{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_39523/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_39523","id":"gutenberg_39523","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39523","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Muhammad, Prophet, -632"],"text":"[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Upon him, Mohammad, Salvation._]\n\n\n\n\nTHE LIFE OF\nMOHAMMAD\n\nTHE PROPHET\nOF ALLAH\n\n\n     _\"The man's words were not false..._\n    _a fiery mass of Life cast-up from_\n    _the great bosom of Nature herself.\"_\n\n      (\"_On Heroes_,\" by THOMAS CARLYLE,\n      London, 1841.)\n\n\n\n\n      THIS WORK IS ISSUED\n  IN A STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION\n         OF 125 COPIES\n   ON IMPERIAL JAPANESE VELLUM\nWITH AN EXTRA SUITE OF THE PLATES\n        AND 875 COPIES\n      ON HAND-MADE PAPER.\n\n           NO. 499\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) Frontispiece]\n\n\n\n \"_In the name_\n   _of Allah!_\n_the Compassionate_\n  _the Merciful_\"\n\nHISTORY\nOF THE\nPROPHECY\n\n  \"_Upon His Hero_\n    _(Mohammad),_\n_boundless veneration.\"_\n\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad\nis the Prophet of Allah._]\n\n\n\nTHE LIFE OF\nMOHAMMAD\nTHE PROPHET OF ALLAH\n\nBY\nE. DINET and SLIMAN BEN IBRAHIM\n\nILLUSTRATED BY\nE. DINET\n\nORNAMENTAL PAGES BY MOHAMMAD RACIM\n\nPARIS\nTHE PARIS BOOK CLUB, 11, RUE DE CHATEAUDUN\n\n\n\n\n                   THIS\n                   WORK\n               IS DEDICATED\n           BY THE AUTHOR-PAINTER\n          AND HIS ARAB COLLABORATOR\nTO THE MEMORY OF THE VALIANT MOSLEM SOLDIERS\n      PARTICULARLY THOSE OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND\n         WHO, IN THE SACRED CAUSE OF\n         RIGHT, JUSTICE AND HUMANITY\n          HAVE PIOUSLY SACRIFICED\n              THEIR LIVES IN\n              THE GREAT WAR\n                 OF THE\n                 NATIONS\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\n_An existence, so full of stirring events as that of the Prophet\nMohammad, cannot be described by us in all its details. As there are\nlimits to all books, we have had to rest content with a selection of\nthe most important episodes, so that each might be developed as we\ndeemed necessary. Thus we present to the reader a series of pictures\nand not a complete history._\n\n_Our scaffolding and sketches are borrowed from very ancient authors\nsuch as Ibn Hisham, Ibn Sad, etc., without forgetting a more modern\nwriter, Ali Borhan id-Din Al-Halabi who, in his book known by the\ntitle of \"Es Sirat'al Halabia,\" gathered together different versions\nfrom all the best-known historians. An incontestable proof of their\nveracity, in our opinion, is that these narratives, some dating as far\nback as twelve centuries, fit in perfectly with the manners, customs,\nhopes and language of the Moslems of the desert; those who at the\npresent day, by their mode of living, are more akin to the Arabs of\nthe Hijaz among whom Mohammad accomplished his Mission._\n\n_These remarks will serve to warn the reader that in this work will be\nfound none of those learned paradoxes destined to destroy traditions,\nsuch sophisms delighting modern Orientalists by reason of their love\nof novelty._\n\n_The study of innovations introduced in this way into the Prophet's\nhistory has caused us to note that they were often prompted by\nfeelings inimical to Islam which were not only out of place in\nscientific research, but were also unworthy of our epoch. As displayed\nby their authors, they generally denoted strange ignorance of Arab\ncustoms, notwithstanding that these commentaries were accompanied by\nconsiderable erudition, although too bookish. In order to refute such\nnew-fangled assertions, it was enough to check each in turn. Being so\ncontradictory, one killed the other. Their extreme improbabilities,\nfrom the standpoint of Oriental psychology, only served to enhance\nwith still greater clarity the perfect likelihood of those traditions\nsanctioned in the world of Islam._\n\n_We have been guided by them. We have been satisfied to choose those\nthat seemed most characteristic, setting each in its proper place,\nthanks to information gleaned in long interviews with pilgrims\nvisiting the Holy Cities of the Hijaz, while reviewing these episodes\nin the light of our experience of Moslem life, in the Great Desert of\nSahara, where one of us two had lived from birth and the other for the\nlast thirty years and more._\n\n_In strict agreement with the Qur'an, the only indisputable book\naccording to the Moslem Doctors of the earliest times and those imbued\nwith the modern liberal spirit, such as the celebrated Shaikh Abdu, we\nhave put aside all the posthumous miracles attributed to the Arab\nProphet and which only serve to blur his true physiognomy._\n\n_Among all the Prophets founders of religions, Mohammad is the only\none who, relying solely on the evidence shown by his Mission and the\ndivine eloquence of the Qur'an, was able to do without the assistance\nof miracles, thus performing the greatest of all--the one which Ernest\nRenan, forgetting his example, declared to be utterly impossible. \"The\ngreatest miracle,\" said he, speaking of Jesus Christ, \"would have been\nif he had wrought not any. Never would the laws of history and popular\npsychology have been more violently infringed.\"_\n\n_On the other hand, we have taken care not to turn a deaf ear to tales\nin legendary shape. A legend, and above all, an Oriental legend, is an\nincomparable means of expression. It serves to paint mere facts in\nlasting colours and make them stand out in bold relief, far removed\nfrom the icy and so-called impartial account of an up-to-date\nreporter._\n\n_Our readers, enlightened by the foregoing warning, must therefore not\nlet themselves be the victims of the numerous errors committed by\nHellenism, Latinism and Scholasticism, when interpreting \"literally\"\nthe sacred books of the East, while beneath seeming magic allegories\nscattered here and there in this narrative, will easily be discerned\nrealities, poetically transposed, but not at all disfigured by the\nimagination of the Arabs._\n\n_With still more reason, the Qur'an should be read in the same way,\nfor is it not written:_ \"God setteth forth these similitudes to men\nthat haply they may be admonished.\" (THE QUR'AN, XIV, 30.)\n\n_It may also seem strange that in the illustrations accompanying the\ntext, no portrait of the Prophet will be found, nor any picturing of\nevents in which he figured as the hero._\n\n_And this is why: being sincere Moslems, we do not want to run counter\nto the true principles of Islam, far less hostile than is supposed to\nthe portrayal of mortals' faces, but strictly forbidding the image of\nthe Divinity, considered to be rank blasphemy leading to idolatry more\nor less disguised. To represent the likenesses of the Prophets is to\nbelittle them inevitably and sacrilegiously._\n\n_And after all, in the eyes of the Believer, what does the prim effigy\nof one of God's messengers on earth, however marvellously painted,\nlook like in comparison with the sublime idea that the mind of the\nFaithful creates, under the influence of fervid faith? This has been\nso well understood by certain Persian painters of miniatures, that,\nhaving to sketch Mohammad in the varied phases of his nocturnal\nascension, they veiled his face entirely, because they found\nthemselves powerless to picture it, and feared also to impair features\nso revered. There is no greater proof of their intention than the\nmeticulous care with which in the same pictures all other faces are\ntreated, including that of Buraq, the winged steed with the head of a\nhuman being; and also the lineaments of the angels in the celestial\nprocession._\n\n_In place, therefore, of an imaginary portrait and necessarily\nfalsified drawings, we have adopted a more indirect style of\nillustration, but by its means we hope to have succeeded in evoking a\nfew lights and shadows, undoubtedly emanating from the superman who\ncame into the world at Makkah (Mecca)._\n\n_His features, solely known by the descriptions of those who penned\nhis history, appear to us dimly through a gauzy veil of dreamland that\nwe shall not try to rend asunder, for behind this mysterious filmy\nmask, the sacred lineaments will enjoy the rare and precious advantage\nof not having been spoilt, like so many others, by impossible attempts\nof pictorial reconstitution. On the other hand, his ways and doings\nhave been brought down to our own times, with religious fidelity, by\nthree hundred millions of disciples, scattered all over the earth's\nsurface._\n\n_The constant thought of all Moslems, of whatever race, is to imitate\nin everything, in the most humble as well as in the highest, of life's\nfunctions, the habits of the Prophet whose image is engraved in their\nhearts. And this is so true, that simply by the way in which he washes\nhis hands, the difference can be seen between an Arab Moslem and an\nArab Christian._\n\n_Looking upon true Believers going to and fro, we consequently view\nthe movements of Mohammad. It is but a pale reflection, but\nnevertheless incontestably authentic; whereas, despite the perfection\nof their statues, the Roman Emperors can only offer to us their limbs\nand faces, stiffened in attitudes of awkward pride; remaining as\ncorpses that our imagination is powerless to resuscitate._\n\n_Impressed by these facts, we had the idea of illustrating this\nhistory of Mohammad by picturing the religious doings of his\ndisciples; a few scenes of Arab life, and views of the Hijaz, his\nnative land._\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE FIRST ]\n\n[Illustration: _Praying round the Sacred Temple of the Ka'bah of\nMekka._]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _In the name of Allah, the Compassionate,\nthe Merciful._ ]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE FIRST\n\n\n[Sidenote: THE MOSLEM PRAYER]\n\nA rosy ray lit up the horizon; the stars paled, and a voice cried out\nin cadence, in the silence of dawn:\n\n\"_Allah is the greatest! There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is\nthe Prophet of Allah! Come and pray! Come to Salvation!_\"\n\nHigh up above the flat housetops and the palm-trees of the oasis, the\nlast notes of the Muazzin's call, wafted from the balcony of the\nslender minaret, died away in the infinite space of the Desert....\n\nMohammedans who were still slumbering, enwrapped in the white folds of\ntheir shroud-like mantles, sprung to their feet with a start, like\ndead men coming to life. They hurried to fountains where they\nperformed their ablutions; and then, with clean skins and pure\nthoughts, they gathered together in long processions, elbow to elbow,\nall turned in one direction: that of the Holy Ka'bah of Makkah\n(Mecca).\n\nStanding erect, heads slightly bent, eyes downcast, perfectly still in\nthe long folds of their garments, they seemed as if metamorphosed into\na crowd of statues. Following the example of the Imam, in front of\nthem, but in the same direction, and announcing each phase of the\nprayer by the Takbir: \"_Allah is the greatest!_\" they all lifted their\nopen hands on a level with their foreheads, to bear witness to their\necstasy in the presence of the Almighty power of the Master of the\nWorlds. Then, every man made the same movement, bending their backs\nand bowing low before the throne of His Supreme Majesty.\n\nBut this did not suffice to express all the humility of their souls,\nso they dropped to the ground and prostrated themselves, piously\npressing their faces against the earth. For a few moments they\nremained in this supplicating posture, as if crushed by the weight of\nthe entire firmament which might have been prostrated with them.\n\nThey held up their heads at last and rose to a sitting posture, both\nknees on the ground, their heads bowed under the burden of their\nfervour. The prayer terminated by salutation, accompanied by the face\nbeing turned first to the right, then to the left, addressed to the\ntwo recording angels who unceasingly attend every true Believer.\n\nGenerally, however, the Faithful who ask nothing from Allah, not even\ntheir daily bread, remain a little longer on their knees, and placing,\nbreast-high, their open palms under their eyes, as if reading a book,\nthey implore Divine Mercy for the salvation of their souls, for their\nrelatives, and for Islam.\n\nOnly a few parts of the Prayer: the Takbir, the Fatihah and the final\nsalutation are loudly intoned by the Imam. The congregation pray\ninwardly; the Takbir alone is murmured in whispers that are barely\naudible.\n\nSuch half-silence enhances the grandeur of their gestures, so\nexpressive and simple, in which dignity is closely allied to humility;\nand being totally devoid of affectation, constitutes the most poignant\ndisplay of adoration imaginable.\n\nEvery day, each time the rays of the sun change colour: at rosy dawn;\nflaming noon; during gilded sunset, when it descends below the horizon\nin all the yellow sadness of its disappearance; and at the moment it\nis enshrouded in the blue veiling of night, not only in the Mosques,\nbut also in the houses and streets, in _caf\u00e9s_ and market-places, in\nthe country or the desert, all Moslems, alone or grouped together,\nwherever they may be, without needing to be called by the Muazzin or\nled by the Imam, are bound to stop short in their work and even\ninterrupt their trend of thought, for a few minutes, thus glorifying\nthe Benefactor.\n\nFor more than thirteen centuries, from the Atlantic's African shore as\nfar as the Chinese coast-line of the Pacific, more than two hundred\nmillions of the Faithful turn five times daily in the direction of the\nHoly Ka'bah of Makkah; their millions of prayers being garnered there\nto be offered up to the Most High, bearing witness to the undying\ngratitude of the souls of Islam.\n\n[Sidenote: DESCRIPTION OF MAKKAH (_Mecca_)]\n\nThis mysterious town, upon which the aspirations of so many human\nbeings close in, was almost unknown in ancient times. What is it like?\n\nIs it one of those cities, picturesquely situated, where ostentatious\nkings built splendid palaces, accumulating therein all the treasures\nof creation? Is it one of those vast commercial boroughs dominating\nland and sea routes to which the riches and produce of the universe\ncame in abundance? Or was it an extensive imperial capital whose\nvaliant warriors bent neighbouring peoples beneath their yoke?\n\nMakkah has nothing in common with all this, being established in one\nof the most arid and forsaken spots on earth; and in olden times its\nonly commerce consisted in desert caravan traffic, so that it was\nneither rich nor powerful. Nevertheless, many opulent towns are\njealous of its glory, for it shelters in its midst the Holy Temple of\nthe Ka'bah, besides being the birthplace of Our Lord Mohammad, the\nPrince of Prophets!\n\nIn our own times, despite gifts brought from the furthermost corners\nof the world by the hundred thousand pilgrims who come each year to\nprostrate themselves in its temple, Makkah, \"The Mother of Cities,\" by\nthe splendour of its palaces and mosques, cannot vie with any great\ncapital. In the eyes of the True Believers, its treasures are radiant\nwith incomparable brilliancy, but which is not terrestrial.\n\nAs a matter of fact, the aspect of Makkah--\"Allah's Delight\"--is no\ndifferent from other Arab desert centres. There are more numerous and\nloftier dwellings, better decorated than in general, but its\ncharacteristics, on the whole, are unchanged.\n\nFrom the top of the Jabal Abi-Kubeis which dominates it on the eastern\nside, it can be viewed stretching from north to south in a narrow\nvalley. At first, it seems to form part of the earth on which it\nstands, because the bare and rocky mountains surrounding it are not\nseparated from these heights by any oasis or verdant strip, and the\nterrace-roofs of the houses do not stand out from the heaps of stony\nfragments that have rolled down from the crags. The spectator's eyes\ngradually get used to the landscape and pick out architectural lines;\nmysterious entrances to dwellings; lace-work of tall, straight\nminarets; and then, astonished at the sudden apparition of a big town\nthat he never thought was there, he sees it, as in a kind of mirage,\nincreasing excessively. Now it is the turn of the rocks to look as if\nchanged into houses; hills becoming immense suburbs extending\nboundlessly.\n\nIf, in this chaos of sharply-outlined shapes, it is difficult for the\neye to distinguish dwellings from steep rocks; one cannot fail to be\nstartled at once by the strange aspect of a great cube of masonry,\nbuilt up in the middle of a spacious quadrangular courtyard and veiled\nby black silk, shining in violent contrast to the dull tints of the\nentire sun-scorched landscape.\n\nThis black cube is the Holy Ka'bah, the veritable heart of Islam, and\nlike so many veins bringing blood to the heart to vivify the body, all\nthe prayers of Islam flow towards this Temple to vivify souls. It is\nthe only spot on earth where Moslems, when adoring the Eternal, can\nmeet face to face.\n\n[Sidenote: THE TEMPLE OF THE KA'BAH AND THE BLACK STONE]\n\nThe Ka'bah is not the tomb of the Prophet, nor an object to be\nworshipped, as many Europeans imagine. It is a temple called \"Beit\nAllah al Haram\" (the Holy House of Allah), and its origin can be\ntraced to the most distant days of antiquity.\n\nAccording to the Arab tradition, it was built by Adam, the father of\nthe human race. Destroyed by the Flood, it was rebuilt on the same\nfoundations, by the Prophet Abraham, with the help of his son,\nIshmael, the ancestor of the Arabs. Since then, often repaired, but\nretaining the same lines and proportions, the Ka'bah became the goal\nof Arab pilgrims flocking to adore Allah, the Only One, and perform\nseven ritual circuits instituted by their forefathers under the title\nof \"Tawaf.\"\n\nLittle by little, the worship of Allah, the Only One, having\ndegenerated in the memory of the pilgrims who added the practice of\nidolatry, Mohammad was sent to destroy the three hundred and sixty\nimages they adored.\n\nIn the east angle of the monument is incrusted the famous black stone\n\"Hajaru'l-Aswad\", framed in a silver circle.\n\nThis stone, which came down from Paradise, was brought by the angel\nJibra'il (Gabriel) to Abraham and his son, during the rebuilding of\nthe Temple, and they placed it where it is still to be seen this day,\nin order to serve pilgrims as a starting-point for their ritual\ncircuits. Primitively as white as milk, its present characteristic\nebony tint is due to the pollution of the sins of the pilgrims who\ncame to touch and kiss it, while imploring the Merciful to pardon\nthem.\n\nClose to the Ka'bah is the well of Zamzam. Its miraculous water gushed\nforth from the earth to save Ishmael from the tortures of thirst when\nlost in the desert with his mother, Hajar (Hagar). Neglected by the\nArab tribes, in the dark Days of Ignorance, it became choked up by\nsand and was dug anew by Abdul Muttalib, a few years before the birth\nof Mohammad. The water, ever since, is revered by pilgrims who use it\nfor drinking purposes and for their ablutions, thereby sanctifying\nthemselves by the remembrance of their ancestors.\n\nThe two functions of \"Siqayah,\" (Management of Water Supply), and of\n\"Hajaba,\" (Superintendence of the Ka'bah) were posts greatly sought\nafter on account of their prerogatives. At the epoch at which our\nstory begins, they were both united in the hands of Abdul Muttalib bin\nHashem, of the Quraish tribe, the grandfather of the future Prophet.\n\n[Sidenote: THE MARRIAGE OF ABDULLAH, FATHER OF THE PROPHET]\n\nOne day, Abdul Muttalib, custodian of the Ka'bah, set forth from the\nSanctuary, his favourite son, Abdullah, holding his hand.\n\nOn the threshold of the temple was seated Quotila, a woman of the Bani\nAsad tribe. On catching sight of the lad, she started to her feet,\nevincing sudden surprise. She stared at him with strange persistence,\nbecause she was fascinated by a supernatural light that radiated from\nhis brow. 'Whither art thou going?' she called to him.--'To where my\nfather leadeth me.'--'Stop and listen to me. I offer thee a hundred\ncamels, being as many as thy father was bound to sacrifice to save thy\nlife, if thou wilt consent to throw thyself upon me, now at once.'--'I\nam in my father's company and cannot disobey him, nor leave him,'\nreplied Abdullah, petrified at such shamelessness, especially in the\npresence of such a respectable person as Abdul Muttalib.\n\nThe young man turned away, filled with confusion, and rejoined Abdul\nMuttalib who took him to the house of Wahb ibn Abdi Manaf, whose\ndaughter the Superintendent of the Well thought would make a good wife\nfor his boy.\n\nWahb was one of the chieftains of the Bani Zahrah tribe and Abdul\nMuttalib being numbered among the princes of the Quraish, a most noble\ntribe, an alliance between two such authentically aristocratic\nfamilies would be easily brought about and so the marriage of\nAbdullah, with Aminah, daughter of Wahb, took place without further\nloss of time.\n\nAbdullah went off with his bride to the dwelling of Abu Talib, his\nuncle. There the marriage was consummated during the young couple's\nsojourn of three days and three nights. When the newly-married young\nman went out of the house, he came face to face again with Quotila,\nthe woman who had previously hailed him with such lack of decency and\nhe was surprised at her complete indifference as she saw him pass by.\nAbdullah was considered to be the handsomest youth in Makkah. His\nmanly bearing had aroused the sensual passions of most of the women of\nthe city to such an extent that, when his marriage was announced, they\nfell ill by dint of jealousy and disappointment. Quotila, however, was\nnot a victim to vulgar lust, being the sister of Waraqah ibn Taufal,\nthe learned man renowned throughout Arabia for his knowledge of the\nSacred Books. From him she had learnt how, in that part of the\ncountry, a Prophet was about to come into the world, whose father\nwould be known by rays of light illuminating his face with a pearly or\nstarry sheen. This sign she had detected on the brow of Abdullah, and\nwas haunted by the ambitious desire of becoming the mother of the\ncoming Apostle. Her hopes dashed to the ground, she no longer heeded\nAbdullah, notwithstanding his good looks.\n\nKnowing nothing of all this, he felt hurt at her indifference,\nfollowing so quickly on her great ardour. 'How comes it that thou dost\nnot ask me again for what thou hungered for but a little while ago?'\nhe asked Quotila.--'Who art thou?' she replied.--'I am Abdullah bin\nAbdul Muttalib.'--'Art thou the stripling whose brow seemed to me to\nbe surrounded with a luminous aureola which has now disappeared? What\nhath befell thee, since we first met?'\n\nHe apprised her of his marriage, and Quotila guessed that the radiance\nsurrounding the future Prophet had passed away from the forehead of\nAbdullah into the womb of Aminah, his wife.--'By Allah, I made no\nmistake!' she told him. 'On thy brow I discovered the pure light that\nI would have dearly liked to possess in the depths of my body. But now\nit belongeth to another who will be delivered of \"The Best Among\nCreated Beings,\" and there remaineth naught of thee that I care for.'\n\nThus it came about that Abdullah, by the words that fell from the lips\nof this learned woman, got to hear of his wife's pregnancy and the\nfuture in store for his son. Abdullah did not live long enough to\nhave the happiness of knowing his offspring, for Mohammad's father\ndied at Yasrib two months before Aminah was delivered.\n\nAminah, mother of Allah's Chosen One, spoke thus:\n\n\"Since the day I carried my son in my womb, until I brought him forth,\nI never suffered the least pain. I never even felt his weight and\nshould not have known the state I was in, if it had not been that\nafter I conceived and was about to fall asleep, an angel appeared to\nme, saying: 'Dost thou not see that thou art pregnant with the Lord of\nthy Nation; the Prophet of all thy people? Know it full well.' At the\nsame instant, a streak of light, darting out of my body, went up\nnorthwards--yea, even unto the land of Syria.\n\n\"When the day of my deliverance came due, the angel appeared to me\nagain and gave me a warning: 'When thou shalt bring forth thy child\ninto the world, thou must utter these words: 'For him I implore the\nprotection of Allah, the Only One, against the wickedness of the\nenvious,' and thou shalt call him by the name of Mohammad which means\nThe Lauded, as he is announced in the Taurat and the Injil, for he\nwill be lauded by all the inhabitants of Heaven and Earth.'\"\n\nWhen the planet Al-Moushtari passed, a line of light darted for the\nsecond time from Aminah's body in the direction of faraway Syria and\nit illuminated the palace of the town of Busra. At the same time,\nother prodigies astonished the world: the Lake Sowa suddenly dried up;\na violent earthquake made the palace of Chosroes the Great tremble,\nand shattered fourteen of its towers; the Sacred Fire, kept alight for\nmore than a thousand years, went out, in spite of the exertions of its\nPersian worshippers, and all the idols of the universe were found with\ntheir heads bowed down in great shame.\n\nAll these portents caused fear in the hearts of those who witnessed\nthem; but, despite the predictions of Al Moudzenab, the Parsee\nsorcerer, who had been warned in a dream that a great upheaval in the\ndestiny of the universe would be caused by an event to take place in\nArabia, the occurrence was unperceived: the birth of a child of the\nQuraish tribe at Makkah, a tiny town lost in the midst of the\nwilderness, unknown to the gorgeous monarchs of East and West alike,\nor else despised by them.\n\n[Illustration: Calligraphy: _Then when ye have ended the prayer, make\nmention of Allah, standing, and sitting, and reclining._]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE SECOND]\n\n[Illustration: _The Night of the Maulid, the Prophet's Birth day._\n_Moslems leaving a village Mosque._]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Have We not opened thy breast for thee?\n* And taken off from thee thy burden?_]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE SECOND\n\n\n[Sidenote: THE BIRTH OF MOHAMMAD]\n\nOur Lord Mohammad (May Allah shower His Blessings upon Him and grant\nHim Salvation!) was born a few seconds before the rising of the\nMorning Star, on a Monday, the twelfth day of the month Rabi-ul-Awwal\nof the first year of the Era of the Elephant. (August 29th, A.D. 570).\n\nWhen he came into the world, he was devoid of all pollution,\ncircumcised naturally and the umbilical cord had been cut by the hand\nof the angel Jibra'il. The atmosphere of the city being fatal to\ninfants, the leading citizens were in the habit of confiding their\nchildren to Bedouin wet-nurses who brought them up in their\nBadya-land, where dwelt the Bedouins, or nomads. Shortly after the\nbirth of Mohammad, about a dozen women belonging to the tribe of the\nBani Sad, all bronzed by the bracing breezes of their country, arrived\nat Makkah, to seek nurslings. Upon one of them devolved the honour of\nsuckling the Prophet of Allah. And she was Halimah, signifying \"The\nGentle\".\n\n[Sidenote: MOHAMMAD'S CHILDHOOD WITH THE BANI SAD TRIBE IN THEIR BADYA\nLAND]\n\nQuoth Halimah bint Zuib: \"It was a barren year, and both my husband,\nHaris bin Abdul Ozza and myself, were plunged in dire distress. We\nmade up our minds to go to Makkah where I purposed to seek a\nfoster-child whose grateful parents would help us out of our miserable\nplight. We joined a caravan where there were many women of our tribe,\nbound likewise on the same errand.\n\n\"The she-ass I was riding was so thin and exhausted by privation that\nshe came nigh upon breaking down on the road and we did not get a wink\nof sleep all night by reason of our poor child being tortured by the\npangs of hunger. Neither in my breasts, nor in the udder of a female\ncamel driven by my husband, did there remain one drop of milk to\nrelieve my baby's pain.\n\n\"All sleepless as I was, I fell a prey to despair. In my parlous\nstate, could I hope to take charge of a suckling?\n\n\"Lagging far behind the caravan, we arrived in Makkah at last, but all\nthe new-born babes had already been allotted to the other women,\nexcept one child and that was Mohammad.\n\n\"His father being dead and his family far from rich, despite the high\nrank it held in Makkah, none of the wet-nurses cared to take charge of\nthe baby boy.\n\n\"We likewise turned away from him at first, but I was full of shame at\nthinking I should have to journey back empty-handed, for I feared the\nmockery of my friends luckier than I. Besides, my feelings were deeply\nstirred when I gazed upon that fine infant, bound to wither away in\nthe unwholesome air of the town.\n\n\"My heart became filled with compassion; I felt my milk welling up\nmiraculously in my breasts, so I said to my husband: 'I swear by Allah\nthat I have a good mind to adopt that orphan boy, notwithstanding that\nwe have but slight hopes of ever earning anything worth talking about\nby so doing.'--'I cannot say thou art wrong,' he replied. 'Perhaps\nwith him, the blessing of Allah may once more favour our tent.'\n\n\"Scarcely listening, I could no longer restrain myself and rushed\ntowards the handsome baby fast asleep. I placed my hand on its pretty\nlittle breast; he smiled and opened his eyes sparkling with light. I\nkissed his brow between them. Holding him tightly in my embrace, I\nmade my way back to where our caravan was encamped. Once there, I\noffered him my right breast so that he should enjoy such nourishment\nas Allah chose to grant him. To my extreme astonishment, he found\nenough milk to satisfy his hunger. I proffered my left breast, but he\nrefused it, leaving it to his foster-brother, and he always behaved in\nlike fashion.\n\n\"A greater marvel still was when from our she-camel's teats, dried-up\nthat morning, my husband drew enough milk to appease the hunger that\ngnawed my entrails, and for the first time for many a month, the\nshades of night brought us refreshing sleep. 'By Allah, O Halimah!'\nexclaimed my husband, next day, on awaking, 'thou hast adopted a child\nthat is verily blessed!'\n\n\"With the little boy, I mounted my she-ass who started off at a rapid\npace. She was not long in coming up with my surprised companions and\neven trotted in front of them. Thereupon they cried out: 'O Halimah!\npull up thy ass, in order that we may journey home all together. Is\nthat the same animal you bestrode when we departed?'--'Aye; 'tis she\nand no other.'--'Then she is under some spell that we cannot unravel!'\n\n\"We reached our tents of the Bani Sad. I know no more arid soil than\nours and our flocks had been mowed down by famine. But we marvelled at\nfinding them in more thriving condition than during the most\nprosperous seasons, and the swollen teats of our ewes yielded more\nmilk than we knew what to do with.\n\n\"Our neighbour's flocks, on the contrary, were in a grievous state and\ntheir masters threw the blame on their shepherds. 'Woe to ye all,\nstupid serving-men!' cried the sheep-owners. 'Lead our lambs to graze\nwith those of Halimah!'\n\n\"The men obeyed, but all in vain: the sweet grass that seemed to\nspring up out of the earth offering its tender sprigs to our sheep,\nwithered immediately they were gone on their way.\n\n\"Prosperity and blessings remained in our tent unceasingly. Mohammad\nattained his second year and it was then I weaned him. His disposition\nwas truly uncommon. At the age of nine months, he talked in a charming\nway with accents that touched all hearts. He was never dirty; nor did\nhe ever sob or scream, except peradventure when his nakedness chanced\nto be seen. If he was uneasy at nights and refused to close his eyes,\nI would bring him out of the tent, when he would fix his gaze\nimmediately with admiration on the stars. He showed great joy, and\nwhen his glances were sated with the sight, he let his eyelids droop\nand allowed slumber to claim him.\"\n\n[Illustration: _Watching over Camels grazing._]\n\nBut when he was weaned, Halimah was obliged to take Mohammad back to\nhis mother who was eager to have him with her. What grief therefore\nfor the poor wet-nurse! She could not resign herself to such cruel\nseparation. As soon as she got to Makkah, she threw herself at\nAminah's feet and burst out supplicating as she kissed them. 'See how\nthe bracing air of the Badya hath profited thy child. Think that those\nbreezes will do him still greater good now that he is beginning to\nwalk. Fear the pestilential air of the city! Thou wouldst see him\nwaste away before thine eyes and remember my words when it was too\nlate.'\n\nMoved by these touching prayers and thinking only of her son's health,\nAminah stifled her motherly feelings and finished by consenting to let\nHalimah take Mohammad back to the Badya. His good-hearted nurse,\nbuckling him securely to her loins, went off, overjoyed, on the road\nleading to her encampment.\n\nHome again at the Badya of the Bani Sad, Mohammad's first footsteps\nwere printed on the ripple-marked carpet of the immaculate sands,\nwhere he inhaled with welcome nostrils the sweet odours of the\naromatic plants growing on the hillocks. And there it was he slept\nunder the dark blue tent of the star-studded sky and his chest\nexpanded, breathing the limpid air of desert nights. He grew strong,\nthanks to the healthy, wholesome food of the nomads: milk and cheese,\nwith unleavened bread baked under hot ashes and, now and again,\ncamel's flesh or mutton, devoid of the sickening smell of wool-grease\nthat comes from animals bred in confined stabling.\n\nSuch moral and physical well-being, that he owed to the Badya, was of\ngreat help to him, during ordeals later in life. He was always pleased\nto recur to his childhood's days. 'Allah granted me two inestimable\nfavours,' he would often say. 'First came the privilege of being born\nin the most noble of all the Arab tribes, the Quraish; secondly, that\nof being brought up in the Bani Sad region, the most salubrious of the\nentire Hijaz.'\n\nNever were there effaced from his mind those pictures of the desert\nwhich were impressed on his earliest glances when, in company with\nother nomadic lads, he would climb to the top of a rock to watch over\na grazing flock.\n\nNotwithstanding, being inclined to dream and meditate, he did not\nagree very well with the turbulence and high spirits of the little\nBedouins of his own age, and preferred to hide away from them, and\nramble in solitude not too far from the tents.\n\n[Sidenote: MOHAMMAD AND THE TWO ANGELS]\n\nHe went out, one morning, with his foster-brother leading the flocks\nof his foster-father to the pasturage.\n\nAll of a sudden, about the middle of the day, Mohammad's young\ncompanion went back alone. 'Come hither quickly!' he shouted to his\nfather and mother, his voice hoarse with affright. 'My brother, the\nQuraish, having slipped away from us, according to his wont, two men,\nclothed all in white, seized hold of him, threw him on the ground and\nsplit his chest open.'\n\nIn mad fear, poor Halimah, followed by her husband, ran as fast as her\nlegs would carry her, following the road pointed out by the youthful\nshepherd. Mohammad was found seated on the top of a hill. He was\nperfectly calm, but his face had taken on the sinister tint of the\ndust and ashes to which we must all return. They fondled him gently\nand put question after question to him. 'What ails thee, O child of\nours? What hath befell thee?'--'While I was intent upon looking after\nthe grazing sheep,' he replied, 'I saw two white forms appear. At\nfirst, I took them to be two great birds, but as they drew nearer, I\nsaw my mistake: they were two men clad in tunics of dazzling\nwhiteness.'--'Is that the boy?' said one of them to his companion,\npointing to me. 'Yea! 'Tis he!' As I stood stupefied with fear, they\nseized me; threw me down and cut my breast open. They drew out of my\nheart a black clot of blood which they cast far away; and then closing\nup my chest, they disappeared like phantoms.'\n\nThe words of Allah, in the Qur'an, seem to allude to this incident:\n\"_Have we not opened thy breast for thee? * And taken off from thee\nthy burden. * Which galled thy back?_\" (THE QUR'AN, XCIV. 1, 2, 3).\n\nThis story, together with many others to be met with in the pages of\nthis work, must be taken to be a parable, which, in this case,\nsignifies that Allah opened Mohammad's breast when quite young, so\nthat the joy of monotheistic truth should penetrate therein and\npermeate his being, relieving him of the heavy burden of idol-worship.\n\nMohammad's foster-parents continued to live in a state of bewilderment\nand Haris said to his wife: 'I fear the boy is a prey to falling\nsickness, evidently due to spells cast by neighbours, jealous of the\nprosperity and the Blessing that the child hath brought into our tent.\nBut whether possessed by the Evil One who conjured up this\nhallucination; or because, on the contrary, the boy's vision is a true\none and pointeth to a glorious future, our responsibility is none the\nless heavy. Let us give him back to his family, before his disease\nbecometh more violent.'\n\nHalimah was regretfully obliged to agree with such wise arguments and,\ntaking Mohammad with her, she turned in the direction of Makkah.\n\nThe boy, now four years of age, walked by her side, and, on the\noutskirts of the town, they found themselves in the midst of a great\ncrowd wending their way to the market or the Temple pilgrimage. Night\nhad come on. Hustled in the dense throng, Halimah was soon separated\nfrom her foster-son and was unable to find him in the dark, despite\nher active search and desperate shouts. Without losing time, she\nhurried to apprise Abdul Muttalib, whose high social position made it\neasy for him to send out clever men on the track of his grandson,\nwhile he rode on horseback to head the searchers.\n\nIn the Tihamah water-course, one of the trackers soon found a child\nseated among some shrubs. He was amusing himself by pulling the\nbranches. 'Who art thou, child?' he was asked. 'I am Mohammad, son of\nAbdullah bin Abdul Muttalib.'\n\nWell pleased at having found the boy he was looking for, the man\nlifted up the child and carried him to the arms of his grandfather\nfollowing behind. Abdul Muttalib embraced Mohammad affectionately, sat\nhim on the pommel of his saddle in front of him and brought him back\nto Makkah. To show his joy, the old man slaughtered some sheep and\ndistributed their flesh to the poor of the city. Then, taking his\ngrandson astride on his shoulder, he performed the ritual circuits\nround the Ka'bah in token of gratitude.\n\nAccompanied by poor Halimah, now recovered from her anguish, he led\nMohammad into the presence of Aminah, his mother. After she had given\nway to the effusive joy of a loving mother, she turned to Halimah:\n'What doth this signify? O nurse, thou wast so desirous of keeping my\nson by thy side, and now thou dost bring him back to me, all of a\nsudden?'--'I considered that he had reached an age when I could do no\nmore for him than I have done; and fearing unlucky accidents, I bring\nhim back to thee, knowing how thou wert longing to set eyes on him\nagain.'\n\nNevertheless, perplexity and sadness were only too clearly to be read\non the kind nurse's features. Not being deceived by her explanations,\nAminah continued: 'Thou dost hide from me the true motive of thy\nreturn. I wait to hear thee tell the whole truth.'\n\nHalimah then thought it best to repeat what her husband had said, and\nAminah's maternal pride was sorely wounded. 'Can it be that thou art\nafraid lest my son should fall a victim to the devil?' she quickly\nretorted.--'I confess that such is my fear.'--'Know then that the\ndemon's wiles are powerless to do him harm, for a glorious destiny is\nin store for him.' Aminah made the nurse acquainted with the\nmarvellous events that had happened during her pregnancy and lying-in.\nAfter having thanked and rewarded Halimah for her devotion, Aminah\nkept her child with her, and his health, fortified by life in the open\nair, had now nothing to fear from unhealthy conditions of town life.\n\n[Sidenote: AMINAH'S DEATH (_A.D. 576_)]\n\nUnder the vigilant eyes of the most loving of mothers, Mohammad grew\nup handsome and intelligent; but he was not fated to long enjoy\nmaternal affection which no other love can equal. On returning from a\njourney to Yasrib, whither she had taken him, Aminah died suddenly,\nhalfway on the road, in the straggling village of Al-Abwa, where she\nwas buried.\n\nThe sorrowing orphan boy, scarce seven years of age, was brought back\nto Makkah by a black slave-girl, Umm Aiman; entirely devoted to his\nyoung master and who, including five camels, constituted his sole\ninheritance.\n\nHe was taken in hand by his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who had\nalways shown him great affection, and the old man's love increased\ndaily, as he saw the lad growing up more and more like Abdullah, his\nfather, so much regretted.\n\nThe following anecdote gives an idea of Abdul Muttalib's boundless\naffection for his grandson:\n\nIn Makkah, where the streets are narrow and crooked like those of all\nthe towns of the desert, there is only one open space of any size--the\nsquare in which stands the Ka'bah, and where, morning and evening, the\ncitizens gathered together, resting and gossiping about their business\nas well as performing their devotions. Not a day passed without the\nservants of Abdul Muttalib throwing down a carpet in the Temple's\nshade; and round the rug sat his sons, grandsons and the leading\ntownsmen, awaiting his coming. The respect shown to the Superintendent\nof \"The House of Allah\" was so great, that never did anyone ever dare\nto put his foot even on the outer edge of his carpet.\n\nIt came to pass one day that young Mohammad took up a position right\nin the middle of the revered carpet, scandalising in the highest\ndegree his uncles who drove him away immediately. But Abdul Muttalib\nwas coming, and he had witnessed the conflict from afar. 'Let my\ngrandson go back at once to where he was seated!' he called out. 'He\nis the delight of my old age and his great audacity ariseth from the\npresentiment he hath of his destiny, for he shall occupy higher rank\nthan any Arab hath ever attained.'