n to the religion of the one true God.
These embassies had small effect; but Mahomet was prepared to take
much more forcible measures in order to spread the faith. War against
infidels being one of the standing duties of the faithful, various
regulations were laid down for the treatment of captives and the
disposal of booty in such wars. God, who is said in every verse to be
forgiving and merciful, encourages the faithful in such passages to
slay and rob, and to make concubines of women taken in sacred wars.
At the moment of his death an expedition, not the first, was ready to
start against the Greek power. It is in this guise that Islam assumes
the _role_ of a universal religion.

The Duties of the Moslem.--The missionary of Islam requires of his
converts nothing very difficult either in the way of belief or in the
way of action. His demands are brief and precise. They consist of the
following five points:--1. The profession of belief in the unity of
God and the mission of Mahomet. The formula runs: "There is no God
but Allah, and Mahomet is the prophet of Allah." 2. Prayer. This
consists of the repetition of a certain form of words at five
separate times each day, the worshipper standing up with his face
towards Mecca. The mosques are always open for prayer, and there is a
special service on Friday, the day of the week chosen by Mahomet in
contradistinction to the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Sunday. 3.
Almsgiving. This is done on a fixed scale, and the contributions
were, in Mahomet's time, devoted to the support of war against
infidels. 4. Fasting. This takes place during the month of Ramadan,
and the fast is very strictly observed. 5. The Hagg or pilgrimage to
Mecca.

The Koran is the sacred book of Islam. The name means "reading"; see
above in this chapter. Like other sacred books, the Koran is arranged
in such an order that he who reads it as it stands finds it very
confused, and fails to grasp its historical meaning. The claim to
divine inspiration is made in every chapter and every line of it; God
himself is the speaker. But the divine oracles refer to very various
matters. All sorts of legal decisions, military orders, injunctions
about religious affairs, legends and speculations, have a place in
it. Of prediction of the future, indeed, there is but one instance;
the prophet disclaimed the power to work miracles, and held that no
wonders beyond those of the splendid order of the universe are
necessary t