FOREWORD

The supreme importance of the sayings of Muhammad, apart from their general ethical value, can be fully realised only when one becomes aware that the whole religious, moral, social, and political fabric of a vast section of humanity rests on the Book (the Kur'an), the sayings and acts (the Sunnah) 1of the Prophet, and analogical deductions therefrom.

The Ways and Wont of Muhammad and his utterances form a living commentary on and a supplement to the Kur'an. Their great importance and their difference from the obiter dicta of other teachers lie in this: the utterances of other prophets, sages, and philosophers may become the object of enthusiastic admiration in the absence of any sanction to enforce their translation into practice; whereas the utterances of Muhammad have already acquired the force of law. A Muslim may question the genuineness of an individual saying; but once its authenticity is proved it is as binding upon him as the injunctions and prohibitions in the Kur’an. 2What a powerful influence the example of the Prophet exercises over the hearts and imaginations of his followers may well be realised from the fact that today the approved mode of parting the hair and of wearing the beard, and the popularity of the turban and flowing robes are all due to the conscious or unconscious imitation of that great Teacher who flourished in Arabia at the beginning of the seventh century.

The Table-Talk of the Prophet deals with the most minute and delicate circumstances of life, and the collected body is the Muslim's dictionary of morals and manners. It is therefore not to be wondered at that there are no less than 1,465 collections of the Prophet's sayings extant, of which the more generally used amongst the Sunnis are the `Six Correct' collections, and those amongst the Shiahs, `the Four Books'.

This small selection from the authentic utterances of the Prophet cannot claim to be a fair sample of the whole. Perhaps one will miss in this collection the hyperbolical teachings of other Masters, but the ethical sweetness, beauty, strong common sense, practicality, and modernity of thought of some of the utterances will not fail to appeal to higher minds and also strike the attention of lower natures. Some of the sayings are chosen to illustrate the rude and barbarous manners of the people amongst whom the Law-giver lived, whilst a few are specially meant for the Muslim, the mystic, the spiritualist, and the sufi. If this booklet serves in the least degree to quicken the march of the spirit of Renaissance and Reform now abroad in the Dar-al-Islam, and to awaken an interest in the Faith amongst those Seekers after Truth in the West who are worshippers of the Light and not of the Lamp, the labours of the compiler will be more than amply rewarded.