\n\nSo saying, he made Mohammad sit by his side and fondled his cheeks and\nhis shoulders, while in ecstasies at the least thing the boy said or\ndid.\n\nAgain the fates decreed, that Mohammad should be deprived of gentle\nlove: Abdul Muttalib died at the age of ninety-five, unanimously\nregretted by his fellow-citizens.\n\nThe unlucky orphan boy was received into the house of his uncle Abu\nTalib, who had been chosen for this kind succour by his grandsire, for\nthe reason that, alone among his uncles, he was the brother of both\nthe mother and father of Abdullah, Mohammad's father.\n\n[Sidenote: MOHAMMAD'S FIRST JOURNEY IN SYRIA (_A.D. 582_)]\n\nHaving a large family and not being very well off, although the\nmanagement of the Ka'bah had been bequeathed to him, Abu Talib was\nobliged to do business with the lands of Yaman and Syria.\n\nShortly after sheltering his nephew under his roof, he undertook the\ntask of organising a caravan of Quraish men, and he was to lead them\nback to their tents.\n\nAll was in readiness; the loads were shared and divided, corded and\nbalanced on the pack-saddles of the kneeling camels, grunting\naccording to their habit. Their drivers began, by dint of blows and\nshouts, to force them to rise to their feet and direct their swaying\nstride in a northerly direction. This sight caused Mohammad to\nremember his beloved Badya, where caravans resembling this one about\nto depart passed to and fro continually. Fresh separation, this time\nfrom his beloved uncle, was about to plunge him into the sadness of\nsolitude. He stood still, gloomy and silent. At last, heartbroken, he\nthrew himself into Abu Talib's embrace, casting his young arms round\nhim, and hiding his face in the folds of his uncle's mantle, to\nconceal his tears brought on by longing and despair.\n\nGreatly moved by this spontaneous manifestation of affection, and\nguessing how ardent was his nephew's wish to accompany him, Abu Talib\ndeclared: 'By Allah! we'll take him with us; he'll not leave me and\nI'll not leave him.'\n\nMohammad dried his tears and, jumping for joy, he busied himself in\nhastening the final preparations for the journey. At a sign from his\nuncle, he perched himself on the female camel, getting up behind him.\n\nWhen the caravan began to pass along the tracks made by the Bedouin\ntribes, Mohammad's lungs, contracted by breathing the vitiated air of\nhouses and streets, were deliciously dilated, revelling in liberally\ngulping down the life-giving air of the Badya to which he was\naccustomed. Being used to a nomadic existence from childhood, the\nyoung traveller was able to support most valiantly the exhausting\nprivations and terrible fatigue of such an interminable journey in the\nmidst of the Hijaz deserts.\n\nFor more than a year, the countries he passed through were so much\nalike in their sands and rocks, that the caravan seemed as if marking\ntime. In the pitiless desert there was no other sign of life, except\nthe presence of Him who is everywhere, eternally existant, but not to\nbe seen by mortal eyes.\n\n[Sidenote: HOW MOHAMMAD MET THE MONK BAHIRA]\n\nOn the terrace-roof of a convent perched, like a turban on a tall\nman's head, on the top of a steep hill, the lesser chain of the Jabal\nHauran, the most learned monk, Bahira, looked out afar over the Syrian\nplains, stretching away in infinite space in the direction of Arabia.\nAll of a sudden, his attention was drawn to the strange aspect of a\nsolitary cloud, white and oblong, that stood out in bold relief on the\nimmaculate blue background of the sky. Like some enormous bird, the\ncloud hovered above a small caravan winding its way northwards. The\nfleecy mass in the heavens covered the straggling procession with its\nazure shade and moved with the line of travellers.\n\nAt the foot of the hill on which the monastery was built, the caravan\nhalted, close to a great tree that grew on the brink of a dried-up\nwady, and began to organise the encampment. At that moment, the cloud\nstopped still and vanished in the celestial canopy, while the branches\nof the tree were bent, as if beneath the gusts of a breeze acting on\nthose twigs and leaves, at the same time throwing their shade over one\nof the caravaneers, as if to protect him from the blazing rays of the\nsun. Seeing these prodigies, Bahira guessed that among these wayfarers\ncoming from the Hijaz, would be found the man he had been awaiting so\nlong: the Prophet announced by the Sacred Books. So Bahira hurried\ndown from the flat roof, gave orders to prepare a bountiful meal and\nsent a messenger to invite all the folks of the caravan without\nexception, young or old, nobles or slaves.\n\nThe messenger returned, in company with the men of Makkah whose coming\nBahira awaited on the threshold of his monastery. 'By Lat and Uzza!\nthy conduct doth puzzle me, O Bahira!' exclaimed one of the guests.\n'Many a time and oft have we passed by the convent; yet, until now\nthou hast never heeded us; never didst thou dream of showing us the\nleast sign of hospitality. What maggot biteth thee this day?'--'Thou\ndost not err,' replied Bahira. 'I have cogent reasons for behaving as\nI do. But ye are my guests at this hour and I pray that ye honour me\nby gathering together to partake of the repast that I have prepared\nfor you all.'\n\nWhile the people he had invited were enjoying the food with the\nappetites of men having recently been sorely deprived, Bahira\nscrutinised them all in turn, trying to find the one answering to the\ndescription given in his Books. Much to his disappointment, he did not\nsucceed. There was no one to be seen whose appearance agreed with the\ndescription. But as he had just witnessed marvels that could not be\nexplained, otherwise than by the reason that one of Allah's elect was\nsurely present, he refused to be discouraged. 'O men of the Quraish\ntribe!' he asked; 'is there not one of you remaining in your\ntents?'--'Aye, one only,' was the reply. 'We left him alone at rest on\naccount of his extreme youth.'--'Why did ye not bring him hither? Go,\ncall him at once, so that he shareth the meal in your company.'--'By\nLat and Uzza!' swore one of the guests; 'we give you right. Of a\nsurety we are to blame for having left one of us behind, while we\nprofit by thine invitation, especially as he is a son of Abdullah bin\nAbdul Muttalib.'\n\nRising, he went and fetched Mohammad and brought him into the midst of\nthe group of guests. Bahira eyed the newcomer with great attention and\nwhen the men had done eating and drinking, the monk went to him,\ntaking him on one side. 'O young man!' said the monk, 'I have a\nquestion to ask. By Lat and Uzza, wilt thou consent to answer?'\n\nBahira desired to put him to the test by invoking the idols Lat and\nUzza, exactly as he had just heard his guests swearing, but Mohammad\nreplied thus: 'Put no question to me in the name of Lat and Uzza, for\nthere is nothing on this earth that I hate more than them.'--'Well\nthen, by Allah! wilt thou answer me?'--' Question me and, by Allah!\nI'll answer thee!'\n\nThereupon Bahira interrogated him on everything that was of interest,\nsuch as his family, his position in life, his dreams that, now and\nagain, disturbed his slumbers, and many other things. Finally, just as\nthe youth, after having taken leave of the saintly scholar, turned to\ngo away, the collar of his tunic yawned slightly and Bahira caught\nsight of the \"Seal of Prophecy,\" imprinted on the lad's back, below\nthe nape of the neck, on the exact spot indicated by the Sacred Texts.\nBahira's last doubts vanished--here, indeed, standing in his presence,\nwas the Prophet whose advent had been foretold. Therefore, the monk\nwent up to Abu Talib and spoke to him, saying: 'What relation is this\nlad to thee?'--'He is my son.'--'No! He is no son of thine!'--'True\nenough! He is not my son, but that of my brother.'--'What hath become\nof thy brother?'--'He died while his wife was still pregnant with my\nnephew.'--'Thou dost speak the truth. Mark then my words: lose no time\nin returning to thy country with thy brother's son and watch over him\nwith constant vigilance. Above all, beware of Jews! If they saw him\nand learnt what I have just learnt about him, by Allah! they would do\nhim harm, for this son of thy brother is chosen to play a great part\nin the world!'\n\nAbu Talib, much impressed by the warnings of a man whose scientific\nreputation was universally recognised, made haste to finish his\nbusiness at Busra in Syria, and started back home to Makkah with his\nnephew, where they arrived safe and sound.\n\nProtected by Allah and guided by his uncle, who watched over him with\ntrue paternal care, Mohammad grew up and became an accomplished young\nman. He was extremely chaste. Abu Talib being busily engaged in\nexecuting some repairs in the Zamzam well, several Quraish striplings,\namong them being Mohammad, fetched and carried big stones fitted to\nthe work. So as to be more at their ease, they lifted up their _izars_\n(a kind of tunic) in front, passing them over their head and rolling\nthem round the neck, thus protected from the sharp edges of the stones\ncarried on the shoulders; and all this was done without troubling\nabout the fact that they were showing their nakedness. Mohammad was\nobliged to imitate them; but so soon as he felt his nakedness exposed\nto every eye, he was seized with a fit of atrocious anguish; great\ndrops of sweat stood out on his brow; a shudder of shame shook his\nentire frame and he fainted away.\n\nSuch innate modesty, and the protection granted by Allah to his Elect,\nsafeguarded the young man from the excesses in which lads often fall\nat the period of puberty. Among all the youths of the same age, he was\nthe best-looking; the most generous; the most easygoing; the most\ntruth-telling; the most devoted friend; and the most devoid of\ndebauchery, to such an extent that his fellow-citizens called him\n\"Al-Amin,\" which means: \"The Reliable Man.\"\n\n[Sidenote: THE SECOND SYRIAN VOYAGE (_A.D. 594_)]\n\nLike Abu Talib, most of the men of Makkah were obliged, to eke out a\nliving, to traffic with Syria and the Yaman.\n\nTheir town, situated in one of the most frightfully barren countries\nof the world, offered no resources and its citizens only made both\nends meet by dint of trading with these two countries between which it\nserved as a link.\n\nIts caravans crawled to the Yaman to procure raw materials from that\nregion, known as Arabia Felix; and also products brought from\noverseas, imported from Ethiopia, India and even far China. The camels\ncame laden with fragrant spices, sweet-smelling incense, ivory, gold\ndust, silks and many other articles of luxury. Arriving in the Hijaz,\nthey added dates from Yasrib or Taif. Then they wended their way into\nSyria, to exchange these goods for agricultural produce, such as\ngrain, wheat, barley, rice, figs and raisins, as well as for imports\nof Greek and Roman civilisation.\n\nEven women carried on this kind of trade, confiding their goods to\nthose who organised caravans. These female traffickers sold the\nmerchandise in return for a share of the profits.\n\nKhadijah bint Khuaild, a rich and noble widow, at the head of a\nthriving enterprise of this kind, hearing that everybody was unanimous\nin extolling Mohammad's well-merited reputation for prudence and\nprobity, thought it would be well to entrust him with the direction of\nher commerce. She sent for him and, as a beginning, proposed that he\nshould take charge of a caravan she was despatching to Syria and\noffered a salary twice as large as she was generally in the habit of\npaying.\n\nMohammad accepted; but Abu Talib, calling to mind what the monk Bahira\nhad told him, grew uneasy when the camels were ready to start. He\nspoke privately to each of the caravaneers, urging them to watch over\nhis nephew, and making them responsible for any harm that might come\nto him. It was with Maisarah, a slave, Khadijah's right-hand man, that\nAbu Talib was most solemn in his warnings. About to travel with\nMohammad, Maisarah, a good servant, simple-minded and devoted, already\ngreatly impressed by the confidential observations of such a prominent\ncitizen as Abu Talib, fell under the sway of the charm and influence\nexercised by his young master over all who approached him. Maisarah\nfelt great liking and boundless admiration for Mohammad.\n\nIn every incident of the journey, Maisarah noted miraculous tokens,\nproving the superhuman disposition of the man he served, and indeed,\ncertain events showed that the slave guessed aright. The road he had\nso often travelled, knowing all its fatigue and danger; the\ninterminable tracks where the inexorable orb of day dried up the\nwater-skins and gave the mortals who went that way a foretaste of the\nflames of Jahannam; the paths marked out by the bones of men and\nanimals that had succumbed to pitiless thirst, were passed as easily\nas if they had been enchanted.\n\nEvery day, at the hour when the sun, rising high over the heads of the\ntravellers, threatened them with its deadly, blazing rays, light\nclouds, like the feathers of a bird, floated in the azure sky. They\nincreased and met; then they were stretched out in long lines\nresembling the beam-feathers of enormous wings, opened to protect\nMohammad beneath their shade. When the sun, losing its formidable\npower, began to sink gradually below the horizon, the feathers of\nthese clouds dropped away one by one, vanishing in the last golden\nrays that the incandescent orb threw out through space before\ndisappearing. The protecting wings, now useless, closed, making room\nfor the stars which sparkle nowhere in the world so brilliantly as\nover deserts. Even the camels seemed overjoyed; they doubled the\nstride of their great long legs and the path seems to fold itself\nbackwards as they advance. No dead body of any of them was added to\nthe sinister skeletons left behind by previous caravans.\n\nOnce only during the whole journey, a couple of Khadijah's camels\nshowed signs of exhaustion and lagged behind the convoy. Despite the\ninsults and blows showered on them, Maisarah failed to bring them in\nline with the others. The two wretched beasts were completely bathed\nin sweat, a certain sign that they would soon fall, never to rise\nagain. Maisarah, devoted to his mistress's interests, was extremely\nperplexed. He did not want to forsake his tired camels; but on the\nother hand, he had not forgotten Abu Talib's pressing recommendations\nconcerning the young man then leading the caravan, so the slave ran to\napprise him of what was taking place.\n\nMohammad halted and came back with Maisarah to see the pair of camels\nwho were lying down, uttering painful, pitiful groans each time an\neffort was made to make them get up. He leant over them and, with his\nblessed hands, touched their feet hacked by the sharp pebbles of the\nHammadah, and the poor beasts that had not even stirred under the\nlash, suddenly rose to their feet and with enormous strides, grunting\njoyously, caught up with the leaders of the caravan.\n\nGood luck lasted when the caravan reached Busra, in Syria. Mohammad\nsold out all the goods he brought with unexpected profit, and found,\nat extraordinarily advantageous rates, what he had come to get,\nwithout even having to undergo the horrors of never-ending haggling,\naccording to Oriental custom.\n\nHe awakened the sympathy and interest of everyone by his winning ways,\nfrankness and honesty; but above all, by that mysterious radiance\nemanating from Predestinated Beings; which the old masters interpreted\nby a golden aureola, called magnetism by the scientists of the present\nday, because they lack the power of explaining its nature.\n\nIn this region, where enthusiasm for questions of religion ran high;\nwhere every hill is topped by a monastery and where every stone calls\nup the remembrance of a Prophet, this young traveller, before whom\nNature itself seemed to bow down, excited in the highest degree the\ncuriosity of all these monks. They were renowned for researches in\nsacred texts and lived in hopes of the coming of a new Apostle of\nAllah. All flocked to put questions to Maisarah, known to many among\nthem during previous journeys. They soon divined that he was\nMohammad's confidential slave; and a Nestorian monk, named Jordis,\npredicted great things to the devoted serving-man, making the same\nkind of recommendations as Bahira had made to Abu Talib.\n\nAll transactions being terminated, the caravan turned homewards, and\nimmediately the mysterious cloud, that seemed to be awaiting the\ntravellers, took its place over Mohammad's head and never ceased to\naccompany him until the journey's end. On the outskirts of Makkah, at\nthe spot called Bathen Mou, Maisarah prevailed on Mohammad to go on\nahead of the convoy, so as to carry to Khadijah, without the least\ndelay, the good news of their return.\n\nThe widow was in the habit of going up with her servants to the top of\nher house whence she could see the road to Syria, dipping, in a\nnorth-easterly direction, into the ravine overlooked by the Jabal\nQuayqwan. She certainly felt no anxiety concerning her goods, but\nwithout confessing as much to herself as yet, she was fearful lest\nanything harmful should happen to the man to whom she had confided\nthem: young Mohammad who, by his noble bearing and upright\ndisposition, had so deeply impressed her that his absence weighed her\ndown. It seemed to be never-ending.\n\nOne day, among all these weary weeks of waiting, when the sun at its\nzenith was setting the town in a blaze, preventing the inhabitants\nfrom stirring out in the streets or mounting to the housetops,\nKhadijah lingered at her usual observatory. Her beautiful eyes, their\nlids scorched by dint of staring searchingly into the depths of the\nwhite-hot horizon, had just reluctantly closed, in despair at not\nseeing the caravan so impatiently desired ... All of a sudden, the\nhouse became filled with delicious, cool air; while the blinding\nreverberation of sunlight on the white terraces and calcined rocks was\nsoftened by a gauzy veil of sheltering violet shade ... Just then, the\ndoor opened and Mohammad entered Khadijah's dwelling.\n\nDoing his duty like a scrupulous manager, he turned in all the\naccounts of his expedition, and enumerated the magnificent results\nthereof. She thanked and complimented him warmly, but without being\nvery much astonished at his success, for she began to think he was\npredestinated.\n\nThe coincidence of his arrival with that of the cloud which granted\nsuch beneficent shade had not failed to strike her, and she divined\nthe obvious connection of the circumstances. 'Where is Maisarah?'\nquoth she.--'With the caravan over which he watches.'--'Go back at\nonce and fetch him; increase the camels' speed, for great is my haste\nto admire the riches thou dost bring me.'\n\nMohammad heard and obeyed; and the cloud, flying away from the house,\nfollowed and accompanied him on the Syrian road. Henceforward,\nKhadijah's doubts were dispelled, and her faithful slave Maisarah, who\nsoon arrived, confirmed her opinion. 'The cloud thou didst remark,' he\ntold her, 'accompanied us unceasingly from the day we left Makkah\nuntil we returned. Ever since we went out of Busra, and enlightened by\nthe predictions of the learned monks of the Hauran, I am forced to\nacknowledge that it was formed by the wings of two angels whose\nmission was to protect my master from the sun's ardent rays.'\n\nHe then narrated all those incidents of the journey in which he could\nmake out miraculous tokens and Khadijah never grew tired of\nquestioning him.\n\n[Illustration: _The Flocks_ 2 views]\n\n[Sidenote: THE MARRIAGE OF MOHAMMAD AND KHADIJAH (_A.D. 595_)]\n\nThis noble, generous woman rewarded Mohammad by giving him double the\nsalary she had promised and thenceforward had but one idea: to get him\nto take care of her entire wealth. The best way was to marry him, and\nthe dictates of her heart urged her to carry out her plan. There was\nbut one objection: the difference in their ages. Mohammad had only\njust attained his twenty-fifth year, while she was close upon forty.\nNevertheless, Khadijah's age did not prevent her from being the most\nmarrigeable lady in all the town, not, as might be rightly thought, on\naccount of her riches (according to Arab customs, the husband brings\nthe dowry and has no right to his wife's property), but because of her\npersonal qualities, charming ways, distinguished manners, chastity and\naristocratic descent, Khadijah being the daughter of Khuaild bin Asad,\nbin Abdul Ozza, bin Qusaiy, bin Kilab, bin Morra, bin Kab, bin Lawaiy,\nbin Ghalib....\n\nShe was therefore the queen of a court of suitors trying to dazzle\nher, some by the purity of their pedigrees; others by the extent of\ntheir riches. But all in vain. Since the death of her second husband,\nAbu Hala, it seemed as if she had made up her mind to end her days\nwithout contracting a third alliance. When she met Mohammad and began\nto appreciate his moral qualities, all her resolutions soon weakened\nand the feelings that drew her towards him increased each day in\nintensity. She determined to sound him.\n\nMaisarah has said: \"Two months and twenty days after our return from\nSyria, my mistress sent me to my master and I questioned him thus: 'O\nMohammad! hast thou any reason for remaining a bachelor?'--'My hands\nare empty. I do not possess the wherewithal to furnish the dowry of a\nbetrothed bride.'--'But if the small amount thou hast should be\nconsidered enough by a rich, worthy and noble lady--what then?'--'To\nwhom dost thou allude?'--'I mean Khadijah!'--'Why joke with me? How,\nwith the trifle I could offer as a dowry, should I dare to seek her\npresence and offer to take her in marriage?'--'Rest easy on that\nscore. I'll see to it.' My master's accents and looks sufficed for me\nto become aware of his feelings towards my mistress. Without further\ndelay, I sought her out and told her what I thought. Beaming with joy,\nshe made all her arrangements for speedy nuptials.\"\n\nAt first, Khadijah had to obtain the consent of Khuaild, her father,\nwho so far had inexorably repulsed all suitors, as he never found any\nrich or noble enough for his daughter. To gain her ends, she resorted\nto trickery.\n\nCoached by her, Mohammad made arrangements for a big feast, inviting\nhis uncles, Khuaild and a group of Quraish tribesmen of the highest\nrank. Khuaild's weak point was a love of fermented beverages and, as\nwas his wont, he drank a little more than was reasonable. His daughter\nseized the opportunity to speak to him thus: 'O my father? Mohammad\nben Abdullah asks me to marry him and I beg thee to bring about our\nunion.'\n\nKhuaild, giddy with the fumes of wine, and seeing everything tinted\nwith a rosy hue, gave his consent without reflecting, and Khadijah,\nimmediately, following the custom prevailing at that epoch, bedewed\nher betrothed with perfumes and threw a sumptuous mantle over his\nshoulders.\n\nKhuaild woke up out of his fit of drunkenness and interrogated his\ndaughter: 'What doth all this signify?'--'Thou knowest full well, O my\nfather! Thou hast just now settled my betrothal with Mohammad, son of\nAbdullah.'--'Could I have done this thing: marry thee to the orphan\nadopted by Abu Talib? Ah no! Never will I consent while I\nlive!'--'Dost desire then to dishonour thyself in the eyes of the\nQuraish chiefs here this day, by confessing thou wert drunk just\nnow?'\n\nShe continued in this strain, until at last Khuaild, finding nothing\nto say in response, was obliged to give his definite consent.\nThereupon Abu Talib made the following speech: 'Praise be to Allah who\ncreated us, the Bani Hashem, descendants of Ibrahim (Abraham) and of\nthe seed of Ishmael, who did appoint us to be custodians of His House,\nthe Holy Ka'bah, and Administrators of His Sacred Territory; and who\nmade us as Lords over the Arabs. Here before ye standeth my brother's\nson, Mohammad bin Abdullah; no man can be weighed in the balance with\nhim, for he is far above all others as regards nobility, merit,\ngenerosity and wisdom. If he be not favoured by fortune, remember that\nwealth is naught else than a passing, inconstant shadow; a loan to be\nrepaid eventually. Now the soul of Mohammad bin Abdullah leaneth\ntowards the noble dame Khadijah, whose soul eke leaneth towards him;\nand he doth beg at this hour that thou, O Khuaild! in thy generosity,\nshould give her to him to be his wife. As dowry, he bringeth twenty\nyoung female camels, and I call upon ye to be my witnesses, O my\nQuraish brethren!'\n\nThe marriage took place, and so as to celebrate it duly, Khadijah had\nher young and graceful slaves to dance to the sound of tabors, before\nthe company assembled; all unanimously overjoyed at this alliance\nbetween two such noble families.\n\nKhadijah was Mohammad's first wife. She never had a rival in her\nhusband's heart, and, until the day of her death, she was his sole,\nbeloved spouse. She gave him seven children; three sons: al-Qasim,\nat-Tahir and at-Taiyib; and four daughters: Ruqaiyah, Fatimah, Zainab\nand Ummu Kulsum.\n\nAfter the birth of al-Qasim, the eldest boy, a familiar surname, \"Abul\nQasim,\" that is to say, the Father of Qasim, was bestowed on Mohammad,\nfull of joy at the coming of a scion of his house. Unfortunately, the\npoor child, greatly cherished by his father, was destined to die in\ninfancy. The same fate overtook his brothers, at-Tahir and at-Taiyib,\nwho passed away in like fashion in \"The Days of Ignorance.\" Only\nMohammad's daughters witnessed the advent of Islam and were counted\namong its first and most faithful servants.\n\n[Sidenote: HOW THE TEMPLE OF THE KA'BAH WAS REBUILT (_A.D. 605_)]\n\nAfter partial destruction by fire, the Ka'bah had been badly restored.\nThe roof fell in, and thieves took advantage of the breach to get into\nthe Sanctuary and carry off part of the treasure, constituted by\npilgrims' offerings.\n\nFresh repairs were urgently needed; but as bad luck would have it, the\nwalls were so dilapidated that they could no longer bear the least\nweight. There was nothing to be done but to raze them to the ground.\nIf, however, the idea of rebuilding such a revered monument met with\nno objection, its demolition seemed to be the most dangerous sacrilege\nimaginable.\n\nAfter much hesitation, finally dispelled by a series of obvious\nmiracles, the Quraish men came to the resolution of tearing down the\nold walls of which the remains were in heaps on the ground. Then, as\nthe ancient foundations were formed of blocks of stone admirably\nfitting one into the other, each clan of the Quraish tribe undertook\npart of the task of rebuilding.\n\nThe workers, actuated by the zeal that always arises from rivality,\nsoon built up the walls to the height at which the famous Black Stone,\n\"al-Hajaru'l-Aswad,\" should be fixed. Who was to have the honour of\nputting the precious relic back in its place? There was not the\nslightest chance of coming to an agreement on this point, and, in\nconsequence of each party pleading the precedence of the purest noble\ndescent or the greatest merit, the discussion grew so heated that most\ntragical results were to be feared. Under the influence of jealousy,\ngroups were formed and stood face to face. The Bani Abed-Dar, joining\nthe Bani Adiyy bin Kab, brought forth a bowl filled with blood,\nplunging their hands therein, and swearing they would die sooner than\nrelinquish the privilege in anyone else's favour, because they thought\nit devolved upon them by right.\n\nFor four days and four nights, the adversaries, with threatening mien,\nremained on the look-out, absorbed in the task of vigilantly watching\neach other. At last, Abu-Ummayah, their senior, spoke out, saying:\n'There will come a time when all this must finish and this is what I\npropose: name as umpire the first man who cometh into our midst, and\nlet him settle the dispute that destroyeth our union.'\n\nThe advice given was not displeasing to the stubborn rivals and they\nfinally agreed to follow it. It happened then, at that very moment,\nthat they saw coming towards them a young man about thirty years of\nage. They recognised him as \"Al-Amin\" (The Reliable); in other words:\nMohammad. Nothing could have been more fortunate, and all being as of\none mind on this point, they accepted him as arbitrator at once,\nsubmitting the cause of their conflict to his judgment. When they\nterminated explaining the case, Mohammad, instead of hearkening to\ntheir respective claims, only said: 'Bring a mantle and spread it out\non the ground.'\n\nWhen they had obeyed his behest, he took the Black Stone in his hands\nand placing it in the middle of the cloak, he went on: 'Let the most\ninfluential person of each party take hold of the mantle by the corner\nthat is in front of him.' All did as they were told, and then he\nturned towards those who held the corners of the mantle. 'Now, lift\nthe cloak,' he continued; 'all together, up to the height of the wall\nwhich is being built.'\n\nThey obeyed and when the lifted cloak was level with the spot where\nthe Black Stone was to be built in, Mohammad took the Relic and with\nhis own hands, put it in its place.\n\nThanks to his presence of mind, all cause of discord disappeared. He\nhad given satisfaction to each of the rival groups, without favouring\none more than the other; and caused the proud Arabs to be reconciled\nwithout bloodshed, for the first time in all their history; in short,\nthere was honour due to him which no one contested.\n\nHigh above the Black Stone, the walls rose rapidly, carried up by the\nworkers toiling as friends. The ribs of a ship wrecked on the Jeddah\ncoast furnished a flat terrace-roof, and when the monument was\nfinished, it was entirely draped with a veil of the finest lawn, woven\nby the Copts.\n\nIn later years, the veil consisted of striped Yaman cloth; and still\nlater, the Ka'bah was covered by Hajaj bin Yusef with the \"Kiswah,\" or\ngarment of black silk, such as is still thrown over it at the present\nday, being renewed yearly.\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And provide for your journey; but the\nbest provision is the fear of Allah._]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE THIRD]\n\n[Illustration: _\"At Takbir\", or Glorification._]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Verily, we have caused It (the Qur'an)\nto descend on the night of Power._]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE THIRD\n\n\n[Sidenote: DESERT RETIREMENT]\n\nTo him they called \"Al-Amin,\" (the Reliable), his fellow-citizens were\nready to grant the highest and most coveted honours, with a post of\npreponderance in their city.\n\nBut being of a disposition equally devoid of vanity or ambition, he\ndisdainfully refused to reply to their flattering advances, and his\nfortuitous intervention in the dispute arising from the rebuilding of\nthe Ka'bah was the only time he was mixed up with public affairs\nduring a period of fifteen years, dating from his wedding-day.\n\nHow did he pass his time? Allah had inspired him with the love of\nsolitude, and Mohammad loved more than anything to wander all alone on\ngreat empty plains stretching away farther than the eye could reach.\n\nWhat were the causes of this liking? Doubtless, in the gloomy desert\nsurrounding Makkah, he conjured up over and over again the delightful\nmemories of his childhood, passed in the Badya; but his highly-gifted\nsoul found satisfaction of a more exalted kind. In the first place, he\nwas spared the sight of the moral and religious errors of the Arabs at\nthat period.\n\nThe Arabs were, in the highest degree, aristocratic, proud,\nindependent and courageous. Their generosity towards their guests was\nexemplified in a refined manner that has never been surpassed; and,\namong them, a certain Hatim Tay may be looked upon as the Prince of\nGenerous Hosts.\n\nBy their natural gifts of eloquence and poetry, they can bear\ncomparison with the most brilliant orators or magnificent poets of the\nuniverse. Their poetry, above all, allowing them to celebrate heroic\nexploits; and their open-minded generosity by which they were led to\nsing love's joy and sadness, became, for such hot-blooded men, the\nobject of passionate adoration, marvellously well served by the most\nenchanting language ever known.\n\nTheir public fairs, particularly that held at Okaz, furnished an\nopportunity for real poetical contests, where the winner heard his\npoem applauded by a madly delighted throng, and then it was written\nout fully in letters of gold, and hung up in the Temple of the Ka'bah.\nOf these poetical triumphs, called \"Al-Muaalaquate,\" (\"The\nSuspended\"), seven have been handed down to us and prove what great\nheights were attained by the genius of the Bedouin primitive poets.\n\nBut, at the same time as we admire such brilliant qualities innate in\nthe Arabs, we have to deplore great errors. The monotheistic religion\nof their great ancestor Ibrahim (Abraham) was entirely forgotten,\ndespite their continued veneration for the Temple built with their own\nhands. They had become \"Mushrikun,\" (\"Associates\"). To Allah, the Only\nOne, partners were adjoined in the shape of idols, who were generally\npreferred. Every tribe and family possessed a favourite idol; and, at\nthat epoch, three hundred and sixty false gods, of wood or stone,\ndishonoured the Holy Ka'bah.\n\nThe most gross superstition flourished in addition to idolatry. Games\nof chance, divining by arrows, drunkenness and sorcery debased the\nbrains of these men, all otherwise remarkably gifted. Fretting under\nall restraint, lacking all ideas of decency, they married as many\nwomen as they could afford to feed; and as widows were considered to\nbelong to their husbands' estate, revolting unions took place between\nstepmothers and stepsons.\n\nStill more abominable was the custom of the \"Wa'du'l-Binat,\" (Burying\nGirls Alive). By some strange morbid decay of the feeling of honour,\nand also through fear that the debauchery of daughters or their\ncapture by an enemy might one day bring opprobrium on their families,\nmany unnatural fathers preferred to get rid of their female offspring,\nby burying them alive as soon as they were born.\n\nTo sum up: the Arabs' leaning towards ostentation, their aristocratic\nprejudice and overweening pride, caused them to rebel against all\ndiscipline or authority. Consequently, union and progress becoming\nimpossible, incessant warfare and pitiless vendettas between tribes\nand families submerged all Arabia in a sea of blood.\n\nSuch were the errors that saddened Mohammad. He could no longer bring\nhimself to look upon them, and as he saw no cure for such deep-rooted\nand general evil, which he thought was infallibly destined to draw\ndown on his people the terrible punishment of Heaven, such as\nannihilated the inhabitants of Thamud and Ad, he hid himself away in\nthe most deserted spots he could find. Far from the contact of human\nbeings, he was able to drive out of his memory the odious remembrance\nof their iniquity.\n\nIt was then that he gave way entirely to the imperious need of\nmeditation and religious worship that mastered his soul. He wandered\nin sandy ravines, following capricious meandering watercourses, or\nclimbing up the steep sides of rocky mountains, to recline at their\nsummits and let his glance and imagination be lost in the depths of\nthe arid expanse that stretched away at his feet as far as the most\nunattainable horizon.\n\nDuring many long hours, stock-still in the midst of such impressive\nempty space; in this ocean of light where deathly silence reigned, he\nwould be engrossed in mute and ecstatic contemplation of the\nsight--incomparably grand and varied--offered to him by the elements\nof heaven and earth obeying a mysterious, unknown, inconceivable,\nuniversal and unique Power....\n\nHe gazed on dunes and rocks, veiled at first by the dawn's rosy gauze,\nstudded with humble pebbles that became sparkling precious stones when\nthe early rays of the sun broke forth. Next came the shroud of\ndazzling light which the orb of day, at its zenith, spread over the\ntired earth that was as still as a corpse. Then followed a golden\nflood that the sun, as it declined, let loose in great waves all over\nthe world, as if wishing that its departure should give rise to even\ngreater regret. At last was seen the moon's scarf, irisated like a\npigeon's breast, splashing the sky with its sparks that changed into\nmyriads of stars.\n\nAnd there arose proud columns that in still weather the sand erected\njoyously, as if trying to reach the blue vault above; or furious\nspouts which, on stormy days, gushed from the bottom of ravines, to\nattack dark, lightning-loaded mists. Caravans of clouds sometimes\ncareered, shaped like flocks of white sheep, driven by the wind away\nfrom the high peaks where they were formed; forced to depart before\nthey could bedew their birthplace with rainy tears. On other days,\ndiluvian storms broke in cascades over bare mountains, vomiting forth\nimpetuous torrents, thundering in the valleys.\n\nIn comparison with these formidable elements, which never dared to\nrebel against the law imposed upon them by Supreme Power, how weak and\narrogant Humanity seemed to be! It relied upon the strength of mundane\ninstitutions, and now such feeble trifles were liquefied by the mirage\nviewed by Mohammad in the mirrored waves of seething ether, as if to\nproffer the image of the absolute vanity of the things of this world.\n\nThe \"Khelous\" (Desert Retirement), was the main source of Mohammad's\neducation. It cleansed his heart of all worldly thoughts. That is why\ntradition has named it \"Safat as Safa,\"--The Purity of Purity.\n\nLittle by little, the soul of the boundless Desert penetrated his\nsoul, bringing him the intuition of the unlimited grandeur of the Lord\nof All the Worlds. The most imperceptible secrets of Nature communed\nin the uttermost hidden depths of his being, impregnating his mind so\nviolently that these eternal truths were on the point of escaping from\nhis lips. Carlyle, the great thinker, cannot restrain his admiration\nin this connection. \"The word of such a man is a Voice direct from\nNature's own heart. Men do and must listen to that as to nothing\nelse;--all else is wind in comparison.\" (_The Hero as Prophet_,\nLondon, 1840.)\n\nHow is it that some Orientalists of the West have put forward the\ntheory that Mohammad profited by this retirement to arrange and\nelaborate his future task in its most minute details? Some of these\nscholars have even gone so far as to insinuate that, during his\nseclusion, he composed the Qur'an in its entirety. Have they not\nnoticed that, in this Divine Book, there is no preconceived plan\naccording to human methods; and that each of the Surahs, taken alone,\nis applicable to events that happened later, extending over a period\nof more than two decades and which it was impossible for Mohammad to\nforesee?\n\nThat they could find no other explanation of his long meditation is\ndue to their ignorance of the Arab mind. If these learned men had\nlived among the Bedouins long enough to understand that the\ncontemplation in which the denizens of the desert are often seen\nengrossed, squatting on a hill-top, staring into vacancy, is not that\nstate of empty-headed idiocy described by a few travellers, possessed\nof more humour than observation. If, above all, they themselves had\nthe opportunity of revelling in the unutterable charm of the ecstasy,\nwhich can only arise from viewing the immensity of the desert, they\nwould have acknowledged that thereby surprising advantage accrues to\nthe intuitive faculties of the intellect, and therefore they could\nnever have been so clumsily mistaken.\n\nThis contemplation is as a crucible in which melt nascent emotive\nfeelings and thoughts, issuing therefrom in a state of extraordinary\npurity. It may be also be compared to an accumulator storing up\nsupernatural force, although hidden and unknowing, such as the latent\npower of fire lurking in the core of a tree-trunk. The forces\naccumulated by contemplation remain unsuspected by all, even by those\nin whom they reside. But let the tiniest spark fly out and a flashing\nflame will immediately rise heavenwards to dazzle the universe.\n\nAt that epoch, it is certain that Mohammad had none of the intentions\nwith which Orientalists have credited him. He had not even made a plan\nof any kind. In his \"Khilwah\" there was meditation, but no\npremeditation. Mohammad, at last, enjoyed luminous visions and heard\nmysterious calls, at the moment fixed by Providence to manifest His\nbounty by the intervention of the man He had chosen to be His\nProphet.\n\nMohammad has said: \"For ten months before the first Revelation, my\nsleep was disturbed by dazzling dreams, like unto the rays of early\ndawn, and when I could no longer be seen from the houses, I heard\nvoices calling: 'O Mohammad! O Mohammad!' I turned round and looked\nbehind me, first to the right, then to the left, but I could only see\nshrubs and stones. It was then that I was overwhelmed with frightful\nanguish. Hating sorcerers and diviners, I feared lest I had become\nlike them, unknowingly and against my will. These voices that seemed\nto spring from inanimate objects, might have been those of the Jinn in\nhiding--the Jinn that give informations to wizards and fortune-tellers\nconcerning celestial matters and so help them to carry on their\nnefarious trade.\"\n\n[Sidenote: THE REVELATIONS (_A.D. 611_)]\n\nHollowed out of a block of red granite on the Jabal An-Noor, or\nMountain of Light, about three miles from Makkah, to the left of the\nArafa road, is the grotto of Hira, chosen by Mohammad to seek\nseclusion there yearly for one whole month, living day and night in\nabsolute retirement.\n\nHe would take some provisions, consisting mainly of \"Kaak\" (a kind of\nbiscuit cooked in oil and which possessed the advantage of remaining\nindefinitely in a good state of preservation), so as not to be forced\nto return to the town. If, by any chance, his stock of food became\nexhausted and he was obliged to go and fetch other eatables, he went\nback to his cave, for any interruption of his ecstatic meditations\nmade him suffer greatly.\n\nHe was now forty, and, for the last fifteen years, by dint of anxious\nAdoration, he tried to rid the Hanif religion, that is to say the\nmonotheistic creed of his ancestor Abraham, of the vulgar\nmodifications from which it had suffered at the hands of the citizens\nof Makkah, when one night, the twenty-fifth, twenty-seventh or\ntwenty-ninth of the month of Ramadhan (January 15-17, or 19, A.D.