of the Almighty's glory, in order that he might the better understand that which, We might shew him some of our signs, even if they be within the heart, which can only be done in all their glory and grandeur by spiritual discernment within the soul; namely, that we can shew him of our Nature and perfection.

Hence, if we accept the above, together with the witness of Ayesha, and what the Prophet himself is reported to have said, - the ascent was not in body, but in spirit. But the view of others is altogether different. Thus Ibn Ishac tells us that, according to what Mohammed said, Gabriel awoke him twice; but he went to sleep again:-

And he came to me the third time, and made me stand up and go with him to the gate of the Mosque, where, lo! there was a white steed, in appearance between a pony and an ass. Then with his hand he helped me upon it, neither of us preceding the other. (Then follows a quotation from Cotada.) The Prophet said: When I tried to mount on Burac he became refractory; then Gabriel touched his mane and said: Burac, "knowest thou what thou art doing? for, by the Lord ! no servant of the God hath ever mounted thee more blessed from

heaven than Mohammed." Whereupon Burac became so ashamed that sweat poured like water from him. Then he stood still, and I mounted him. After that (Hasan tells us) the Prophet went forward and Gabriel with him, till they reached the Holy temple at Jerusalem, and there found Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, with a company of Prophets, -- whom the Prophet led in prayer. Then were brought two vases, in one was wine and in the other milk. So the blessed Prophet took that with milk, and

drank of it, and left the vase of wine alone. Then Gabriel said:-- Guide unto temperance, and teach thy people so, O Mohammed, far wine is forbidden unto you. Then the Prophet returned to Mecca; and in the morning, meeting the Quareish, he told them all that happened. "By the Lord!" said the people, "what a marvellous thing. It takes our caravans a whole month to reach Syria from this, and a whole month to return; yet Mohammed has gone it all in a single night, and in the same returned!"(Sirat Ibn Hisham)

The following is another account given by the Prophet of his night Journey, as heard by Cotada:-

While I was asleep, lo one came to me, close as the hair is to the skin, and took out my heart. Be then brought a golden vase filled with Faith, in which my heart was placed, and my stomach cleansed in the water of Zemzem, so that I was filled with Faith and Wisdom. Thereupon Gabriel mounted me upon Burac (as in the previous account), and having carried me upwards to the Lowest heaven called out to open the gate. "Who is this?" one cried. -- It is Gabriel. And who is with thee' -- It is Mohammed. Was he summoned?-- O yes! was Gabriel's answer. Then welcome to him; how good it is that he hath come. And so he opened the gate. Entering, Gabriel said, Here is thy father Adam, make thy salutation to him. So I made to him my salaam, and he returned it to me; on which he said, Welcome to an excellent son and to an excellent Prophet. Then Gabriel took me up to the Second heaven, and lo there were John (the Baptist) and Jesus. In the Third heaven there was Joseph; in the Fourth Idrees; in the Fifth Aaron; and in the Sixth Moses. As he returned the salutation of the Prophet, Moses wept, and on being asked the reason said: "I mourn because more of the people of him that was sent after me do enter Paradise than of mine." Then we ascended the Seventh heaven;- This is thy father Abraham, said Gabriel, and salutation was made as before. At the last we made the final ascent, where there were beautiful fruits and leaves like the ears of an elephant. This, said Gabriel, is the last heaven; and lo! four rivers, two within, and two without. What are these, O Gabriel, I asked' -- Those within, he said, are the rivers of Paradise; and those seen without, are the Nile and the Euphrates. Then a dwelling-place was prepared for me; and then they brought me vessels of wine and milk and honey. So I took the milk, and he said, This is food for thee and thy people. (Mishkat al Masabih)

Much more of the same kind of Moslem stories, as of Adam wailing, etc., might be given; but enough and to spare has been quoted for comparison with the Sources which follow, from which it has all been derived.

