George Sale, The Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed, translated into English immediately from the original Arabic; with Explanatory Notes, taken from the most approved Commentators. To which is prefixed A Preliminary Discource (1734)
by which they pretend their prophet was foretold by name, that being the signification of Mohammed in Arabic 1: and this they say to justify that passage of the Korân 2, where Jesus Christ is formally asserted to have foretold his coming, under his other name of Ahmed; which is derived from the same root as Mohammed, and of the same import. From these or some other forgeries of the same stamp, it is that the Mohammedans quote several passages, of which there are not the least footsteps in the New Testament. But after all we must not hence infer that the Mohammedans, much less all of them, hold these copies of theirs to be the ancient and genuine scriptures themselves. If any argue, from the corruption which they insist has happened to the Pentateuch and Gospel, that the Korân may possibly be corrupted also; they answer, that God has promised that he will take care of the latter, and preserve it from any addition or diminution 3; but that he left the two other to the care of men. However they confess there are some various readings in the Korân 4, as has been observed.
Besides the books above-mentioned, the Mohammedans also take notice of the writings of Daniel and several other prophets, and even make quotations thence; but these they do not believe to be divine scripture, or of any authority in matters of religions 5.
Of the prophets.
The number of the prophets, which have been from time to time sent by God into the world, amounts to no less than 224,000, according to one Mohammedan tradition, or to 124,000, according to another; among whom 313 were apostles, sent with special commissions to reclaim mankind from infidelity and superstition; and fix of them brought new laws or dispensations, which successively abrogated the preceding: these were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. All the prophets in general the Mohammedans believe to have been free from great sins, and errors of consequence, and professors of one and the same religion, that is Islâm, notwithstanding the different laws and institutions which they observed. They allow of degrees among them, and hold some of them to be more excellent and honourable than others 6. The first place they give to the revealers and establishers of new dispensations, and the next to the apostles.
In this great number of prophets, they not only reckon divers patriarchs and persons named in scripture, but not recorded to have been prophets, (wherein the Jewish and Christian writers have