\n611), the unforgettable Event occurred by which the Merciful One\nproved His generosity to His creature, by sending His Revelation on\nearth in the first verses of the Qur'an, by the lips of His Messenger.\n\nThe Prophet has said: \"I had fallen asleep in the grotto of Hira, when\nthe angel Jibra'il appeared to me, and unfolding before my eyes a long\nstrip of silken stuff embroidered with written letters: 'Read!' said\nhe.--'I am not one of those who read,' I replied. He caught hold of me\nat once, tightening the silken folds round my limbs, mouth and\nnostrils with such violence that I could not breathe. I thought the\nhour of my death had arrived.\n\n\"Letting me go, he repeated: 'Read!'--'I am not one of those who\nread,' I answered as before. Again he clutched me and I felt my last\nbreath about to escape from my breast. Finally he loosened his hold\nand repeated for the third time: 'Read!'--'What am I to read?' I\nasked, in my affright lest he tighten the silk around me anew and this\ntime I felt certain that my lungs would not have held out.\n\n\"It was then that he said to me: '_Read! in the name of thy Lord who\ncreated * Created man from clots of blood * Read! For thy Lord is the\nmost beneficent * Who hath taught the use of the pen * Hath taught Man\nthat which he knew not._' (THE QUR'AN, XCVI, 1-5).\n\n\"I recited these words after him. He vanished. Starting out of my\nsleep, I had the impression that the whole of a Book had just been\nengraved on my heart.\n\n\"I went out of the cave to collect my thoughts, when halfway down the\nmountain, I heard a voice that came from Heaven, crying out to me: 'O\nMohammad, thou art the Prophet of Allah and I am Jibra'il!' I raised\nmy glance to the sky. It was filled by Jibra'il's presence. Despite\nall I could do to turn my eyes, wellnigh blinded, in the direction of\nother parts of the horizon, the angel's dazzling apparition was always\nbefore me. And I stood rooted to the spot, unable to go backwards Or\nforwards. I was petrified.\n\n\"For the second time, Jibra'il said to me: 'O Mohammad, thou art the\nProphet of Allah and I am Jibra'il!' He then disappeared like a vision\nin a dream. It was then that in great haste, my heart beating in the\nmost terrible anguish, I ran towards my dwelling....\"\n\n[Illustration: _The Encampment._ 2 views]\n\nWhen the Prophet crossed the threshold of his house, he rushed to\nKhadijah, hiding his face in her lap and trembling as if in a fit of\nague, as he cried: 'Cover me up! Cover me up!' His servants flocked\nbusily round him, keeping him enwrapped until his emotion had\nsubsided. Khadijah, much upset, questioned him: 'O Father of Qasim,\nwhere wert thou? By Allah, what befell thee? I sent some of my\nservants to meet thee, but they came back without having met thee,\neither at Hira, or on the outskirts of the city.'\n\nThe Prophet told her what had happened to him. 'I thought I should\nhave died!' he added. 'That could not be,' answered Khadijah,\nregaining her composure. 'Surely Allah sought not to do thee harm, for\nthou art kind to thy family, merciful to the weak and helpful towards\nthe victims of injustice. O son of my uncle! thou dost bring me\nexcellent tidings and that I do affirm. I swear, by the name of Him\nwho holdeth in His hands the soul of Khadijah, that I hoped for this\nnews. There is no doubt about it--thou wilt be the Prophet of our\nnation.'\n\nEver since she had heard the miraculous reports that Maisarah, her\nslave, brought her, and which confirmed what she had remarked herself,\nKhadijah was convinced that the highest destiny was in store for her\nhusband, and she was not at all astonished at such a Revelation. She\nquickly gathered her flowing robes about her, and hastened to the\nhouse of her cousin Waraqah ibn Naufal to apprise him of what had just\ncome to her ears.\n\nNo man in Makkah was more conversant with Holy Writ than Waraqah, a\nconvert to Christianity; and, like the Syrian monks, he lived in hopes\nof the advent of a Prophet to be born in Arab-land. Therefore, he had\nno sooner heard his cousin's story than he cried out, while tears of\njoy welled up in his eyes: 'Most Holy God! If what thou sayest is\nexact, O Khadijah, He who manifested His presence to thy husband is\nthe great Namus, Allah's confidant: the Angel who appeared to Our Lord\nMoses! Mohammad will be the Prophet of our Nation! Doubt it not and\nrepeat my words to him that he be convinced thereof.'\n\nWhat time the Prophet, according to his wont after each term of\nretirement, was performing the ritual circuits round the Ka'bah,\nWaraqah, despite weakness due to his great age and blindness caused by\ntoo much reading, had himself led at once into Mohammad's presence, so\nas to listen to the story of his adventure from his own lips. When the\nsightless old man was satisfied that Mohammad told the truth and had\nrepeated to him the same predictions, he exclaimed: 'Ah! I should like\nto be still in the land of the living when your fellow-men will send\nthee into exile!'--'How so?' cried the Prophet. 'Shall I be\nbanished?'--'Of a surety, they will send thee into exile,' Waraqah\nwent on, 'for never hath mortal man brought what thou bringest without\nfalling a victim to the most dastardly persecution. Ah! if God deigned\nto lengthen my days until then, I would devote all my energies to\nhelping thee to triumph over thy enemies!' Death, however, prevented\nWaraqah from seeing his wishes fulfilled.\n\nAll Mohammad's doubt vanished. The fulgurating Revelation set all his\nunknowing aspirations in a blaze and fanned the flame of the latent\nforces stored in his soul during fifteen years of contemplation. It\nhad opened his eyes and taught him the formidable, superhuman part he\nhad to play and which was now forced upon him. In reality, all this\nwas quite unexpected, despite the monks' predictions that he had\nforgotten long ago, even if he had ever paid the slightest attention\nto them. His anguish and his fear lest he should have fallen a victim\nto diabolical hallucinations furnishes us with indisputable proofs of\nhis state of mind.\n\nHe who had fled from his fellows and had never aspired to fill any\npost of public utility, such as his citizen-comrades would have been\nglad to grant, was ready now, with resolute faith and courage, to\nfulfil the most overwhelming mission that can be confided to a human\nbeing, and he cared not a jot for the terrible ordeals that he knew\nwere inevitable.\n\nDuring that night, for ever memorable, known by the name of\n\"Leilat-al-Qada,\" or \"Night of Destiny,\" the Qur'an came down in its\nentirety from the highest Heaven where it was kept, as far as the\ninferior Heaven, situated immediately above the earth. And there it\nhad been deposited in the \"Bait-al-Izza,\" or \"House of Glory,\"\nunderneath which was erected the \"Baitu'l-Lah,\" or \"House of Allah,\"\nwhich signifies the Holy Ka'bah.\n\n\"_Verily, we have caused It (the Qur'an) to descend on the night of\nPower * And what shall teach thee what the Night of Power is? * The\nNight of Power is better than a thousand months! * Therein descend the\nangels and the Spirit by permission of their Lord for every matter. *\nAll is peace until the breaking of the morn._\" (THE QUR'AN, XCVII,\n1-5.)\n\nThen, from this lower Heaven, after the first verses are revealed to\nMohammad, together with a general comprehension of his Mission, the\nwords of Allah, comprising the Qur'an, come down now from between his\nlips, Surah following Surah, for a period of twenty-three years, so as\nto guide all his actions, establish the laws of religion and organise\nthe triumph of Islam.\n\nFor the benefit of our European readers, we consider it needful to add\nthe following commentary to this story of the Revelation, according to\nArab historians:\n\nThe angel Jibra'il, who sought out the Prophet at Hira is none other\nthan the angel Gabriel who appeared to Daniel; and to Mary, the mother\nof Jesus; but real Moslems say that Jibra'il is totally unlike the\npink-cheeked, fair-haired youth, with wings of varied hues, as seen in\nthe cheap, religious, saintly images of the Europeans. The angel\nJibra'il is \"ar-Ruh,\" the \"Pure Spirit,\" (THE QUR'AN, XCVII, 6); and\nalso \"An Namus,\" or \"The Invisible Adviser.\" Sometimes he manifested\nhis presence to Mohammad by stray sounds resembling tinkling bells or\nthe hum of bees, by which he caused Allah's Messenger to suffer more\nthan anything. His brow would be bathed in sweat, even during cold\nwintry days, and it was only when the noise died away that he\nunderstood what the angel had revealed to him. At other times, when\nJibra'il taught Mohammad ritual movements, the angel made his presence\nmanifest by assuming the appearance of a mortal resembling Dihyah ibn\nKhalifah, one of the Prophet's companions.\n\nThe Revelation, of which this angel is the symbolic intermediary, is a\ndivine Irradiation and should be looked upon as the highest degree of\nthe mysterious Force, evidently surrounding mortals, since it is\ntotally independent of a man's will-power, and which we call\nInspiration.\n\n[Sidenote: THE FIRST MOSLEMS.]\n\nPrayer, preceded by ablutions, was the first duty taught to the\nProphet by the celestial envoy.\n\nMohammad, having returned to the place where he had first heard the\nRevelation, Jibra'il appeared again, in the shape of a human being. 'O\nProphet!' he said, 'You must lead men to proclaim that there is no God\nbut Allah.'\n\nHe drove him towards a watercourse where Jibra'il stamped on the\nground with his foot. A spring immediately gushed forth, and setting\nthe example, the angel taught Mohammad the rites of Purification by\nmeans of ablutions preceding all prayers. He then went through the\nprayers, with the bowing, prostrations and sentences of which they\nshould be comprised; and the Prophet prayed with him, guided by the\nangel's movements and words.\n\nMohammad felt his body relieved from a weighty burden by the\npurification, and his soul brightened by the benefits of these\nprayers. Then it was that, thrilling with the faith of belief,\nMohammad was about to return home to his wife when Jibra'il appearing\nonce more, said to him: 'Teach Khadijah salvation by Islam!' That is\nto say, by voluntary resignation to all the Creator's commands. He\nobeyed and spoke thus: 'O Khadijah! Jibra'il ordereth me to teach thee\nsalvation by Islam.' And Khadijah answered: 'Allah is Salvation; from\nHim cometh Salvation, and let Salvation be on Jibra'il.'\n\nThus it came about that, of all living beings, Khadijah was Islam's\nfirst convert. The Prophet took her at once to the miraculous spring,\nwhere he taught her what he had just learnt. Copying her husband, she\npurified herself by the ablutions and recited the prayers. Ever since\nthat day, Allah made use of this admirable woman to mitigate the\nsorrows and pains of His Prophet in all the ordeals he had to undergo.\nKhadijah's devotion endowed Mohammad with deep contempt for mortals'\nwickedness, and his wife's firm faith served to comfort him when he\nwas looked upon as an impostor.\n\nOne of the first of the Prophet's companions to believe in his mission\nwas Ali, son of Abu Talib, only about ten years old just then, and who\nMohammad had adopted during a period of famine, so as to relieve his\nuncle, at the head of a very large family.\n\nNoticing that Mohammad and Khadijah kept aloof and became absorbed in\nprayer, he marvelled greatly at seeing no object of worship set up in\nfront of them and he put this question to the Prophet: 'What rites\nwere ye both performing just now?'--'We were saying the prayers of the\npure religion that Allah hath just chosen for Himself and for which He\nhath chosen me to be the Prophet,' he replied. 'O Ali! I do invite\nthee to join with me. I invite thee to worship the Only Allah that\nhath no partners and I call upon thee to renounce the idols Lat and\nUzza who can neither benefit nor harm their worshippers.'\n\n'Say then: \"_He is one Allah: * Allah the everlasting! * If He\nbegetteth not, and He is not begotten; * And there is none like unto\nhim. * He is Allah beside whom there is no god. He knoweth things\nvisible and invisible. He is the Compassionate, the Merciful! * And\nwhen He decreeth a thing, He only saith to it, 'Be,' and it is. *\nThere is no Allah but He; the Living, the Self-subsisting. Neither\nslumber seizeth Him, nor sleep. * No vision taketh in Him, but He\ntaketh in all vision: and He is the Subtile, the All-informed! It is\nHe who causeth to laugh and to weep * He causeth to die and maketh\nalive * He bringeth forth the living out of the dead and the dead out\nof the living: He quickeneth the earth after its death; thus it is\nthat ye too shall be brought forth. * The East and the West is\nAllah's: therefore, whichever way ye turn, there is the Face of Allah:\ntruly Allah is Omnipresent and Omniscient ... * This is Allah, your\nLord. All power is His, But gods whom ye call on beside Him have no\npower over the husk of a date-stone!_\" (THE QUR'AN, CXII, 1, 4. LIX,\n22. II, III, 256. VI, 103. LIII, 44, 45. XXX, 18. II, 109. XXXV, 14.)\n\n'Never until this day,' Ali replied, 'have I hearkened unto such words\nand I wish to consult Abu Talib, my father.'--'Do nothing of the\nsort!' the Prophet hastened to tell him, for Mohammad feared lest the\nnews of his Mission should be noised abroad before the hour arrived to\ndivulge it in open day. 'If thou dost come to Islam, O Ali! thou must\nkeep the secret.'\n\nGreatly troubled in his mind by all he had just heard, Ali passed a\nsleepless night, but Allah (Glory be to Him!) guided him on the Road\nto Salvation. Early in the morning, he went to Mohammad and professed\nthe religion of Islam with all his heart. From that day onwards, when\ncame the hour of prayer, Ali followed Mohammad to the ravine to pray\nwith him, unbeknown to the boy's father and uncles.\n\nBut one day, when they were both praying at the place called,\n\"Nakhlat-al-Mahal,\" Abu Talib caught them unawares and questioned the\nProphet, saying: 'O son of my brother, what is this religion of which\nthou dost follow the rites in thy prayers?'--'It is the religion of\nAllah, of his Angels and His Prophets--the religion of our ancestor\nIbrahim. Allah hath sent me to preach it to all men; and thou, the\nmost worthy and the nearest of my relatives, I invite thee to tread\nthe Road to Salvation.'--'I cannot give up the religion and the\ntradition of my fathers,' Abu Talib declared; 'and yet I hold thee to\nbe so sincere that I believe in the truth of what thou sayest.\nContinue, however, to fufill thy Mission without anxiety, for no harm\nshall come to thee so long as I live.' Turning towards his son, he\nadded: 'Thou mayest hearken to Mohammad, and follow him as obediently\nas thou canst, for he will never guide thy footsteps except in the\npath of righteousness.'\n\nZayd ibn Harith, a captive, freed and adopted by Mohammad, and who had\nso much affection for his liberator that he refused to go away with\nhis father when he came to pay the ransom, soon followed All's example\nand became a convert to Islam. Next followed one of the most noted men\nof Makkah, Abdul-Ka'bah, son of Abu Quhafah, whom we shall call\nhenceforward Abu Bakr, being the name he assumed later and caused to\nbecome celebrated.\n\nHe happened one day to be at the house of Hakim ibn Hazam, when a\nslave of the household came and spoke to his master as follow:\n'Khadijah, thy aunt, maintaineth that her husband is a Prophet sent by\nthe Most High, like Moses!' Hearing this, Abu Bakr, who had great\nfaith in Mohammad's sincerity, and had heard some of Waraqah's\npredictions, jumped up hurriedly, much moved; and sought out the\nProphet to interrogate him. No sooner had Abu Bakr hearkened to\nMohammad's utterances giving details of the Revelation, than he was\novertaken by enthusiasm and cried out: 'By my father and my mother and\nby all the friends of truth, I believe what thou hast told me and I\nbear witness that there is no God but Allah and that thou art His\nProphet!' Hearing his speech, Khadijah, draped in a crimson veil, came\nout of a near-by room and said to Abu Bakr: 'Praised be Allah who hath\nguided thee, O son of Abu Quhafah!'\n\nThis conversion was a source of great joy for the Prophet. Abu Bakr\nheld high rank in the city. He was very rich; remarkably well\nfavoured, with fine features and aristocratic bearing; conversant with\nthe sciences of genealogy and the meanings of dreams. Truthful in his\nspeech; affable in neighbourly intercourse, he had been chosen by his\nfellow-citizens for the extremely delicate post of the umpire whose\nduty it was to judge cases of homicide and fix the amount of the\n\"Qisas,\" or money compensation for wilful murder.\n\nA fervent Believer, Abu Bakr's entire efforts were now devoted to\nleading his friends and the people of his party to the Prophet, so\nthat he might invite them to Islam. Abu Bakr's activities were\nsuccessful; the confidence he inspired induced his partisans to\nhearken with favour to Mohammad's discourse. The enunciation of this\nreligion, so simple and withal so great; in such conformity with the\ninward longings of the soul of mortals, led them gradually to look\nwith horror upon the state of gross idolatry in which they had\nhitherto wallowed. Besides, this religion was that of Abraham, their\nancestor, and as his creed was still dormant in their hearts, despite\nthemselves, it was easy for them to acknowledge it. Last of all, the\nsuperhuman accents of the man who preached this new belief and his\nradiant, expressive looks, stirred their whole being and they hastened\nto be converted by him.\n\nAbout fifteen of the leading men of the Quraish tribe came to the\nProphet in the same way and became ennobled by Islam. We may mention\nUsman ibn Affan, Abd ar Ralman ibn Auf, Sad ibn Abi Waqqs, Zubayr ibn\nal-Auwam, Talha Ubaydullah, Ubayda ibn Harith, Jafar ibn Abdul\nMuttalib, and many others.\n\nAt the same time as these conversions, so important by reason of the\nproselytes ranking highly, we must not forget one more humble, but\nmost touching: that of Mohammad's nurse. As soon as the call of her\nfoster-son came to her ears, good Halimah, who had always believed\nthat the boy she had reared would make his mark in life, hastened with\nHaris, her husband, to be counted among the Faithful. Every person,\ntoo, belonging to Mohammad's household, had become a convert from the\nonset, and among them, his daughters, still very young; without\nforgetting a negress, Umm al Ayman. This little group of Believers now\nled a life filled with ever-changing emotion. What could be more\ncharming than their secret meetings when they prayed and adored Allah\nin perfect union? But they had to take unheard-of precautions so as\nnot to awaken the hostile suspicions of idolaters. Even in his own\nhouse, the Prophet was forced to beware of his neighbours, and when he\nproclaimed the \"Takbir,\" he spoke into a pitcher buried in the ground,\nso as to deaden the sound of his voice. In these circumstances, only\nclandestine propaganda was possible, and during the first three years,\nthe progress of Islam was excessively slow and timid.\n\nOn the other hand, Revelation had suddenly stopped; and Mohammad, no\nlonger feeling himself upheld by the inspiration of the Almighty,\nbegan to doubt and despair.\n\nHe was wandering to and fro, anxious and alone, in a wild valley, when\nhe heard a celestial voice causing him to look up. In the vivid\nbrightness of great light, he recognised the Angel that had appeared\nto him at Hira. He could not support the brilliancy of this formidable\napparition and, blinded, rushed to his dwelling where he had himself\nwrapped up in his mantle, so as to calm the tremor of his frame and\nshade his dazzled eyes. It was then that Allah sent down the following\nverses: \"_O thou enwrapped in thy mantle! * Arise and warn! * Warn thy\nrelatives of nearer kin * And lower Thy wing over the Faithful who\nfollow Thee. * And if they disobey thee, then say: 'I verily am clear\nof your doings' * And put thy trust in the Mighty, the Merciful_.\"\n(THE QUR'AN, LXXIV, 1, 2. XXVI, 214-220).\n\nThe Prophet rose up, his eyes sparkling with sublime energy. Until\nthat day, he had never dared to proclaim his Mission publicly, for he\nforesaw the hatred it would foment among his idolatrous\nfellow-citizens. But having been ordered by his Supreme Master to\npreach the doctrines of Islam, which was Mohammad's most earnest wish,\nhe threw off the restraint that crushed him, and resolved to have\nrecourse to strong measures. He ordered Ali to prepare a meal composed\nof a leg of lamb, hot corn and a jar of milk. He then invited his\nrelatives to partake of it.\n\nNot one refused, and there came forty persons all told; among them his\nuncles on his father's side: Abu Talib, Hamzah, Abbas and Abu Lahab.\nWhen the guests had eaten their fill, much to their great surprise,\nfor this modest repast could have been easily swallowed up by any one\nman among them, Mohammad made as if to address the meeting. But Abu\nLahab, having some suspicions respecting his nephew's ideas which did\nnot meet with his approval, took the words out of his mouth. 'What\nkind of spell does our host seek to cast over us?' he cried. In\nsuperstitious fear of being bewitched, the proof of such a dire fate\nbeing furnished by the fact that their hunger had been appeased by a\nmost meagre banquet, the guests scattered away in great haste.\n\nAffronted by their lack of courtesy, the Prophet said to Ali: 'Didst\nthou give heed to my uncle when he cared not how impolitely he behaved\nin preventing me from speaking? But no matter! Get another meal ready\nfor to-morrow, and go round and invite all the same people.'\n\nNext day, in the presence of the guests once more gathered together,\nMohammad hastened to make himself heard and succeeded in so doing. 'No\none living hath ever brought to the Arabs what I bring,' he declared;\n'that is to say, glorious good fortune in this world and supreme\nfelicity in the next. Allah the Most High hath commanded me to summon\nall men to Him. Who among ye wisheth to share my work and help me to\naccomplish my mission? Such a man shall be my proxy and my\nlieutenant--nay, my brother!'\n\nAt this unexpected declaration, all the people present stared at each\nother in stupefaction; and knowing not what to reply, their features\nbetrayed naught else but fierce enmity and showed what their answer\nwould have been. Faithful Ali, expecting an outburst of joy, at such\ngreat, good news, coupled with ardent competition in hopes of the\nhonour of becoming Mohammad's henchman, forgot that his youth demanded\nhis silence in the midst of such a gathering of noble folks; and\nstanding up erect, carried away by his enthusiasm, he cried out: 'O\nProphet of Allah! I will be thy lieutenant!'\n\nInstead of smiling at the pretensions of the lad, the Prophet patted\nAli's neck affectionately while proclaiming: 'Here is my proxy and my\nlieutenant! Here standeth my brother! Listen to him and obey!'\n\nBy this time the stupefaction of the guests was boundless, but they\nsuppressed their rage and received the declaration with great bursts\nof merriment. Abu Lahab turned to Abu Talib and shouted ironically:\n'Hast heard thy nephew's speech? He ordereth thee to listen to his son\nand obey him!'\n\nWith the exception of Abu Talib, saddened by this scandalous scene,\nall went away, jeering sarcastily and exasperated.\n\nIt is certain that this utter defeat grieved the Prophet, without\ndiscouraging him in the least, for, from that day, the Revelation gave\nhim support, instruction and guidance unceasingly.\n\n[Sidenote: THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE HOUR]\n\nAnd Mohammad began to preach. He was hurried along by the Revelations\nwhich came to him quickly, one after the other, all terrible; and\nannouncing \"The Frightful Blow,\" being the End of the World and the\nDay of Judgment.\n\n\"_The Blow! what is the Blow? * And what shall teach thee what the\nBlow is? * The Day when men shall be like scattered moths, * And the\nmountains shall be like flock of carded wool._\" (THE QUR'AN, CI, 1,\n4.)\n\nMohammad thought this disaster, destined to punish mankind for its\nperversity, was imminent. So he increased his reproofs among his\nfellow-men, in order to deliver them from the sway of their passions\nand guide them into the Path of Salvation before the Blow fell. But\nthey answered him, saying: \"_The Hour will not come upon us!_\" (THE\nQUR'AN, XXXIV, 3.)\n\nObeying the orders of Allah, he reiterated his adjurations: \"_Verily,\nthe Hour will surely arrive: there no doubt with regard to it. * O\nMen, fear your Lord! Verily, the earthquake of the Hour will be a\ntremendous thing! * When the Earth is shaken with its shaking, * And\nwhen the Earth hath cast forth her burdens of buried dead, * And man\nshall say: What aileth her? * On that day shall she tell out her\ntidings, * Because thy Lord hath inspired her. * On that day shall men\ncome forward in bands to behold their works, * And whosoever shall\nhave wrought an atom's weight of good shall behold it, * And whosoever\nshall have wrought an atom's weight of evil shall behold it._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, XL, 61. XXII, 1. XCIX, 1-6.)\n\nAs a result of these gruesome prophecies, given out with accents of\nfirm conviction, unbelievers felt a shudder of anguish convulsing\ntheir being; but as they saw nothing take place as time went on, not\neven precursory signs, they soon regained their equanimity and fell\nback again into their erring ways.\n\nThe Prophet could not tell for what time the hour was fixed: _The\nknowledge of it is only with my Lord._ (THE QUR'AN, VII, 186.) But\nMohammad knew punishment was inevitable in this world or the next, and\nhe was in despair at having to think that his infidel fellow-men would\nmeet with a fate even sadder than that of the peoples of Thamud and\nAd.\n\n[Sidenote: THE FIRST HOSTILITIES]\n\nFollowing the Prophet's first sermons, the Faithful sought no longer\nto hide their belief; but, to avoid useless disputes, they held\nclandestine meetings in a desert ravine where they said their prayers.\n\nA group of idolaters dogged their footsteps and having succeeded in\ndiscovering their retreat, lavished foul epithets on them. The\nBelievers, unable to put up with the insults offered to their\nreligion, grew furious and a fight took place, during which Sad ibn\nAbi Waqqs picked up the jawbone of a camel's skeleton in the sand and\ndashed it violently in the face of one of the Associates, causing the\nvital fluid to flow. These were the first drops of blood shed in the\nstruggle now beginning between Islam and idolatry.\n\nWishing to prevent a renewal of these incidents, the Prophet resolved\nto retreat to pray in peace with his disciples in the house of Arqam,\nsituated on the Sufah hill. Nevertheless, fury increased among the\nidol-worshippers. So long as Mohammad had gone no further than to\nsummon them to salvation, even blaming them and threatening them with\nthe punishment of divine wrath, his adversaries merely shrugged their\nshoulders and laughed at him; but when he retaliated by turning their\nwooden or stone images into ridicule, pointing out that they were\ndumb, deaf, blind and powerless, the rage of the idolaters was\nunbounded. Not only did he sting them to the quick through attacking\ntheir beliefs, but he did them great harm commercially, for in the\nhands of leading citizens, the idols were a source of considerable\nrevenue, and constituted efficacious means of domination over the\nsuperstitious common people.\n\nAlone, among the men of his party who had refused to embrace the\nIslamic faith, his uncle, Abu Talib, still gave him proofs of\naffection, thus greatly scandalising the other members of the Quraish\ntribe, who sent him a deputation of the most influential among them:\nUtbah ibn Rabiyah, Abu Sufyan ibn Harib, Abu Jahal and several\nchieftains of equal note.\n\n'O Abu Talib!' said these delegates, 'your brother's son insulteth our\ngods and our beliefs. He mocketh at the religion and traditions of our\nforefathers. Shall we not rid ourselves of him? Or wilt thou not\nremain neutral and thus let us be free to act towards him as we think\nfit? For we know that thou dost not share his convictions any more\nthan we do.' Abu Talib dismissed them with a polite and conciliatory\nreply.\n\nMohammad, as may well be surmised, continued his sermons with\nunfailing ardour. The enmity of the Quraish tribesmen assumed a more\nserious aspect; their representatives returning to see Abu Talib, to\nmake the following declaration: 'We have the greatest respect for\nthine age, nobility and rank, but we asked thee to rid us of thy\nbrother's son and thou didst not do so. Now, we can no longer put up\nwith the affronts with which he overwhelmeth our beliefs and\ntraditions, so deprive him of thy protection and leave us free to\ntreat him as we choose. In case of refusal on thy part, we must reckon\nthee as being against us in the war we declare on him, and which will\nlast until one of the two parties are exterminated!' They then\ndeparted, leaving Abu Talib in despair at being cut off from his\npartisans and, on the other hand, firmly resolving never to throw over\nhis nephew.\n\nIn that state of mind, he sent for Mohammad. 'O son of my brother!'\nquoth he; 'our fellow-citizens of the Quraish have returned and made\nsolemn declarations to me. Reflect; take compassion on me; have pity\nfor thyself, and do not put upon me a burden too heavy to bear.\n\n'O my uncle!' replied the Prophet; 'if in order to make me renounce my\nMission, they placed the Sun on my left and the Moon on my right, I\nswear that, by Allah, I would not yield before I fulfilled my task\ntriumphantly or perished in the attempt!'\n\nThinking that Abu Talib had spoken as he did as a hint that he would\nhave to cast him adrift, by reason of his inability to protect him,\nhis nephew burst into tears and went away. Abu Talib, much moved,\ncalled him back at once and said to him affectionately: 'Go, O son of\nmy brother! Go forth and preach as thou wilt. By God, I'll never turn\naway from thee!'\n\nFinding that no threats succeeded in estranging uncle and nephew, the\ndelegates went back to Abu Talib for the third time, taking with them\nAmmarah ibn Walid, and then the deputation made the following\nproposal:\n\n'O Abu Talib! here is Ammarah ibn Walid, one of the most accomplished\nand handsome young men among all the youths of Makkah. We bring him to\nthee. Adopt him for thy son. He belongeth to thee. In exchange, hand\nover to us thy brother's son thou didst adopt, so that we put him to\ndeath, for he hath stirred up strife in our tribe.'--'By God!' replied\nAbu Talib, 'what's this fine bargain ye now put forward? You would\nfain give me your son, so that I feed and clothe him; and I should\nhave to let you take mine to be killed by you! That could not be! No,\nby God!--never!'\n\nWith rage in their hearts, the delegate's left him. The Mausam--the\ntime for the pilgrimage--drawing nigh, the Quraish idolaters held\na meeting at the dwelling of Walid ibn Moghayrah so as to consult\ntogether with regard to the way in which they ought to behave to\nthe Prophet. Walid was spokesman, and he said: 'O assembly of\nQuraish men! the Mausam will soon bring innumerable pilgrims to\nMakkah. Of a surety, they have heard about Mohammad, and they\nwill question you concerning him. How will ye answer? Ye must be\nall of one mind, so as not to contradict each other, which would\nnullify the effect of your utterances.'--'It is for thee to advise us,\nO Walid!'--'It is for you to speak first. I will listen and discuss\nyour opinions.'--'Well then! we shall say that Mohammad is a\ndiviner.'--'No! We know the diviners! He hath none of their mutterings\nor rhyming emphasis.'--'We'll say that he is possessed.'--'No! We have\nseen men possessed; and unlike them, he is not subject to fits of\nsuffocation and convulsions.'--'We'll say he is a poet.'--'No! He is\nno poet. We know all the styles of versification as used by the poets,\nand his speech does not resemble that of any one of them.'--'We'll say\nhe is a sorcerer.'--'No! for we have fallen across sorcerers, and he\nperformeth none of their magical operations. Of a truth, his success\nis due to the charm and beauty of his discourse.'\n\nArraigned before the tribunal of their own conscience, the citizens\nassembled were forced to acknowledge the rigorous truth of this last\nremark. All of them, more or less, had felt the words springing from\nthe ecstatic soul of Allah's Apostle go home to them. All of them had\nofttimes been about to give way to the fascination caused by his\naccents, ringing with the inspiration of superhuman faith. The Quraish\nmen were only restrained by the importance of their material interests\nand the violence of their earthly passions, thus seriously threatened\nby his pure doctrine.\n\nNevertheless, they were bound to come to a decision at once, so as to\nprevent, at all costs, the Arabs belonging to distant tribes from\nundergoing the same ordeal. Therefore, they agreed to say that\nMohammad possessed potent spells by which he stirred up strife in\nfamilies, estranging a brother from his brother, a son from his\nfather, and a husband from a wife.\n\n[Illustration: _Moslem praying on the Terrace-roof of her dwelling._]\n\nWhen the pilgrims began to pour in, Walid and his accomplices were on\nthe watch, posted on all the roads leading to Makkah. Not a single\nArab passed along these highways without being warned against Mohammad\nby the conspirators in ambush. But although a few pilgrims were\nalarmed at these warnings and feared the spells that they were\ninformed were threatening them, the majority felt their curiosity\nincreasing with regard to this extraordinary man, whose utterances\ngave rise to such great apprehension among the lords of the city. Thus\nit came to pass that when the travellers returned to their tribes,\nthey told what they had seen; so that it plainly resulted that the\ncampaign, organised against Mohammad by his enemies, only achieved the\npurpose of spreading his renown all over Arabia.\n\nIn order to add fresh fuel to the fire of their rage, increasing as\nthe Prophet's reputation became established--a result partly due to\ntheir involuntary efforts--the idol-worshippers sought every\nopportunity to heap insults on him. Being all together, one day, in\nthe precincts of the Temple, they worked each other up. 'No! never\nhave we endured from anybody what this man hath made us endure,' they\ncried out in chorus. At that very moment, Mohammad came on the scene\nand began to perform the ritual circuits round the Ka'bah. They rushed\nat him, all at one bound. 'Art thou the man who dareth to insult the\ngods of our fathers?' they shouted. 'Aye, I am that man!' he replied,\nundisturbed.\n\nOne of the enraged citizens caught hold of the collar of his mantle,\nand twisting it roughly, tried to strangle him. Abu Bakr, who chanced\nto be standing near, interfered. 'How now? Would ye kill a man who\nproclaimeth that Allah is his God?' he said sadly, and freed the\nProphet, not without suffering ill-treatment himself, for a portion of\nhis beard was plucked out by Mohammad's assailant.\n\nThe danger he had risked in these circumstances did not prevent the\nProphet from returning to the Ka'bah to perform his devotions, without\nletting the furious glances of his assembled adversaries trouble him.\nActing under the orders of Abu Jahal, a man fetched some sheeps'\nentrails from the slaughter-house. He chose those of an animal that\nhad been killed several days before, and while the Prophet was\nprostrate as he prayed, the rascal covered the nape of his neck and\nhis shoulders with the offal. All those present were seized with such\noutrageous fits of mirth that they fell seated on the ground, rolling\none against the other. As for Allah's Elect, he seemed not even to\nhave noticed the affront offered to him, and continued to pray. It was\nhis daughter Fatimah who, arriving a few moments later, threw the\nfilth far from her father, and railed at the wretches who had\nbelittled themselves by the infliction of such a repulsive insult.\n\nOn a par with Abu Jahal, ranking with those who are branded eternally\nin history's pages on account of their atrocious treatment of the\nProphet, was one of his uncles, a son of Abu Muttalib, surnamed Abu\nLahab, \"The Man Vowed to Hell-fire.\" Mohammad was preaching one day on\nthe hill of Safa, in the midst of a crowd of inhabitants of that\nregion, when Abu Lahab interrupted him rudely. 'Mayst thou be\nannihilated!' he bawled; 'thou who hast called us together to listen\nto such nonsense!' To this insult the following surah of the Qur'an\n(CXI) replies: \"_Let the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and let himself\nperish! * His wealth and his gains shall avail him not. * Burned shall\nhe be at the fiery flame, * And his wife laden with the fire-wood, *\nOn her neck a rope of twisted palm-fibre._\"\n\nThis Surah, quickly becoming renowned, increased Abu Lahab's\nresentment and probably had even more effect on that of his wife, Umm\nJemil, who found herself attacked therein in a way that was as\nannoying as it was deserved. To be nicknamed \"carrier of fire-wood\"\nwas past endurance; but had she not, on one occasion, strewn the path\nof Mohammad with thorny branches; had not her tongue lit up the fires\nof hatred with the faggots of calumny that she hawked about\neverywhere? The odious couple resorted shamelessly to the vilest acts,\ndaily throwing heaps of filth on the terrace of Mohammad's house or in\nfront of his door, for he was their neighbour.\n\nWorked up or terrorised by these fanatics, most of the dwellers in\nMakkah repulsed the Prophet or avoided him. Children and wastrels\npursued him with their jibes in the street. He was perfectly\nindifferent to such provocations. What was it all to him? Nothing more\nthan a passing breeze. He never even seemed to notice the persons who\nacted thus; he only looked at those he hoped to convert.\n\n[Sidenote: THE INCIDENT OF THE BLIND MAN]\n\nIt happened one day when Mohammad had taken in hand some of the most\nnoted townsmen who were beginning to be moved by his arguments, that a\nblind pauper, Ibn Umm Maktum, came forward, and humbly begged to be\ngranted a small share of the knowledge vouchsafed to the Prophet by\nAllah. Engrossed in his discussion with the citizens whose conversion\nhe so ardently desired; fearing, too, to miss an opportunity which\nmight never occur again, Mohammad was seized with a fit of momentary\nvexation and replied curtly to the blind man, who stumbled away\nsorrowfully without having been enlightened.\n\nImmediately afterwards, the Prophet fell a prey to remorse. Might not\nthat blind man, enlightened by faith, have been able to open the eyes\nof other human beings imprisoned in the darkness of ignorance? And the\nRevelation increased Mohammad's remorse by confirming his error:\n\"_He frowned, and he turned his back * Because the blind man came to\nhim ... * As to him who hath become wealthy * Him therefore thou didst\nreceive with honour * Yet it is not thy concern that he endeavours not\nto be pure; * But as to him who cometh to thee in earnest, * And full\nof fears, * Him dost thou neglect. * Do not so. Verily this surah is a\nwarning._\" (THE QUR'AN, LXXX, 1-11.)\n\nEver since that day, the Prophet took great care to treat rich and\npoor, slaves and nobles alike, with the same consideration. The\nexasperation of the idolaters reached the highest pitch when they saw\ntheir own slaves drawn towards Mohammad by his levelling doctrines;\nand when the town rang with the Revelation of Surahs threatening the\nrich and the sweaters of the people. \"_The desire of increasing riches\noccupieth you, * Till ye come to the grave. * Nay! but in the end ye\nshall know * Nay! once more; in the end ye shall know your folly. *\nNay! would that ye knew it with knowledge of Certainty; * Then shall\nye surely on that day be taken to task concerning the pleasures of\nthis life._\" (THE QUR'AN, CII, 1-8.)\n\nAbu Jahal, meeting the Prophet at Safa, could not contain himself, and\nforgetting the self-control befitting a man of his high social\nposition, he blurted out such a vulgar insult that the pen refuses to\nwrite it. The Prophet answered not a word, as was his wont, but a\nfreed female slave of Abdullah ibn Jedhan had witnessed the scene,\nwhile looking out of the back of her dwelling that was just on the\nspot. As Hamzah, Mohammad's uncle, came by a few moments later, she\ntold him what she heard.\n\n[Sidenote: HOW HAMZAH WAS CONVERTED. UTBAH'S PROPOSALS]\n\nHamzah's disposition was haughty and choleric. He felt his blood\nboiling with rage when he heard of the affront offered to his nephew.\nWhen returning from the chase--his favourite pastime--he generally\nstopped to gossip with the folks he met on the road, but this time he\nnever halted, hurrying as fast as his legs would carry him towards the\nTemple. When he caught sight of Abu Jahal, seated in a group of his\npartisans, he went straight up to him, and brandishing his bow above\nhis head, he slashed the face of Mohammad's uncle by a stinging blow.\n'So! thou dost insult my nephew,' he cried. 'Learn that I profess the\nsame religion as he. All he proclaimeth, do I proclaim likewise. Stop\nme from doing so, if thou dost believe thou canst!'\n\nAll the assistants, belonging to the Banu Makhzum tribe of whom Abu\nJahal was a chieftain, rose up to avenge him. But Abu Jahal, ashamed\nat having done a thing unworthy of a high-born lord, under the\ninfluence of profound hatred, bid them stand back. 'Let Hamzah go in\npeace,' he said to them, 'for verily, I did grievously offend my\nbrother's son.'\n\nAs for Hamzah, the blessing of Allah was upon him in his outburst of\nrage and ennobled him by Islam of which he became one of the most\ndevoted and formidable defenders.\n\nUtbah ibn Rabiyah, one of the most noted idol-worshippers, was greatly\nshocked when his young son, Huzaifah, became a convert to Islam and\ndrew away from his father. Hoping to put an end to the discord\nestablished by Mohammad's doctrines, not only in the Quraish tribe,\nbut even in the bosom of families, he planned to come forward as\nmediator. Seeing Allah's Apostle seated, quite alone, near the Temple,\nUtbah said to his partisans: 'Will ye authorise me to speak to him,\nand discuss one or two proposals in your name? Perhaps he may accept\nthem and so leave us in peace.'\n\nUnder the influence of the consternation they felt at the conversion\nof such an important personage as Hamzah--a conversion that had led\nothers to follow suit--and well knowing that it would be best to come\nto some agreement, they replied: 'Aye, go to him and speak in our\nname.' Thereupon, Utbah left them and went to sit by the side of the\nProphet. 