Section i. The general Prophetic Function (Nubuwwat-i-'ámma) . The number of the true prophets antecedent to The Prophetic Function. Muḥammad, “the Seal of the Prophets and the last of them,” is variously stated as from 140 to 124,000. It is necessary to believe that these, whatever their actual number, were true and immaculate (ma'ṣúm), that is, that during the whole of their lives they were guilty of no sin, major or minor; that they all enunciated the same essential truths; and that the revela­tions which they received were essentially identical, though in detail the later abrogate the earlier, to wit, the Qur'án the Gospel, and the Gospel the Pentateuch (Tawrát). These three, together with the Psalms of David (Zubúr) and the Books of Abraham (Ṣuḥuf), are the principal Scriptures, but the total number of revealed books is esti­mated by some as 104 and by others as 124. Of the Prophets sent to all mankind (mursal) four (Adam, Seth, Enoch or Idrís and Noah) were Syrians; five (Húd, Ṣáliḥ, Shu'ayb, Ishmael and Muḥammad) were Arabs, and the remainder of the Children of Israel. The five great Prophets called Ulu'l-'Azm are Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muḥammad.

Section ii. The Special Prophetic Function [of Muḥam-mad] (Nubuwwat-i-Kháṣṣa). It is necessary to believe The Prophet­hood of Muḥammad. that Muḥammad was the last of all the Prophets, and that anyone after him who claims to be a prophet is an unbeliever and should be killed by the Muslims. Also that in every virtue and excellence he surpasses all other beings; that his “Light” (Núr-i-Muḥammad ) was created thousands of years before all other creatures; that he was sent not only to all mankind but to the Jinn; and that his doctrine and law abrogate all preceding ones.

Section iii. What is to be believed touching the Qur'án. It is the last and greatest of revealed Scriptures, abrogating The Qur'án. all others, and is the miracle of Muḥammad, though not the product of his mind; it is temporal (ḥadíth), not eternal (qadím); was revealed in the pure Arabic language (as were all the Scriptures, though each prophet received his revelation in the language of his people), and was sent down on the Laylatu'l-Qadr (“Night of Worth”) in its entirety from the Preserved Tablet (Lawḥ-i-Maḥfúẓ), but was revealed by Gabriel in instal-ments, as occasion arose, over a period of 23 years. Neither men nor Jinn, though all should combine, can produce the like of the Qur'án, or even one chapter or verse of it. It contains all truth and all knowledge, and the full interpretation of it is known only to God, the Prophet, and the Imáms, and those “firmly established in Knowledge” to whom they have imparted it. The original Qur'án is in the keeping of the Hidden Imám, and has undergone no change or corruption.

Section iv. The Prophet's Attributes. He was “illiterate” (ummí), having never studied or received instruction from Character of the Prophet. men or Jinn; he cast no shadow; a cloud used to overshadow his head; he could see behind his back as well as before his face; he was luminous to such a degree that in his presence on the darkest night his wives could find a lost needle without the aid of lamp or candle. His birth was heralded and accom­panied by miracles, enumerated in detail. He was immacu­late (ma'ṣúm), and the most excellent of all beings. Gabriel was really his servant, and 'Azrá'íl (the Angel of Death) could not approach him to receive his soul without his permission. He was neither a poet (shá'ir), nor a magician (sáḥir), nor a liar (kadhdháb), nor a madman (díwána), and to assert any of these things is blasphemy. He had five souls or spirits, of which the first three (called Rúḥ-i-mudraj, Rúḥ-quwwat, and Rúḥ-i-shahwat) are common to all men; the fourth, Ruḥ-i-ímán, “the Spirit of Faith,” is peculiar to true believers; while the last, “the Holy Spirit” (Rúḥu'l-Quds ), belongs to the Prophet alone, and his successors, the Holy Imáms.

Section v. The Prophet's Miracles. These included the Cleaving of the Moon (shaqqu'l-qamar); knowledge of the Miracles of the Prophet. Past, the Future, and the Unseen; raising the dead; knowledge of 72 out of the 73 Names of God, whereof not more than twenty were known to any previous Prophet, and the like. He saw Paradise and Hell with his own eyes, and ascended into Heaven in his material body, clad in his own clothes, and wearing his sandals, which he would have put off on approaching God's Throne, but was forbidden by God to do so.

Section vi. The Prophet's Ascension (Mi'ráj). He ascended in his material body to the Station of “Two Ascension of the Prophet. bow-shots or less,” * a point nearer to God than that attained by Enoch or Jesus or any angel or archangel. To assert that this Ascension was allegorical, or within himself, or spiritual and esoteric, is heresy.

Section vii. Sundry other beliefs concerning the Prophet. He was “a mortal man to whom revelations were made”*

Other beliefs concerning the Prophet. in various ways mediate and immediate. He combined in himself the functions of Apostle (Rasúl), Prophet (Nabí), Imám, and Muḥaddith, by which is here meant one who sees and holds converse with the Angels. His intercession for sinners will be accepted in the Day of Resurrection; and God has be­stowed on him, within certain limits, authority to command and prohibit, and to add to the obligations imposed by God in such matters as prayer and fasting. He explicitly appointed his cousin and son-in-law 'Alí ibn Abí Ṭálib to succeed him; but to assert that Gabriel took the Revelation from a well in a plain, and, receiving permission from God to see who was the author, looked into the well and saw that it was 'Alí; or that Gabriel mistook Muḥammad for 'Alí and brought the Revelation to him by mistake, are blasphemous heresies.

Section i. Enumeration of the Twelve Imáms of the Ithnà-'ashariyya or “Sect of the Twelve,” and refutation of The Imámate the Sunnís, who recognize Abú Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthmán as the Khulafá, or successors and vice­gerents of the Prophet; of the Kaysániyya, who accept Muḥammad ibnu'l-Ḥanafiyya, a son of 'Alí by another wife than Fáṭima, as Imám; of the Zaydiyya, who accept Zayd ibn Ḥasan; of the Isma'íliyya, who accept Isma'íl in place of his brother Músà al-Káẓim; of the Aftaḥiyya, who accept 'Abdu'lláh al-Aftaḥ, another son of Ja'far aṣ-Ṣádiq the sixth Imám, and so forth. The Kaysánís, Zaydís, Isma'ílís, Ṭá'úsís, Aftaḥís and Wáqifís all belong to the Shí'a, but not to the “Sect of the Twelve,” and they will all be tormented in Hell for their error, though they are Muslims, as are even the Sunnís, who are therefore pure, wherefore, according to the prevailing view, it is not lawful to interfere with their lives, wives or property, though some Shí'a doctors hold the contrary view.

Section ii. Knowledge of the Prophet and Imáms. This Knowledge of the Prophet and Imáms. section is entirely historical or quasi-historical, giving the dates of the births, deaths, and chief events in the lives of Muḥammad and the Twelve Imáms.

The Prophet Muḥammad was born on Friday 17th (or 12th) of Rabí' i in the “Year of the Elephant,” in the year The Prophet Muḥammad. 1021 of Alexander, and in the Seventh year of the reign of Anúsharwán “the Just.” He lived 63 years, of which 53 were spent at Mecca and ten at al-Madína, and his “Mission” began when he was forty years old. He had nine (or 12, or 15) wives and two concubines; four sons, Qásim, Ṭáhir and Ṭayyib by Khadíja, and Ibráhím by Mary the Copt; and three daughters, Fáṭima (who married 'Alí), and Zaynab and Ruqayya, who were married to 'Uthmán. He died (poisoned by a Jewess of Khaybar, as asserted) on Monday the 27th or 28th of Ṣafar, and was buried at al-Madína.