These codes were, for the then existing conditions of life,
admirable; and even now, wherever those conditions have remained
unaltered, are amply sufficient for the purposes of good government and
the regulation of social conduct. They would, nevertheless, have been
but halting places in the march of Mohammedan legislation, had the
destinies of Islam remained permanently in the hands of its first
founders.
Unfortunately, about the eleventh century of our era, a new and
unfortunate influence began to make itself felt in the counsels of the
Arabian Ulema, which little by little gaining ground, succeeded at last
in stopping the flow of intellectual progress at the fountain head. The
Tartar, who then first makes his appearance in Mohammedan politics,
though strong in arms, was slow to understand. He had no habit of
thought, and, having embraced Islam, he saw no necessity for further
argument concerning it. The language of the Koran and the traditions was
a science sealed to him; and the reasoning intelligence of the Arab
whose dominion he had invaded was a constant reproof to him. He dared
not venture his barbarian dignity in the war of wit which occupied the
schools; and so fortified his unintelligence behind a rampart of
dogmatic faith.
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