'O son of my friend!' said Utbah in most affectionate tones;\n'thou dost belong to us, although by insulting our religion and the\ntraditions of our fathers, thou hast embroiled us. Therefore I come to\nthee to put an end to this great misfortune. Give an ear to my\nproposals. Maybe they will find grace in thy sight.'--'Speak! I am\nlistening.'--'O son of my friend! If thou dost hope that thy\nundertaking will make thee wealthy, each of us is willing to sacrifice\na part of his fortune, in order that thou shalt become the richest man\namong us. If thou seekest honours, we will set thee up as lord over us\nall and come to no decision without consulting thee. Dost dream of\nroyal privileges? We will make thee our king. If, on the contrary, the\nthoughts that inspire thee arise from some malady which thou art\npowerless to resist, we will have fetched at any cost and from any\ncountry the most celebrated doctors, so that thou mayst be cured.\nChoose therefore!'\n\nThe Prophet had listened unmoved. 'Hast thou no more to say?' he\nanswered Utbah. 'Now 'tis thy turn to hearken to my words.' He then\nrecited the Surah of \"The Made Plain,\" in which Unbelievers are\nmenaced with the eternal torments of hell, and Believers comforted by\nthe promise of the inconceivable felicity of Paradise (THE QUR'AN,\nXLI). Utbah, his hands clasped behind his back, stood hearkening to\nthe sentences, now imperative and then compassionate, that fell upon\nhis ears in rhythm and cadence totally new to him. Stupefied, he\nremained stock-still, his attitude unchanged, although the Prophet had\nceased speaking some little time. Mohammad, after having prostrated\nhimself, his brow touching the earth, rose up and turned to Utbah,\nsaying: 'Thou hast heard me, O Utbah? Now, 'tis for thee to choose.'\n\nUtbah, bewildered, went back to his companions. They all noticed his\ntroubled face, so different on his return from what it had been before\nhe left them. 'Come now, O Utbah! what aileth thee?' they queried.--'I\nhave just listened to extraordinary words,' he answered. 'By our Gods!\nI've never heard anything like it before. 'Tis neither poetry, nor\nsorcery, nor magic. O Quraish men assembled! believe me and let this\nman fulfil his Mission among the Arabs, for his words are full of\nsurprising prophecies. If harm corrieth to him by the Arabs' fault, ye\nwill be freed from all anxiety. If, on the other hand, he succeedeth\nand shall conquer the Arabs, his empire will be thy empire, seeing\nthat he is one of us, and thanks to him, ye will attain the highest\npinnacle of power.'\n\nBut what availed such prudent conclusions in the face of jealousy and\nhatred? 'With his tongue he hath cast a spell over thee, as he hath\ndone to others,' his hearers replied; and Utbah, shrugging his\nshoulders, went away, declaring: 'Such is my advice. Now do as ye\nplease.'\n\nNevertheless, Utbah's opinion impressed the idolaters. Next day, after\nsunset, they foregathered, according to custom, in the precincts of\nthe Temple, and decided to speak to Mohammad in person. They sent for\nhim, and he came, hoping that their eyes were open to the light. But\nthey only wanted to renew the proposals of the day before. He refused\njust as scornfully. 'Since thou dost set thyself up as a Prophet,'\nthey said, changing their arguments, 'take pity on thy country. There\nis no land more hemmed-in by mountains, or more poor in its\nwater-supply; more difficult to live in. Therefore, ask Allah to put\naside the girdle of mountains, make the soil easier to till, and give\nus rivers resembling those of Syria and Iraq. Or else, ask Him to\nresuscitate one of our ancestors, Qusaiyy ibn Kilab, for instance, who\nwas a wise and truthful man, so that we may consult him concerning thy\npretensions and let us know if they are veracious or false. If he\ngiveth thee right and thou dost satisfy our demands, then will we\nbelieve thee and have faith in thy mission as Allah's Apostle.'\n\n'I have not been sent to thee for this,' was all the Prophet cared to\nreply. 'I have told you what I was charged to do; and I tell you once\nmore that if you accept, your happiness is assured in this life and\nthe next. Should ye refuse, then I bow down to the decrees of Allah\nwho shall judge between us.'--'Since thou wilt ask nothing for us,'\nthey returned; 'crave a favour for thyself. Ask Allah to send one of\nhis angels to convince us; ask Him to lavish on thee all the pleasures\nof this world that thy heart can desire, such as delicious gardens,\nmarvellous palaces, or treasures of gold and silver. Instead of which,\nwe see thee as one who \"_eateth food and walketh the marts_\" (THE\nQUR'AN, XXV, 8), exactly the same as the most humble among us! If thou\nart really a Prophet, let Allah give us proofs of the power with which\nHe hath endowed thee, and of the dignity to which He hath raised\nthee.'--'I am not one of those who make such demands of Allah, and to\nyou I renew my adjuration.'--'Ask Allah to \"_make the Heaven to fall\nin pieces on us, as thou hast given out_,\" (THE QUR'AN, XVII, 94), if\nHe hath power to do so, according to what thou dost maintain. If not,\nthy word deserveth no credit.'--'Nothing could be easier for the\nAlmighty. If He shall decide to act as ye say, He will accomplish the\ntask. Ye ask Him for miracles? The miracles are to be found in all He\nhath created and ye do not understand! See how death springeth from\nlife and life from death! Of a surety, He can, by a miracle, undo the\nprodigies of the order of Nature he hath created. Thus did He for my\npredecessors, but in vain. Therefore, admire His unceasing miracles in\nNature and crave no others.'\n\nUnable to catch the Prophet tripping, the idol-worshippers, to check\nhim, brought forward Nazir ibn Haris who, having been a great\ntraveller, had garnered many fine stories. As soon as Mohammad began\nto preach, Nazir took his stand quite near him, trying to get his\nhearers away by reciting the wonderful exploits of Rustam and\nIsfandyar. 'See now, I lavish on my audience fine tales,' Nazir was\nbold enough to add, 'that will bear comparison with those sent down by\nAllah to His Prophet.'\n\nThe Quraish men also sent a delegation to the learned Jews of Yasrib\nand to the Prince Halib ibn Malik, illustrious above all men by reason\nof his wisdom, science and power, in order to ask that some means\nshould be found to prove that Mohammad was an impostor. But all these\nefforts were useless, and there was no need to believe in the legend\nof a miracle based on these words of the Qur'an: \"_The hour hath\napproached and the moon hath been cleft._\" (LIV, 1).\n\nSome writers assert that Habib having asked the Prophet to perform a\nmiracle, in order to prove the veracity of his mission, Mohammad gave\nan order to the moon which incontinently split into two equal parts;\none ascending towards the East and the other to the West. According to\nthe opinion of the most trustworthy doctors of Islam, such as Al\nBaidawi and Zamakhshri, this verse really means: \"The hour (of the Day\nof Resurrection) approacheth and (to announce it) the moon will be\ncleft.\" The truth of this assertion is proved by the verses that\nfollow almost immediately: \"_Turn away then from them (The\nUnbelievers)! On the day when the summoner shall summon to a horrible\naffair, * With downcast eyes shall they come forth from their graves,\nas if they were scattered locusts._\" (THE QUR'AN, LIV, 6 AND 7.)\n\nBesides, this supposed miracle is so flagrantly contradicted by\nnumerous verses of the Qur'an that it is not possible to admit it.\n\"_Nothing hindered Us from sending thee (Mohammad) with the power of\nworking miracles, except that the people of old treated them as\nlies._\" (THE QUR'AN, XVII, 61.)\n\nThere was such slight efficacity in miracles! The Israelites bowed\ndown to the Golden Calf immediately after the miracle wrought by Moses\nto save them from the waves of the Red Sea and Pharaoh's hosts. The\nidolaters of Makkah would not have been more greatly impressed by the\nsight of the most astonishing miracle. \"_With their most binding oath\nhave they sworn by Allah, that if a sign come unto them, they will\ncertainly believe it; Say: Signs are in the power of Allah alone: and\nwhat shall make ye to understand that if they were wrought these men\nwould not believe it * And though We had sent down the Angels to them,\nand the dead had spoken to them, and We had gathered all things about\nthem in hosts, they had not believed, unless Allah willed it._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, VI, 109, 111.)\n\n[Sidenote: THE MIRACLE OF THE QUR'AN]\n\nNevertheless there was one miracle, the only one placed to Mohammad's\ncredit, and which was the cause of great anxiety among the Quraish\nidolaters: the miracle of the \"Ayates,\" a word generally rendered by\n\"Verses,\" but really meaning: \"miraculous signs\" of the Qur'an.\n\nThe miracles wrought by earlier Prophets had been transient, so to\nsay, and for that very reason, rapidly forgotten, while that of the\nVerses may be called \"The Permanent Miracle.\" Its activity was\nunceasing. Everywhere and at all hours, each Believer, by reciting the\nVerses, helped to realise the miracle, and in this can be found the\nexplanation of many sudden conversions, incomprehensible for the\nEuropean who knows nothing of the Qur'an, or judges it by cold and\ninaccurate translations.\n\nThe wonderful charm of this Book, resembling no other masterpiece of\nthe literature of mankind, needs not to be explained to us Moslems,\nbecause we consider it emanates from the words of Allah Himself, sent\ndown through the mouth of His Prophet. In this connection, we think it\nwill be interesting to quote the opinion of two Orientalists, justly\ncelebrated.\n\nThis is the conception of Savary, the first to translate the Qur'an\ninto French: \"Mohammad was learned in the study of his language, the\nrichest and the most harmonious in the world, and which, by the\ncomposition of its verses, permits thoughts as they soar to be\ncorrectly described. By the harmony of its sounds, it imitates the\ncries of animals, murmuring waters, thunder and the breeze. Mohammad,\nI repeat, being past master of a language that so many poets have\nembellished and which exists since the beginning of the world, took\ngreat pains to add every charm of elocution to his precepts of\nmorality. Poets were greatly looked up to in Arabia. Labid ibn Rabyah,\nan illustrious poet, nailed one of his poems on the door of the Temple\nof Makkah. His reputation and the value of his works kept all\ncompetitors away. None came forward to compete for the prize.... The\nsecond chapter of the Qur'an--some writers say the 55th--was then\nplaced by the side of the poem. Labid, although a worshipper of graven\nimages, was seized with a fit of admiration after reading the first\nverses and confessed himself vanquished.\"\n\nHe became a convert very soon after and one day, his admirers being\ndesirous of gathering together his complete works, questioned him on\nthis subject. 'I have no recollection of any of my poetry,' he\nreplied, 'for my entire memory hath been absorbed by the verses of the\nBook of Revelation.'\n\nWe will now give the opinion of Stanley Lane Poole: \"The style (of the\nSurahs) is haughty in every part and full of passion. The words are\nthose of a man who tries with all his heart to convince his readers.\nEven nowadays, they give an impression of the vehemence and fire with\nwhich they were originally hurled forth at Mohammad's hearers\nsurrounding him. These are the broken utterances of a human heart\ntotally incapable of hypocrisy; the heart of a man who has exercised\nextraordinary influence over mankind.\"\n\nIf the magic of the style and the thoughts of the Qur'an produced this\neffect on learned men, who were neither Arabs nor Moslems, how great\nthen was the enthusiasm created among the Arabs of the Hijaz,\nespecially as the verses were couched in their own poetical language?\nYou only, travellers who have had an opportunity of seeing the emotion\nthat overcomes the audience of an Imam reciting the Sacred Verses, can\nhave a slight idea of this feeling. You may have seen poor\ncaravaneers, still powdered all over by the sand of their desert,\nwhere they have just endured the greatest fatigue, rushing towards the\nMosque, instead of seeking refreshing repose; drawn thither, as if\nhypnotised by the Imam's voice. Sometimes even, in the time of\nRamadhan, Moslems, after having fasted all day, pass the whole of the\nnight in ecstasy, as they listen to the Divine Word.\n\nIt is certain that the illiterate Bedouins of our day do not always\nunderstand the real meaning of the words recited by the Imam, but the\nrhythm, the cadence, the harmony of the assonances animating the\nwonderful verses, echoing in their breasts to the beatings of their\nhearts, convey to them an explanation, vague perhaps, but truly in\naccordance with the spirit of the text, and above all, full of\nincomparable suggestion. On the other hand, how vapid would seem to\nthem the explanation, more literal but less emotional, of a \"Talib\"\npedant or a frigid grammarian.\n\nAs for the Arab of the Hijaz, comprehending the most subtle hints of\nthe language of the Qur'an--his own language--and who welcomed the\nSurahs as they issued from the lips of his fellow-countryman: the\ngenial, inspired Messenger of Allah, that listener was overwhelmed by\nsuch sudden surprise that he remained as if petrified. Could this\nsupernatural language come from Mohammad, known to be completely\nilliterate and possessing no other knowledge than that due to nature\nand intuition? This seemed perfectly impossible. The Arab was\ntherefore forced to admit that Mohammad's words were dictated by the\nAlmighty. Besides, it was following no ingenious falsehood that the\nProphet attributed the verses of the Qur'an to Allah. He was\nabsolutely convinced of their divine origin. The terrible crises by\nwhich the Revelation manifested itself, bringing him the solution of\nunknown problems in language so new to him; so different to his own;\neven upbraiding him when he made mistakes and commanding him to recite\nthese verses, despite any resistance he might make, left him without\nthe slightest doubt on that head.\n\nConsequently, it was with the most perfect faith that he felt\nboundless admiration for the Qur'an; that is to say for the Words of\nAllah. Had not Allah revealed to him these verses: \"_Say: Then bring\nten Surahs like it of your devising, and call whom ye can to your aid\nbeside Allah, if ye are men of truth._\" (THE QUR'AN, XI, 16).\nConvinced of their powerlessness, \"The Unlettered Prophet\", (THE\nQUR'AN, VII, 156), challenged the most celebrated poets, giving them\nthe right to call him a cheat, if they could compose ten Surahs\nresembling his.\n\nTo doubt the absolute and strangely moving sincerity of Mohammad and\npicture him as a vulgar, but clever, ambitious man, as some modern\nhistorians have done, one must be blinded by preconceived ideas,\nworthy of the days of the Inquisition. Carlyle, in his book, \"On\nHeroes,\" treated such fanaticism or stupidity as it deserved: \"A false\nman found a religion?\" he exclaims, speaking of Mohammad. \"Why a false\nman cannot build a brick house! If he do not know and follow truly the\nproperties of mortar, burnt clay and what else he works in, it is no\nhouse that he makes, but a rubbish-heap. It will not stand for twelve\ncenturies, to lodge a hundred-and-eighty millions; it will fall\nstraightway.\"\n\n[Sidenote: HOW IT WAS FORBIDDEN TO LISTEN TO THE QUR'AN]\n\nBeing powerless to struggle against the irresistible effect produced\nby the recitation of the Qur'an, the Quraish idol-worshippers resolved\nto forbid people to listen to it.\n\nBy threats, the tribesmen frightened those who tried to approach the\nProphet, when as was his wont, he recited, on the threshold of the\nKa'bah, a few passages of the Revealed Book. So as not to hear him,\nthey put their fingers in their ears; or else, to drown his voice,\nthey whistled, clapped their hands, or bawled, as loudly as they\ncould, scraps of doggerel composed by idolater-poets. The unexpected\nresult was that the very men who had made it a crime to listen to the\ncelebrated verses, were moved by that unconquerable curiosity which\nattracts weak mortals towards forbidden things.\n\nOne night, Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahal and Al-Akhnas went out of their\nhouses, bending their steps, each unknown to the other, towards the\ndwelling of the Prophet. Once there, their ears glued to the wall,\nthey tried to overhear the recital of some of the Divine Surahs. In\nthe darkness of the night, they did not see one another. But when day\ndawned, they came face to face on their homeward road, and blamed each\nother mutually: 'What would our partisans think, if they had caught us\ndoing this thing?' And they took a solemn oath never to be so\nimprudent again.\n\nBut the next night and the night after that, the same thing occurred,\nfollowed by the same exchange of reproaches.\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _O thou enwrapped in thy mantle! * Arise\nand warn! * And thy Lord--magnify Him!_]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE FOURTH]\n\n[Illustration: _Ar Ruku, or Inclination._]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Ye shall assuredly be tried in your\npossessions and in yourselves._]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE FOURTH\n\n\n[Sidenote: PERSECUTION]\n\nQuoth the Prophet: \"Allah created Paradise for the man who obeyeth\nHim, even if only a black Abyssinian slave; and Hell for the man\nrebelling against Him, even if he be a nobleman of the Quraish.\"\n\nIslam, tending towards the perfect equality of castes and races,\nnaturally attracted all the poor and downtrodden of the city. With\nincreasing vexation, the idolatrous masters saw their slaves, in eager\ncrowds, converted to the new faith. But as these wretched folks were\nin the tyrants' power, they glutted their vengeance on them, not\ndaring to attack disciples of the Prophet occupying higher rank.\n\nOummayatah ibn Khalaf, having become aware of the conversion of his\nblack slave, Bilal ibn Hammah, was engrossed with but a single\nthought: that of torturing him with the most dastardly refinements.\nPlacing his neck in a noose made from a rough rope of palm-fibre, he\ngave him into the hands of boys knowing no pity. They dragged him\nalong behind them, like a beast of burden, just for amusement. The\nrope, pulled this way and that by the juvenile wrongdoers, ploughed a\nsanguinary furrow in Bilal's flesh. Nevertheless, he seemed insensible\nto pain. Thereupon his master deprived him of food and drink, and led\nhim from the town at noonday, in the middle of summer, throwing him\nout in the \"Ramda,\" a sandy plain, so torrid that a slice of meat,\nthrown on the ground, cooked itself immediately. He made his slave lie\ndown, stretched out on his back, an enormous stone on his breast.\n'Thou shalt stop there,' he ordered, 'until thou dost abjure\nMohammad's doctrines, and worship Lat and Uzza.'\n\nBut the stoical Moslem did nothing more than lift the forefinger of\nhis right hand, saying again and again: 'Ahad! Ahad! Allah is one!\nAllah is one!' thus testifying the scorn he felt for his master who\ndared to couple wooden or stone associates with the Master of the\nWorlds. The affirmation of the slave produced insensibility to pain,\nbecause the ineffable joy of the sacrifice for his faith mingled with\nand mastered the bitterness of torture.\n\nPassing one day near the Ramda, Abu Bakr witnessed this cruel sight.\n'Fearest thou not the justice of Allah, the Most High, O Oummayatah!\nwhen thou dost inflict such torment on that wretched man?' he cried\nindignantly.--'Thou didst corrupt him; therefore 'tis thy duty to save\nhim,' was the cynical reply.--'Willingly! I possess a young black\nslave, stronger and a better worker than thine. Moreover, he is\nentirely devoted to thy idols. I offer him to thee in exchange.'\nOummayatah accepted and turned Bilal over to Abu Bakr who granted him\nhis freedom straightway. Besides, this generous man (may Allah make\nhim welcome in His Grace!) purchased six other slaves, men and women,\nall Islamic converts, merely to set them free, and deliver them out of\nthe hands of their idolatrous masters.\n\nThese persecutions continued notwithstanding, becoming more and more\nbarbarous. The Banu Makhzum tribe took Ammar, with Yaser, his father,\nand Summayy, his mother, out on the Ramda, in order to make them\nsuffer all the tortures prompted by diabolical ferocity. Ammar was\nenclosed in an iron breastplate that held him down on the ground,\nexposed to the blazing rays of the sun at its zenith. His flesh\ncrackled as if in contact with molten metal. But the same thing\nhappened as with Bilal; the idolaters were unable to drag from Ammar\nor his parents, tortured in like fashion, one blasphemous word. It was\nthen that, blinded by rage, Abu Jahal drove his spear through\nSummayy's heart, mocking the dying woman by telling her: 'If thou dost\nbelieve in Mohammad, 'tis because thou art in love with his beauty!'\n\nSummayy was the first martyr to Islam, but such constancy was not to\nbe found in all. A few Believers, enfeebled by privation and torture\nto such an extent that they could not stand upright, finished by\nletting fall from their lips, despite themselves, the blasphemous\nutterances ensuring release. For such as these, crushed by shame and\nshedding tears of repentance, the following Surah of consolation has\ncome down: \"_Whoso after he hath believed in God, denieth Him, if he\nwere forced to it and if his heart remain steadfast in the faith\n(shall be guiltless:) * But whoso openeth his breast to infidelity--on\nthem in that case shall be wrath from God, and a severe punishment\nawaiteth them._\" (THE QUR'AN, XVI, 108).\n\nWhen the Prophet saw what tortures were inflicted on his disciples and\nthat he was powerless to protect them, he was overwhelmed with intense\nsadness. The martyrs' courage proved to him how deeply the roots of\nfaith were planted in their hearts; nevertheless he considered that\nsuch sacrifices should be avoided. So he advised all who were weak, or\neven such as were not forced by imperious necessity to remain in\nMakkah, to emigrate to Abyssinia, a land inhabited by Christians,\nwhose Chieftain, the Najashi (Negus) was celebrated for his tolerance\nand justice.\n\n[Sidenote: THE EMIGRATION TO ABYSSINIA (_A.D. 615_)]\n\nSixteen Moslems were the first to depart. Among them was Usman ibn\nAffan and his wife Ruqaiyah, one of the Prophet's daughters. They went\nout from Makkah secretly and on foot. Reaching the shore of the Red\nSea, they chartered a _felucca_ which carried them over to the\nopposite bank, from whence they journeyed to the Court of the Najashi\nwho welcomed them kindly. Another caravan soon joined them, and the\nlittle Mussulman colony, having taken refuge in Abyssinian territory,\nwas made up of eighty-three men and eighteen women.\n\nExasperated at seeing their victims escape from their clutches; and\nstill more furious to have to include among the emigrants members of\ntheir own families, such as Umm-i-Habibah, daughter of Abu Sufyan, the\nidolaters despatched to the Najashi two ambassadors, Umar ibn al As\nand Abdullah, son of Abu Rabiyah, bearing rich presents, with a view\nto claiming the fugitives, described as being dangerous agitators,\ncapable of causing a revolution in his kingdom.\n\nThe Najashi had already seen that the contrary was the case. By their\nhonesty and virtue, the fugitives had gained the esteem and sympathy\nof his subjects, so that he did not feel inclined to favour the\nrequest of the ambassadors, despite their valuable gifts. They then\nthought it would be as well to touch upon the religious\nsusceptibilities of the Christian monarch, and put him on his guard\nagainst the danger of Islam. 'Know then what these impostors seek to\nattain,' said they to him. 'They have set foot in thine empire in\norder to turn thy subjects away from the religion of Jesus, even as\nthey sought to lead the Quraish astray from the religion of their\nancestors. Shouldst thou wish to put our veracity to the test,\nquestion them concerning their opinions with regard to Jesus, thy\nGod.'\n\nThe Najashi followed this piece of advice. He interrogated the most\nlearned among the emigrants and elicited the following reply from\nJafar, Mohammad's cousin, son of Abu Talib: 'These are the Verses\nrevealed to the Prophet: \"_The Messiah Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam\n(Mary), is only an apostle of Allah, and His Word which He conveyed\ninto Maryam..._\" (THE QUR'AN, IV, 169.)\n\nThis answer was not at all displeasing to the Najashi. If it did not\nacknowledge the divinity of Jesus, it showed, at least, the deep\nveneration in which He was held by the Moslems, and the Abyssinian\nmonarch was fully reassured as to the fugitives' intentions. So he\nsent the ambassadors away, without accepting any of their presents or\ngiving them the slightest satisfaction.\n\n[Sidenote: THE CONVERSION OF UMAR, SON OF AL-KHATTAB]\n\nThe Unbelievers had succeeded in making fierce Umar think that he\nwould save his country by ridding it of Mohammad. So Umar, having\nbuckled on his sword, and his eyes flashing fire, bent his steps in\nthe direction of the Safa district, where he fancied he might fall\nacross the Prophet. Umar, on his way, met Na'im, who had gone over to\nIslam unbeknown to his fellow-tribesmen. 'Wither goest thou, O Umar?'\nqueried the convert.--'To seek out this fellow Mohammad who hath\nstirred up strife in the midst of the Quraish. Oh, by our Gods! I must\nkill him!'--'By Allah! thy soul leadeth thee to do a mad act, O Umar!\nDost thou think that the Abd-i-Manaf will leave thee in peace on the\nface of the earth, if thou dost put to death their relative,\nMohammad?' he added, trying to deter him from carrying out his\nabominable plan. 'Would it not be far better to get certain members of\nthine own household to explain their doings?'--'Who are these persons\nunder my roof?'--'Thy sister Fatimah and thy brother-in-law Said ibn\nZayd. They, too, are Moslems.'\n\nAt these words, Umar stopped dead, the direction of his fury changing,\nand in great haste, he hurried to the dwelling of Fatimah, his sister.\nJust as he got there, Khubab, a fervent disciple, was reading the\nSurah \"Ta-Ha\" written out on a piece of parchment. At the sound of\nUmar's furious knocking, Khubab fled into an adjoining room, and\nFatimah hid the parchment in the folds of her attire.\n\nBut Khubab's voice had been overheard by Umar who asked in imperative\naccents: 'What is this recitation in an undertone that I heard, and\nwhich ye cut short when I arrived?'--'There was nothing to hear. Thou\nart mistaken,' his brother-in-law and sister protested in\nchorus.--'No, no! There is no mistake; neither do I err when I tell\nyou I have learnt that ye follow Mohammad's religion!' Without waiting\nfor any further explanation, he rushed at his brother-in-law, knocked\nhim down, sat on his chest and seized him by the beard.\n\nFatimah threw herself on her brother and made desperate efforts to\nfree her husband. 'Thou speakest the truth! We are Moslems!' Umar lost\nhis wits at this confession and by a brutal blow in the face, he\ndashed courageous Fatimah to the ground. 'Yea, we are Moslems, O enemy\nof Allah!' she repeated, staring boldly at him, her blood flowing\nfreely. 'Yea, we believe in Allah and His Prophet! Now do with us as\nthou wilt!'\n\nWhen Umar saw his sister's blood, the indomitable courage of the weak\nwoman impressed him greatly and he was ashamed of what he had done.\n'Give me the parchment that I heard you reading,' he asked his sister\nin softer accents; 'I wish to get some idea of that which hath been\nrevealed to Mohammad.'--'We fear thou mayest destroy the\nwriting.'--'Be not afraid! By Allah! ye shall have it back so soon as\nI shall have read it.'\n\nDespite her wish to try and convert her brother, Fatimah raised\nobjections. 'O my brother! I cannot confide it to thee, for thou art\nunclean. Only pure hands are allowed to touch the Book in which are\ninscribed the words of Allah.'\n\nUmar rose with docility and performed his ablutions. Then did Fatimah\nhand over the parchment on which was written the Surah, \"Ta-Ha\", which\nbegins with these words: _Not to sadden thee have We sent down this\nQur'an to Thee * But as a warning for him who feareth._ (XX, 1 and 2.)\n\nImmediately after the reading of the first verses, Umar, who was\nremarkably well learnt, could not refrain from uttering a cry of\nadmiration: 'How beautiful! What sublime language!'--'O Umar!'\nexclaimed Khubab, coming out of his hiding-place, 'I had great hopes\nthat the Almighty would fulfil, in thy favour, the wish I heard the\nProphet make but yesterday: 'O Allah!' said he, 'strengthen Islam by\nthe conversion of either one or the other of those two men: Abu Jahal\nor Umar.'--'Lead me at once to Mohammad,' replied Umar, 'so that I may\nbecome a convert to Islam in his presence. Where is he?' Khubab, in\ntriumph, sent him to the dwelling of Arqam in the Safa district.\n\nIn that house, the disciples, clustering in union round the Prophet,\nwere drinking in his words, when imperative knocks shook the door. One\nof the comrades rose up and, by a crack in the wood, caught sight of\nthe terrible warrior, his sword dangling from his belt. Thunderstruck\nat this apparition, he came back to warn the Prophet who calmly told\nhim: 'Bring him in here. If he cometh with good intentions, we will\ngrant him generous welcome, but if evil designs guide his footsteps,\nwe will kill him with his own sword.'\n\nThe companions having obeyed, Umar entered. Mohammad went to meet him,\nand coming face to face with him in the entrance-hall, he caught him\nby the collar and, with a sudden pull, dragged him into the midst of\nthe company assembled. 'What is thy motive in coming here, O son of Al\nKhattab?' he asked. 'Dost thou still mean to remain wallowing in\nimpiety until the wrath of the Almighty crusheth thee?'--'O Prophet!'\nanswered Umar with unaccustomed humility, 'I come to declare my faith\nin Allah, His Messenger, and His Revelation.'--'Praise be to Allah!\nGlory to Him!' cried Mohammad. When his companions were informed of\nUmar's sudden conversion, they went their different ways, full of\ngratitude towards Him who had decreed it.\n\nUmar was not a man to remain patient and conceal his convictions. In\nthe street, he stopped the first passer-by he met, one Jamil ibn\nMamar, of the Jumah tribe, and said to him: 'Dost know, O Jamil, that\nI have become a Mussulman?' The words were hardly out of his mouth,\nbefore Jamil, an incorrigible gossip, tucked his mantle tightly round\nhim and ran to the Temple. 'O Assembly of the Quraish men!' shouted he\nto the idolaters who were there in groups. 'An astounding piece of\nnews! The son of Al Khattab hath lost his reason!'--'Thou liest!'\ninterrupted Umar who had followed him. 'On the contrary, I have set\nout on the Road to Salvation. I bear witness that there is no other\nGod but Allah and that Mohammad is His Prophet!'\n\nOn hearing these words, amounting to insulting aggression, the Quraish\nbounded forward, as one man, to throw themselves on Umar, who\nsteadfastly awaited their attack and a fearful struggle took place.\nThe sun, darting its flaming rays on the fighters, forced them to\ndesist for a short space of time. During the truce, Umar sat down on\nthe ground, surrounded by his enemies whose threatening hands were\nstretched over his head. 'Do with me as ye will,' he told them in\ntones of the most scornful indifference, 'but, by Allah! if I were\nonly at the head of three hundred Mussulmans, we should not be long\nbefore we wrested this Temple from you, and never would ye be able to\nretake it!'\n\n[Illustration: _The Friday Visit of Moslems to the Cemetery._]\n\nAt this juncture, a respected old man, attired in a striped mantle and\na sumptuously embroidered tunic, drew nigh, brought there by the\ntumult of which he asked the cause. 'Umar is demented,' was the\nanswer.--'How so?' said the old man to the idolaters. 'If this man\nhath voluntarily chosen some religion different to yours, hath he not\na right to do so? What want ye of him? Moreover, think ye that his\nrelatives will not feel inclined to interfere on his behalf?' Struck\nmore by the fear of reprisals than by the wisdom of his words, Umar's\nassailants clustering round him, dropped back and dispersed. It seemed\nas if a heavy cloak had been lifted from his shoulders.\n\nNo one, except Mohammad, dared to pray in public. Umar, caring naught\nfor the fury he might cause, made up his mind to follow the Prophet's\nexample, and every day, the sturdy warrior turned like Mohammad in the\ndirection of the Bait-ul-Muquaddas (The Holy Temple of Jerusalem).\nDoing exactly the same as the Prophet, Umar took his stand between the\nangle of the Ka'bah where the Black Stone is enframed and the angle\nlooking towards the Yaman; and there publicly said his prayers.\nEncouraged by this audacity, numerous were the Moslems who came to\npray in public by his side, despite the angry glances of the\nUnbelievers, only restrained by the reputation of Umar who had earned\nthe surname of \"Al Faruq,\" (The Cleaver), because he had once cleft in\ntwain an Arab who refused to bow down to a decision given out by the\nProphet.\n\n[Sidenote: THE EXILE OF THE BANU HA SHAM (_A.D. 626_)]\n\nDespite the superiority of numbers, the idol-worshippers of the\nQuraish were obliged to acknowledge the critical state of their party.\nUnless they could put an end to the irresistible movement that daily\nbrought new conversions, their domination over the Arabs would soon\nbecome a thing of the past.\n\nThey called a meeting, and, after consulting, resolved to break off\nall relations with the Banu Hasham and the Banu Muttalib who were to\nbe banished from Makkah until they consented to hand over Mohammad,\ntheir relative. In order to prevent themselves being tempted to break\ntheir word, the Quraish leaders wrote out the conditions of this\ncompact on a sheet of parchment which they hung up inside the Ka'bah.\n\nTheir plan was most cunning. Among the Banu Hasham and the Banu\nMuttalib were a large number of idolaters who the Quraish thought\nwould refuse to identify themselves with Mohammad and suffer for his\ncause. Therefore, strife would be stirred up in the bosom of the\nProphet's family. But, contrary to the idol-worshippers' conjectures,\nthe example of Abu Talib, Mohammad's uncle, carried away all the\nmembers of his family--with the exception of irreducible Abu\nLahab--actuated by feelings of unanimous solidarity.\n\nThis fact enables us to divine one of the reasons that prevented Abu\nTalib from adopting the Islamic religion, although he worked hard and\nsuccessfully, helping it to triumph. He did not forget Abu Lahab's\nironical remark: 'Thou hast naught else to do than to obey thy son\nAli, now that Mohammad hath chosen him to be his lieutenant.' Abu\nTalib's pride caused him to dread mockery. 'I would willingly become a\nconvert to Islam,' said he, one day, 'were it not that I fear to\nbecome the laughing-stock of the men of Makkah when they would see me\nsaying my prayers.' Nevertheless, these motives would not have held\nhim back, if he had not considered that the protection he granted to\nhis nephew, threatened on all sides, would lose all its power\nfollowing the day when the uncle also should have abjured the religion\nof his forefathers.\n\nDirectly after the proclamation of the decree of expulsion, the\nmembers of the Prophet's family, Mussulmans or idolaters, left their\nhouses, scattered here and there in different districts of the town,\nand assembled in a neighbouring ravine where Abu Talib possessed a\nstronghold.\n\nDuring a period of two years, the exiles endured the greatest\nprivations. Their provisions were quickly exhausted and it was\nimpossible to renew them. They were forbidden to show themselves in\nthe markets, and if one among them, having succeeded in getting to\nfollow a caravan, tried to procure a few articles of food, the\ndealers, watched by Abu Jahal or fearing to be denounced, asked such\nhigh prices that the luckless wight was obliged to give up all ideas\nof purchase, and return empty-handed to his starving family.\n\nThe outlaws were sometimes secretly revictualled by compassionate\nfolks, such as Hisham ibn Umar who had recourse to the following\nstratagem. At nightfall, he led a camel, laden with provisions, to the\nentrance of the ravine, and gave him a violent cut with a whip, in\nsuch a way that the animal bolted in the direction of the starving\nfugitives and was captured by them. But such a godsend was not an\neveryday occurrence, and Mohammad and his family were driven to feed\non the leaves of the thorny bushes growing in the valley.\n\n[Sidenote: THE DECREE OF EXPULSION DESTROYED BY A WORM]\n\nMeanwhile, the Prophet was apprised by a vision that, in order to\ndestroy the impious document, written by the Quraish, Allah had sent a\ngnawing worm and only the Holy Name had been respected.\n\nAbu Talib, hearing about this, and having faith in his nephew's\nvision, went with his brothers and sought out the Unbelievers. They\nexulted on seeing him approach, his features distorted by the pangs of\nhunger. Conquered by famine, was Abu Talib about to throw over his\nnephew? They were so sure that this was the case, that they accepted\nhis proposals without hesitation. 'Let us go and look at the\nparchment,' he said. 'If Mohammad speaketh truly, the act is\nabolished. Should that be, ye must swear to cancel your ruling of\noutlawry that oppresseth us. For my part, I swear to give Mohammad up\nto you if he hath lied.'\n\nThe act was sealed with three seals. Since it had been deposited in\nthe Ka'bah, it had neither been seen nor touched by anyone. Therefore\nAllah's enemies thought it impossible that the Prophet's vision could\nbe authentic and, anticipating victory, they went to the Temple with\nAbu Talib, to see the state of the parchment. The Prophet's words had\ncome true. In the act in question, the gnawing maggot had destroyed\nevery unjust and impious sentence. Naught remained intact except a\nnarrow strip of parchment on which could be read these words: \"In Thy\nname, Allah!\"\n\nThis verification plunged the idolaters into a state of unspeakable\nstupor. Abu Jahal was the first to leave the Temple and he tried to\nretract the promise given by the Quraish. Thereupon, many among them,\nHisham ibn Umar, Zohair ibn Abi Ommayah, Moutam ibn Adiyy, etc., whose\ninterests and intercourse had suffered on account of the odious\ndecree, having only signed it under duress, protested one after the\nother. \"We supported this iniquitous law against our will. Now it no\nlonger exists. Therefore the impious pact set forth therein should be\nannulled.\"\n\nAbu Jahal was forced to bow down in the face of the prodigy and these\nvehement protestations. The compact was cancelled. The Banu Hasham and\nthe Banu Muttalib returned without let or hindrance to their\ndwellings.\n\n[Sidenote: THE DEATH OF ABU TALIB AND KHADIJAH]\n\nIt seemed as if Islam was henceforward to soar aloft safely, when two\nevents suddenly caused its wings to be clipped. First came the death\nof Abu Talib, its indefatigable protector, who had passed the age of\neighty.\n\nWe have already mentioned that, despite all his sympathy for Islam,\nAbu Talib had never consented to profess it. Abu Talib, in his dying\nmoments, having advised all present to obey Mohammad in everything,\nfor he was sure to lead them into the Path of Righteousness, the\nProphet risked a supreme effort. 'O my uncle!' said Mohammad, 'thou\ndost soothe their souls with wise counsel, but wilt thou do nothing\nfor thine own?'--'What wouldst have me do?'--'Bear witness simply that\nthere is no Allah but Allah!--'O son of my brother! I know that thou\ndost speak truly, but I fear to be accused of only testifying in\naffright at the approach of death. Were it not for this fear, be\nassured that I would follow thy advice, in order to freshen thine eyes\nin which I read the high degree of thy affection.'\n\nSome writers maintain that Abbas, seeing the dying man's lips move,\nand having placed his ear close to them, made the following\ndeclaration to the Prophet: 'Be not uneasy, O son of my brother! thy\nuncle hath just uttered the words thou didst wish him to say.' But the\nmost accredited traditions refuse to accept this version. Where is the\ntruth? Allah only knows!\n\nThree days after this bereavement, fraught with fatal consequences,\nthe Prophet had to put up with a still more grievous loss.\n\nKhadijah, his admirable companion, who gave herself to him when he was\npoor and had believed in him when he was called an impostor; Khadijah,\nto whom he confided all his hopes; Khadijah, the sweet consoling\ncreature when he was crushed by the weight of despair; Khadijah, the\nfirst female Moslem, the \"Mother of the Believers,\" was taken from him\nby the Fates at the age of sixty-five. (May Allah welcome her in His\nGrace!)\n\nKhadijah's ascendancy over him was so great and yet so tender that\nwhile she lived, he had never been unfaithful. Never, although he was\nthen in the prime of life, would he consent to have other wives or\nconcubines, as permitted by the customs of his country, in spite of\nbeing invited on all sides to do so. And never, when Khadijah was no\nmore, did he forget her.\n\nAyishah, who later on became Mohammad's favourite spouse, was keenly\njealous of the remembrance of his first wife, daily evoked by him.\n\"Never was I so jealous of any wife of the Prophet as of Khadijah,\"\nAyishah is known to have said, \"although I never met her and\nnotwithstanding that her death took place long before my marriage. But\nthe Prophet was always talking about her, and when he slaughtered a\nsheep, he always kept back a liberal share to be given to Khadijah's\nfemale friends.\n\n\"I said to him once: 'It seems as if Khadijah was the only woman in\nthe whole world!' Thereupon he began to enumerate her incomparable\nqualities and declared that she would have a palace built of pearls in\nParadise, with no noise or household cares to trouble her.