though, as might be easily anticipated, its authority is far less frequently appealed to, and its facts are much more sparingly travestied. Thus, ↓ in the third and in the nineteenth chapters of the Koran, we have references to the histories of Zacharias, and of Saint John the Baptist: and in the second, third, fourth, fifth, ninth, nineteenth, and forty-third, there occur mangled misrepresentations of the Gospel narratives, concerning the Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ.

The prominence here so palpably given to the Old Testament, in preference to the New, is only in unison with the whole character and constitution of Mahometanism, as hitherto delineated. For Mahomet originally announced his religion, as a revival of the religion of Abraham, or of the patriarchal faith: and, conformably with this announcement, his pretended revelation is accordingly modelled after the Hebrew, rather than after the Evangelic, Scriptures.

A specimen or two may suffice to exemplify the closeness with which the Koran sometimes follows the narratives of the Old Testament.

"Our messengers also came formerly unto Abraham with good tidings. They said, Peace. 'be upon thee! And he answered, And on you be peace! and he tarried not, but brought a roasted calf. And his wife, Sarah, was standing

by; and she laughed and we promised her Isaac, and after Isaac, Jacob. She said, Alas! shall I bear a son, who am old; this my husband also being advanced in years? Verily, this would be a wonderful thing. The angels answered, Dost thou wonder at the effect of the command of God? The mercy of God, and his blessings, be upon you. And when his apprehension had departed from Abraham, and the good tidings. of Isaac's birth had come unto him, he disputed with us concerning the people of Lot: for Abraham was a pitiful, compassionate, and devout person. The angels said unto him, O Abraham, abstain from this; for now is the command of thy Lord come, to put their sentence in execution, and an inevitable punishment is ready to fall upon them. And when our messengers came unto Lot, he was troubled for them; and his arm was straitened concerning them; and he said, This is a grievous day. And his people came unto him, rushing upon him and they had formerly been guilty of wickedness. Lot said unto them, O my people, these my daughters are more lawful for you: therefore fear God, and put me not to shame by wronging my guests. Is there not a man of prudence among you? They answered, Thou knowest that we have no need of thy daughters; and thou well knowest

what we would have. He said, If I had strength sufficient to oppose thee, or I could have recourse unto a powerful support, I would certainly do it. The angels said, O Lot, verily we are the messengers of thy Lord; they shall by no means come in unto thee. Go forth, therefore, with thy family, in some part of the night, and let not any of you turn back but as for thy wife, that shall happen unto her which shall happen unto them. Verily, the prediction of their punishment shall be fulfilled in the morning: Is not the morning near ?" *

"And Abraham said, Verily, I am going unto my Lord, who will direct me. O Lord, grant me a righteous issue! Wherefore we acquainted him that he should have a son, who should be a meek youth. And when he had attained to years of discretion, and could join in acts of religion with him, Abraham said unto him, O my son, verily I saw in a dream that I should offer thee in sacrifice: consider therefore what thou art of opinion I should do. He answered, O my father, do what thou art commanded: thou shalt find me, if God please, a patient per

* Sale's Koran, vol. ii. pp. 27-29. It is remarkable, that the events related in this passage of the Koran, are related in the same order in which they occur, in the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters of Genesis: an additional presumption that, however distorted in passing through the hands Mahomet, the facts were borrowed immediately from Scripture.

son.

And when they had submitted themselves to the divine will, and Abraham had laid his son prostrate on his face, we cried unto him, O Abraham, now hast thou verified the vision. Thus do we reward the righteous. Verily this was a manifest trial. And we ransomed him with a noble victim."*

The following passage may serve to illustrate the kind of correspondence, which the Koran maintains with the historical relations of the New Testament.

"Zacharias called on his Lord, and said, Lord, give me from thee a good offspring, for thou art the hearer of prayer. And the Angels called to him, while he stood praying in the chamber, saying, Verily, God promiseth thee a son, named John, who shall bear witness to THE WORD which cometh from God; an honourable person, chaste, and one of the righteous prophets. He answered, Lord, how shall I have a son, when old age hath overtaken me, and my wife is barren? The Angel said, So God doth that which he pleaseth. Zacharias answered, Lord, give me a sign. The Angel said, Thy sign shall be, that thou shalt speak unto no man for three days, otherwise than by gesture. And when the Angels said, O Mary, verily, God hath chosen.

* Sale's Koran, chap. xxxvii. vol. ii, pp. 312, 313.

Wher

thee, and hath purified thee, and hath chosen thee above all the women of the world. the Angels said, O Mary, verily, God sendeth thee good tidings, that thou shalt bear THE WORD, proceeding from himself; his name shall be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary; honourable in this world, and in the world to come, and one of those who approach near to the presence of God: She answered, Lord, how shall I have a son, since a man hath not touched me? The Angel said, So God createth that which he pleaseth: when he decreeth a thing, he only saith unto it, Be, and it is: God shall teach him the Scripture, and wisdom, and the law, and the gospel; and shall appoint him his apostle to the children of Israel." *

But, besides agreements with the Old and New Testaments, of this palpable kind, the Koran betrays its obligations to both these sacred volumes, by numerous coincidences, more or less direct, with the sentiments, the images, and the phraseology of Scripture. The nature of

* Sale's Koran, chap. iii. pp. 61–63. Amidst wilful perversions and variations, the preservation of the order and connection of the Gospel narrative is what particularly claims our observation. In the Koran, as in the New Testament, the vision of Zacharias, and the promise of John, duly precede the Annunciation to the blessed Virgin, and the miraculous conception and nativity of Jesus Christ. The fact is important, as one among the many marks discernible in the Koran, of designed and studied plagiarism from Scripture.