And First as to Mohammed's Miraj or Ascent to heaven. We begin with a Pehlavi book called Arta Viraf namak, written in the days of Ardashir, some four hundred years before the Hegira. We are there told that, the Zoroastrian faith fading away, the Magi of Persia sought to revive it in the people's hearts, by sending a Zoroastrian or the above name up to heaven, with the view of bringing down tidings of what was going on there. This messenger ascended from one heaven to another, and having seen it all, was commanded by Ormazd to return to the earth, and tell it to his people. The result is contained in the above named book, of which we shall briefly quote a few passages, freely translated, to shew how far the Moslem account corresponds with the imaginary details below:-

Our first advance upwards was to the Lower heaven;..... and there we saw the Angel of those Holy Ones, giving

forth a flaming, light, brilliant and lofty. And I asked Sarosh the holy and Azar the angel:--"What is this place; and these, who are they?" ..... We are then told that Arta these, who are they?" ..... We are then told that Arta ascended similarly to the Second and Third heavens, and to many others beyond. 1

Rising from a gold-covered throne, Bahman the Archangel led me on, till he and I met Ormazd with a company of angels and heavenly leaders, all adorned so brightly that I had never seen the like before. My leader said: This is Ormazd. I sought to salaam to him, and he said he was glad to welcome me from the passing world to that bright and undefiled place. Then he bade Sarosh and the Fire-angel to shew me the blessed place prepared for the holy, and that also for the punishment of the wicked. After which they carried me along till I beheld the Archangels and the other Angels.

At the last, says Arta, my Guide and the Fire-angel having shewed me Paradise, took me down to Hell; and from that dark and dreadful place, carried me upward to a beautiful spot where were Ormazd and his company of angels. I desired to salute him, on which he graciously said:-- "Arta Viraf, go thou to the material world; thou hast seen and now knowest Ormazd, for I am he; whosoever is true and righteous, him I know." When Ormazd began thus to speak, I became confused in mind, because I saw a brilliant light but no appearance of a body, and forthwith I perceived the unseen must be Ormazd himself.

There is no doubt a singular resemblance between the ascent of this Magian messenger, and that also told of Mohammed, to the heaven above. In the fabulous Zerdashtnama there is also an account of Zoroaster having ages before ascended to the heavens, after having received permission to visit hell, where he found Ahriman (the devil). It is remarkable that similar tales are not confined to Persia, but extend to India, where they are recorded in the Sanskrit poems Thus Arjuna was shewn over the heavens, and there saw Indra's palace, its garden with rivers and fruits, and a tree of which if one eats, he never dies, but live s in delight and enjoy s all hi s heart de sire s. 2.Many such tales are to be found not only in Zoroastrian books, but also in works of heretical Christian sects, such as "The Testament Of Abraham" already noticed. The Apostle is there said to have ascended, at the bidding of one of the Cherubim, to the heavens, and there to have seen all the sights around him. Of Abraham also we have the following account: The Archangel Michael having descended to the earth, took Abraham in a Cherub's car, raised him aloft on the cloud, with sixty angels; and from the same car shewed him the whole world beneath.This is no doubt the origin of the Burac (ethereal horse) tradition;--something like which is to be found in the book of Enoch, where also is notice of the heavenly tree, and the four rivers of Paradise. The Jews hold that the Tree of Life in Eden is so high as to take five hundred years to reach its top 3 , and tell us numberless other stories of a similar kind.

The Moslems believe that the Garden of Eden was In the heavens above, an idea taken from many of these fictitious writings, specially that called "Visio Pauli." Perhaps also such stories may have been derived from Zoroastrian or Hindu sources, or these from them; at any rate they are altogether imaginary. If it be asked whether there is any foundation for such tales, the answer must be that there is none whatever, They may have arisen from ignorant and imaginative people seeking to amplify what we find in the Bible of the ascent of Enoch and Elias, and also of our Saviour Christ, and also what Paul saw in his sleep, or Peter in his vision at Caesarea. But anyone reading these in our Scriptures will see that to compare them with the wild and fanciful tales of the East would be as sensible as to compare heaven with earth, or the fabulous Shahnameh with the history of the great Nadir.

