Page:A Moslem seeker after God - showing Islam at its best in the life and teaching of al-Ghazali, mystic and theologian of the eleventh century (IA moslemseekeraft00zwem).pdf/315

 n spring;

And granite man’s heart is, till grace intervene. And, crushing it, clothe the long barren with green, When the fresh breath of Jesus shall touch the heart’s core, It will live, it will breathe, it will blossom once

The City of Mashad, close to the ruins of Tus, where Al-Ghazali was born and where he died, has been truly described as the Mecca of the Persian world. Its streets are crowded with a hundred thousand pilgrims every year. The American Presbyterian Church has an important work there, and the Bible Societies report thousands of copies of the Bible sold there. " We have inundated the City of Mashad with the Word of God," wrote the late Mr. Esselstyn; " in the bazaars I have repeat edly been warned some one will kill me if we do not stop selling the Scriptures and preaching. But Lo, I am with you always keeps ringing in my ears and we continue. The Scriptures that have been sold in and around Mashad are sown seed and in due time we shall reap if we faint not."

To-day the black-browed Afghan, the Uzbek Tartar, the dervish, travel-stained and footsore, nay the poorest lad of Khorasan can buy the whole story of what Jesus did and taught. No Moslem is now dependent on Al-Ghazali’s few quotations from the Gospel. A new day has dawned for