\n\n\"Hala bint Khuaild, Khadijah's sister, was taken to see Allah's\nMessenger. He noticed that she spoke in the same way as his dead wife,\nand was so stirred that, overcome by jealousy, I could not help\nshowing temper and I exclaimed: 'What meanest thou by continually\nconjuring up the remembrance of these old Quraish females, with their\ntoothless, red gums and faces betraying the ravages of age? Hath not\nAllah given thee better women in their stead?'\"\n\nBut despite these scenes, despite the beauty and intelligence of\nAyishah and his other wives, the Prophet always preferred Khadijah. He\nincluded her among the four most perfect women that ever came on\nearth. The three others were Asiyah, Pharoah's wife who saved Moses;\nMaryam (Mary), mother of Isa (Jesus); and Fatimah-tuz-Zahra, one of\nMohammad's daughters by Khadijah.\n\n[Sidenote: THE JOURNEY TO TAIF]\n\nStricken by his double mourning, threatened by the Unbelievers who no\nlonger concealed their intentions, now that his noble protector was no\nmore, the Prophet resolved to preach outside Makkah. If he succeeded\nin gaining over some of the neighbouring Arab peoples, these\nreinforcements, increasing the number of citizens of Makkah already\nconverted, and which was far from inconsiderable, would make up a\nparty sufficiently strong to hold his detractors in respect.\n\nHis first attempt was made at Taif, a small town about seventy-two\nmiles to the east of Makkah, renowned for its grapes, figs,\npomegranates and the roses of its enchanting gardens. Accompanied by\nZayd ibn Haris, the Prophet arrived in the market-place where he found\nmany noted Saqifs assembled. He sat by their side and stated the\nreasons of his journey: his Divine Mission and the hostility of his\nparty.\n\nMost of those present were beginning to fall under the influence of\nthe wonted charm of his words, when three brothers, ranking among the\nmost noble and predominant of the Saqifs, interrupted him abruptly.\n'This man hath doubtless stolen or torn the veil of the Ka'bah!'\nexclaimed the first of the brothers, 'and now, having taken to his\nheels, he tells ye a story about being Allah's Messenger!'--'Hath\nAllah not been able to find anyone but thee?' jeered the second.--'By\nAllah! I'll never have anything to do with thee!' declared the third.\n'If thou art truly the Prophet of Allah, as thou dost assert, thou art\nso far above me that I dare not argue with thee; and if thou art\nmerely an impostor, it would not be fitting that I belittle myself by\nreplying.'\n\nThese remarks broke the charm, and the crowd, veering round, showed\nits hostility by shouting insults. The Prophet saw that there was no\nhope for him in that town for the moment, and rose up to depart.\n\nSo as to make it impossible for him to renew his attempt, his\ncontradictors stirred up the lowest dregs of the populace against him.\nSlaves and vagabonds, arrayed in a double row, awaited him on each\nside of the road he was bound to take. They found amusement in stoning\nhis bare legs. When exhausted by his sufferings, he sat down in the\nmiddle of the road, trying to shield his bleeding feet, his tormentors\nlifted him up by the arms and continued their barbarous fun. In vain,\ndevoted Zayd tried to protect him by getting in front of him; the\nfaithful henchman was struck down by a stone that cut his face.\nStaggering, falling, rising and dragging themselves along in the midst\nof sneering jibes, Mohammad and his companion at last reached a garden\nwall, behind which they took refuge, and dropped extenuated in the\nshade of a tree covered with vine branches, leaves and grapes.\n\n'O Allah!' cried the Prophet, 'To Thee I complain of my puny strength\nand the failure of my zeal with regard to these men. O Thou! most\nCompassionate and Merciful, Thou art the Lord of the weak and Thou art\nmy Lord! I have none but Thee on whom to lean! But if Thou be not\nangry with me because I am powerless to ensure love and respect for\nThy Word, I care nothing for all the ordeals I undergo!'\n\nThe villanous mob did not dare to trespass in the garden in order to\nfollow up their victims. The owners of the property, charitable folks,\nindignant at the scene they had just witnessed, ordered Adas, their\ngardener, to gather bunches of grapes and carry a basketful to their\nmomentary guests.\n\nWhen the inflammation of their limbs, covered with bruises, had\nsubsided by reason of repose in the beneficial shade; and their thirst\nbeing quenched by the honeyed juice of the celebrated grapes of Taif,\nthe Prophet and his companion set out again on the road to Makkah.\n\n[Illustration: _The Departure._ 2 views]\n\nForeseeing the welcome in store for him, Mohammad could not do\notherwise than claim the assistance of some influential citizen.\nHalting at the cave of Mount Hira, he sent Zayd to find a protector.\nAfter two rebuffs at the hands of Al Akhnas and Sohail, who excused\nthemselves, Zayd approached Muta'm bin Adiyy who, consenting to take\nthe responsibility on himself, armed his serving-men and posted them\nin the precincts of the Ka'bah. Brought back by Zayd, Mohammad was\nthen enabled, thanks to the escort of this little army, to make the\nseven ritual circuits before returning to his dwelling.\n\n[Sidenote: THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY AND ASCENSION]\n\n\"Al-Isra,\" the Nocturnal Journey, and \"Al-Miraj\" the Prophet's\nAscension, have given rise to innumerable debates between the doctors\nof Islam. Some think that this miraculous journey was really,\nphysically accomplished; whilst others, relying on the most accredited\ntraditions--among which is that of Ayishah, Abu Bakr's daughter and\nMohammad's favourite wife--maintain that Mohammad's soul alone\nundertook the journey, and that it should only be looked upon as a\nveracious vision such as frequently came to the Prophet in his sleep.\n\nOne night, the twenty-seventh of the month of Rabi'-ul-Awwal, the\nangel Jibra'il, upon whom devolved the duty of directing the heavenly\nbodies, was ordered by the Almighty to increase the moon's brilliancy\nby adding a part of the sun's radiance; and that of the stars by a\nshare of the moon's brightness, so that the firmament that night\nshould be resplendent with light. The Angel was then to descend to\nwhere Mohammad was sleeping, and carry him up to Allah through the\nseven zones of Heaven.\n\nQuoth the Prophet: \"I was in a deep sleep when Jibra'il appeared to\nme, bringing Al-Buraq, the Prophet's usual mount. This animal\nressembled none to be found on earth. His size was greater than that\nof an ass; less than that of a mule. His coat was more dazzlingly\nwhite than snow; he had the face of a man, but was dumb. Great wings\nlike those of a bird allowed him to rise in the air and career through\nspace. His mane, tail, feathers and breast-piece were studded with\npriceless precious stones that sparkled like myriads of stars.\n\n\"I got on his back and, in a twinkling, he carried me from the\n\"Masjidu'l-Haram\" to the \"Masjidu'l-Aqsa\" (_i.e._ the Sacred Makkan\nTemple to the faraway Temple of Jerusalem). I alighted and fastened\nhis bridle to the ring used by the Prophets. A man appeared in front\nof me, offering a cup of milk and a cup of wine. I drank the milk and\nrefused the wine. Jibra'il, who had accompanied me without\noutstripping me or allowing me to outrun him, approved what I had\ndone. 'If thou hadst preferred wine to milk,' he told me, 'thy people\nwould have preferred Error to Truth.'\"\n\nAfter visiting the Temple, the Prophet climbed up the \"Sakhrah,\" the\nSacred Rock (on which now stands the marvellous dome of the Mosque of\nUmar) which bowed down in his honour and also so as to enable him to\nremount Al-Buraq. Still led by his celestial guide, he continued his\njourney by ascending through the Heavens.\n\nWe need not copy the descriptions of this Ascension, or \"Miraj,\" in\nevery detail. Many writers, particularly the Persians, have given a\nfree rein to their imagination in this connection, whilst others, more\nserious, such as Ibn-i-Hisham, Ibn-i-Sad and Abul Fida, are content to\nset forth an extremely simple narrative. We shall only mention\nMohammad's meeting with the Prophets known before him: Abraham, Moses\nand Jesus; then his visit to the Paradise of Believers, where the\ngardens honoured him by giving out sweet odours and his halt in Hell,\ndestined to receive Unbelievers, where the flames congealed when he\nwent along.\n\nAfter having passed through the seven zones of the Heavens, it was not\nlong before he heard the scratching of pens writing in the \"Book of\nFate,\" and the thanksgivings of the angels glorifying the Almighty.\nFinally, he reached the \"Sidratu'l-Muntaha,\" the \"Lote-tree of the\nExtremity.\" At this spot, Jibra'il left him, saying: \"Here is the\nboundary of Knowledge, where I am forced to halt. As for thee, O\nPrince of Messengers! O friend of the Master of the Worlds! continue\nthy glorious Ascension and progress in the Light of thy Lights.\" And\nthe Chosen One continued to pass through the veils covering that which\nis hidden, until he reached the veil of Unity and looked upon that\nwhich eyes cannot see, nor minds imagine. The eyes of his body would\nnot have been able to support the brilliancy of this sight which must\nhave brought on blindness. Therefore, Allah opened the eyes of\nMohammad's heart, thus permitting him to contemplate the Infinite\nSplendour.\n\nAllah bade him draw near to His throne, \"_at the distance of two bows,\nor even closer_\" (THE QUR'AN, LIII, 9), and after having confirmed the\nchoice He had made in charging Mohammad to be the carrier of Good\nTidings to His servants, He fixed the number of prayers--fifty in\nall--that each Believer should offer up daily to the Creator, in\ngratitude for His bounty.\n\nWhen the Chosen One went down, Moses met him again and questioned him.\n'O Prophet of Allah! what hath our Master ordered thee with regard to\nthe number of prayers which His disciples should offer up?'--'Fifty\nprayers during the day and the night.'--'O thou, the best of created\nbeings!' Moses rejoined, 'go back to our Master, and beg Him to\nlighten this burden, too heavy for the weakness and laziness of\nmankind.' So Mohammad went back several times into the presence of the\nMaster of the Worlds, until he prevailed upon Him to reduce the number\nof prayers to five only.\n\nThis parable, which serves to decide definitively the number of daily\nprayers, also demonstrates admirably that an excess of devotion, in\nthe Islamic creed, is considered to be an error. \"_Allah desireth to\nmake your burden light to you: for man hath been created weak._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, IV, 32.) Why should the Almighty be in need of the prayers of\nmankind? \"_We ask not of Thee to make provision for thyself--We will\nprovide for Thee._\" (THE QUR'AN, XX, 132.)\n\nAllah has sent prayer to His servants as one of His most salutary\nfavours. Five times daily, devotion brings absolute rest to Believers;\nthat is to say, complete interruption of the feelings that stir them,\nwhether an excess of joy leading to ruin in the aberrations of\ndebauchery, or an excess of sadness causing them to perish in the\nmadness of despair. Five times daily, prayer forces them by its\naccompanying ablutions, to call to mind the cleanliness of the body,\nat the same time as the purity of the soul.\n\nThe day after his vision, the Prophet, beaming with delight, was met\nby his mortal enemy, Abu Jahal, who addressed him ironically: 'O\nMohammad! hast thou not one of those marvellous tales which we are\nused to hear from thee to tell us this morning?'--'Indeed I have!'\nreplied the Prophet. 'Between yesternight and this morning I have been\nto Jerusalem and back.'--'Gather round quickly, O Quraish! Hasten and\nhearken to the wonderful adventure of the nocturnal journey undertaken\nby Mohammad!' shouted Abu Jahal.\n\nThe crowd soon grew, and the Prophet gave out the narrative we have\njust set forth. Most of his hearers, belonging to the clan of the\nidol-worshippers, followed the example of their chieftain and received\nit with outbursts of the coarsest merriment. Some clapped their hands;\nothers held their heads in their hands as if to stop their brains from\nbursting. As for the Believers, one party was undecided whether to put\nfaith in the story or not; and the remainder, unsettled by the\nattitude of the public, dared not manifest their confidence openly.\n\nProfiting by the confusion, Abu Jahal hastened to speak to Abu Bakr.\n'Maybe thou dost not know the last extraordinary adventure of thy\nProphet? He pretends to have accomplished in the night the journey\nfrom the \"Holy Temple\" of Makkah to the \"Faraway Temple\" of\nJerusalem--there and back!' Abu Jahal was full of glee, in\nanticipation, at the thought of the vexation and bewilderment which\nwere sure to be seen in the face of his fellow-citizen.\n\nContrary to Abu Jahal's expectations, however, Abu Bakr replied\nwithout uneasiness: 'Whatever Mohammad asserts is true and I believe\nit. If he maintains that he went up to the seventh Heaven in an hour\nand came back in the same space of time, I should still have faith in\nhis declarations.'\n\nSuch dependable testimony caused the Faithful to take heart; thus it\nturned out that Abu Jahal, by trying to instil incredulity in men's\nminds, only succeeded in strengthening their beliefs. Desirous of\ncatching the Prophet redhanded as a cheat, Abu Jahal interrogated him\nconcerning the Temple of Jerusalem, calling on him for a description\nthereof. But he was utterly routed when Mohammad, whom his foe thought\nhad never set foot in Jerusalem, except during this nocturnal vision,\ndescribed the city in all its peculiarities and with great accuracy,\nendorsed by all among those assembled who had ever undertaken that\njourney.\n\nTherefore the Believers, their faith revived, hastened to put on the\nfive \"Garments of Purity,\" which means that they offered up the five\nprayers brought down to them from Heaven by the Prophet.\n\n[Sidenote: HOW SIX INHABITANTS OF YASRIB WERE CONVERTED (_A.D. 620_)]\n\nTowards the end of the year, Usman ibn Affan and his wife Ruqaiyah\nreturned from Abyssinia, accompanied by a few emigrants, among whom,\none of them, called Sukran, died on arrival. The Prophet married his\nwidow, Sauda, daughter of Zoma, thus rewarding the zeal of one of the\nfirst female converts to Islam, who had so valiantly undergone the\nordeals of persecution and exile.\n\nWishing, in the same way, to show his appreciation of the unchanging\ndevotion of Abu Bakr, the Veracious, and to bind him still closer by a\nmatrimonial alliance, the Prophet, at the same epoch, espoused his\ndaughter Ayishah, although she had barely reached the age of ten. But,\nin her case, the marriage was not consummated until many years later,\nat Al-Madinah, after the Hegira.\n\nDespite Abu Bakr's energetic affirmations; despite the strengthening\nof the Believers' zeal by the rule of the five prayers, the story of\nthe Nocturnal Ascension was far from being advantageous to the cause\nof Islam. The narrative, on the contrary, furnished its enemies with\nan opportunity of petty triumph, enabling them to pile up fresh\nmockery and institute greater persecution.\n\nThe case would have seemed hopeless to any other but Mohammad. He knew\nnot what it meant to be discouraged, feeling certain that the Almighty\nwould never abandon His Apostle to whom He had revealed the following\nverses: \"_Say: I betake me for refuge to the Lord of Men, * The King\nof Men, * Allah of Men * Against the mischief of the stealthily\nwithdrawing whisperer (Satan) * Who hides himself at the Name of\nAllah, * Who whispereth in man's breast against Jinn and men._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, CXIV, 16.)\n\nPostponing for the time being the conversion of the Makkans, the\nProphet turned his attention towards Arab strangers in the town,\nattracted in great crowds by the ceremonies of the pilgrimage to the\nKa'bah and the ritual circuits. During the fair that was held at that\ntime, he went untiringly from group to group. But, just as\nindefatigable, close behind, was his uncle, Abu Lahab, who, as soon as\nhe saw the Prophet in the centre of a ring of men, would call out\nloudly to them: 'Hearken not to that man! His sole thought is to tear\nthe cult of Lat and Uzza from out of your hearts; and trick ye all\nwith the insane doctrines that he pretends it is his Mission to\npreach.'\n\nThese words aroused the Arabs' suspicions, and they turned away from\nMohammad with remarks after this fashion: 'Thy fellow-citizens know\nthee better than we, so begin by convincing them!' Or else: 'If Allah\nshould cause thee to triumph, thy glory will not profit us, but only\nthy party. Therefore, it is not to our advantage to ally ourselves to\nthee.'\n\nThese rebuffs had no effect on the Prophet. No sooner did any\nnoteworthy person arrive in Makkah than Mohammad sought his presence\nat once.\n\nOne day, on the hill of Aqabah, he went up to a group of six men,\nfresh arrivals, and with his usual politeness, he addressed them thus:\n'What are you, O my good Lords?'--'We are of the Khazraj\ntribe.'--'Masters over the Jews settled in Yasrib, methinks?'--'We are\nindeed their masters.'--'Will ye not sit down here awhile, so that I\nmay speak with you?'--'Willingly.'\n\nThey sat by his side, and he tried to gather them into the fold of\nIslam by reciting verses of the Qur'an. Charmed by his eloquence and\nthe novelty of his words, the Khazraj men listened attentively and\npaused to reflect.\n\nThe Jews, inhabiting their land and bent beneath their yoke, were\nfolks well versed in the knowledge of Holy Writ. Thus it was that\nwhenever disagreement arose between them and their masters, these\nchildren of Israel were wont to murmur: 'We await the coming of a\nProphet. When his hour arrives, we shall all follow him and thanks to\nhis assistance, we shall triumph over you and become your masters in\nour turn.' Whilst Mohammad spoke unto the tribesmen, they exchanged\nglances and came to this conclusion: 'Evidently this is the Prophet\nwhose advent is threatened by the Jews. We must not let them forestall\nus with him.'\n\nSo they replied to his appeal, saying: 'Our land is made desolate by\nperpetual war waged between us and our Arab brothers, the Aus tribe.\nWe will go to them, and call their attention to thy cause and thy\nreligion. If through thee, Allah should reconcile and unite us, there\nwill not be in all Arabia a man more powerful than thee!'\n\n[Sidenote: THE TWO OATHS OF THE AQABAH (_A.D. 621_)]\n\nThe new converts kept their word and spread Mohammad's doctrines in\ntheir region. The following year, twelve Mussulmans from Yasrib, ten\nbeing of the Khazraj and two belonging to the Aus, arrived in Makkah\nfor the Mausam rejoicings. They met the Prophet on the Aqabah and took\nan oath of fidelity towards him. With a view to completing their\nreligious education and making fresh converts, Mohammad delegated\nMusab ibn Umr, one of his most learned disciples, who went away with\nthem.\n\nIn Yasrib, the Islamic creed did not meet with the difficulties that\nhampered its progress in Makkah, where it was harmful to the interests\nof the exploiters of the idols. Musab's task turned out to be\nparticularly easy, and the \"Permanent Miracle\" of the Surahs of the\nQur'an, recited by him, produced its effect with lightning-like\nrapidity. Resembling a beneficial rainstorm which might have broke, in\na few minutes, over every part of a country suffering from drought,\nrestoring life and fertility, Islam had diffused its wholesome dew\nover every district of the town, calming dissensions and causing the\nvirtues necessary for its triumph to take root and flourish in the\ncitizens' hearts.\n\nSoon there was not a single family among the Aus or the Khazraj which\ndid not count several Believers among its members. Musab, who had good\nreasons to be proud of the result of his mission, returned to Makkah\nto report progress to Mohammad. When the date of the pilgrimage came\ndue, seventy-five Mussulmans, two being women, joined the caravan of\ntheir fellow-citizens who were still idolaters. The converts, full of\nzeal, arranged to meet the Prophet on the Aqabah, during the night\npreceding the second day of Tashriq, in order to offer a safe place of\nrefuge in their city, for him and his disciples.\n\nKa'b ibn Malik, one of the pilgrims, has said: \"We made up our minds\nto keep our movements secret from our idolatrous fellow-citizens,\namong whom we slept until one third of the night was passed. We then\nwent out, one after another, stealthily, making our way, slowly and\nsilently, towards a pass on the slopes of the Aqabah, where we all met\ntogether to await the Prophet. He soon arrived, accompanied by his\nuncle Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib.\n\n\"He had not yet abjured the religion of his ancestors, but he had\ngreat affection for his nephew from whom he wished to ward off all\nmisfortune, following the example of his brother, Abu Talib. Having\nbeen informed of the plans of the people of Yasrib, Abbas wanted to\nsee for himself what amount of confidence Mohammad could have in their\nproposals. Abbas was the first to address the meeting and spoke as\nfollows: 'O Assembly of the Khazraj and the Aus! my brother's son, as\nye know, holds high rank among us, and although we do not share his\nconvictions, we have hitherto protected him against his\nfellow-citizens. In our \"qawm\" he finds honour and safety.\nNevertheless, at the present hour, he turns towards you, and desires\nto settle in your midst. Reflect! if ye decide to remain faithful to\nyour promises and shield him from all dangers whatsoever, it will be\nwell. But should ye fear to be forced one day to throw him over, and\ngive him into the hands of his enemies, it would be better, now at\nonce, to confess that your purpose is not steadfast by withdrawing\nyour proposals and leaving him with his own party.'\n\n\"Without the slightest hesitation, we answered Abbas: 'Thou hast heard\nwhat we proposed. Thou canst rely on us absolutely!' Then we turned to\nMohammad: 'Speak, O Prophet! What dost thou want of us, for thy Lord\nand for thyself?'\n\n\"After having recited a few Surahs and recapitulated the fundamental\nprinciples of Islam, the Prophet added: 'Swear that ye will fight to\ndefend me and my disciples, as ye would fight to defend your wives and\nchildren.'\n\n\"We took the required oath with unanimous enthusiasm: 'By Allah! we\nare war-children, and our fathers have taught us how to manufacture\nall weapons!'--'O Prophet!' broke in Abul Hasham, 'there exists a\ncompact, between the Jews of Yasrib and us, which we shall have to\nbreak, perhaps, in order to uphold thy cause. What would be our\nposition, in our land, if, after being victorious thanks to us, thou\ndidst go back to thy \"qawm\"?'\n\n\"The Prophet smiled and protested: 'Rest easy on that score! Your\nblood hath become my blood and your honour, my honour. He who wrongeth\nyou, wrongeth me. I'll fight the enemies you fight, and support whom\nye support; ye are mine and I am yours! Choose then twelve Najibs\namong you as leaders.'\n\n\"After having consulted together, we chose nine Khazraj and three Aus.\nWhen we brought the twelve men to him, he said: 'Ye shall be my\ndelegates in your \"qawm,\" as were the apostles of Jesus, son of Mary,\namong their people.'\n\n\"The Najibs pledged their words; but, just as the solemn oath was\nabout to be sworn, Ibn-i-Ubadah rose and said: 'O Assembly of the\nKhazraj and Aus! have ye reflected seriously anent the consequences of\nthe compact ye intend to make with this man? For his sake ye swear to\ngo to war with white, swarthy and black men. But if, in days to come,\nseeing your property pillaged and your nobles massacred, ye were to\nforsake him, shame would be brought upon you in this world and the\nnext.'--'We are resigned in anticipation to the loss of our property\nand to the death of our best men, if such a sacrifice is useful for\nthe cause of Islam,' we replied unhesitatingly, 'but may we ask the\nProphet what we shall receive in exchange?' He replied: 'Paradise!'\n\n\"_Who, from desire to behold the face of their Lord, are constant amid\ntrials, and observe prayer, and give alms in secret and openly out of\nwhat We have bestowed upon them and turn aside evil by good: for these\nis the recompense of the abode * Gardens of Eden--into which they\nshall enter together with the just of their fathers, and their wives,\nand their descendants: and the angels shalt go in unto them at every\nportal: * Peace be upon you! say they, because ye have patiently\nendured! * And charming is the recompense of the Abode!_\n\n\"_So oft as they are fed therefrom with fruit for sustenance, they\nshall say, 'This same was our sustenance of eld!' But they will only\nresemble those of earth, being infinitely more delicious ... * And\ntheirs shall be the Houris with large black eyes like close-kept\npearls ... * No vain discourse shall they hear therein, nor charge of\nsin * We will remove whatever rancour was in their hearts ... and they\nshall say 'Praise be to Allah who hath guided us hither.' *_\n\n\"_And other things which ye desire will He bestow: Help from Allah and\ngreedy conquest! ... * O ye who believe! be ansars of Allah! (i.e.\nhelpers, soldiers.)_ (THE QUR'AN, XIII, 22, 23, 24. II, 23. LVI, 22,\n24. VII, 41. LXI, 13, 14.)\"\n\n\"When they heard these promises of inconceivable bliss in Paradise,\nannounced by such tokens as are understood by mortals' weak brains,\nthe Faithful felt their souls filled with hope and said to the\nProphet: 'Stretch out thine hand!' Mohammad offered his hand, opened\nout, the palm turned upwards; and Asad ibn Zarara came and struck it\nwith his right hand, followed by Abul Hisham and Al Bara; and, one\nafter the other, all the Yasrib pilgrims, who from that day forth\ncalled themselves, \"Ansars.\"\n\n\"We were getting ready to return furtively to our encampment, our\nhearts brimming over with joy and hope, when, in the silence of the\nnight, on the summit of the Aqabah, a voice resounded, the most shrill\nI had ever heard. 'O Assembly of the Quraish!' it shouted, 'be on your\nguard! The sons of the Khazraj and Aus have sworn to fall upon you\nwith the sword!'\n\n\"We shuddered, but the Prophet removed our fears by saying: 'That is\nthe voice of the demon of the Aqabah which means that Iblis (Satan) is\nshrieking. He is Allah's enemy, and his cry has not been heard by any\nof our adversaries.' We returned to our tents, where we found our\nfellow-citizens sleeping soundly, suspecting naught of that which had\ntaken place.\n\n\"Nevertheless, upon awaking, next day, a deputation of Quraish nobles\narrived, warned either by the voice of Iblis, or by reports of spies\ndogging the Prophet's footsteps. 'O Assembly of the Khazraj and Aus!'\nsaid these delegates, 'it hath come to our ears that ye have allured\none of our men, Mohammad ibn Abdullah and taken an oath with him to\nwage war upon us.'\n\n\"The idolaters of our party, knowing nothing about the events of the\nnight, swore with most evident sincerity that the Quraish were\nmistaken. 'This business is improbable!' exclaimed one of their\nchieftains, Abu Salul by name. 'My \"qawm\" would not have hidden it\nfrom me and I have heard naught about it.'\"\n\nThe Quraish tribesmen went away, more or less tranquilised, but they\nmet on their road some Bedouins who had been witnesses of the strange\ngathering in the Aqabah ravine and who imparted their suspicions. The\nQuraish, convinced of the treachery of the Khazraj and the Aus, turned\nback in great haste to the encampment. But the tents were struck; the\nbirds had flown and were far off by that time, out of danger.\n\n[Sidenote: THE PLOT AGAINST THE PROPHET]\n\nHenceforward the Prophet could reckon on safety and shelter in the\ntown of Yasrib and he gave orders to all his disciples to take refuge\nwithin its walls.\n\nThe idolaters could not help feeling great apprehension, by reason of\ntheir victims meeting with the inhabitants of a rival city. The\nworshippers of images impeded the union by means of great violence,\nand it was only one by one, or in small, successive groups, that the\nBelievers were able to reach their place of safety. From that day\nonwards, they took the name of \"Muhajirun,\" or emigrants.\n\nAs for the Prophet, relieved of all anxiety concerning them, he\nstopped in Makkah with Ali and Abu Bakr only. They knew full well the\nrisk they ran, but despite Abu Bakr's adjurations, Mohammad wished to\nmake a supreme effort, and resort to force before leaving his native\ntown. He still hoped to rescue some of his fellow-countrymen from\nidolatry, especially as he now had a shelter to offer them; and\nbesides, he did not like to leave his post without authorisation from\nthe Lord.\n\nThe emigration of the Believers carried the fury of the Quraish\nidolaters to the highest pitch as well as causing them great anxiety.\nThey resolved to strike a decisive blow.\n\nThey called a meeting in the \"Dar-un-Nadwa,\" \"House of Counsel,\" built\nby their ancestor, Qusayy ibn Kilab. The most important resolutions\nwere taken in this \"Dar-un-Nadwa,\" where only the descendants of\nQusayy were admitted, but not until they had reached the age of forty.\n\nJust as representatives of every division of the Quraish were entering\nthe \"House of Counsel,\" a tall, old man of haughty bearing, attired in\nwoollen garments, appeared on the threshold. In reply to questions as\nto who he was and what he wanted, he replied: 'I am a Shaikh of the\nNajd. Attracted by your noble gait and the sweetness of your favourite\nscents, I feel great desire to hear you speak. If ye consent to admit\nme to your noble assembly, perchance my advice may not be entirely\nuseless.'\n\nThe inhabitants of the Najd lived too far away to be suspected of\nacting in complicity with Mohammad, therefore the Committee of the\nElders found that nothing prevented them from authorising the noble\nstranger to be present during the meeting, and he followed them into\nthe hall of debate. The Head Committee started the discussion at once.\n'We all know,' they said to each other, 'about the intrigues of this\nman Mohammad and the danger with which he threatens our country. We\nwill talk over the best means of defence. Let each of us give his\nopinion freely.'\n\nThe first to speak was Abul Bukhtari who made this proposal: 'Let us\ncast our enemy into a dungeon, load him with chains, and bolt the door\nupon him until he die.'--'Such a proceeding would be fraught with\nfatal consequences,' the Shaikh of the Najd objected, 'if you carry it\nout. The news of your act of violence would filter through the prison\ngates and reach the ears of Mohammad's companions who, ye may be sure,\nwould quickly attack you in order to free him. Thanks to assistance of\nthe Yasrib Mussulmans, they would be victorious. Let us hear some one\nelse's proposition.'\n\nAsad ibn Rabiya rose and said: 'Why cannot we expulse him from among\nus and banish him from our country? When he is gone, little we reck\nwhere he taketh refuge or what becometh of him. We shall be well rid\nof him.'--'Truly, a fine piece of advice!' exclaimed the Shaikh of the\nNajd. 'Know ye nothing about the beauty of your adversary's speech,\nthe charm of his voice and the strength of his arguments? Scarcely\nwill he have set foot among the neighbouring Arab tribes, when he will\ndominate them by his eloquence, cause them to follow in his wake, and\ncome back from exile at their head, to have his own way with you all!\nTry and find a more reasonable plan to crush him.'\n\nThen it was the turn of Abu Jahal. 'By our gods!' said he, 'I have a\nproject which, I am certain, will satisfy you entirely.'--'Speak! What\nis thy plan?' exclaimed his audience.--'This is it. In each\nsubdivision of our tribe we'll choose a young, vigorous warrior\nbelonging to a family equally noble and respected, and we'll place in\nhis hand a well-sharpened sword. These young warriors, banded\ntogether, shall throw themselves on Mohammad at the same instant; all\nstriking him at once. By acting in this way, the responsibility of\nshedding his blood will be shared among all the subdivisions to which\nthe murderers belong, and the Abd Manaf, relatives of the dead man,\nunable to declare war upon every subdivision of our tribe, will be\nobliged to content themselves with receiving the \"Diyah\" (blood\nransom) that we may be good enough to offer.'--'These are words of\nintelligence!' exclaimed the Shaikh of the Najd, who was no other than\nIblis (Satan) disguised in human shape. 'That man's motion points to\nthe only way out of your difficulty.'\n\nThis perfidious counsel met with the unanimous approval of the\nassembly. The Unbelievers flattered themselves that their enemy was\nalready got rid of, but they had reckoned without the will of the\nAlmighty. The angel Jibra'il, sent by Him, warned the Prophet of the\nconspiracy to take his life, and brought him orders to emigrate in his\nturn, at the same time warning him as follows: 'Sleep not this night\nupon thy wonted couch.'\n\nIn Mohammad's house were several sums of money deposited with him by\nUnbelievers, and he did not care to go away before having given back\nwhat was due to each rightful owner. He charged his faithful Ali to\ncarry this out, after having told him what he had just heard and\nsaying: 'Sleep in my stead, on my habitual couch, and wrap thyself in\nthis--my green mantle of the Hazramaut. Fear naught; no harm can come\nto thee from my enemies.'\n\nWhen the first four hours of the night had gone by, the conspirators,\namong whom was Abu Jahal who had come to excite their zeal, were\nposted in ambush close to the door of the house, to prevent Mohammad\nfrom escaping. They did not wish to consummate their crime in\ndarkness, for people might then have denied the participation of the\nQuraish. They preferred to await daybreak, so that it might be plainly\nvisible that each and every one had an equal share in the murder. But\nHe who never sleeps watched over His Prophet surrounded by foes.\n\n\"_Verily on their necks, We have placed chains which reach the chin,\nand forced up are their heads * And before them have We set a barrier\nand behind them a barrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so\nthat they shall not see._\" (THE QUR'AN, XXXVI, 7-8.)\n\nConfiding in the protection of his Lord, Mohammad crept quietly out of\nhis dwelling, picking up some loose earth and throwing a handful or\ntwo on the head of each conspirator. He then went away. The eyes of\nthe miscreants, beneath lids heavy with tedious waiting and blinded by\nthe bandage of sleep that Allah had placed thereon, saw nothing.\n\n'For whom are ye watching here?' quoth a passer-by, coming on the\nscene.--'For Mohammad.'--'Allah hath saved him and he hath tricked you\nall. He hath just departed right under your noses and after covering\nyour pates with dust, he strode away gaily.'\n\nEach startled man swiftly clapped his hand to his head and,\nwithdrawing his fingers dirty with dust, gave signs of stupefaction.\nBut, peering through a crack in the door, they saw Ali asleep on the\nProphet's couch and wrapped in his green mantle. This sight set the\nvillains' minds at rest and they all stood sentinel till dawn.\n\nActuated by the same impulse, when the sun rose, they battered down\nthe door and with swords unsheathed, threw themselves on Ali. He sat\nup facing them. They recognised him and called out: 'How now! Can it\nbe thee, O Ali? Where is thy companion?'--'I know not.'\n\nIn their fury at having been so finely tricked, they seized up Ali and\nimprisoned him in the Temple; but quickly recognising what a grave\nmistake they would make by being revenged on the son of Abu Talib,\nthey set him free.\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And before them have We set a barrier\nand behind them a barrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so\nthat they shall not see._]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE FIFTH]\n\n[Illustration: _Interior of a Mosque._ _Al Mihrab: the niche marking\nthe direction of Makkah._]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And fight for the cause of Allah against\nthose who fight against you._]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE FIFTH\n\n\n[Sidenote: THE HEGIRA, OR THE EMIGRATION OF THE PROPHET TO MADINAH]\n\nAt the moment when the Mohammedans were emigrating to Yasrib, Abu Bakr\nbegged the Prophet to let him join them, but was answered thus: 'It is\nneedless to hurry. Maybe Allah may give thee the companion thou dost\nprefer to undertake the journey in thy company.'\n\nHoping that this companion would turn out to be the Prophet in person,\nAbu Bakr purchased two swift she-camels, which he stabled in the\ncourtyard of his house, feeding them liberally, and keeping them in\nreadiness to take to the road.\n\nAyishah has said: \"The Prophet, who never let a day go by, without\ncoming to see my father, morning or evening, arrived suddenly at an\nunwonted hour. Abu Bakr guessed that some serious matter brought his\nson-in-law to our dwelling, and made room for him on the bench. The\nProphet sat down and told him: 'Allah authoriseth me to depart from\nMakkah with my \"qawm.\" My turn hath come to emigrate.'--'With me, O\nProphet! in company with me?' supplicated Abu Bakr, plying him with\nquestions. 'Yea, in thy company.'--'At this answer, tears of joy such\nas I had never seen before, welled up in my father's eyes, and he\napprised Mohammad of his preparations for travel.'\"\n\nThe she-camels, in rare fettle, were handed over to Ibn-i-Arqas, an\nidolater, but in whom, nevertheless, Abu Bakr placed great confidence.\nIbn-i-Arqas was to take them to graze, and three days later, lead them\nto a meeting-place appointed at the mouth of a cave in the Jabal Saur,\nabout an hour and half's walk from Makkah, on the road leading to the\nsea. Ibn-i-Arqas would then serve as a guide as far as Yasrib.\n\nBy a small door at the back of the house, the two fugitives went off\nsecretly, stepping softly, and making their way to the Saur cave. The\nProphet's naked feet were soon bleeding, cut by the sharp, loose\nstones of the mountain paths. Abu Bakr, in despair at seeing the blood\nof God's Chosen One flowing, carried him on his back the rest of the\nway, and put him down in front of the entrance to the grot in which he\nentered first. He explored every hole and corner to make sure that it\ndid not serve as a refuge for wild beasts or reptiles. He picked up\nall the stones, which he piled in his cloak, and threw them down the\nside of the mountain. Then, with torn fragments of his apparel, he\nstopped up any holes which might have been places of concealment for\nscorpions or other venomous insects. Then only did he admit Mohammad\nwho fell asleep, his head resting on his companion's thigh.\n\nBut under the sand carpeting the cave, was hidden a viper which had\nthus escaped Abu Bakr's vigilant, searching glances. By an involuntary\nmovement, the devoted disciple stamped on the reptile which, furious,\nturned with a hiss, and drove its dart into Abu Bakr's heel. The pain\nwas atrocious, but, fearing to awaken the Prophet whose head was\npillowed on his companion's thigh, Abu Bakr made not the slightest\nmovement, nor did he let a cry escape his lips.\n\nShortly afterwards, the venom began its malignant course through his\nveins, and the intensity of the pain drew tears from his eyes. A few\nburning drops fell on Mohammad's cheek. Waking up with a start, the\nProphet asked: 'What ails thee, O sincere friend?'--'I have been stung\nby a viper.'\n\nThe sacrifice of his being, made by Abu Bakr, had overwhelmed him with\njoy bringing warmth to his heart, and triumphed over the evil effects\nof the poison that had begun to freeze his limbs, so that directly the\nProphet rubbed the poisonous wound with a little of his saliva, all\npain and swelling disappeared.\n\nThe Quraish, disturbed and maddened by the flight of Mohammad and Abu\nBakr, despatched two town-criers, one on each side of the city of\nMakkah, charging them to offer a reward of a hundred she-camels for\nanyone who should overtake the fugitives. The most cunning trackers\nset out in all directions.\n\nAbu Jahal lost no time in rushing to Abu Bakr's dwelling, and knocked\nfuriously at the door. Asma, Ayishah's sister, came out to him. 'Where\nis thy father?' he asked.--'By God! I know not,' she replied. He\nlifted his hand and slapped her face so brutally that he tore out one\nof her earrings. He then rejoined a group of young men who were\nfollowing a clue that took them to the Jabal Saur.\n\nScarcely had His Apostle sought shelter in the grot, then Allah\nordered a shrub, grown to about a man's height, and known as\n\"Umm-ul-Ghilan,\" a little way off from the cave, to leave the spot\nwhere it flourished and block up the entrance. Then He sent a spider\nto spin its web between the branches of the shrub and the jagged edges\nof the cavern's mouth; and also a pair of wild pigeons that built a\nnest and laid eggs in the narrow entrance.\n\nAt that juncture, the trackers began to arrive from all parts, enticed\nby the bait of the reward; but they were brought to a standstill by\nthe fragile barrier built by the most humble among insects: a web that\nthe slightest breath of the breeze sufficed to destroy.\n\n'There is nothing to be done in this cave,' declared one of the\nUnbelievers, Ummayyata ibn Khalaf, just as they were getting ready to\nenter. 'See this cobweb. It dates, without a doubt, from before the\nbirth of the man we are pursuing. How could Mohammad have entered the\ncave without tearing these slender threads? And look at those pigeons'\neggs. Would he not have broken them as well?'\n\nAll found these deductions well-grounded and gave up a search that\nseemed futile. Abu Jahal was the only one who guessed they were on the\nright track. 'Nevertheless, I feel that our enemy is not far off,' he\nsaid. 'He is looking at us now, but magic spells cloud our eyes!' They\nwent away, never thinking about searching on the ground for the\ntell-tale traces of the fugitives' footsteps.\n\nWhile this scene was being enacted, Abu Bakr trembled greatly; not for\nhis own life, but for that of his companion, to whom he said: 'My\ndeath means nothing more than a man dying; but thine means all the\nlives of thy disciples!'\n\nThey remained in their hiding-place three days and three nights.\nAbdullah, son of Abu Bakr, passed the whole of the day among the\nUnbelievers of Makkah; and at night, brought all the news he could\ngather. Ibn-i-Fuhairah, one of Abu Bakr's shepherds, led his flock to\ngraze among those of the Quraish. At night, he drove his sheep in\nfront of the cave, thus bringing food to the fugitives: milk and the\nflesh of the lambs. The following day, he went away with his flock,\nleading it over Abdullah's tracks so as to efface them.