The origin of the Jewish and Christian fancy about the heavenly tree, the four rivers, etc., has evidently been the passage in Genesis about the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8-17) which the wild imagination of these people Pictured as if in Heaven, not knowing that the spot lay near to Babylon and Baghdad; and thus they changed the truth of God into a lie, and the divine history into childish, foolish fancies of their own.

2. What the Koran and Tradition tell us regarding Paradise,

with i'ts Houries and youths, the King of Death, etc. As our Moslem friends know well about all such matters, it is unnecessary to go into any detail about them here. Their origin is to be found altogether in Zoroastrian Sources. Not a syllable is mentioned about them in the Bible, which tells us simply of the rest and peace provided for the true believer on the breast of Abraham, and the blessed place named Paradise in heaven; but not a word have we in the pages of any Jewish Prophet, or New Testament writer, of Houries or Youths of pleasure there. The books of the Zoroastrians and Hindus, however, are full of them; and these bear the most extraordinary likeness to what we find in the Koran and Hadith. Thus in Paradise we are told of "Houries having fine black eyes," and again of "Houries with large black eyes, resembling pearls hidden in their shells." 1. And just so the Zoroastrians speak of Fairies, "Paries" (Pairikan)- spirits in bright array and beautiful, to captivate the heart of man. The name Houry too is derived from an Avesta or Pehlavi Source, as well as Jinn for Genii, and Bihisht (Paradise), signifying in Avestic "the better land."2 We have also very similar talcs in the old Hindu writings, of heavenly regions with their boys and girls resembling the Houries and Ghilman of the Koran. The account before given of the Prophet when he beheld Adam rejoicing at the righteous entering Paradise, and weeping at the destruction of the wicked is also given in "The Testament of Abraham"; but with this difference that it relates to the spirits of the dead, and in the other to the spirits of those not yet born. The latter are called by.the Moslem s "existent ants or motes";3 and though the term is Arabic, the idea is no doubt Zoroastrian, and may possibly have been taken by them from the Egyptians, but in any case the Arabs must have gained it from Persia.

We have already seen that the "Angel of Death" is a name that must hav been borrowed by the Moslems from the Jews, that being his title in Hebrew. There is, however this difference, that the Jews name him

Sammiiel, and the Moslems Azrael: 4 neither word is Arabic, but Hebrew. Since, however, the idea nowhere occurs in the Bible, the Jews must have got it elsewhere, and a possible origin we may find in the Avesta, where we are told that if any one falls into the water or fire, his death is not from the fire or water, but it is the Angel of Death that destroy s him.

3. Story of Azazil

coming forth from hell.- Moslems take this name from the Jews, who call the evil Spirit by the same name; but the Arabs have received the story from the Zoroastrians. According to Moslem: tradition, God created Azazil, who in the Seventh hell worshipped the Almighty for a thousand years; he then ascended, spending a similar term at each stage, till he reached the earth. Elsewhere we read that the Devil (i.e. Azazil) stayed three thousand years close by the gate of Paradise, with hostile intentions against Adam and Eve, of whom he entertained the utmost jealousy.

In a Zoroastrian book 5 we have the following account of the Devil, by name Ahriman:-

He remained in the abyss, dark and ignorant, there to commit hurt and injury, and such mischief and darkness is the place that they term the dark region. Ormazd, who knew all things, was aware of Ahriman's existence and designs.....Both remained thus for 3000 years, without change or action. The evil spirit was ignorant of Ormazd's existence; but eventually rising out of the pit, at last beheld the light of Ormazd....Then, filled with hostility and envy, he set to work to destroy.

