Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/62

 44 JUDAISM AND ISLAM.

Malaktit, l government. This word is used only of God's rule, in which connexion it invariably appears also in Kabbinical writings. 2 It occurs in several passages in the Quran. 3 From this narrow use of the word, and from a false derivation from mala,k or malak 4 (a word which comes from quite a different root, and which in Arabic has only the meaning of a messenger of God) it came to be used for the realm of spirits. 5

These- fourteen words, which are clearly derived from the later, or Eabbinical Hebrew, shew what very important religious conceptions passed from Judaism into Islam, namely, the idea of the Divine guidance, saki'nat, malakut j 6

the true meaning. Elpherar has : ^^ \ ^\^\ y*jUaS\ Jtfj " Tavua

says the whole Quran is called Masani." At the same time also a

reference is made to the other passage cited by us, viz., Sura XXXIX. 24.

The word \** in Sura XV. 87, seems to me to mean either that this

Sura was really the seventh (the order of the Suras was afterwards much

changed, and we may safely assert that Sura II is of later date than those

oc- a(,j s

following it), or else g* bears the meaning *> and *-> the

seventh part, as fifteen Suras make up about one-seventh of the Qur&n. Elpherar omita the word ^U* in the latter passage, a fact not satis- factorily accounted for by the supposition that he relied on an earlier explanation, for the Arabic writers always give the unexplained passages in full in their commentaries 5 and thus it seems that this word must have been altogether missing from Elpherar's text.

8 D^tj? fVOyC) j) $a(7iXeia TWV ovpav&v. 3 Sura VI. 75, VII. 184, XXIII. 90, XXXVI. 83.

or

5 Compare the words uyjXU3\ ^lc in Professor Freitag's work, Fakiha Elcholafa 85. 3.

O C & >*

6 &u~, wj&* God's guiding Presence.

6 - C j --

Eevelation.

a

Judgment after death.