Page:The young Moslem looks at life (1937).djvu/52

38 it is the pillow of the sick, and the last word of the dying; it is written on the doorposts and in their hearts as well as, since eternity, on the throne of God; it is to the devout Moslem the name above every name.

In short, to the Moslem the character of Mohammed may be summed up as being the very epitome of purity and truth.

This is the traditional Mohammed of the Moslem, to whom he is not only the last of the prophets, but the greatest.

In bringing this chapter to a close we may well note the changes that have taken place in the attitude of young Moslems of today toward the Prophet.

In the first place, he is not the Mohammed of the historical lives, which were written by Moslems themselves. An interesting process of thought has been going on through which Mohammed is given a character that no doubt reflects on the part of those describing it an intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ. This idealized conception of the Prophet of Islam presents him as the perfect man, a model for all mankind to follow. He is represented as sinless, for no prophet can commit sin, a view which reinterprets Mohammed's own requests, as found in the Koran, for forgiveness of sins.

He is also referred to as a great moral and social reformer, as tender-hearted, abolishing the horrible atrocities of war, as gentle and merciful even to his