All thoughtful Muslims agree with us in recognizing that reason teaches that it impossible to conceive of God Most High as a mere (محض) unity, an absolute (مطلق) unity, devoid of all attributes. The many most excellent names which they give to God express His possession of a plurality of excellent attributes. In this Christians and Muslims are in accord, and we agree also in believing with all our hearts the doctrine of the unity of God's essence (ذات). So far, therefore, it is admitted by us all that it is possible for plurality of attributes to exist in God without destroying His unity. If plurality of attributes be admitted, why should it be asserted to be contrary to reason to hold the scriptural doctrine that, besides plurality of attributes, there exists also in the divine unity a trinity of Hypostases? Certain philosophers have been led by their belief in the oneness of the divine nature to assert that no attributes can exist therein; they, therefore, deny that God possesses self-consciousness, will, power of revealing Himself, and all other attributes. This blasphemy is the result of the same undue insistence upon the great truth of the divine unity which has prevented Muslims from accepting the teaching of the holy Scriptures on the subject of the Trinity in Unity.

It was at one time thought that, in certain religions of the heathen, there might be found indications that men were in some cases led by reason

alone to discover for themselves the fact of the existence of three Hypostases in the divine unity. Some people thought that this was an additional argument in support of the doctrine of the Trinity, while the opponents of the word of God argued that, on the contrary, it showed that the doctrine was of heathen origin. At last it seemed to students desirable to inquire in the first place into the truth of the allegation that a doctrine somewhat resembling the Biblical teaching on this subject occurred in heathen books. Such an investigation has now been very carefully made; and it has been discovered that, though in many religious groups of three supreme deities are mentioned, generally consisting of father, mother and child, yet nowhere but in the holy Scriptures is it taught that God is one, and yet that in the divine unity there are three Hypostases, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In order to show the truth of what we have just said, let us in the first place refer briefly to the religion of the Hindus. It has been supposed, from the Persian work called the Upanik'hat (أُوبَنِكْهَاتْ), which professes to be a translation of some of the Sanskrit Upanishads, that in the Vedas the existence of the one true God was taught; and that God had revealed Himself in the world in three forms, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva (بَرْهمَا
ـ‬وِشن
ـ‬شِو). Of these Brahma was said to be the origin and the