\n\nOn the third day, the vigilance of the Quraish being somewhat relaxed,\nIbn-i-Arqas kept his appointment punctually, bringing Abu Bakr's two\nshe-camels, and a third belonging to him. Asma, too, had not been\nidle. She brought bags filled with provisions. All being in readiness,\nAbu Bakr made the best camel kneel down in front of the Prophet, whom\nhe asked to mount on her back. 'I cannot ride a camel that doth not\nbelong to me', replied Mohammad.--'By my father and mother, she's\nthine! I give her to thee.'--'I cannot accept the gift. Tell me what\nshe cost thee. I'll buy her for the same price.'\n\nThe bargain concluded, the Prophet bestrode that she-camel. Abu Bakr\nrode the other, taking up behind him, Ibn-i-Fuhairah, his faithful\nserving-man. Ibn-i-Arqas, on his own camel, guided the little caravan\non the western road to Yasrib which runs, now and again, along the\nseashore.\n\n[Sidenote: SURAQA'S MISHAP]\n\nQuoth Suraqa ibn Malik: \"I was in a group of Makkans gossiping over\nrecent events and the price set upon Mohammad's head, when a man of\nthe nomadic tribes, coming from the Badya-land, told us the following\nstory: 'On the road leading to the sea, I passed a small caravan\ncomprising three she-camels. I seemed to recognise the riders. They\nwere Mohammad and his companions.'\n\n\"I winked to him to be silent and said out loud, in an indifferent\nsort of tone: 'Thou art mistaken. The folks thou didst meet were\nBedouins that I sent out to search for straying camels belonging to\nme.'\n\n\"I remained a little longer in the midst of the citizens, before\nreturning to my dwelling, where I ordered my serving-maid to lead my\nhorse to a secluded spot in the valley. I also ordered one of my\nslaves, a negro gifted with prodigious strength and indomitable\ncourage, to drive one of my camels to the same place and there await\nmy coming. I left my house by a back-door, bending down, trailing my\nspear low, on a level with the ground, so as to prevent the glistening\nof steel in the sunlight. I took all these precautions so as not to\ncall the attention of those who, allured by the promised reward, might\nhave followed and forced me to share with them, were I successful.\n\n\"Arrived at the place of meeting, I mounted my camel and, accompanied\nby my slave who ran behind, holding my horse by the bridle, I\ndiligently followed the track of the fugitives. When I thought I was\nsufficiently near to them, I mounted my horse, and left my camel to\nthe care of my slave, giving him orders to rejoin me as quickly as\npossible.\n\n\"My steed was fresh, not having been ridden for some days and he was\nrenowned lor his speed. I put him at a gallop. But after a few\nstrides, he stuck his toes in the ground and fell, his nostrils in the\nsand, snorting and trembling. I was thrown off. Impressed by this evil\nomen, I pulled some \"azlams\" (divining arrows) out of my quiver to\nconsult the decrees of fate. The signs pointed to bad luck, but the\nreward excited my greed, so I stuck to my plan and continued in\npursuit.\n\n\"Shortly afterwards I caught sight of the fugitives and, urging on my\nsteed, I got so near that I could hear the voice of the Prophet\nreciting the Qur'an; but to my great astonishment, the noise of my\ngalloping horse's hoofs did not cause him the least uneasiness. He did\nnot even deign to turn his head. On the other hand, Abu Bakr kept on\nlooking round, and seemed to be in a state of the liveliest anxiety.\n\n\"Just another effort and I was right up with them, when suddenly my\nhorse's legs sank up to his knees into the earth, although it seemed\nvery hard and firm in that spot. I was thrown over his head. I got up,\nexasperated, swearing at him and lashing him to make him get a\nfoothold. But all in vain. His struggles and efforts only succeeded in\nmaking him sink more deeply down, as far as his belly, whilst a\ndust-cloud resembling a pillar of smoke, issued from the hole where he\nwas swallowed up. I was overcome by sudden fear.\n\n\"Once more I tried my luck by the arrows. The forebodings of evil\nfortune were just as plainly shown. Feeling sure, therefore, that some\ngreat calamity was in store to punish me for my projects, I cried out:\n'O Mohammad, I plead for mercy at thy hands! In exchange, I'll bring\nthee useful tidings and beguile all those who are following me; but\npray to thy God that He set my horse free.'\n\n\"Mohammad threw up his hands, saying: 'O Allah! if Suraqa is sincere,\ndeliver his steed.' The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the\nsoil lessened its grip, and getting up on my horse whose legs were now\nat liberty, I rejoined the fugitives with whom I offered to share my\narms, and provisions. They refused, not wishing to accept anything\nfrom an unbeliever and they commanded me to leave them in peace.\n\n\"From what I had witnessed, I became convinced that Mohammad would\nconquer in the end, and I persisted in demanding a safe-conduct\nproving that he granted me his pardon and that there no longer existed\nany cause for enmity between him and me. Obeying his orders, Abu Bakr\nmade out, on a piece of leather, the document I claimed. It saved my\nlife during the Taif expedition. I then turned back. Once more in\nMakkah, I told my black slave and all my fellow-citizens--who had\nguessed the motives governing my journey--that I had seen nothing, and\nI cursed the information that had led me to set out on such a useless\nand fatiguing expedition.\"\n\n[Sidenote: THE PROPHET'S ARRIVAL AT QUBA (_June 28th A.D. 622_)]\n\nThanks to the inconceivable rapidity with which news travels in\nArabian countries, the Mussulmen of Yasrib had already heard of the\nProphet's departure and that he intended to rejoin them.\n\nQuoth one among them: \"Every day, after the morning prayer, we go to\nthe Hira, a burning plain, covered with scattered black pebbles and\nwhich stretches out south-west of the town. There, our hands shading\nour eyes from the dazzling sun, we gaze as far as our sight permits,\nhoping to catch sight of Allah's Apostle. We turn not back in the\ndirection of our dwellings until high noon, doubly defeated by the\nblaze of the perpendicular rays of the sun and their reverberation on\nwhite sand and calcined stones.\n\n\"One day, among all these days of overwhelming heat, we had just\nreturned, when a Jew, noted for the extraordinary acuity of his sight,\nmade out, from the top of one of the towers on the ramparts, a caravan\nconsisting of a few men in white garb, mounted on camels. They seemed\nrising and falling, driven to and fro by the eddying mirage.\n\n\"Guessing that he saw the Prophet and his companions, the Jew turned\nround in the direction of the city. 'O Assembly of the Arabs!' he\nshouted in resouding accents, 'the good luck ye did expect hath come\nat last!'\n\n\"Awakened from our siesta, we rushed in the direction of the caravan.\nIt was encamped at the foot of a solitary palm-tree, a few paces off\nthe Quba oasis. With Abu Bakr, the Prophet was resting in the shade of\nthis tree. As both appeared to be about the same age, and considering\nthat the majority had never met Allah's Apostle, we hesitated, not\nknowing to whom of the couple we should pay homage.\n\n\"Just then, the palm's scanty shade having changed its direction, the\nsunlight fell on the face of one of the travellers. Thereupon, we\nnoticed the other rise to his feet and stretch his mantle over the\nhead of his companion, to protect him from the rays of the orb of day.\nThus an end was put to our hesitation.\"\n\nThe Banu Amir ibn Auf to whom the hamlet of Quba belonged, now\narrived, transported with joy, to invite to sojourn in their midst the\nillustrious guest sent to them by Allah. The Prophet lodged with\nKulsum ibn Hidmi; Abu Bakr with Khubib ibn Saf, while the other\nMuhajirun took up their quarters with Sad ibn Khazimah, one of the\nNajibs.\n\n[Sidenote: THE ERA OF THE HEGIRA]\n\nThis happy ending of Mohammad's journey took place on a Monday, at\nnoon, the twelfth day of the month Rabi'u'l-Awwal. The year of this\nemigration, renowned under the name of \"Hijrah\" (called \"Hegira\" by\nthe Europeans), has been adopted by Mussulmans for the beginning of\ntheir era. It corresponds to A.D. 622.\n\nAt first, such a choice creates surprise, and yet no other event in\nthe Prophet's existence exercised more decisive influence over the\nworld-wide success of his cause. Had he remained in Makkah, granting\neven his final triumph, Islam would have remained there with him. The\nArabs of all Arabia, fearing the power with which Islam endowed the\nQuraish alone, would have formed a coalition to prevent it spreading\nout of the Sacred City. Whereas, after having begun, despite all\nmalice, to plant the roots of his religion firmly in his native town,\nit was easy for the Prophet to return there when he had won over the\nrest of the Arabs to his cause.\n\nThis proves how impenetrable are the designs of Providence, and how\nfrequently the misfortunes with which God afflicts us, burdening us\nwith suffering, determine the cause of our successes. If the Prophet\nhad not been persecuted and banished by his own people, he would never\nhave been able to fulfil his universal mission, and the world would\nnever have been enlightened by Islam.\n\nThe Prophet sojourned at Quba Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. All\nrejoined him there. His faithful henchman, after having restituted all\nthe deposits confided to his care to their rightful owners, arrived at\nQuba, his feet badly lacerated, having tramped night and day. Mohammad\nembraced him warmly, bandaged his wounds with his blessed hands, and\nmade him rest by his side in Kulsum's dwelling.\n\nMohammad also busied himself with laying the first brick of a\nMosque--the first place of public prayer in Islam--and left to Ammar\nibn Yasar the care of finishing it. This Mosque was called \"At Taqwa,\"\n_i.e._ the Mosque of \"The Fear of God.\" Reference is made to it in\nthese verses: \"_There is indeed a Mosque founded from its first day\nupon the fear of God; More right is it that thou take thy stand\ntherein; therein are men who aspire to keep themselves pure and Allah\nloveth those who purify themselves._\" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 109.)\n\n[Sidenote: ARRIVAL OF THE PROPHET AT YASRIB]\n\nDespite the persistence of the Banu Amir who wished him to remain in\ntheir hamlet, the Prophet departed on Friday, at daybreak, riding the\nshe-camel he had bought of Abu Bakr, and which became celebrated under\nthe name of \"al-Qaswa,\" _i.e._ \"She that hath split ears and\nnostrils.\" A great throng of horsemen and people on foot followed him,\nand his companions fought for the honour of holding his bridle.\n\nThe hour of prayer arrived when he was passing through the territory\nof the Banu Salim ibn Auf. He alighted and recited, for the first\ntime, the Friday prayer, leading a numerous band of Believers in pious\narray behind him. At the termination of the prayer, he turned towards\nthe Faithful to preach them a sermon. Then he once more bestrode his\nshe-camel, and escorted by a crowd animated by the most ardent\nenthusiasm, made a triomphal entry into Yasrib.\n\nOn every terrace-roof, the \"Zawat-ul-Khidar,\" those who are generally\nhidden inside houses--women and young girls--were grouped together,\nressembling, in their bright-hued draperies, pretty birds of\nvividly-tinted plumage, perched on the edges of cliffs. With melodious\nvoices, quavering by reason of emotion, they sang in chorus:\n\n\"The full moon hath risen above our heads--Emerging from the\nSanniyat-ul-Wida (the Farewell Mountain Pass)!--Numerous are the\nthanksgivings we must offer up to Allah,--With the purest fervour of\nour supplications!--O thou, His Messenger among us,--The orders thou\ndost bring us shall be piously executed!\"\n\nIn every district through which the Prophet passed, that of the Banu\nBaid, Banu Saida, Banu Haris, Banu Adyy, etc., a deputation of leading\nmen caught his camel by the bridle and stopped it, to be able to say:\n'Remain with us, O Prophet! Here wilt thou find riches, power and\nsafety.' But he replied: 'Let my she-camel go, for she hath received\norders from on High.' And smiling kindly, he added: 'The blessing of\nAllah be upon you!'\n\nHe let the reins hang loose on the neck of the animal he was riding,\nand she, stretching her long neck far above the escort of Believers,\nturned her head first to the right and then to the left, as if\nsearching, with her great black eyes shaded by lengthy lashes, for the\nhalting-place assigned to her by Providence. After a thousand windings\nand turnings, she stopped in the middle of a wide expanse of waste\nground, and knelt down; but as the Prophet did not alight, she rose\nand took a few more strides, hesitatingly. Finally, and decisively,\nshe went back to the spot where she had stopped at first, and knelt\ndown again. She stretched the entire length of her neck on the ground\nand uttered low grunts.\n\nSo then Mohammad alighted, saying: 'Allah causeth me to set foot on\nthe ground in a blessed spot. Here will be the finest place in which\nto dwell.' This piece of property was a \"marbad,\" _i.e._ a barn-floor,\nwhere dates were laid out to dry. It was situated in the district of\nthe Banu Nijar, not far from the house of Abu Ayyub Ansari who offered\nhospitality to the Prophet, and took his saddle and saddle-bags to his\ndwelling. Whilst the Apostle, momentarily freed from the veneration of\nthe populace, was settling under that friendly roof, young people and\nslaves dispersed in all directions, singing: 'Mohammad hath come! The\nProphet of Allah hath come to our town!'\n\nEver since that day, eternally memorable, the city of Yasrib was\ncalled, \"Madinatu'n-Nabi,\" the City of the Prophet; and by\nabbreviation, \"Al-Madinah.\" (Medinah).\n\n[Sidenote: HOW THE MOSQUE OF AL-MADINAH WAS BUILT]\n\nAt Al-Madinah, Mohammad's first care was to erect a Mosque.\n\nHe sought for the owners of the ground where his she-camel had knelt,\nand they turned out to be two orphans, named Sahil and Sohail, whose\nguardian was Muaz ibn Afra. The Prophet asked them how much they\nwanted for their piece of property. 'Allah's reward is the only price\nwe ask,' was their reply. Mohammad, however, refused the gift. The\npurchase-money, fixed at ten dinars, was advanced by Abu Bakr, who had\ntransferred all his wealth from Makkah to Al-Madinah.\n\nActing under the Prophet's orders, the Believers lost no time in\ngetting to work. They cleared up the \"Marbad,\" where there were\nruined walls, a palm-tree and a few neglected tombs. They levelled the\nground and, as soon as the foundations were dug, Mohammad lifted a big\nstone to place in the cavity, and his noble breast became covered in\ndust. Seeing this, his companions tried to prevent him from doing\nmanual labour; but he said to Abu Bakr: 'Say no more, but follow my\nexample. Put a stone next to mine.' He then commanded Umar to place\nanother at the side of the one set down by Abu Bakr; and each of the\nleading Moslems contributed in succession his stone to the structure.\n\nWhen the stone foundations reached up to a third of the eventual\nheight of the walls, the Believers began to knead clay with water,\nmaking unbaked bricks, with which they intended to finish the\nbuilding. The Prophet, as before, continued to encourage his followers\nby his example, and he carried bricks in his mantle. Seeing one of the\nworkers with a double load on his back, Mohammad wiped his disciple's\nhair and neck, soiled with clay, and said: 'The reward of the labourer\nawaits him in heaven, but thou wilt find a double reward.'\n\nAll the Believers toiled in high spirits, and to quicken their task by\nworking in measure, the masons sang in chorus, and the verses of their\nchants related to their exalted hopes. When the walls were seven\ncubits high, the Faithful covered the building with a flat roof, made\nof palm-tree trunks, thatched with lathes and palm-leaves. On this,\nthey spread a layer of beaten earth, thick enough to prevent rain\nfiltering through. The ceiling was supported inside by columns of\ndate-tree trunks, and the floor was sprinkled with gravel.\n\nThe building was one hundred cubits in length; its breadth being a\nlittle less. It could be entered by three doors; of which the\nprincipal was called \"Bab-ur-Rahma,\" or \"Door of Mercy.\" The \"Mimbar,\"\nor pulpit, was fashioned out of a simple palm-tree trunk on which the\nProphet mounted when he preached his sermons.\n\nIt can thus be seen that this first Mosque, identical with those of\nthe poorest villages of the Sahara, was far from resembling the\nmarvellous edifices which were to be constructed a little later for\nthe Islamic religion.\n\nAt the same time as the Mosque was being finished, Mohammad had caused\ntwo little hovels to be built with clods of earth--\"Hujrah\"--leaning\nagainst the walls of the temple. The Prophet proposed to live there\nwith his family and he sent Zayd, his adopted son, to Makkah to fetch\nthem. When the houses were finished, he left the dwelling of Abu Ayyub\nand settled down with his people who lost no time in arriving.\n\nAs for the Muhajirun, they had all been generously and hospitably\nwelcomed by the Ansars, proud and joyful to receive beneath their\nroof-trees those of the strangers who fell to them by lot.\n\nMohammad was especially moved by the cordial welcome extended to his\nfellow-countrymen by his new disciples. But, with his great insight\nconcerning the souls of mortals, he resolved to tighten the bonds of\nsuch touching friendship. So that it should be proof against all\ninsinuations dictated by the rivalry, inevitable in the future,\nbetween the Muhajirun who had forsaken their country, families and\nwealth to follow him; and the Ansars who had offered the safe shelter\nand material assistance to which his triumph was due. Would not each\nparty have some little reason to claim for it alone first rank in the\nProphet's affection and the annals of Islam?\n\nIn order to avoid such dangerous contingencies and create real family\nties for the exiles, Mohammad profited by the cloudless exaltation\nuniting Muhajirun and Ansars just then, to issue a decree of perfect\nbrotherhood between them. He ordained that they should pair off in\ncouples consisting of a man of the Mohajirun and an Ansar. 'Fraternise\nin Allah!' he told them. 'Ye are brothers!' Henceforward, every\nMussulman of Al-Madinah had for brother a Mussulman of Makkah.\n\nIt would be sheer madness to try and find words to express the degree\nof devotion attained by this brotherhood of religion, stronger than\nties of blood, for it was supernatural. All these men's hearts, united\nin the love of Allah, were now nothing more than a single heart,\npalpitating in different breasts. Each man loved his brother better\nthan himself, and during the first years of the Hegira, when one died,\nthe other inherited his property, to the exclusion of his natural\nheirs.\n\nAmong the fraternal unions thus constituted, we may note those of Abu\nBakr with Kharijah ibn Zayd; Ummar with Usman ibn Malik; Abu Ubaidah\nwith Sad ibn Muaz; and Usman ibn Affan with Aus ibn Najar. The prophet\nhad been the first to choose Ali for his brother, thus sealing the\nbond of fraternity that he had signed when beginning his mission. But\nas Ali belonged to the Muhajirun, the Ansars might have been vexed\nbecause the Apostle did not choose a brother in their ranks. That was\nwhy, at the death of one of their Najibs, Asad ibn Zararah, Mohammad\ntook his place as Najib, pretexting that he was one of them, because\nhis uncle on his mother's side had formerly dwelt in their city.\n\nIn this way, thanks to his sense of psychology and diplomatic skill,\nMohammad achieved a wonderful result: the wars between the Kajraz and\nthe Aus which, for centuries past, had deluged Yasrib with blood,\nceased as by magic, soon after his arrival. He metamorphosed the\ninhabitants of Al-Madinah into the brothers of the Makkan emigrants,\nformerly their rivals.\n\n[Sidenote: THE QUIBLAH OF MAKKAH]\n\nIn the beginning, the Prophet allowed the Believers full liberty to\nturn in any direction they pleased when saying their prayers, for:\n\"_The East and the West is Allah's; therefore, whichever way ye turn,\nthere is the face of Allah. Truly Allah is Omnipresent, Omniscient._\"\n(THE QUR'AN, II, 109).\n\nWhile terminating the building of the first Mosque, the Prophet\ndivined that prayerful impulsiveness diverted in one direction would\nbe more thrilling, because of the feeling of union in the same ideals\nthat was bound to result. By means of a cube of masonry, composed of\nstone and clay placed against the wall of the building looking south,\nhe primitively established the Qiblah, or direction of prayer, towards\nthe Temple of Jerusalem.\n\nBut he was ordered by a verse to change the direction towards Makkah:\n\"_We have formerly seen thee turning thy face towards every part of\nthe Heaven; but We will assuredly have thee turn to a Qiblah which\nshall please thee. Turn then thy face towards the Sacred Mosque, and\nwherever ye be, turn your faces in that direction._\" (THE QUR'AN, II,\n139).\n\nAnd ever since that day, the Qiblah remains definitively fixed for all\nthe Mussulmans of the world, in the direction of the Temple of Makkah.\n\n[Sidenote: INSTITUTION OF THE AZAN, OR CALL OF THE MU'AZZIN]\n\nPrayer in common is incontestably the most profitable; the fervour of\neach Believer communicating with the soul of his neighbour. \"It is\nworth twenty-seven times more than isolated prayer,\" says the Prophet.\nIt was therefore necessary to summon all Believers together every day,\nat the same hours fixed for the five prayers.\n\nHow was the exact time of meeting to be determined? Scattered over the\ndifferent districts of the city, some came too early; others too late.\nA consultation of the leading Moslems took place. Some were for the\nuse of a beacon, to be lit on a commanding eminence; others suggested\nthe blowing of a horn; and the rest proposed bell-ringing. But all\nthese methods were rejected, because they were borrowed, from\nPersians, Jews or Christians.\n\n[Illustration: _The Mu'azzin's Call._]\n\nMeanwhile, Abdullah ibn Zayd arrived, and he told of a dream he had\nhad the night before. A man attired all in green passed close to me,\ncarrying a hand-bell. I stopped him and begged him to sell me his\nbell. 'What dost thou want it for?'--'To summon Believers to\nprayer.'--'A much better way,' he replied, 'would be to proclaim the\nprofession of faith of Islam with all the strength of thy lungs.'\n\nThe Prophet, alive to the fact that the resonance of the human voice\nis more capable of communicating emotion than the most perfect metal\ninstrument of music, declared at once: 'In thy dream was truth. Go and\nfind Bilal. His voice is powerful and harmonious. I charge thee to\norder him to mount to the roof of the Mosque and summon the Believers\nto prayers.' So Bilal, the freed negro, told to call all the Believers\ntogether, of all ranks and races, uttered from the terrace of the\nMosque the cry of the Islamic soul: \"_Allah is great! There is no God\nbut Allah, and Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah! Come to prayer! Come\nto Salvation!_\"\n\nLike exquisite perfume wafted from a priceless flask, these words in\nthe melodious voice of Bilal and issuing from his strong lungs,\nresounded through the city. Echoing in all dwellings, they caused\nevery citizen to inhale with delight the refreshing scent of prayer.\n\nEver since, in every Mosque all the world over, it is the duty of a\ncrier, called a \"muazzin,\" to give this summons to prayer five times\ndaily which he does from the top of a slender minaret erected for that\npurpose.\n\n[Sidenote: THE FAST OF RAMADHAN]\n\nAfter having decided that the human voice should be used for the call\nto prayer, Mohammad, when first he dwelt in Al-Madinah, continued to\nset forth the formal obligations of the Islamic religion.\n\nHe was in the habit of fasting three days every month when he received\nthis Revelation: \"_As to the month Ramadhan, in which the Qur'an was\nsent down to be man's guidance ... as soon as anyone of you observeth\nthe moon, let him set about the fast..... You are allowed on the night\nof the fast to approach your wives: they are your garment and ye are\ntheir garment ... Eat and drink until ye can discern a white thread\nfrom a black thread by the daybreak: afterwards fast strictly till\nnight, and go not in unto them, but pass the time in the Mosques._\"\n(THE QUR'AN, II, 181, 183).\n\nBy these verses was the fast of the month of Ramadhan established, and\nnumerous were the advantages accruing therefrom: man, full of\nself-love, runs after everything bringing material gratification, and\nflees from all that falls to the lot of the poor and the weak. To rid\nhim of this fatal propensity, nothing is more salutary than the pangs\nof hunger and thirst. The Faithful, their bodies no longer burdened by\ntheir aliments, foregathered all day long, and the nourishment that\nprayer provided for their souls, was more impatiently expected than\nthe nourishment of their stomachs.\n\nIn the torrid climate of Al-Madinah, nevertheless, their thirst,\nunquenched during never-ending summer days, became real torture. With\ndry throats, gasping, many among them were on the point of breaking\ndown when they looked upon the limpid water of the \"saqiya\" and heard\nits tempting trickling. The example of their brethren, more resigned,\nsoon made them pluck up fresh courage. The bonds of religious\nfraternity were tightened still more by this ordeal, and, having\nassisted each other to vanquish such terrible adversaries as hunger\nand thirst, Believers were ready to stand firm against the fiercest\nenemies among mortals.\n\nDuring thirty days, without murmuring and with ever-increasing\nexaltation, the Ansars and the Mohadjirun went through the first fast\nof Ramadhan. At last the crescent of the new month was about to\nappear; every terrace-roof and all the hills were crowded with the\nFaithful, all trying to get the first glimpse. The sun's golden disc\nwas scarcely submerged in the blue waves of the desert's horizon when\nevery eye scrutinised anxiously the depths of the sky of emerald-like\nlimpidity. Suddenly, in the lower part of the shaded canopy of heaven,\nthe thin silver bow appeared. A long-drawn sigh escaped from every\nbreast, as if each had been pierced by invisible arrows, shot from\nthis bow.\n\nBut the Faithful had heaved no sigh of deliverance. On the contrary,\nthe sigh was caused by regret at having so soon concluded the fasting\nordeal, in easy payment of the debt of gratitude owing to the\nBenefactor. During this pious trial, each soul was fortified and each\nbody strengthened. In order to pass through the frightful deserts that\nencircled them, before going forth to conquer the world, the Believers\nwere training themselves to get accustomed, as if it were a mere\npastime, to endure the tortures of hunger and thirst that they were\nbound to undergo, later on, in the depths of these very wildernesses.\n\nWhen, after such self-imposed deprivation, they were able to\nappreciate the real value of the benefit of food, the Prophet imposed\nupon them the \"Sadaqat-ul-Fitr,\" the Alms of the Breaking of the Fast,\nforcing the Faithful rich to give a share of their victuals to the\nFaithful poor.\n\n[Sidenote: PROPERTY BESTOWED IN ALMS, AND THE PROHIBITION OF FERMENTED\nLIQUOURS]\n\nMohammad judged that the obligation of feeding the poor once a year,\nthe day after the fast, was insufficient. He completed his ruling by\ninstituting the \"Zakat-ul-Mal,\" the bestowal of property in alms,\nintended to safeguard the existence of pauper Mussulmans without\noverburdening rich folks.\n\nThis kind of almsgiving, being one of the five foundations of pratical\nreligion, is due upon all property and revenue whatsoever: gold,\nsilver, flocks, fruits, grain; and varies from a third to a tenth of\nsuch resources. It should be bestowed with the greatest tact and\nhumility:\n\n\"_O ye who believe! make not your alms void by reproach and injury,\nlike him who spendeth his substance to be seen of men. The likeness of\nsuch an one is that of a rock with a thin soil upon it, on which a\nheavy rain falleth, but leaveth it hard * And the likeness of those\nwho expend their substance from a desire to please Allah, and through\ntheir own steadfastness, is as a garden on a hill, on which the heavy\nrain falleth, and yieldeth its fruits twofold; and even if a heavy\nrain fall not on it, yet there is a dew ... * If ye give your alms\nopenly, it is well; and if ye conceal them and give them to the poor,\nthis too will be of advantage to you ... * Those who know them not,\nthink them rich because of their modesty. By this their token thou\nshall know them--they ask not of men with importunity: and whatever\ngood thing ye expend in alms, Allah verily taketh knowledge of it. *\nYe shall by no means attain to goodness till ye expend that which ye\nlove as alms. * But alms are only to be given to the poor and the\nneedy, and those who collect them, and to those whose hearts are won\nto Islam, and for ransoming, and for debtors, and for the cause of\nAllah, and the wayfarer. This is an ordinance from Allah._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, II, 266, 267, 275. III, 86. IX, 60.) By the foregoing verses,\nwas instituted the impost of the \"Zakat-ul-Mal;\" literally: \"The\nPurification,\" because it serves, as it were, to \"purify\" wealth and\nexcuse it.\n\nThe Prophet foresaw the universal ravages of alcoholism, as deadly in\nits effects as the worship of idols, and he forbade the use of\nfermented liquors. He had first received this Revelation: \"_They will\nask thee concerning vinous liquors ... Say: In them is great sin, and\nadvantage also, to men; but their sin is greater than their\nadvantage._\" (THE QUR'AN, II, 216.)\n\nMany among the Faithful gave up these beverages, whilst others could\nnot bring it over their hearts to do so. A second Revelation brought\nthis caution: \"_Come not to prayer when drunken, bid wait till ye can\nunderstand what ye utter._\" (THE QUR'AN, IV, 46.)\n\nAli caused this announcement. Having drunk to excess just at the hour\nof prayer, he recited: 'O ye Unbelievers ... we worship what ye\nworship. Ye have no religion and I have no religion,' instead of\nsaying: \"_O ye Unbelievers * I worship not what ye worship! * To you\nyour religion; and to me my religion._\" (THE QUR'AN, CIX, 1, 2, 6.)\n\nFormal prohibition was finally decreed in these imperative verses: \"_O\nBelievers! Wine and games of chance, and statues and the divining\narrows, are only an abomination of Satan's work! Avoid them, that ye\nmay prosper. * Only would Satan sow hatred and strife among you, by\nwine and games of chance, and turn you aside from the remembrance of\nAllah, and from prayer: will ye not, therefore, desist from them? Obey\nAllah and obey the Apostle!_\" (THE QUR'AN, V, 92, 93.)\n\n[Sidenote: AYISHAH IN THE HOUSE OF THE PROPHET]\n\nAyishah, so kind, witty, and learned, was only the Prophet's wife in\nname. About this time, she became a member of his household.\n\nQuoth Ayishah: \"One day, surrounded by my companions, I was playing on\na swing. Umm-i-Rumman, my mother, called me.\n\n\"I ran to her without knowing what she wanted of me. She took my hand,\nand made me stop on the threshold until I had got my breath. She then\nwashed my face and forehead and led me into the house. Many women of\nthe Ansars were there and they said to me: 'Happiness do we wish thee,\nand blessings, and the best of luck!'\n\n\"My mother left me to the care of these women. They decked me out and\nhad scarcely finished when Allah's Apostle suddenly came in....\"\n\n[Sidenote: HOSTILITY OF THE JEWS AND THE MUNAFIQIN]\n\nIn the beginning, a certain number of Jews--and among them, the\nlearned Mukhariq and Abdullah ibn Salam, were so moved by the advances\nand arguments of the Prophet that they came and were converted by him.\n\nAs for the others, their vanity was greatly flattered by the fact that\nthe Temple of Solomon, their ancestor, had been chosen for the Qiblah,\nor direction in which Moslems were to pray. Their pride, therefore,\nled them to conclude that their Temple was immensely superior to that\nof Makkah, and consequently that the Jewish race dominated the Arabs.\n\nWhen, following the orders of Allah, the Qiblah was changed from\nJerusalem to the Ka'bah, they were deeply mortified. Besides, they\nsoon found out how prejudicial to their interests was the coming of\nMohammad to Al-Madinah. Thanks to his efforts, fraternity reigned\namong the Arab factions, whose feuds had hitherto been a source of\nprofit. The Prophet, whose advent was foreshadowed in their books and\non whom they founded great hopes, was born at last. They saw him in\ntheir midst, but he did not belong to their race; he sprung from that\nof Ishmael. Mohammad brought with him the pure light of Islam which\nthey sought to extinguish by every means in their power.\n\nNot venturing to rely on their own strength, they sought to embroil\nthe Arab townsmen and met with valuable assistance granted by a few\nnoblemen, whose prejudices were wounded by the principles of equality\nof the Qur'an. They felt belittled at merely becoming the brothers of\nthose they scorned as being beneath them.\n\nThese fresh adversaries, who were called \"Munafiqin,\" or Hypocrites,\nwere particularly dangerous, for they mingled in the ranks of sincere\nMussulmans and, to all appearances, professed the same doctrines. In\nthis way, they wormed out secrets and sold them to Jews and idolaters.\n\n[Sidenote: AL-JAHAD (THE HOLY WAR), AND HOW IT WAS INSTITUTED]\n\nThe Prophet began to feel the urgency of taking up arms for the\ntriumph of the faith, which could not be definitive until after the\nconquest of Makkah where stood the Holy Temple of the Arabs. He had\nreceived the Revelation of the warlike undertaking with orders to\nunsheath the sword in his struggle against idolaters: \"_And fight for\nthe cause of Allah against those who fight against you: but commit not\nthe injustice of attacking them first: verily Allah loveth not the\nunjust: * And kill them wherever ye shall find them, and eject them\nfrom whatever place they have ejected you..._\" (THE QUR'AN, II, 186,\n187.)\n\nSuch were the ordinances of \"Al-Jahad,\" \"the Holy War\" so violently\ncriticised by Christians.\n\nBut did not Jesus--their Lord and ours--Himself declare: \"Think not\nthat I am come to send peace on earth: I come not to send peace, but a\nsword.\" (ST. MATTHEW, X, 34.) \"I am come to send fire on the earth;\nand what will I, if it be already kindled?\" (ST. LUKE, XII, 49.)\n\nIf the institution of the \"Jahad,\" destined for the triumph of truth\nover idolatry, stirred up strife among the families of Mohammad's\nfellow-countrymen for a few years, did not the words of Jesus, still\nmore imperative in this connection, lead to much more terrible\nconsequences; lasting too, for centuries among all Christian nations?\n\n\"For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the\ndaughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her\nmother-in-law.\" (ST. MATTHEW, X, 35.) \"If any man come to me, and hate\nnot his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and\nsisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.\" (ST.\nLUKE, XIV, 26.)\n\nThe \"Jahad\" was not instituted to attack the adversaries of religion\nonly; it was also proclaimed against those enemies, no less\nperfidious, that lurk in every man's own heart. Quoth the Prophet:\n\"The most meritorious Holy war is that which one declares against\none's own \"passions.\"\"\n\nMohammad and the Believers had been patient quite long enough.\nBanished from the land of their birth after having endured pitiless\npersecution, did they not have the right, relying on the Revealed\nVerses, to resort to the force of arms? The site of Al-Madinah ensured\nvictory, for that city overlooked all the caravan routes to Syria, of\nwhich the commerce formed the sole resource of Makkah, surrounded by\nbarren wastes. By stopping these caravans, the Prophet could starve\nout the ungrateful town and force its citizens to beg for mercy. In\nthis way, the Apostle would not be compelled to kill too many of his\nfellow-countrymen, whom he still loved despite their iniquity. He\nwanted to spare them, hoping to win them over and induce them to\nbecome steadfast supporters of religion.\n\nThus began the long series of campaigns called \"Ghazwah\" when the\nProphet was personally in command; and \"Saria,\" when one of his\nlieutenants led the van. We shall only mention the most characteristic\nof these innumerable expeditions; putting on one side the first minor\nskirmishes and come at once to the famous Ghazwah of Badr.\n\n[Sidenote: THE GHAZWAH OF BADR (_Year of the Hegira, A.D. 624_)]\n\nA caravan of exceptional importance, comprising a thousand camels, had\nbeen sent into Syria by the citizens of Makkah. It was to bring back\nthe most valuable and highly-prized merchandise. This was the\nopportunity awaited by the Prophet. If he succeeded in capturing the\ncaravan, he would deal a ruinous blow at those who banished him and,\nas he hoped, without useless bloodshed, for the escort of the convoy\nnumbered at most two score. These men could oppose no real resistance\nand would be obliged to surrender without fighting.\n\nThe Prophet arrived too late. The caravan had gone past. He made up\nhis mind to fall upon it by surprise during its return journey. One of\nhis partisans, posted by him to watch the roads, brought the news that\nthe caravan had been seen, and would soon be near Al-Madinah,\nfollowing the usual route, between the mountains and the sea.\n\nThereupon, the Prophet summoned all the Believers, of any origin\nwhatsoever. The call was answered by more than three hundred men, all\ndesirous of inflicting exemplary punishment on the idolaters.\nSeventy-three Mohadjirun joined the ranks and, for the first time, two\nhundred and forty Ansars stood shoulder to shoulder with their\nbrothers in Islam. Seventy camels were gathered together to carry\nwater and food; and also to relieve men on foot who took it in turns\nto ride.\n\nThe expedition was poor in cavalry, possessing only four horses whose\nnames were Beraja, Al-Bahrmi, Yasum and Sail. They were led riderless\nby the bridle, only to be used at some propitious moment during the\nbattle. The \"Liwa,\" or white banner, was confided to Musab-al-Abdri,\nand the flag of the Ansars was carried by Sad ibn Muaz.\n\nUnfortunately, the organisation of such a numerous \"qawm\" could not be\nkept secret. The \"Hypocrites\" and the Banu Israil, watching every step\ntaken by Mohammad, found out what he was preparing and also his\ndestination. They send messengers to Abu Sufyan, the leader of the\ncaravan, to inform him of the threatening danger. He sent an Arab of\nthe Ghifar tribe, named Dhamdham, to beg for assistance and promised\nhim a rich reward if, thanks to his diligence, the convoy could be\nsaved.\n\nAll the inhabitants of Makkah had contributed, more or less, to the\norganisation of the great caravan; and, counting upon its approaching\nreturn, they were already revelling in the fine profits that would\naccrue to them. All day long, in groups, they wended their way to the\ncity gates, gazing, till their eyes ached, into the depths of the\nvalley following the road to Syria, hoping to catch sight of a\nmessenger.\n\nAt last there came a day when a man, swaying to and fro, by reason of\nthe swift amble of his racing camel, appeared at the end of the\nravine, advancing towards them. When he was near enough to enable his\naspect and that of the animal to be made out, the stupefaction of the\nMakkans was inconceivable. To show his despair, the man, who was no\nother than Dhamdham, had rent his garments, turned his saddle round,\nslit the nostrils and cut the ears of his camel. As soon as he was\nnear enough to make himself heard, weak from fatigue, gasping for\nbreath, he cried out: 'Woe unto you, O men of the Quraish! Your\ncaravan--your caravan!...'\n\nIn great anxiety, the Quraish gathered round him, besieging him with\nquestions; and when he could breathe freely, he described the perilous\nplight of their caravan. Their fury broke loose. Just when they were\non the point of fulfilling their most dazzling hopes, this man\nMohammad, of whom they thought they had rid themselves for ever,\nthreatened them with ruin!\n\nAn urgent council, called together hastily, decided that there was not\na moment to lose. To prevent such a catastrophe, every one, rich or\npoor, was ready to sacrifice riches and life. An army was immediately\nraised, composed of nine hundred and fifty men, having at their\ndisposal one hundred horses and seven hundred camels. The idolatrous\ntroops marched out of the town amidst frenzied cheers; groups of young\nsinging-girls, each as dazzling as the sun; their faces radiant; their\neyes sparkling; their garb of the brightest hues, glittering with gold\nand precious stones, headed the warriors. These girls shouted bitter\nmockery against the Mussulmans; or recited epic poems, accompanying\ntheir rhymes with the thumping of tabors, causing the hearts of their\nlovers to palpitate with burning ardour.\n\nWhat spurred them on even better were the suggestions of Iblis (Satan)\nwho, lurking in the recesses of their souls, filled the Unbelievers\nwith dreams of victory and vengeance, although ready to desert his\nvictims shamelessly in case Allah should exert His Might in favour of\ntheir adversaries.\n\n\"_The Evil One had already bewitched them by exaggerated praise of\ntheir actions; and furthermore had said: 'No man shall conquer you\nthis day; and verily I will be near to help you._'\" (THE QUR'AN, VIII,\n50)\n\nThe Prophet had no idea of his enemies' preparations. After having\nlaid in a stock of water at Al-Rouha, he halted near the village of\nSafra; pitched his tents in the valley of Zufran, and sent out two\nscouts, Bisbas and Adi, to seek for information.\n\nAt early morn, the following day, he took to the road again, halting a\nfew miles away from the wells of Badr. The two scouts, guessing that\nthe caravan was heading towards this important spot for replenishing\nwater supplies, reached there by having urged on their camels\nunmercifully. On arriving, they met two Bedouin women who were\nquarrelling loudly, while they filled their goat-skins. With insulting\nremarks, one claimed the repayment of a loan, and the woman in debt\nreplied: 'Have patience until to-morrow or the day after, for by then\nthe great caravan will have come back and thereby I shall have earned\nenough to settle with thee.'