H4
habits of life have been unanimous in their ap-
preciation of the Morning Thoughts.
The collection called Casual Reflections has
more or less the same substance, and the true
worth of his meditations lies in their suggestive-
riess and power of guidance. So too are his thoughts
on education contained in lectures and addresses
delivered on various occasions. He always in-
sists on the moral aim. In this connection, his
lecture delivered at the JNizam College in Febru-
ary, 1913, and his Convocation Address to the
Osmaiiia University delivered in January, 1930,
and his Presidential Address to the Hyderabad
Teachers' Association in 1932, call for special
attention. There are, some of his essays which,
in my opinion, deserve to be regarded as a service
to Islam ; notably An Approach to the Study of
the Qur'an with its irresistible appeal to the Mus-
lim heart. It has been widely appreciated and
deserves to be still more widely known. Then
we have The Right Path, which may be treated
as a companion to it. It explains in some detail
the method and course of the Quranic teaching,
focussing it in moral guidance to righteous con-
duct in life. A short essay on Gibbon as Histo-
rian of Islam helps us to recognise Gibbon's ser-
vice to Islam in giving an impressive picture of
it in his great history, while it points out the
obvious blemishes that detract from the great
historian's treatment of such themes as the
* ambition ' of the Prophet. The essence of Sir
Nizaxnat Jung's criticism is that Gibbon was not
8*