=The Cardinal Principle of Islâm.=—A belief in the unity, power, mercy, and supreme love of the Creator is the cardinal principle of Islâm, for, in its essence, it is pure Theism, coupled with some definite rules of conduct without which no religion can exercise any abiding influence on lower natures. The whole creation with its manifold phenomena, so varied and yet so uniform, from the single blade of grass springing up in the field to the mighty stars soaring in the firmament, is a proof of His existence, His mercy, His love, and His divine Providence ‘God: there is no God but He—the Living, the Eternal, no slumber seizeth Him. Whatsoever is in Heaven or in Earth is His.’ ‘He created the sun, moon, and stars and subjected them to law by His behests.’ ‘He taketh your souls in the night and knoweth what the work of your day deserveth.’[3] ‘He it is who ordaineth the day for awakening up to life.’[4] ‘In the alternations of night and day, and in the ship which saileth on the sea laden with what is profitable to mankind, and in the rain-water which God sendeth from heaven, quickening again the dead earth, and the animals of all sorts which cover its surface; and in the change of the winds and the clouds balanced between heaven and earth, are signs to people of understanding.’ The God of Islâm is One and indivisible—‘the All-mighty, the All-knowing, the All-just, the Lord of the worlds, the Author of the heavens and earth, the Creator of life and death, in whose hand is dominion and irresistible power; the great, all-powerful Lord of the glorious throne. God is the Mighty, the Strong, the Most High, the Producer, the Maker, the Fashioner, the Wise, the Just, the True, the Swift in reckoning, who knoweth every ant’s weight of good and of ill that each man hath done, and who suffereth not the reward of the faithful to perish.’ But the All-mighty, the All-wise, is also ‘the King, the Holy, the Peaceful, the Faithful, the Guardian over His servants, the Shelterer of the orphan, the Guide of the erring, the Deliverer from every affliction, the Friend of the bereaved, the Consoler of the afflicted; in His hand is good, and He is the Generous Lord, the Gracious Hearer, the Near-at-hand, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the Very Forgiving.’ ... ‘Forgiver of sin and Receiver of penitence.’ ‘He knoweth the secret whisper, the hidden and the manifest.’[5]