--'She is right,' broke in An Najd, chief\nof the Juhinna tribe, who happened to be at the well. 'They tell me\nthat the caravan will certainly be here to-morrow or the next day.'\n\nHaving got to know all they wanted, Bisbas and Adi watered their\nanimals and rode back in all haste to bring the news to the Prophet,\nwell pleased to see that things had turned out exactly as he foresaw.\n\nA few minutes later, however, he was rejoined by one of his partisans\nin his pay at Makkah. This friend brought bad news: the expedition of\nthe idol-worshippers was coming by forced marches to the succour of\nAbu Sufyan. These tidings caused Mohammad the greatest anxiety: the\nardour of the Mussulmans, who had set out to attack a caravan defended\nby a weak escort, might perhaps be damped upon finding themselves\nfaced by superior forces? He did not intend to hide the gravity of the\nsituation, but calling the head-men together, he laid the information\nbefore them, and asked where they thought it would be best to make\ntheir effort.\n\nThey were submerged by a great wave of vacillation. It must be\nconfessed that the irresistible bait of booty added great charm to a\nwish to inflict punishment on the idolaters. Under the necessity of\ncoming to a decision, some of them objected: 'Dost thou lead us to be\nslaughtered?' They were severely blamed for speaking thus. \"_And\nremember when Allah promised you that one of the two troops should\nfall to you, and ye desired that they who had no arms should fall to\nyou._\" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 7.)\n\nThen uprose Mikdad, protesting stoutly: 'O Prophet! go without\nhesitation whither thou art ordered. By Allah! we'll not tell thee as\nthe Banu Israil told Moses: \"Go fight by the side of the Lord and\nwe'll await thy return here!\" On the contrary, we say to thee: \"Go\nfight by the side of thy Lord and thou wilt find us with thee, always\nand everywhere.\"'\n\nThe Prophet called down divine blessings on the head of his courageous\ndisciple; and then added: 'Reflect, O my partisans!' He then turned\ntowards the Ansars who might not have considered themselves bound by\nthe oath of the Aqbah to do anything else than to protect him so long\nas he dwelt in their town.\n\nBut Sad ibn Muaz rose to his feet, pained to have to think that the\ndevotion of the Ansars could be doubted, if only for a moment. 'Our\nconfidence in thee is unlimited. We have given thee our word,' he\nexclaimed. 'Go where thou art ordered and I swear by Him who sendeth\nthee to bring about the triumph of truth, that shouldst thou ask us to\njump in the sea, we would leap with thee!'\n\nThis declaration freed the Prophet from the anxiety that weighed him\ndown, and which had prevented him from having recourse to the Ansars\nin preceding expeditions. His features were radiant with inspired,\ngrateful emotion; and fixing his eyes on a vision that he alone was\nprivileged to see: 'Rejoice, O men of my \"qawm!\" he cried. 'I look\nupon warriors fighting, and the enemy's troops are routed!' There was\nnot a man but what understood that soon the battle would rage and all\nmade preparations with admirable confidence.\n\nAs for Abu Sufyan, ever since he had been warned that the Mussulmans\nwere on the march, he was constantly on the look-out. He accelerated\nthe speed of the caravan and, going on in front himself, arrived at\nBadr soon after the Prophet's scouts. He questioned An Najd who had\nnot yet left the well. 'Hath no prowler been seen about here?'--'I\nonly saw two camels, each ridden by a man; and they watered their\nanimals.'\n\nAbu Sufyan hastened to the spot where the traces could still be seen,\nshowing where the camels had knelt whilst their masters drew water\nfrom the well. He found fresh droppings, and, crumbling some in his\nfingers, picked out many date-kernels. 'By our gods! these camels hail\nfrom Al-Madinah, and the enemy is not far off!' he thought, knowing\nthat in all the country round, only the camels of Al-Madinah were fed\non soaked kernels of dates.\n\nTherefore, changing the direction of the caravan at once so as to\nleave the Badr well on one side, he turned off the direct road and\ntook a westerly route along the sea-shore. He was thus able to escape\nfrom the soldiers of Islam; and when he was safe, sent another\nmessenger to the Quraish, to inform them of what he had done, advising\nthem to return to Makkah, as he no longer desired their aid.\n\n'Nothing of the kind!' exclaimed their chief, Abu Jahal, carried away\nby hatred. 'Let us push on to the well of Badr. We'll camp there three\ndays and three nights, passing the time in joyous revels, slaughtering\ncattle, enjoying the meat, and drinking our fill of wine. Every year a\nfair is held there, lasting a week, attracting Arabs from far and\nnear. When they hear of our expedition to that spot, the echo of the\nnews will have a great effect, inspiring all with salutary fear of our\npower!'\n\nPuffed up with pride by reason of this speech, so flattering to their\nvanity, and allured by the festivals and liquors in store for them,\nthe idolaters approved their chieftain's plan and continued on the\nmarch to Badr.\n\nThe Believers bent their steps towards the same goal, not knowing\nwhether they would meet the caravan, the Quraish army, or both united.\nIn order to find out, Mohammad sent Ali and Zubayr as scouts. They\ncaught two young men seeking for a well from which to fill their empty\ngoat-skins, strapped to their shoulders. They were made prisoners and\ntaken to the camp to be interrogated, but as the Prophet was at his\ndevotions, the scouts questioned the lads. 'We were looking for water\nfor the Quraish army,' the two captives confessed.\n\nThe Quraish forces, therefore, were already in these parts? This\nseemed most unlikely, for the scouts did not know the strength of the\nenemy in camels and horses, and considered the prisoners' avowal to be\na falsehood. So they fell to brutally beating the young idolaters.\n'Think not that ye can hoodwink us with your lies,' said Ali and\nZubayr. 'We know perfectly well that ye belong to the caravan of Abu\nSufyan.'\n\nAgain they rained blows on the boys. To escape such unjust\nchastisement, and also to keep the Mussulmans in this state of error\nso profitable to Abu Jahal's plans, because it prevented Mohammad's\nmen from suspecting how close their enemies were to them, the\nprisoners began to supplicate their tormentors. 'Mercy, my lords!\nVerily nothing escapeth your sharp sight! Yea, we confess it--we\nbelong to Abu Sufyan's caravan.'\n\nProud of their perspicacity and content with having obtained this\navowal, Ali and Zubayr set them free. Meanwhile the Prophet had\nfinished praying, and as he knew how to read men's minds, he upbraided\nhis disciples. 'What is all this? When your prisoners tell you the\ntruth, ye beat them, and now they lie and ye set them free?' He\ncontinued the examination. 'Where are the Quraish?'--'On the other\nside of that high hill of sand.'--'How many are they?'--'We know\nnot.'--'How many camels do they slaughter daily?'--'Nine or\nten.'--'Oho? they number from nine hundred to a thousand,' said\nMohammad to himself. 'Who is at their head?' The prisoners quoted the\nnames of the most noted men of the city, and the Prophet, shaking his\nhead sadly, turned to his companions, saying: 'Of a truth, Makkah\nsends against us the best part of its liver!' (Meaning its best\nbeloved children.)\n\nNevertheless, the die was cast. The Mussulmans, who had set out to\nfall on a caravan protected by a puny escort, found themselves facing\na force at least three times greater than theirs, and assisted by\nformidable cavalry. At all costs, the well of Badr must be reached\nbefore the enemy. The Believers began their march again and attained\nthe borders of the Wadi Superior which they found quite dry. Their\nsupply of water was exhausted, and next day they suffered terribly\nfrom thirst. Satan tried to exploit these pangs by filling their\nbrains with most depressing thoughts. 'See where you are led by the\nman who pretendeth to be the messenger of the Almighty! Ye are\nsurrounded by countless enemies, only waiting till your strength be\nbroken by the agonies of thirst. They will then attack you and ye will\nbe defenceless and an easy quarry.'\n\nEvery brain was bewildered. Luckily, their training during the fast of\nRamadhan had accustomed the Believers to endure the torments of thirst\nand prevented them from breaking down. At the very moment when the\nheat, concentrated in the lofty heights of the Wadi, was on the point\nof making their position untenable, great clouds crowned the high\npeaks. The sombre veils darkening the sun were torn aside, and Allah\nlet loose beneficial showers to drench His faithful servants. The\nWadi, only just before filled with stones and sand, was transformed\ninto a raging torrent.\n\nThe Believers were able to quench their thirst, and they dug holes all\nalong the Wadi that was at once filled by the swelling of the waters.\nThey washed their clothing, heavy with sweat, and performed their\nablutions. Last, but not least, the shifting sands that rendered their\nadvance so difficult, grew solid by the damp, and made the ground firm\nbeneath their feet. \"_He sent down upon you water from Heaven that He\nmight thereby cleanse you, and cause the pollution of Satan to pass\nfrom you, and that He might gird up your hearts, and stablish your\nfeet by it._\" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 11.)\n\nFor the idolaters, the storm was most disastrous. It overtook them in\nsoil known as \"Sabkha,\" signifying low-lying clay mixed with salt,\nchurned by wet into greasy, sticky mud. Their camels slipped up and\nfell, their long legs comically gliding backwards, powerless to rise\nwithout the help of their drivers. Horses floundered, their hoofs\nsinking in the mire and, unable to find foothold, dropped back on\ntheir riders. The confusion and tumult cannot be described, and the\nefforts of the Unbelievers, to extricate themselves, hampered their\nadvance and exhausted them by fatigue.\n\nThe Believers, being cleansed, purified and refreshed, passed the\nnight in invigorating sleep. They did not even take the trouble to\npost sentinels, relying blindly on the words of the Prophet who\nassured them that the angels would guard the camp. He alone remained\nwakeful, absorbed in prayer. \"_Recollect when sleep, a sign of\nsecurity from him, fell upon you._\" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 11.)\n\nThe hour arrived when the fate of Islam was to be decided. It was on a\nFriday, the seventeenth day of the month of Ramadhan.\n\n[Illustration: _Believers perceiving the New Moon of the Month of\nRamadhan._]\n\nHubbab-ul-Ansari, renowned for his sage counsels, craved permission to\nbe heard, 'O Prophet!' said he; hath the spot where we are now\nencamped been pointed out by a Revelation, and therefore we are\nforbidden to go forward or retreat? Or are we free to discuss the\nchoice of ground befitting warlike strategy?'--'No Revelation hath\nimposed this place upon me. Speak freely and explain any stratagem\nthat thou dost judge the most advantageous.'--'In that case, strike\nthe tents,' Hubbab rejoined, 'and with our troops, go down the channel\nof the Wadi and fill up every well we pass until arriving at the last.\nThere thou must dig a reservoir that will fill itself with all the\nwater running under the sand, whilst the wells higher up, which we\nshall have choked, will have run completely dry. I know the strength\nand direction of the stream. Thanks to this reservoir, our warriors,\nduring the battle, will be able to refresh their burning throats or\nrelieve their sufferings if wounded, but our adversaries will not find\nanywhere in the surrounding country a single drop of water wherewith\nto slake their thirst.'\n\nThis piece of advice seemed reasonable to the Prophet, who carried out\nHubbab's idea to the letter, and so fixed the future battlefield, for\nthe Unbelievers would be forced to come and try to wrest from him the\nonly spot where water was to be found.\n\nThen Sad ibn Muaz spoke: 'O Prophet! allow us to build for thee an\n\"arish\" (shelter from the sun's rays) on this hill, from which thou\nwilt be able to watch every move in the fighting. Near thee, thy\nshe-camel shall be hobbled, and we will gallop into the enemy's midst.\nShould Allah grant us victory, thine eyes will be gladdened by the\nsight of our valour in defending the faith. Should fate be against us,\nthou wilt have naught else to do than to climb into the saddle and\nrejoin our rearguards, as devoted to thee as we are, and who will\ncover thy retreat.' The Prophet accepted, adding: 'Allah will reward\nyou all by rendering assistance more efficacious than anything ye can\nimagine.'\n\nThe Believers cut down twigs of \"araq\" which they wattled, and so set\nup a shelter thatched with sheaves of \"surfah\". Mohammad retired\ntherein in company with Abu Bakr, and when the advanced groups of\nenemy horsemen made their appearance, wheeling about defiantly before\nhis eyes: 'O Allah!' he exclaimed, 'so there are the Quraish at last;\nurged on by monstrous pride to brave Thee and call Thy Messenger a\nliar!'\n\nThe enemy was assembled. After their efforts of the preceding day to\nextricate themselves from the briny mud of the \"Sabkah,\" they had\nawakened with their throats afire; the storm, over too soon, not\nhaving filled any of the \"ghadirs\" and the wells of the Wadi having\nbeen choked up, the idolaters had not been able to find the least drop\nof water to allay the thirst that began to torture them. It was not to\nbe wondered at, therefore, that the sight of the sheet of water\nsparkling in the reservoir dug by the Believers and which reflected\nthe sun's rays, blinding their eyes, should increase the fury of their\nrevengeful feelings.\n\nSome of the horsemen, reckoning on the speed of their steeds, dashed\nrecklessly forward, hoping to reach the tempting liquid. The Prophet\nordered his archers to let the mounted men get quite near, and when\nthey were well within range, to riddle them with showers of arrows.\nAll rolled on the ground, mortally wounded, with the exception of one\nrider, called Hakim.\n\nAl Asad al Makhzumi, another idolater, instead of being discouraged by\nthe result of this first attempt, felt his blood boiling in his veins\nand shouted loudly enough to be heard by both parties: 'By our gods!\nby Lat and Uzza! I swear to slake my thirst in the cistern of\nMohammad's \"qawm.\" Then I'll demolish it and only death can stop me!'\n\nHe dashed forward, brimming over with arrogance. Hamzah went to meet\nhim and, with a blow from his scimitar, sliced off one of his legs and\nsent it flying. Al Asad fell backwards, turned himself over, and\nhopping with surprising agility on both hands and his sound leg, tried\nto make his way to the reservoir and keep his oath. But Hamzah was\nthere to meet him and finished him off just as he reached the goal.\n\nThree champions came forward from among the ranks of the Unbelievers\nto challenge the Believers to single combat, and they were Utbah with\nhis son, Al Walid, and his brother, Shaibah. Hamzah, Ali, and Obaidah\nwere chosen by the Prophet to oppose them. Stalwart Hamzah and\nimpetuous Ali soon rid themselves of their adversaries, stretching\nthem bleeding and lifeless on the sand, but Obaidah and Utbah had no\nsooner crossed swords than they both wounded each other grievously.\n\nObaidah, one leg so deeply gashed that the marrow dripped from the\nbone, was on his back, at his enemy's mercy, when Ali and Hamzah came\nto the rescue and freed him by killing Utbah. They then lifted up\ntheir wounded comrade and carried him to the Prophet, who supported\nhis head lovingly on his knee, consoling him by the glad tidings of\nthe reward awaiting him in Paradise. Obaidah soon breathed his last\nsigh and was thus the first martyr struck down in the Holy War.\n\nAfter these single combats causing the hearts of all the lookers-on to\npalpitate with warlike ardour, the shock of the forces could no longer\nbe postponed. The Prophet had drawn up his warriors in line, shoulder\nto shoulder, in serried ranks, like stone blocks cemented to form a\nwall, and it was all he could do to restrain the impatience of many\nwho, outstripping their brothers-in-arms, would have run to face\ncertain and useless slaughter.\n\nSuch an one, Sad ibn Quzai, was far in advance of the post assigned to\nhim. So as to make him take his proper place, Mohammad struck him on\nthe breast with the shaft of an arrow he held in his hand. 'Thou didst\nhurt me, O prophet!' cried Sad. 'As a messenger from Allah, sent to\nbring about the triumph of Right and Justice, thou dost owe me\nreparation on thine own body.'--'Satisfy thyself!'--'Thou art clothed,\nwhereas my flesh was naked.' The Prophet laid bare his breast, saying:\n'Give me as good as I gave, O Sad!'\n\nProfiting by the permission, Sad threw himself on Mohammad, took him\nin his arms and pressed his lips to his body. 'Why do thou this\nthing?' asked the Prophet.--'O Messenger of Allah! death faceth me and\nI desired that for my last farewell, my flesh should touch thy flesh!'\n\nMoved by such fierce devotion, Mohammad called down the blessing of\nthe Most High on Sad. Then, having ordered his men to wait without\nflinching for the enemy's attack, he went back with Abu Bakr to the\n_arish_, of which the entrance was guarded by Sad ibn Muaz, sword in\nhand. The Prophet prayed: 'O Allah, remember Thy promise! If this day,\nThou dost let the army of the soldiers of the faith be exterminated,\nno one will be left on earth to adore Thee!'\n\nUneasy at the great disparity of numbers, Mohammad renewed his\nsupplicating prostrations. His mantle slipped from his shoulders. Abu\nBakr picked it up and threw it over him again, saying: 'Rest easy, O\nProphet! Allah will surely do what He promised!'\n\nOverwrought by excess of fatigue and anxiety, the Prophet lost his\nsenses, and his eyes closed for a second, only to reopen almost\nimmediately. A smile lit up his features. 'Good news, O Abu Bakr!' he\ncried. 'The angel Jibra'il flieth to our assistance. I see the sand\nrising in a whirlwind under his horse's hoofs!\n\nLeaving the \"arish\" abruptly, he called out to his army: 'Our enemies\nare routed! Already I see their backs turned in wild flight! I swear\nby Him who holdeth Mohammad's soul in the hollow of His hand, that any\nBeliever killing a foe hath the right to his spoils; and any Believer\nkilled face to the enemy will be immediately welcomed by Allah in the\ngardens of Paradise.'\n\nAmir ibn Hammam, listening to these promises, held a handful of dates,\nand was about to lift them to his mouth, when he threw them on the\nground with a sudden gesture of disdain, and shouted in tones of\njoyous exaltation: 'Bakhr! Bakhr! Considering that between me and my\nentry into Paradise there is only the slight barrier of death at the\nhands of the men over there'. Without finishing the sentence, he drew\nhis sword and fell on the idolaters, digging a bloody road through\ntheir ranks, until be succumbed outnumbered.\n\nAnother among the Faithful having heard the Prophet declare that Allah\nwould consider the martyr fighting with no armour than that of his\nfaith to be more deserving than any, threw off his breastplate and\nfollowed Amir's footsteps until he, too, fell cut to pieces, but not\nuntil he had sent many Unbelievers to the infernal regions.\n\nFrom that moment, it was impossible to restrain the Believers. The\nApostle scraped up a handful of dust, throwing it in the direction of\nthe Quraish. 'May their faces be covered with confusion!' he cried.\n'Forward! O Believers! Forward!'\n\nThe Faithful, like a human hurricane, threw themselves on the\nUnbelievers and frightful noises rent the air. The clashing of\nweapons, cries of despair and triumph, reverberating again and again\nby reason of the echoes of the valley, were accompanied by a strange\nuproar, sounding jerkily, like the beating a of a drum.\n\nQuoth an Arab idolater of the Banu Ghifar: \"I went with one of my\ncousins to the top of a hill overlooking the battlefield, so as to\nfind out which side was victorious, meaning to join the conquerors and\nplunder the vanquished.\n\n\"All of a sudden, at the very moment when the warriors of Islam\nattacked, I saw rising up behind them, from the depths of the valley,\na great pillar of sand approaching with marvellous velocity. In its\ntawny spirals that threatened the clouds, fantastic and terrifying\nvisions appeared and faded. It was like a gigantic combat of the Earth\nrebelling against the Heavens!\n\n\"Sounds quite as strange escaped from the whirlwind, freezing my blood\nwith horror. There was the neighing and trampling of galloping steeds;\nthe beating of great wings; the roll of loud drums and, dominating the\ntumult, an imperious voice shouting: 'Forward, Haizum!'\n\n\"In less than the twinkling of an eye, the whirlwind overtook the\nBelievers, falling with them on to the ranks of the idol-worshippers.\nIt soon reached us as well, smothering us in its yellow darkness. I\nlost sight of my companion, and was nigh fainting with fear. Powerful\ngusts of wind drove me hither and thither, and I had to cling to\nprojecting rocks so as not to be swept away like a wisp of straw. My\nears were deafened by atrocious clamours. The curses and the groans of\nthe wounded; the blasphemy of the vanquished, mingled now with the\nrumbling of thunder. In the yellow, foggy obscurity, flashes of\nlightning gleamed; swords and spears glittered.\n\n\"At last, when the whirlwind passed away, I saw my comrade prone on\nthe ground, his breast torn open, showing the membrane of his heart\nand, like trees uprooted by a hurricane, countless dead bodies strewed\nthe bed of the Wadi; and in the distance, lit up by a ray of sunlight,\nthe soldiers of Islam pursued the enemy in flight.\"\n\nThis whirlwind was the track of Jibra'il riding his horse, Haizum,\nthat Mohammad had seen at the head of three thousand angels flying to\nhis aid. The whirlwind of sand, uplifted by the tempestuous wind,\nallied itself to the human whirlwind swept along by the stormy breeze\nof faith and both, at one bound, rushed upon Allah's foes. The shock\nwas irresistible. The furious billows of the raging sands struck the\nidolaters straight in the face, blistering the flesh, filling mouths\nand nostrils, blinding eyes, so that they knew not where to strike,\nnor where to turn to defend themselves.\n\nThe Believers, on the contrary, felt their impetuosity increased by\nthe pushing of the hurricane, and their eyes, freely open, enabled\nthem to avoid their adversaries' attack, and cut them down to a\ncertainty. Better still: unknown, supernatural strength increased the\nstrength of their arms tenfold, to such an extent that they fancied\nthey struck at empty air, because they felt no resistance to the\nimpact of their weapons. \"Scarcely did I threaten a head with the edge\nof my blade,\" one of the conquerors narrated later, \"than I saw it fly\noff my adversary's shoulders and roll on the ground, even before my\nweapon touched it.\" \"_So it was not ye who slew them, but Allah slew\nthem._\" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 17). Seventy idolaters bit the dust; and,\namong them, all the conspirators who tried to assassinate the Prophet\nat Makkah. Twenty-four of the dead belonged to the highest\naristocracy: Utbah, Al Walid, Shaibah, Umaiyah ibn Khalaf, Abu\nBukhtari, Hanzalah, Abu Sufyan's son, etc., and, most important of\nall, the chief of the expedition, the famous Abu Jahal.\n\nKnowing that the latter was the life and soul of the plots weaved\nagainst the Prophet, the Faithful sought for the arch-conspirator\neverywhere in the fight. One of them, Muaz ibn Amr, having succeeded\nin falling across him, pierced his thigh with a furious lunge.\nIkrimah, Abu Jahal's son, rushed to his father's assistance and, with\na scimitar, avenged him by hacking the left arm of Muaz. It hung from\nhis shoulder by a strip of flesh. His movements hampered by the\nuseless, swinging limb, Muaz stooped, and placing his foot on it, tore\nit off by roughly standing erect again. He threw it far from him and\nwent on fighting.\n\nTwo young Ansars, sons of Afrah, coming to the rescue, dragged Abu\nJahal out of the saddle and left him for dead, riddled with wounds.\n\nThe Prophet's mind was more engrossed with the fate of Abu Jahal than\nwith that of any other of his foes. Ibn-i-Masud went out to search,\nand found him at last, in the midst of a pile of corpses. The chief of\nthe idolaters was still breathing. Ibn-i-Masud placed his foot on the\ndying man's neck, even as one stamps on a viper, but just as he leant\nover, Abu Jahal, to brave him, seized him by the beard, and gazing at\nhis conqueror, with a mad look of impotent rage, he shouted, the\ndeath-rattle sounding in his throat: 'Hast ever seen such a noble\nfellow as I, murdered by such vile ploughmen?'\n\nTo put an end to the infidel's insults, Ibn-i-Masud cut off his head\nand brought it to the Prophet. At the sight of the blood-stained face\nof his enemy, Mohammad exclaimed: 'Verily, this man was the detestable\nPharaoh of his nation!'\n\nCorpses soon became decomposed, exposed to the sun's torrid rays; the\ntumefied faces of the dead took on the colour of pitch. This\nphenomenon proved to the Believers that the infidels had been struck\ndown by celestial warriors, for were they not already carbonised by\nthe flames of hell? Mohammad scoured the whole of the battlefield,\nordering all the dead bodies he came across to be buried at once, no\nmatter of which creed. Huzaifah, one of the early Islamic adepts,\naccompanying Mohammad, suddenly came upon the remains of Utbah ibn\nRabiyah, his father. The son's features became distorted and blanched\nwith mortal pallor. 'Hast thy father's death shattered thy soul?'\nasked the Prophet.--'No, by Allah! but I knew my father was endowed\nwith intelligence, goodness and generosity. I had hopes that he would\nhave trodden the path of salvation. His death depriveth me of that\nhope. Hence my grief!'\n\nThe Prophet, impressed by the reply of this stoical Mussulman, called\ndown the blessings of the Lord on his head. Mohammad then had his\nshe-camel led to him and, mounting, rode to a dried-up well in which\nhe ordered twenty-four of his best-known enemies to be buried. He\nstopped his she-camel in front of the mouth of this well and called on\nthe dead by name:\n\n'O such an one, son of such an one! And thou, such an one, son of such\nan one! Would ye not have preferred this day to have obeyed Allah and\nHis Messenger? Of a surety, we have found that which Our Lord promised\nus; but you--have ye found that which your divinities promised\nyou?--'O Apostle!' said Ura, 'why dost thou speak to soulless\nbodies?'--'By Him who holdeth in His hands the soul of Mohammad!' he\nreplied, 'I swear that thou dost not hear my words as distinctly as\nthey!'\n\nBy this he meant to inform Ura that these infidels, now dwelling in\nhell, were compelled to acknowledge the truth of words that he had\nofttimes repeated to them when they were in the land of the living.\nThus does a \"hadis\" of Ayishah explain this scene, for it is said in\nthe Qur'an: \"_Verily then, thou canst make the dead to bear._\" (XXX,\n51). The Believers only lost fourteen men, six Mohadjirun and eight\nAnsars, winning eternal glory as the first fallen in the Holy War.\n\n[Sidenote: THE SOJOURN AT BADR AND THE RETURN TO AL-MADINAH]\n\nThe Prophet remained three days on the field of battle to bury the\ndead and gather together the booty which he left to be guarded by the\nfamily of the Najjar. He then got ready to go back to Al-Madinah.\n\nTwo couriers, Zayd, his adopted son, and Ibn-i-Ruhah, sent on to carry\nthe glad tidings, reached there before him. They arrived at the moment\nwhen the situation of the Believers in the city was becoming critical.\nGravediggers had not finished cleansing their hands from the earth\nwith which they had just covered the last resting-place of Roghaid,\nMohammad's daughter, married to Usman. She had been carried off by\npainful illness. \"Hypocrites\" and Jews put the most alarming rumours\nin circulation concerning the Prophet's fate and they were getting\nready to attack his supporters....\n\nThe good news spread all over the town with lightning-like rapidity;\ncausing confusion in the haunts of \"Hypocrites\" and Jews; reassuring\nthe Faithful and causing great enthusiasm in their ranks. All of\nthem--a vast crowd of men, women and children--went forth to acclaim\nthe conqueror, the procession marching to the cadence of drums. They\nsang in chorus the chant with which he had been welcomed when he first\narrived: \"The full moon hath risen above our head--Emerging from the\nSanniyat-ul-Wida;--Numerous are the thanksgivings we must offer up to\nAllah--With the purest fervour of our supplications.--O thou His\nMessenger among us--The orders thou dost bring us shall be piously\nexecuted!\"\n\nEver since this battle, for ever memorable, which by its results\neventually changed the whole face of the world, although only fought\nout by a small number of men, the Wadi of Badr is visited yearly by\nthousands of pilgrims.\n\nIt is written by the traveller Abul Hosain ibn Zubair. \"A small\nmarket-town, surrounded by ramparts, stands now upon its site ... What\nwas once the well where the Unbelievers were buried, is now a clump of\npalm-trees, and a little farther off are the tombs of the martyrs.\n\n\"To the left of the road leading from Safra, is the Mountain of\nMercy--Ar Rahman--by which the Angels descended from Heaven.\n\n\"The \"arish,\" the shelter where Mohammad stood, is said to have been\nerected on the slope of a sandhill, called Jabl-ul-Tabl, the Mountain\nof the Drum, because the roll of supernatural drums is frequently\nheard there by pilgrims; this mysterious martial music celebrating the\nremembrance of the first victory of Islam.\"\n\nThere were as many prisoners as dead: three score and ten, mostly\nbelonging to the best families among the idolaters.\n\nTwo of them, Aqbah and An Nazir, whose insults to the Prophet were\nbeyond all measure, suffered the death penalty after condemnation.\n\nAbbas, Mohammad's uncle, compelled by his pecuniary interests to\nremain behind in Makkah, had not yet made up his mind to embrace the\nIslamic faith. He had gone to the aid of the caravan in danger, and\nwas taken prisoner. His commanding stature and bodily vigour stood him\nnot in good stead, for he was captured by the weakest warrior among\nthe Ansars and remained petrified with surprise. The ropes that bound\nhim cut cruelly into his flesh. He sighed heavily in pain. One of the\nFaithful, recollecting the captive's handsome behaviour and that he\nwas a relative of the Prophet, loosened his bonds most charitably.\nHearing of this and not admitting that a member of his family should\nbe favoured, Mohammad ordered the bonds of all the other prisoners to\nbe loosened in the same way.\n\nIt now remained to decide the fate of the captives. Abu Bakr,\npretexting the ties of blood uniting victors and vanquished, was of\nopinion that a ransom should be accepted. Fierce Umar, recalling the\nfact that all the prisoners had made themselves conspicuous by their\npersecution of the Mussulmans and were responsible for the Prophet's\nbanishment, proposed that they should be pitilessly exterminated. Both\nopinions rallied an equal number of partisans.\n\nThe Prophet sided with Abu Bakr. He gave orders to respect luckless\nvalour and to treat the captives with the greatest humanity. He caused\nthem to be freed from their bonds and had them guarded by all the\nMussulmans in turn who, faithfully obeying his commands, deprived\nthemselves of bread in favour of their prisoners; the Believers being\ncontent with dried dates.\n\nThe ransom was fixed according to each prisoner's wealth. Abbas,\nMohammad's uncle, had to give the largest amount; the others were\nliberated without paying anything. Nevertheless, Mohammad required\nthat before being set free, each captive knowing how to read and\nwrite, should give lessons to two children of the Ansars.\n\nAmong the prisoners was Abul' As ibn Rabiyah, a rich man in high\nrepute. He had married Zainab, the daughter of the Prophet, before the\nRevelation, and was still an idolater. For the ransom of her husband,\nZainab sent from Makkah a sum of money and a necklace, a wedding-gift\nfrom her mother Khadijah. The Prophet, recognising this piece of\njewellery which he had ofttimes seen round the neck of his beloved and\nregretted Khadijah, was unable to repress his emotion and put this\nquestion to his disciples: 'If ye do not oppose me, I will send her\nhusband back to Zainab, and renounce all claims to ransom.' No\nobjection being raised, Mohammad told his prisoner that he was free.\n'But only on one condition. Restore my daughter to my arms, for a\nwoman of the Mussulmans cannot remain in the power of an idolater.'\nThe captive accepted most reluctantly, and as soon as he was again in\nMakkah, he kept his word.\n\nThe Quraish, however, hearing of Zainab's departure, started off in\npursuit of her, and one of them, Hibar, struck her so brutally with\nthe shaft of his spear, that he threw her out of her \"hawdaj,\" (a kind\nof litter), and she dropped from the back of her camel to the ground.\nShortly after her arrival at Al-Madinah, the poor woman, not having\nrecovered from her fall, and being pregnant, died from the effects of\nthe ill-treatment she had thus undergone.\n\nUnder the influence of grief and despair, the Prophet gave orders that\nanyone putting his hand on the villain Hibar was to burn him alive.\nBut it was not long before Mohammad cancelled this cruel command,\ndeclaring: 'The Master of the Worlds alone hath the right to inflict\nthe torture of Fire!' This was in allusion to the flames of Hell.\n\nAs for Abul'As, retaken by the Mussulmans while conducting a caravan\nback from Syria-, he was again liberated by the Prophet and became a\nconvert to Islam.\n\nMohammad thus let no opportunity escape to prove his generosity to the\nprisoners, his own fellow-countrymen. The Prophet's clemency resulted\nimmediately in the conversion of no small number of Makkans,\nmarvelling at the tales told by the captives who, upon regaining the\nbosom of their families, bore witness to the kindness with which they\nhad been treated.\n\nPerhaps the fact of such compassion towards the enemies of Islam\nconstituted peril in the future? So said a Revelation to the Prophet,\nblaming him at the same time. Mohammad was overwhelmed with profound\nsadness, at the thought that his generosity would cause the death of\nmany Believers, as he dared not hope that goodness would sweep away\nall feeling of enmity.\n\nAs soon as the victory was won, the division of the booty was near to\ncausing serious quarrels among the Faithful. Each man desired to keep\nto himself all he had plundered. Those who had fought without thinking\nof stripping the dead, put in a claim, saying to their comrades who\nwanted to keep that which they had taken: 'Had it not been for us, ye\nwould have been unable to seize any booty at all.' Finally, the men of\nthe rear-guard also complained: 'If we had not considered the\nProphet's safety above all things, we should have fought with you and\npillaged as ye did.' The debate seemed to be turning out badly when a\nRevelation put an end to the dispute: \"_They will question Thee about\nthe spoils. Say: The spoils are Allah's and The Apostle's._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, VIII, 1.)\n\nBack again in Al-Madinah, Mohammad divided the booty with the most\nscrupulous fairness, and gave out that not only the rearguard should\nreceive their share, but also a few of the Faithful who had remained\nin the city to uphold the cause of Islam during the absence of their\nchief.\n\nThus did Mohammad succeed in contenting everybody. So far as he was\nconcerned, he only took the same share as a common soldier; but it was\nsettled that in future the fifth part of the booty \"_should belong to\nAllah and to the Apostle and to the near of kin and to orphans, and to\nthe poor and to the wayfarer_.\" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 42.)\n\nThe Makkans were joyfully celebrating the return of the great caravan\nthat had caused them such immense anxiety, when the remains of the\nrouted army began to straggle back.\n\nAt first, the citizens refused to believe such dire disaster, so great\nhad been their confidence in the superiority of the numbers and\nequipment of their soldiers. The fugitives were considered to be\ncowards deserting before the battle had begun.\n\nBut when doubt was no longer possible, profound consternation overtook\nAllah's enemies. The fury of Abu Lahab, the real organiser of the\nexpedition, was inconceivable. In his presence, one of the fugitives\ntold of the miracles he had witnessed and which, in his opinion, were\nan excuse for the defeat. 'The Mussulmans, assuredly, were granted\nsupernatural succour, for I saw, with my own eyes, in the whirling\ntempest, many warriors gifted with superhuman strength, wearing white\ntunics, mounted on dapple-grey horses, and fighting side by side with\nour enemies.'--'By Allah! verily, they were angels!' exclaimed one of\nthose present, Abu Rafiah, a servant of Abbas, Mohammad's uncle.\n\nAbu Lahab, enraged at the impression of terror produced by this story\nand the remarks that had followed, hurled himself on Abu-Rafiah, threw\nhim down and beat him unmercifully in the most savage fashion. 'Art\nthou not ashamed thus to profit by the master's absence to strike his\nserving-man?' the wife of Abbas, revolted at the sight, shouted to Abu\nLahab. Catching up a spear, she struck him in the face with it, and\ndrew blood. The punishment was so well deserved that no one protested.\nAbu Lahab, humiliated in the eyes of all, hastened to hide his shame\nand rage in the most secluded part of his dwelling. Not being in the\nbest of health just then, he could not master the exasperation he\nfelt. His blood was turned; the whole of his body broke out in reddish\npustules, known as \"adsah\", and he was carried off in less than a\nweek.\n\nAs for Abu Sufyan and his wife, Hind, in despair at the death of their\nson, Hanzalah, and debased by the defeat, they showed themselves\nconspicuously as being athirst for vengeance. Abu Sufyan exercised his\nauthority by prohibiting all show of grief. 'Weep not for your dead,'\nhe proclaimed. 'Do not give way to the usual funereal lamentations.\nLet poets be careful not to compose elegies. O Makkans! avoid causing\nthe joy of our foes by the sight of your sadness. Let only one thought\nabsorb your minds--that of vengeance!'\n\nHe took a solemn oath to abstain from going near his wife or making\nuse of his perfumes until the day when striking revenge should bring\nbalm to his heart.\n\nThe effect of the Prophet's victory spread far and wide among all the\ntribes of Arabia. The tidings crossed the seas; the Prophet having\ndespatched an emissary to the Najashi of Abyssinia, to announce the\nresult of the battle and to inform all the Believers, who had taken\nrefuge at this monarch's court, that they would be in safety behind\nthe walls of Al-Madinah, at Mohammad's side.\n\n[Illustration: Calligraphy (end chapter 5) _Believers! when ye\nconfront a troop, stand firm and make frequent mention of the name of\nAllah; haply it shall fare well with you._]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE SIXTH]\n\n[Illustration: _\"As Sidjah\", or Prostration._]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And be not faint-hearted, and be not\nsorrowful; For ye shall gain the upper hand if ye be believers._]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE SIXTH\n\n\n[Sidenote: ALI'S MARRIAGE]\n\nBy reason of admirable devotion, indomitable courage and the absolute\npurity of his way of living, Ali had become one of the most popular\nheroes of Islam, but his extreme poverty forced him to hire himself\nout to an Ansar, a garden landlord. When Ali was not engaged in\nprayer, he passed the hours in watering date-trees. He deserved that\nthis lowly situation, bearing no comparison with his exploits, should\nhave been changed so as to give him new lustre in the eyes of the\npeople.\n\nAbu Bakr and Usman, finding him one day busily engaged in drawing\nwater from a well, bade him halt in his work, and reminded him of a\nformer desire of his, when he had thought of marrying Fatimah, the\nProphet's daughter. Ali got out of temper. 'Ye know how poor I am,' he\ntold them. 'It's cruel of you to bring up a dream that can never come\ntrue!'\n\nBut they were so persistent, affirming that he could count upon their\ngood offices, that Ali repressed his timidity, and carrying his sword,\narmour and sandals, that constituted his sole wealth, went and knocked\nat the Prophet's door. Mohammad welcomed him with these words: 'Here\nstands a man more dear to me than any other.' Ali remained silent,\nwith bowed head. 'Speak!' commanded Mohammad.--'O Prophet!' Ali made\nup his mind to reply at last, 'thou didst bring me up, an orphan boy,\nwith a father's love. This day have I arrived at an age when a man\nshould have a home of his own. Once more I seek thine aid. I come to\nask thee to give me thy daughter Fatimah in marriage.'--What dower\nbringest thou?'--'Thou knowest my poverty. I bring thee all I possess:\nmy sword, armour and sandals.'--'Thy sword belongeth to thy religion,\nI cannot accept it. But thy good right arm is strong enough to defend\nthy breast better than any cuirass. Go sell thine armour and bring me\nthe price thereof to serve as my daughter's dower.'\n\nAli, all his wishes gratified, sought out a buyer. Usman offered him a\ngood price and then gave him back his armour, begging him to accept it\nas a wedding-present.\n\nThe marriage was soon arranged; ratified by Mohammad saying to Ali:\n'Verily, Allah gave thee my daughter in Heaven before I gave her to\nthee in this world.'\n\nA great number of the Faithful, summoned by Bilal, were present to\nlisten to the \"khutbah\" (sermon) of their chief, who wished to apprise\nthem of the betrothal of his daughter to Ali. Bilal was charged to\nprocure the few simple things indispensable in a household. Half the\ndowry served to buy a mattress and a pillow of palm-fibre, a goat-skin\nfor water and a few earthenware platters. With the other half, were\npurchased butter, dates, and flour, forming the frugal betrothal\nrepast.