There is no doubt some difference between the two accounts: the Moslems holding that Az~z~ worshipped the Almighty, while the Zoroastrians say he knew him not. Still the similarity is obvious, for according to both, he came forth from the pit to destroy God's creation. Before leaving Azazil, there is another tale of which comparison may be made between the Moslems and Zoroastrians, namely, the story of the Peacock. The following is the Moslem tradition:-

Azazil kept sitting at the gate of Paradise, anxious to enter. The Peacock also was there seated on a Pinnacle, when he saw one repeating the mighty Names of God. Who art thou? asked the Peacock. "I am one of the angels of the Almighty"; - "But why art thou sitting here?" "I am looking at Paradise and wish to enter.·· The Peacock said, "I have no command to let any one enter as long as Adam is there." - "If thou wilt let me in," said the other, "I will teach them a prayer which if any one repeat, three things will be his - he will never grow old; never be rebellious; nor will any one ever turn him out of Paradise." Then Iblis (the devil) repeated the prayer. The peacock also from his pinnacle did the same, and forthwith flew up to the Serpent and told him what he had heard from Iblis. We also learn that when God cast down Adam and Eve with the devil (Iblis) from Paradise, the Peacock also was expelled along with them. l

The old Persian account of the Peacock differs from the above; but they too associate him with Ahriman, for Eznik in his book "Against Heresies" writes as follows:-The Zoroastrians tell us that Ahriman spake as follows:-It is not the case that I am unable to do anything good myself, but that I do not wish it; and to make this thing certain, I have produced the Peacock.

So the Peacock having been the creation of Azazil , it is quite consistent with the Moslem tradition that he should be his assistant, and with him have been cast down from Paradise.

4. The Light of Mohammed.

Mohammed is reputed by Tradition to have said:- The first thing created by the Almighty was my Light.2 Again:- When Adam was created, the Lord having placed that light upon his forehead, said, O Adam, this light which I place upon thy forehead is that of the greatest and best of thy descendants, the light of the Chief of Prophets that shall be sent. This light descended from Adam to Seth, and then in successive generations to Abdullah, and from him to Amina at the time of Mohammed’s conception. We are further told by the Traditionalists that the Prophet is reputed to have spoken thus:--

The Almighty parted that light into four sections, from which he made the heavens, the pen, Paradise, and believers; each of these four he again divided into four: from the first he formed me, who am the Prophet; from the second he formed reason placed in the Believer's head; from the third modesty within the Believer's eye; and from the fourth love within his heart. 3

Let us compare this with the Zoroastrian views:

In a very ancient book, Ormazd is represented as having created the, world and the universe, angels and archangels, and the heavenly intellect, all out of his own light, with the praise of Boundless Time. 4

Again, from a still much older work, we quote as follows:-

A grand and royal Halo long attached itself to Jamshid, Lord of the good flock, while he ruled over the Seven climes demons,men, fairies, wizards, sorcerers, and evil~ioers...Then when he approved of that false and baseless word, the visible halo departed from him in the form of a flying bird....When Jamshid, Lord of the good flock, no longer saw that halo, he became devoid of joy, and in distress gave himself up to making enmity upon earth. The first time that halo was removed from Jamsh3d, it departed from Jamson of Vivaghan (the Sun) in the form of a Varagh bird, and Mithra seized the halo

When a second time the halo was removed from Jamsid. it departed as before in the form of a bird; then Faridun the brave took that halo....When that halo departed third time from Jamshid, it was taken by Keresaspa (Garshasp), that great and powerful man. 1

Now if we bring these two accounts together, and remember that according to the Avesta, Jamshid was the first man created by God upon earth, and therefore the same as Adam the father of mankind, we see at once that the light from Jamshid descended on the best of his posterity agrees with what Tradition speaks of as the Light of Mohammed-which Moslems appear thus to have borrowed from the Zoroastrians. We also gather that what appears in the Zoroastrian book about Jamshid ruling over men, genii, giants, etc., is very similar to what the Jews write of Solomon, evidently from the same Source, and taken from them by the Moslems, as indeed has been seen in our Third Chapter. Also what the Moslems write about the division of the Prophet's light, coincides closely with what appears in a Zoroastrian book,2 and was evidently taken from that Source .

