The Mosque Life of the Muslim. (Illustrated.) THOMAS P. HUGHES, Author of "Dictionary of Islam." 367 373 evil is, but give me, O God, that sublime belief, that seeing evil I yet have faith.” My Little Book of Prayer BY MURIEL STRODE If you want to know the greatness of a soul and the true mastery of life, apply to The Open Court Publishing Company for a slip of a book by Muriel Strode The modern progress of entitled simply "My Little Book of Prayer. sovereign mind and inner divinity from the narrow cell of the ascetic to the open heaven of man, made in God's own image, is triumphantly shown in it, yet a self-abnegation and sacrifice beyond anything that a St. Francis or a Thomas a'Kempis ever dreamed of glorifies the path. To attempt to tell what a treasure-trove for the struggling soul is in this little volume would be impossible without giving it complete, for every paragraph marks a milestone on the higher way. That the best of all modern thought and religion is garnered in it, its very creed proclaims: Not one holy day but seven; Worshiping, not at the call of a bell, but at the call of my soul; Doing for the joy of it. Some one who has "entered in" sends back to us this inspiring prayer book, and to seize its spirit and walk in the light of it would still the moan and bitterness of human lives, as the bay wreath ends the toilsome struggle in the hero's path. Measure the height attained in this one reflection for the weary army of the unsuccessful: "He is to rejoice with exceeding great joy who plucks the fruit of his planting, but his the divine anointing who watched and waited, and toiled, and prayed, and failed-and can yet be glad." Or this, in exchange for the piping cries of the unfortunate: "I do not bemoan misfortune. To me there is no misfortune. I welcome whatever comes; I go out gladly to meet it." Cover all misfortune, too, with this master prayer: "O God, whatever befall, spare me that supreme calamity-let no afterbitterness settle down with me. Misfortune is not mine until that hour." Here, too, is the triumph of the unconquerable mind: "The earth shall yet surrender to him and the fates shall do his will who marches on, though the promised land proved to be but a mirage and the day of deliverance was canceled. The gods shall yet anoint him and the morning stars shall sing.” And this the true prayer for the battlefield: "I never doubt my strength to bear whatever fate may bring, but, oh! that I may not go down before that which I bring myself." Nuggets of pure gold like these abound in this mine of the mind which the victorious author has opened for us. To seek it out swiftly and resolve its great wealth for himself should be the glad purpose of the elect. And who are not the elect in the light of its large teaching? To claim them in spite of themselves is its crowning lesson. "It is but common to believe in him who believes in himself, but, oh! if you would do aught uncommon, believe in him who does not believe in himself-restore the faith to him."-St Louis GlobeDemocrat, March 5. Printed on Strathmore Japan Paper, Gilt Top, Cloth, $1. Alexis Paper, Bds. 506 Postpaid The Open Court Publishing Co., 1322 Wabash Ave., Chicago A MONTHLY MAGAZINE Devoted to the Science of Religion, the Religion of Science, and VOL. XX. (No. 6.) JUNE, 1906. Copyright by The Open Court Publishing Company, 19c6. NO. 601 W THE MOSQUE LIFE OF THE MUSLIM. BY THOMAS P. HUGHES, Author of The Dictionary of Islam. HATEVER estimate we may form of the character of Muham mad, the "prophet of Arabia," and his mission to mankin 1. we are obliged to admit that he did his very best to instil into the hearts and minds of his followers a belief in the existence of God as the hearer and answerer of prayer. Consequently the mosque, as a place of worship, occupies a central and unique position in the religion of Islam. Three of these masjids, “places of prostration," were established by the prophet himself: the Masjid-ul-Haram, "the sacred mosque" at Mecca which contains the black stone; the Masjid-un-Nabi, the "prophet's mosque" at Medina in which he worshiped and preached; and the Masjid-ul-Aksa, the "distant mosque" on Mount Sion at Jerusalem, originally a Christian church from which it is believed that Muhammad made his miraj or celestial journey. The first mosque erected by Muhammad was at Kuba where the prophet's camel knelt down as she brought her master on his flight from Mecca. This was the first place of public prayer in Islam, and is esteemed the fourth in rank. It was a primitive structure without niche, or minaret. It was reserved for the Caliph Omar to give the mosque its present character, and the result has been that some of the finest architectural structures in the world are Muslim mosques. The Mosque of San Sophia, or "Holy Wisdom," at Constantinople was originally a Christian church, and this beautiful Byzantine structure has influenced mosque architectre in all parts of the world. The cathedral at Cordova was originally a mosque, erected at the close of the eighth century, and |