5. The Bridge Sirat.-

Moslems us the Prophet held that at the last day after the Judgment, all mankind will pass over this bridge, which is finer than a hair, and sharper than a sword; and that the wicked will fall from it into hell. Now what is the origin of the name Sirat? Though adopted into Arabic, it is of Persian origin, and called by the ancient Zoroastrians Chinavad,3. and its history is also derived from them, as will be seen from the following account taken from one of their ancient writings:-

I flee from much sin and I keep my conduct pure. The keeping pure of the six vital powers, -- conduct, speech, thought, intellect, reason, wisdom, -- according to thy will, O Author of the power to do good works, with justice do I perform it, that service of thine, in thought, speech, and deed. It is good for me to abide in the Bright way, lest I arriveat the severe punishment of Hell, that I may cross over Chinavad and may reach that blest abode, full of odour, entirely deli%tful, always bright. 4

The meaning of the Persian name is "the connecting link," the Bridge being that which joins earth with Paradise.

6.

The Moslems say that each Prophet before his death gives notice of the next to follow, as Abraham did of Moses, Moses of David, and so on. Nothing of this sort, however, is in the Bible; on the contrary, the Prophets from first to last gave notice of the coming of the Messiah, and nothing more. As they could not therefore have got this notion from the Scriptures, from whence than could it have come? There is a work 5 believed by the Zoroastrians to have been written in the language of heaven, and, about the time of Khusru Parwez, to have been translated in the Dari tongue. 6 It comprises fifteen books said to have descended upon fifteen Prophets; last of all came the sixteenth, Zoroaster himself. At the end of each book, the name is given of the Prophet that is next to follow. These books no doubt are an ancient forgery, but apparently the Moslem traditionalists took their idea of the anticipated coming of each Prophet from them. Again, the second verse in each of the se books open with:-- In the name of God, the Giver of gifts, the Beneficent; similar to the words at the opening of all the Surahs, 7- "In the name of God the Merciful and Gracious." We also find the first words in another Zoroastrian book4 to be very similar, namely, In the name of Orzazd the Creator. We have already noticed that the five times of Moslem prayer are the same as five of the seven common to the Zoroastrians and Sabaeans, no doubt taken from them.

Many other things might have been added

7.

Some may hold it difficult to understand how Mohammed could have obtained such stories and matters

as we find in the Koran and Hadith 1. from Zoroastrian sources; and further, how it was possible for the "unlearned" Prophet to have become informed of them. But tells us as follows: "It was his practice to converse in their own tongue (so we read) with people of every nation who visited him; and hence the introduction of some Persian words into the Arabic language." Again, as the Prophet introduced Jewish tales, and also the stories and customs of Arabian heathen, into the Coran, what wonder that he should do so likewise with Persian tales? Many of these, moreover, ‘were current among the Arabs, as Al Kindy tells us:-- "Suppose we relate to thee such fables as those f ad, Thamud and the She-camel, the Companions of the Elephant, and such like, it would only be the way of old women who spend their days and nights in such foolish talk." In the

Sirat al Rasiil, 2 we learn that Mohammed had among the Companions a Persian called Salm~n, vcrho at the siege of Medina advised him to surround the City with a trench, and when fighting with the Thackff

helped the Moslems with a catapult. Now it is said that some of the Prophet's opponents spoke of this person as having assisted him in the composition of the Coran, an accusation noticed in Surah xvi. 105, as follows: And, verily, we know that they say, Truly a certain man teacheth him; but the tongue of him unto whom they incline is a Foreign one, while this is the tongue of perspicuous Arabic. Now if these objectors simply spoke of this Persian helping in the style of the Prophet's composition, the answer would have been sufficient. But when we find that much of the Coran and Tradition has the closest resemblance to the contents of Zoroastrian books, the answer is of no value whatever. On the contrary, the above verse shews, by the admission of the Prophet himself, that he was assisted by this Persian Salman. Hence even from this story it is clear that the Zoroastrian writings formed one of the Sources of Islam.common to the two systems; but it would have swelled our pages beyond reasonable dimensions; and we must be content with what has been given.