\n\nWhen, according to custom, a group of women came to fetch the bride\nand lead her into her husband's room, the Prophet, in memory of her on\nwhom this duty would have devolved, namely Khadijah, Fatimah's mother,\nwas overtaken by a profound fit of sadness. Showers of tears coursed\ndown his cheeks. When he had mastered his emotion, he placed Ali at\nhis right hand, with Fatimah at his left, saying to them: 'May Allah\ncause to be born to you noble descendants, who shall be an honour to\nour race!'\n\nFor three days and three nights, the newly-married couple remained\nabsorbed in prayer. It was only on the fourth night that chaste Ali,\nto whom Mohammad declared that he hoped a long line of male children\nwould spring from this marriage, dared to approach his wife in whose\nveins coursed the blood of the Prophet.\n\nNine months later, Fatimah brought into the world a son who was named\nHasan. A year after the birth of Hasan, his brother Husain was born.\nThe offspring of Hasan and Husain, called _Sharifs_, are the sole\ndescendants of the Prophet.\n\n[Sidenote: THE PROPHET'S MARRIAGE WITH HAFSAH AND UMMU'L-MASAKIN.]\n\nHafsah, daughter of Umar and widow of Khunes, wished to marry again,\nbut she was of such a haughty disposition that no one came forward to\noffer to be her husband. Abu Bakr, and Usman after him, to whom her\nhand had been proposed, both declined. Umar, greatly annoyed at his\ndaughter's humiliation, opened his heart to the Prophet who replied:\n'Usman will marry a better woman than Hafsah; and Hafsah will marry a\nbetter man than Usman.' Mohammad gave his daughter Ummi-Kulsum in\nmarriage to Usman, whilst, to honour Umar, the Prophet took haughty\nHafsah to wife.\n\nShortly afterwards, Mohammad also espoused the widow of Ubaidah, the\nmartyr of Badr. She was a woman whose charity was inexhaustible and\nearned the surname of \"Ummu'l-Masakin,\" (the Mother of the Poor).\n\n[Sidenote: THE BATTLE OF UHUD (_Year III of the Hegira, A.D. 625_)]\n\nThe inhabitants of Makkah could not console themselves for the defeat\nat Badr. The future seemed to them black indeed. Their caravans dared\nnot venture on the Syrian road, blocked by the Prophet's bold stroke.\nRuin and famine were inevitable at an early date. To guard against\nsuch impending disaster, they decided to devote the large profits made\nby their great caravan to arming an expedition which would avenge\ntheir dead and grant them commercial security. Allured by offers of\nmoney, numerous Bedouins of the vicinity came forward to proffer\nassistance. Already worked up by the inflammatory satires of the poets\nKab ibn Ashraf and Abu Uzd, these tribesmen, called \"Habash,\" or\nConfederates, were enrolled in the ranks of the army raised by Abu\nSufyan.\n\nAt the head of these troops, three thousand strong, were Safunah and\nIkrimah, sons of Ibn-i-Khalaf and Abu Jahal, two of the mighty dead of\nBadr, and Khalid ibn Walid, the unconquerable soldier. The women's\nthirst for revenge was equally ardent; and Hind, the wife of Abu\nSufyan, bore along behind her a horde of her companions resolved to\nstop any warrior who might be tempted to run away.\n\nIn the fertile plains, north of Al-Madinah, the fellahs were\npeacefully engaged in their work of agriculture, or watching over\ntheir grazing flocks, when all of a sudden, the soldiers of Abu\nSufyan, who had taken the greatest precautions to hide their rapid\nadvance, debouched from the ravines of the western mountains. All\nresistance being impossible, the ill-fated peasants fled in great\nhaste to escape being massacred, and to warn their fellow-citizens of\nthe invasion of Allah's enemies.\n\nFrom the top of their ramparts, the dwellers in Al-Madinah looked down\non a sight that made their agriculturists' hearts bleed. Like a swarm\nof gigantic locusts, the camels of the idolatrous army ravaged the\nverdant meadows, whilst horsemen slaughtered cattle and, madly\nrushing, the riders trampled down and scattered the golden harvest,\nwith all the disdain of traders for the work of husbandmen.\n\nIn the face of this havoc wrought before their eyes, the Faithful\nfound themselves in a state of most irritating powerlessness. The\nplain afforded commodious space for the manoeuvres of their enemies'\ncountless cavalry, and the Believers had no mounted men to put in the\nfield.... Their sole resource was the wisdom of Allah's Apostle; so,\nready for any sacrifice, they gathered round him.\n\nNow Mohammad had dreamed that he saw his sword-blade notched; his foes\nslaughtering his flocks, whilst a breastplate was close to his hand.\nThe Prophet told his followers of his dream and explained what it\nsignified. 'The notched blade means that I shall be wounded. The\nslaughtered flocks show that a great number of my disciples will die;\nand the breastplate near me symbolizes the ramparts of Al-Madinah\nwhich alone can save us from disaster. Let us shut ourselves up in the\ncity and we shall have nothing to fear from our adversaries. Should\nthey attack, they can easily be repulsed and made to suffer cruel\nlosses; and if they fall back without attacking, they will be crushed\nin their retreat by the shame of not having dared to fight us.'\n\nSuch had always been the tactics of the people of Al-Madinah from time\nimmemorial; but their quality of Mussulmans and their victory at the\nbattle of Badr had changed all their ideas. Thinking that they were\nnow and for ever invincible, they no longer had the patience to remain\nimpassible while their gardens were laid waste. Furthermore, those who\nhad not fought at Badr were burning with desire to show that they too\nwere full of courage. The worst that could befall them was martyrdom\nto which they sincerely aspired.\n\nAbdullah ibn Abi Salul, chief of the \"Hypocrites,\" was alone opposed\nto an advance. For once in a way, the Prophet agreed with him.\nNevertheless, in the face of the unanimity and the enthusiasm of the\ntrue Believers, Mohammad considered that he ought to give way, and\nresolved to order the march out that he disapproved in his foresight.\nAfter having recited the afternoon prayer, _Asr_, he went back into\nhis house to buckle on his armour.\n\nThe warriors, too, were ready. A compact crowd surrounded the dwelling\nof the Prophet who soon appeared, girt with his coat of mail, helmet\non head, sword by his side, shield on his shoulders, and spear in\nhand....\n\nWhilst waiting, the Faithful had had time to reflect. They began to\nregret their hasty decision, and their chiefs, ashamed at having\nupheld different ideas to those of Allah's Chosen One, said to him:\n'We ought to have bowed down to thy judgment. We feel inclined to\nremain where we are. Thou canst put aside thine armour.'--'When a\nProphet hath buckled on his breastplate,' replied Mohammad, 'he\nforfeits the right to take it off until the fight is finished.'\n\nThe army of the Believers numbered a thousand foot-soldiers, but\npossessed only two horses. The standard of the Mohadjirun was confided\nto Musab ibn Amir; that of the Aus to Uqaid; the banner of the\nKhazraj being borne by Habbab. Just before sunset, the column went\nforward, taking a northerly direction.\n\nScarcely had they passed the ramparts, when they were rejoined by a\ntroop of six hundred men, all well-armed. They were Jews; allies of\nAbdullah, the \"Hypocrite,\" and it was thanks to his counsel that they\noffered their assistance to the Prophet. 'Allah's aid sufficeth,' he\nanswered, as he sent them away, for knowing their secret sympathies,\nhe feared they might betray him.\n\nAbdullah, belittled by the rejection of his allies, lost no time in\ntrying to spread anxiety in the soldiers' ranks by perfidious remarks\nsuch as these: 'Mohammad listens to the chatter of good-for-nothing\nfolks, and spurns the good advice I give him. Why go to face certain\ndeath?' In this way, he succeeded in decoying a third of the little\narmy, thus reduced to about seven hundred men and, at the head of the\ndeserters, he turned back on the road to Al-Madinah, followed by the\nhooting of the true Believers.\n\nThe next morning, on a Saturday, the eleventh day of the month of\nShawwal, before daybreak, the Prophet ordered the tents to be folded.\nHe asked for a guide clever enough to lead his troops, unseen by the\nenemy, to the Jabl-ul-Uhud, a mountain rising isolated in the plain.\nAbu Haythama came forward and led them through the orchards and\npalm-tree plantations of the Banu Harith.\n\nThe owner of one of these gardens, a \"Hypocrite,\" named Mirba, his\neyes eaten away by ophthalmia, rose up as he heard Mohammad's\nfootsteps at the head of his troops, and shouted to him: 'If even it\nwere true that thou art the Prophet of Allah, I would not authorise\nthee to go through my garden!' Picking up a clod, he added: 'By Allah!\nif I did not fear to strike someone else, I would hurl this earth in\nthy face.' The Believers wished to punish the insolence of the\n\"Hypocrite\" by taking his life, but Mohammad restrained them, saying:\n'Kill him not, for he is blind. His heart is as blind as his eyes.'\n\nAlong this by-path, and concealed behind the thick foliage of the\norchards, the Mussulmans reached the mountain of Uhud before sunrise,\nwithout having been caught sight of by their foes.\n\nThe Prophet arranged his forces for the fight. They had the mountain\nbehind them; their left wing being covered by the pass of Ainin, so\nthat there was no fear of being turned. To be more sure, he posted Ibn\nJubayr above this defile, with fifty of his most skilful archers, to\nwhom Mohammad gave the following strict order: 'If the idolaters'\ncavalry attempt to outflank us, by slipping through the ravine,\nrepulse them with showers of arrows. But whether the enemy should be\nabove or below us, remain steadfast at your post, and whatever\nbefalls, take care not to go forward!'\n\nAt this juncture, a loud outcry was heard resounding in the direction\nof the plain. The Makkans had just perceived the Believers who, with\nthe oblique rays of the sun playing on their spears, stood out in\nglowing relief on the rocky slopes of the Jabal-ul-Uhud. Exactly as\nthe Prophet had foreseen, the enemy's army, its right wing directed by\nKhalid ibn Walid, the terrible, and its left wing commanded by\nIkrimah, son of Abu Jahal, spread itself out in a semi-circle, so as\nto surround and turn the Mussulmans.\n\nAbu Sufyan, chieftain of the Infidels, trying to wound the vanity of\nthe Banu Abdi'd-Dar, guarding the flag, called to them thus: 'O ye who\ncarried our standard at Badr, remember the disaster of which the blame\nmust be laid on you. A soldier should follow the flag, but ye fled\nwith it. If this day ye fear to be unable to defend it, let me confide\nit to other hands.' Stung to the quick by such an insult, the Banu\nAbdi'd-Dar threw up their heads boldly. 'We shall know how to guard\nour flag,' said they; 'and if we are alive to-morrow, thou shalt do\njustice to our valour.'\n\nHind now came forward, leading her companions to take their stand\nbehind the guardians of the flag. And the women sang:\n\n\"Courage! O sons of the Abdi'd-Dar!--Courage! O defenders of the women\nat your heels!--Strike with every blade!--We are daughters of the star\nof Tariq--Our feet glide on soft carpets.--Pearls glisten in our\nnecklaces--And musk perfumeth our tresses.--If ye show a bold front to\nthe enemy, we will embrace you!--Should you flee from the foe, we\nshall repulse you--And you will be dishonoured eternally by our\nscorn!\"\n\nOn the side of the Believers, the Prophet was not sparing of\nencouragement. 'Who among you,' he exclaimed, offering a glistening\nsword, 'is capable of giving this weapon its due?'--'And what is its\ndue, prithee?' asked Abu Dujana, coming forward.--'Its due is to\nstrike with its blade till it be twisted!'--'Well then, I swear to\ngive it its due!'\n\nAbu Dujana was a redoubtable warrior. He received the sabre from\nMohammad's hands and, rolling round his head a red turban that he\nnever wore, except on great occasions when death was nigh, he strode\nsuperbly up and down in front of the ranks. 'Such defiant bearing\nwould give rise to Allah's wrath,' the Prophet declared, 'on any other\noccasion but this.'\n\nAmong the enemy was an inhabitant of Medinah, Abu Amir, converted to\nChristianity and nicknamed \"Ar Rahib,\" which means \"the Monk.\" Having\ngot into his head that he could lead a few of his fellow-countrymen in\nthe Aus tribe astray from the cause of Islam, he went and stood before\nthem, saying: 'O \"qawm\" of the Aus! 'tis I, Abu Amir, a son of your\nsoul. Will ye not hear me out?'--'May Allah refuse thee all favour, O\nscoundrel!' they replied. Choking with shame and rancour, \"the Monk\"\nwent away, after picking up a pebble which he threw in fury at them.\n\nWhen \"the Monk\" had retired, an idolater of terrible appearance,\nbestriding a gigantic camel, advances; challenging the Believers\nthrice. At the third provocation, Zubayr stepped out of the ranks.\nWith the leap of a panther, he sprang on to the camel's rump, threw\nhis arms round his adversary, and rolling with him on the ground,\nnever let go his hold until he had torn his throat open.\n\nSeeing the combat beginning, Abu Dujana could restrain himself no\nlonger. He drew his sword. 'There is no good fortune in the ranks of\ncowards!' he exclaimed. 'I strike with the sword of Allah and His\nProphet!' The scarlet turban was seen digging into the very centre of\nthe enemy's massed troops like a glowing brand.\n\nBy dint of prodigies of audacity, he struck down all those he met on\nhis way, when suddenly he found himself facing a strange being who,\nvomiting forth the vilest blasphemy, was followed by a crowd of girls\nplaying on tabors. Abu Dujana brandished his blade over his\nadversary's head, but on hearing the piercing shrieks uttered by Hind,\nhe recognised her. The sword of the Prophet was rendered generous by\nhim, for he knew it ought not to strike a woman.\n\nFollowing Abu Dujana's onslaught, the battle raged furiously and all\nthe combatants were at grips. Arshah, the Quraish standard-bearer, was\nstruck down by Hamzah, and showed all his teeth in the snarling grin\nof death. Siba-al-Ghassani picked up the flag, and challenged his\ncompanion's conqueror. 'Come a little nearer, O son of the procuress!'\nreplied Hamzah; and at a single stroke, he made him share the fate of\nArshah.\n\nWishing to avenge his uncle Tahaimah, slain at Badr by Hamzah, Zubayr\nibn Mutam promised to free his Abyssininan slave, Al-Uhayha, if he\nsucceeded in killing Hamzah.\n\nThus spoke Al-Uhayha: \"During the battle, I had no eyes but for\nHamzah. When I caught sight of him, he was like a rutting grey camel,\nthrowing down all he met with such terrible blows that none of them\nrose again. Not daring to face him, I dogged his footsteps, skulking\nbehind bushes or rocks. At last, he neared the spot where I was\nhidden. I am skilled at throwing the Abyssinian javelin and rarely\nmiss my mark. Just as Hamzah cut Siba down with a blow on the head, I\nbalanced my spear and sent it hissing at him. It stuck in his groin,\ncoming out between his thighs. Terrible in his wrath, Hamzah turned to\nattack me, but his strength failing him, he fell down in a huddled\nheap and died on the spot. I then came out of my place of concealment,\ntore my spear from his dead body and left the battlefield. I only\nstruck at Hamzah to gain my freedom.\"\n\nThe standard-bearer of the Mohadjirun, Musab ibn Amir, was slain at\nthe Prophet's side. His murderer, Qaumiah-al-Lissi, thinking that he\nhad killed Mohammad himself, returned to his comrades. 'I've slain\nMohammad!' he bawled, puffed up with pride.\n\nAli seized the standard that had slipped from Musab's grasp, and\naccepted the challenge of Abu Sad ibn Abi Talhah, the idolaters'\nstandard-bearer, who uttered these jeering words:\n\n'O companions of Mohammad! ye maintain that our swords send you to\nParadise whilst yours despatch us to hell! By Lat and Uzza! ye lie in\nyour teeth, for ye take good care not to rush on our blades!'\n\nAli did not allow him to say anything else. No sooner did the two men\nmeet, than the mocking idol-worshipper was sent rolling in agony to\nearth. Ali's arm was lifted to finish him off when suddenly the young\nman averted his head and turned away: Abu Sad, in falling, had exposed\nhis nakedness to his conqueror.\n\nA furious fight took place round the flag of the Quraish, and, many\nother Infidels passed from life to death. Two defenders of this\nbanner, Mishfah and his brother, Al Zulas, both pierced through and\nthrough by arrows, dragged themselves along to their mother, Sulafa,\none of Hind's companions. The two lads, vomiting streams of blood,\nrested their heads in the lap of the woman who had brought them into\nthe world. 'O my poor boys!' she cried, her voice choked with sobs,\n'who dealt you these terrible blows?'--'When we fell,' her sons\nreplied, 'we heard a voice saying: \"Take these darts from me. I am\nAsim, son of Allah.\"' And Sulafa swore that Asim's skull should be\nfashioned by her into a cup from which she would drink vinous liquors.\n\nThe balance of victory was clearly in favour of the Believers. The\nQuraish flag was laid out on the ground, close to a heap of dead\nbodies, and no idolater dared to lift the banner. The rout of Allah's\nfoes had begun. The fury of Hind, her serving-girls, and her female\nfriends was changed to terror. They lifted their draperies, showing\ntheir legs, in order to flee more easily in wild haste. The archers,\nposted near the ravine on the slopes of the Uhud, could see all this\nbetter than anyone else, and they stamped with hot impatience, fearing\nthat they would not be able to take a hand in plundering the\nvanquished.\n\nIn vain their chieftain, Ibn Jubayr, tried to retrain them by bidding\nthem remember the Prophet's strict orders, and their duty which was to\ncover the army's flank by guarding the mountain pass. 'The fight is\nfinished,' they answered in ill-humour. 'Victory is ours! We mean to\nhave our share of the booty, or deserve the crown of martyrdom.' Like\na living torrent, they rushed down the declivity of the ravine,\ndisobeying Allah and His Messenger.\n\n\"_Already had Allah made good to you His promise, when by His\npermission ye destroyed your foes, until your courage failed you, and\nye disputed together about the order, and disobeyed, after that the\nProphet had brought you within view of that for which ye longed._\"\n(THE QUR'AN, III, 145.)\n\nKhalid, the valiant, farseeing warrior commanding the Quraish left\nwing and who, till then, recognised that it was impossible to turn the\nposition, perceived the fault of the archers. At the head of his\ncavalry, he charged Ibn Jubayr, surrounded by a handful of men\nremaining faithful to him, and after they were crushed beneath the\nhoofs of the horses, Khalid took the Mussulmans in the rear while they\nwere engrossed with the thoughts of plunder.\n\nAt the same time, a woman of the idolaters, Amr bint Alqamah, lifted\nthe standard abandoned by the Makkans who, ashamed at their own\ncowardice when they saw what this courageous woman had done, went back\nand fought again. In triumphant tones, dominating all clamour and\nclash of arms, the voice of Qumiah, slayer of Musab, rang out:\n'Verily, Mohammad hath just been killed!'\n\nThe current of the combat deviated. The day, that had begun so\nfavourably, became a day of calamity. Attacked in the rear, maddened\nby the fatal news, the Mussulmans gave way, and a number fled to\nAl-Madinah. Even Usman, in despair, allowed himself to be led away.\n\nA great many of the most noble combatants fell martyrs in the fight,\nand Allah's enemies rained showers of arrows and stones on a small\ngroup of the Faithful surrounding the Prophet. One stone, thrown by\nthe son of Abu Waqas, struck Mohammad, splitting his lip, breaking a\nfront tooth, on the right. Another projectile smashed the rings of his\nhelmet, driving them into his cheek.\n\nAbu Ubaidah, by biting the rings forced into the flesh, managed to\ndrag them out. Little he recked when he broke a tooth on each; and he\nsucked in ecstasy the blood flowing from the wounds of Allah's Chosen\nOne. Moved by such fierce devotion, Mohammad said to him: 'He who hath\nsucked my blood hath naught to fear from the flames of Hell; but how\ncan those men prosper who have shed the blood of their Prophet?'\n\nMeanwhile, the situation became more and more critical. During the\nthick of the fight, Mohammad was knocked down, and thrown into a deep\nhole that he had not noticed behind him. Ali and Talha helped him out\nat once.\n\nThen Ali, together with Abu Bakr and Umar, both wounded, hurled\nthemselves on the assailants whose forces increased unceasingly,\nthreatening to encircle the Believers. There were moments when the\nProphet had no one with him except Abu Dujana, shielding him with his\nbody riddled by arrows, and Abu Talha who protected Mohammad by means\nof a leather buckler.\n\nAbu Talha was an archer so strong that he broke three bows by bending\nthem. He said to Mohammad who rose up to see the result of the\nfighting and give directions: 'O thou for whom I would give father and\nmother in ransom, lie down, I beg of thee. Thou might be struck by an\narrow. Let my breast protect thy breast.' At that moment, a foeman's\ndart, that he dashed aside, mutilated his hand. No longer able to use\nhis bow, he unsheathed his sabre, but was so greatly exhausted by\nfatigue that, overcome by sleep, he closed his eyes and his weapon\nfell from his grasp.\n\nUmm-i-Amr, a heroine of the Ansars, a goat-skin on her back, flew\nalong the ranks of the Believers, pouring water in their mouths to\nrefresh them. She seized a sword and fought with manly vigour near\nMohammad, until she fell, badly wounded.\n\nAli Abu Aakr and Umar had been separated from the Prophet in the ebb\nand flow of the fight; and the shouts of the Infidels announcing his\ndeath deprived them of all courage. The three Believers were like\nsoulless bodies and they did not even think of defending themselves.\nSeeing them in this state, Anas ibn Nazir shamed them: 'What aileth\nyou that ye are so downcast?'--'The Prophet is dead.'--'Well then what\nhave ye to do with life, now he is gone? Die as he died.' Setting the\nexample, he dashed forward, and fell covered with so many wounds that\nonly his sister was able to recognise his dead body, and that by a\npeculiarity of his fingers.\n\nThis was a rallying signal. Abashed by their own despondency, Ali, Abu\nBakr and Umar, followed by a few of the Faithful, copying Umar, rushed\nto a part of the battlefield where the enemy masses were furiously\nattacking a few men still standing.\n\nSuddenly, among these heroes resisting with superhuman energy, Kab ibn\nMalik recognised the Prophet in person whose eyes sparkled under his\nhelmet. 'O Mussulmans! O brothers!' shouted Kab, in stentorian\naccents. 'Good news! Look at the Prophet of Allah! He is safe and\nsound!'\n\nThis cry awakened fresh courage in the heart of every man. On all\nsides, the Mussulmans rushed recklessly to the spot whence the glad\ncry proceeded. After having disengaged the Prophet, they were afire\nwith irresistible ardour and cut a bloody path through the overthrown\nenemy's ranks as far as the ravine of Ainin, which they never ought to\nhave abandoned. The effort of the idolaters to storm this impregnable\nposition was unavailing. Ubi ibn Khalaf cried out in his fury: 'O\nMohammad! where art thou? Shouldst thou be still alive, I swear thou\nshalt not escape me!'\n\nThe Prophet would not allow his partisans to tear Ubi limb from limb\nas they wished to do, but dragging a spear from the grasp of Al Haris,\nMohammad drove its steel into Ubi's throat. He dropped forward on his\nhorse's neck and, after vainly trying to save himself by clutching at\nthe mane, fell heavily to the ground. The idolaters, exhausted, gave\nup the idea of avenging his death. The fight was finished....\n\nFinding a little water in the hollow of a rock, Ali filled his shield\nand offered it to the Prophet. But he turned against the smell of this\nwater and refused to drink it. So Ali then used it to wash the wounds\nof Allah's Chosen One, but in vain, his blood continuing to flow so\nfreely as to give rise to great uneasiness. Fatimah, who in a state of\ngreat anxiety, had arrived at the scene of battle with a few of her\ncompanions, caused some fragments of a rush-mat to be set on fire and\ncovered her father's wounds with the ashes. This dressing put a stop\nto the hemorrhage.\n\nThe Prophet recited the midday prayer, but remained seated, in\nconsequence of extreme fatigue and the suffering brought on by his\nwounds. Behind him, also seated for the same reason, all the\ncombatants prayed with him, and gave thanks to the Almighty for having\nsaved them despite their disobedience.\n\nThe death-roll numbered three score and ten, equalling the count of\nthe idolatrous prisoners of Badr. Many of the Believers considered\nthat this coincidence formed a punishment for having accepted a ransom\nin their greed for worldly profit.\n\nThe bodies of the martyrs of Uhud were in a parlous state. Athirst for\nvengeance, the women of the Quraish had thrown away their tabors in\norder to hurl themselves on the corpses and mutilate them odiously.\nHind, their mistress, was the most ferocious of them all. Taking out\nher earrings, pulling off necklaces, bracelets and ankle-rings, she\nhanded them all to Al-Uhayha, the slayer of Hamzah; and, in place of\nher gewgaws, adorned herself with necklaces and bangles fashioned with\nnoses and ears sliced from the heads of her foes. Like a filthy hyena,\nshe squatted on Hamzah's remains. With ensanguined finger-nails, she\ntore his body open and dragged out the liver with fury, making her\nteeth meet in it. She then climbed to the top of a lofty rock and\nturning towards the soldiers of Islam, howled with all the strength of\nher lungs:\n\n\"We have paid you back for the day of Badr!--I was tortured by the\nremembrance of my father--Of my son, and of my uncle, murdered by\nyou!--My soul is now at rest and my vengeance is glutted.--My \"uhayha\"\n(grief) hath been softened by thee--O Uhayha! O conqueror of Hamzah!\nI'll sing thy praises--Until my bones crumble into dust in my grave!\"\n\n[Illustration: _Setting out for Al Jihad, or Holy War._ 2 views]\n\nAbu Sufyan, searching every nook and corner of the field of battle in\nthe hope of finding Mohammad's lifeless body, stopped short in front\nof Hamzah's corpse at the same time as Jalis, chief of the Arab\nConfederates. Abu Sufyan amused himself by striking the corners of the\ndead man's mouth with the point of a spear. 'Take a good taste of the\nbitterness of rebellion,' he said.\n\nSeeing this, Jalis, although an idolater, was greatly shocked. 'O Banu\nKinana!' cried he to his partisans, 'admire the behaviour of the Lord\nof the Quraish towards his cousin now that he is lifeless!' Abu\nSufyan, alive to the fact that his conduct was vile, drew Jalis on one\nside and supplicated him. 'Keep all this a secret, O Jalis, for I am\nashamed of what I did just now in thy presence.'\n\nHe then drew near to a spot within hail of the Faithful, entrenched on\nthe slopes of the Uhud, and called out to them: 'Is Mohammad with\nyou?' There being no answer, he joyfully concluded that the Prophet\nwas dead. Before going away, he bawled as loudly as he could:\n'Assuredly, war is a game of chance. This day avengeth the day of\nBadr; Hubal, our god, is victorious. He is the All-Highest!'\n\nAt this blasphemy, the Prophet ordered Umar to reply. He cried out:\n'Allah is the Most High; the Most Majestic!' Recognising Umar's voice,\nAbu Sufyan asked him: 'O Umar! I conjure thee, inform me if we have\nkilled Mohammad.'--'No, by my faith! He is even now listening to\nthee.' Abu Sufyan, disappointed, rejoined: 'Evidently, I am bound to\nbelieve thee in preference to Ibn Qamiah who boasts of having killed\nhim. But I swear to meet you next year at Badr.'--'That is\nunderstood!' replied Umar. 'We pledge our word to meet thee there.'\n\nThe Prophet despatched Ali to track the Infidels. 'Take heed how they\ncarry themselves,' Mohammad impressed upon his scout. 'See if they\nride their camels and lead their horses by the bridle. That will\ncertainly denote that they give up all hope of battle and are going to\nMakkah. If, on the contrary, they mount their steeds and drive their\ncamels before them, it is a sure sign that they are bound for\nAl-Madinah with the intention of cutting us off. In that case, there\nis but one thing to be done: to hurl ourselves upon them without loss\nof time, so as to attack them and hack our way through.'\n\nA few minutes later, Ali returned. He had seen the Quraish alight from\ntheir horses, bestride their camels and set out in the direction of\nMakkah.\n\nReassured as to the enemy's intentions, the Believers busied\nthemselves with the burial of the martyrs. First of all, the Prophet\nsought to find the body of his uncle Hamzah. Mohammad discovered it in\na hollow of the Wadi, the belly ripped open; and with ears and nose\ncut off. 'Were it not that I feared to grieve Safiyah (Hamzah's\nsister), and to set an example which perhaps would become law, I would\nleave these remains unburied, until they should disappear in the\nentrails of jackals and vultures; thus keeping alive the hope of\nrevenge. If the Almighty should ever deliver into our hands the\nwretches who have thus treated thee, I swear to exercise most terrible\nreprisals.'\n\nThe Prophet then received this Revelation: \"_If ye make reprisals,\nthen make them to the same extent that ye were injured: but if ye can\nendure patiently, best will it surely be for the patiently enduring._\"\n(THE QUR'AN, XVI, 127.) Thus warned, Mohammad relinquished his ideas\nof retaliation, and earnestly urged the Faithful to abstain from\nmutilating their enemies.\n\nThe news of the disaster having reached Al-Madinah, all the women, and\nSafiyah among them, came in crowds to attend to the wounded and mourn\nfor the dead. The Prophet charged Safiyah's son, Zubayr ibn Awam, to\nsend his mother away, to prevent her seeing her brother's corpse, so\natrociously disfigured. 'I have been told that my brother was\nmutilated for the cause of Islam,' she replied, 'and I shall be\nresigned no matter how horrible the sight, please Allah!' She went\nstraightway to where Hamzah was lying and after having prayed over him\nwith fervent firmness, she departed.\n\nFunerals then began. After having led that of his uncle Hamzah, the\nProphet, so as not to fatigue the Believers who were already\nexhausted, had the dead bodies buried two by two, or three by three,\nin the same grave, and without being washed according to custom. 'For\nI bear witness for these martyrs,' he declared. 'Those who have been\nstruck down on Allah's Road will be resuscitated on the Day of\nResurrection when their wounds will appear fresh and bloody; smelling\nsweetly of musk.' When it came to his ears that several families had\ncarried their dead to Al-Madinah to bury them there, he upbraided them\nand ordained: 'Henceforward, ye shall bury your dead where they fall.'\n\nThe battle of Uhud did not result fatally for Islam as might\nreasonably have been feared. There were grievous losses; but several\nadvantages accrued from the fight. The defeat was due to having\ndisregarded the Prophet's first idea, and to disobeying his orders on\nthe field. In future, the Believers submitted entirely to him; they\nwere resolved to carry out his commands to the letter even in case he\nshould be killed, according to the verse alluding to the momentary\ndespondency of Ali, Abu Bakr, and Umar: \"_Mohammad is no more than an\nApostle; other Apostles have already passed away before him; if then\nhe die, or be slain, will ye turn upon your heels?_\" (THE QUR'AN, III,\n138.)\n\nMoreover, defeats, when faith is fervent, serve only to sharpen\nenergy: \"_And how many a Prophet hath combated an enemy on whose side\nwere many myriads? Yet were they not daunted at what befell them on\nthe path of Allah, nor were they weakened, nor did they basely submit!\nAnd Allah loveth those who endure with steadfastness._\" (THE QUR'AN,\nIII, 140.)\n\nClemency henceforward was not to be shown to the idolaters: the savage\nmutilation of the seventy martyrs proved that compassion was\ninadmissible.\n\nA distinction was also clearly established between the true Believers\nand the \"Hypocrites,\" such as Abdullah ibn Salul and his partisans.\nThe Prophet knew what they were, but the majority of his disciples\nwere ignorant of these double-faced men's perfidy, as demonstrated by\ntheir cowardly desertion in the hour of danger. Concerning the Uhud,\nquoth Mohammad: \"That mountain loveth us and we return its affection!\nO Allah! Abraham declared the territory of Makkah to be sacred. I\ndeclare the territory of Al-Madinah, situated between the two Harrah,\nto be sacred also.\"\n\n[Sidenote: THE MARRIAGE OF MOHAMMAD AND ZAINAB]\n\nZayd, the enfranchised slave and adopted son of the Prophet, had taken\nZainab bint Jahsh to wife, but the marriage had not been concluded\neasily. Zainab was of noble birth. Ali, sent to make the matrimonial\ndemand, found it rejected by her and her brothers. The union was only\nbrought about when the Prophet came forward in person, and Zainab\ncontinued to behave most haughtily towards the freed man now her\nhusband.\n\nHaving gone one day to Zayd's dwelling to speak to him, Mohammad was\nreceived by Zainab who, hidden behind a curtain, said: 'Zayd hath gone\nout; but come in and wait awhile.' The Prophet refused, and was about\nto depart, when a gust of air having lifted the hanging, he\ninvoluntarily caught sight of Zainab. She made a great impression on\nhim; so much so that as he turned to go, he could not help exclaiming:\n'Glory to Him who inclineth all hearts!'\n\nThis cry filled Zainab with boundless pride. When poor Zayd returned,\nhe was received with more scornful haughtiness than ever, and she\nhastened to let him know the effect produced upon Allah's Apostle by\nher radiant beauty. Zayd began to feel that life with his spouse,\nalready hard to please, would soon be unbearable. He made up his mind\nto see Mohammad; and then he told him: 'Maybe Zainab pleaseth thee? If\nso, I'll get rid of her.'--'Go back to thy wife and keep her to\nthyself,' replied the Prophet.\n\nBut Zayd had had enough of her. Ever since the sight of Zainab had\nforced a cry of admiration from the Prophet, her husband did not dare\nto approach her and considered that he would have no peace until after\nhe had divorced her. So he went back to Mohammad. 'O Prophet!' said\nhe, 'the way Zainab talketh to me is worse than ever. I wish to\nrepudiate her.'--'Fear Allah,' replied Mohammad, 'and keep thy wife to\nthyself.'--'But I'm no longer master in my own house!'--'If that is\nso, put her away from thee.'\n\nAs soon as she was repudiated, Zainab had but a single thought: to\nbecome the wife of the Prophet; and she never ceased intriguing to\ngain her ends. At last a Revelation came down to Mohammad: \"_And when\nZayd had settled the necessary matter of her divorce, We married her\nto thee._\" (THE QUR'AN, XXXIII, 37.) So he resolved to be wedded to\nZainab.\n\nThe Jews and the \"Hypocrites\" declared this was scandalous. 'Mohammad\nmarries his son's wife!' was their cry, and they worked with a will to\nmake capital out of the incident and bring him into disrepute. The\nfollowing verses, however, stopped every true Believer from listening\nto the discreditable group: \"_Name your adopted sons after their\nfathers: this will be more right before Allah. But if ye know not who\ntheir fathers are, still let them be your brethren in the faith, and\nyour comrades * Mohammad is not the father of any man among you._\"\n(THE QUR'AN, XXXIII, 5, 40.)\n\nThe adoption of Zayd, dating from before the birth of Islam, and which\nmight have proved a serious stumbling-block in the political career of\nits chief, was thus annulled, and the freed man, called Zayd ibn\nMohammad, now went by his real name: Zayd ibn al-Haris. But the\naffection that Mohammad had for Zayd and his son Usamah, was\nstrengthened by this solution which put an end to all feelings of\nrestraint.\n\nSuch is the adventure of Zainab, which all the historians who are\nenemies of Islam have passionately exploited in order to sully the\nProphet's memory. We shall not discuss the subject, because, in our\nopinion, the details of the life of a man like Mohammad cannot be\nisolated from the whole of his work and judged separately. In common\nwith all the Prophets, without exception, Mohammad doubtless had what\nsome call \"moments of weakness;\" but they have nothing to do with his\ninspiration. Moreover, the historians of Mohammad enjoy the unusual\nhonour of having felt such great respect for his memory, that they\nrefused to discuss his conduct.\n\nWhen the historians of other Prophets cut out of their lives all that\nthey consider may belittle them in the eyes of posterity, the writers\nset themselves up, in reality, as critics of their heroes' acts. In\nthe foregoing narrative, which has served as a pretext for so many\npamphlets, we find the most incontestable proof of the sincerity of\nthe Arab Prophet's biographers. Following their example, and as a\ntoken of our impartiality, we thought it our duty to relate this\nepisode, although of secondary interest, and greatly inferior to other\nevents for which we have not found space in this work.\n\n[Sidenote: THE GHAZWAH, OR EXPEDITION OF ZAT-IR-RIQUA (_Year IV of the\nHegira, A.D. 626_)]\n\nHaving heard that the Banu Muharib and the Banu Saliba of the Najd\nwere preparing an expedition against him, the Prophet decided to be\nbeforehand with them, and set out to meet his foes. In his haste, he\nhad only been able to get together a small number of camels; one for\nsix men who took it in turns to ride. The Believers were compelled to\nbind up their cruelly wounded feet, from which the nails were torn by\nthe sharp stones of the Hammadas, with \"ruqqah\": fragments of their\napparel. Hence the name of Zat-ir-Riga bestowed on this expedition.\n\nAfter having camped at Nakhl, Mohammad's soldiers came in sight of the\nassembled enemy. The two armies remained motionless, face to face,\nneither making up its mind to begin the hostilities; the Mussulmans,\nbecause of their numerical inferiority out of all proportion; and the\nInfidels, in consequence of their terror arising from the influence of\nthe recent victories of Islam. It was in these circumstances that the\nProphet instituted the \"Salatu'l-Khauf,\" the Prayer of Peril. He\ndivided the Believers into two groups; one saying the prayer, and the\nother keeping a vigilant eye on the enemy.\n\nGreatly impressed by the resolute bearing of the Mussulmans, whom\ntheir foes hoped to surprise, but who had come out and showed fight,\nthe allies began to retreat, one after the other, so that, passing\nfrom extreme vigilance, as shown at first, the Believers became a prey\nto exaggerated confidence.\n\nDuring the torrid heat of the middle of the day, they were scattered\nhere and there enjoying their \"siesta\" in the shade of the numerous\n\"talhah\" (gum-trees), growing in the valley, and had posted no\nsentinels to keep watch and ward. A Bedouin of the Banu Mustaliq\nperceived this lack of precaution. By crawling along on hands and\nknees, he succeeded in approaching the Prophet and lifting the\nsilver-hilted sabre hanging to the branches under which the Apostle\nwas resting, the tribesman said: 'O Mohammad, let me look at thy\nsword-blade.' After having run his thumb along the edge of the steel\nas if to try it, he brandished it over the Prophet's head and cried\nout: 'O Mohammad! dost thou not fear me?'--'No! Why should I fear\nthee?'--'Art thou not afraid of the weapon I hold?'--'No, for Allah\nprotecteth me,' replied the Prophet, with the greatest calm, gazing\nboldly at his agressor.\n\nPetrified at such indifference in the face of danger, the Bedouin was\noverwhelmed with supernatural emotion which paralysed his heart's\naction. Cold sweat bathed his brow; his fingers, gripping the\nsword-hilt, opened out involuntarily, and the sabre fell at Mohammad's\nfeet. He picked it up quietly. 'And now, what will save thee from my\nblows?' he asked.--'Thy generosity!' replied the downcast brigand.\n\nHe was right. The Prophet let him depart without compelling him to\nembrace the Mohammedan faith, for he wished to accustom idolaters to\nthe generosity of Islam, so that they should come to it of their own\naccord. The Bedouin, who before leaving his own bivouac, had boasted\nthat he would bring in Mohammad's head, declared to his people: 'I\nhave just met the best of men.' And he went back to the Prophet and\nbecame a convert to Islam.\n\n[Sidenote: THE GHAZWAH, OR EXPEDITION OF THE BANU MUSTALIQ (_Year V of\nthe Hegira, A.D. 627_)]\n\nNow it was the turn of the Banu Mustaliq to get restless and conspire\nagainst Islam. The Prophet resolved to punish them, and, at the head\nof his troops, he came upon them on their own territory at Qudid, near\nthe wells of Al Mirisiyah. The two armies crashed together in their\nshock, and many were slain on both sides. Allah routed the Banu\nMustaliq; and an enormous amount of booty: camels, sheep and captives,\nfell into the hands of his warriors.\n\nAmong the prisoners was the daughter of the Lord of the Mustaliqs,\nbeautiful Juwairiyah. As a result of the drawing by lot, she fell to\nSabit ibn Qais, but promised her master a heavy ransom in exchange for\nliberty. She then sought out the Prophet and told him: 'I am\nJuwairiyah, daughter of Haris, Lord of the Mustaliqs. Thou knowest my\nunlucky fate. I know thy magnanimity and I come to implore thy help to\npay my ransom.'--'I will settle thy ransom,' he replied; 'and I'll\nmarry thee, if so be thou art willing.' She accepted, and despite\nAyishah's jealousy, aroused by the charm and grace of Juwairiyah, the\nmarriage was decided.\n\nIn the meantime, Haris had arrived, bringing his daughter's ransom.\nMohammad gave him back Juwairiyah, but only to ask him immediately for\nher hand, offering as dower the sum of four hundred drachmas. As soon\nas the news of this union was noised abroad, the Believers said: 'The\nProphet hath allied himself to the Banu Mustaliq. We must therefore\nlook upon them as our allies.' The Faithful gave back all the booty;\ntogether with all the captives who had just been shared among them.\nFew women ever brought such a blessing to her tribe as this\nJuwairiyah.\n\nAfter the severe fighting, whilst the soldiers were watering their\npanting camels at the well Al Mirisiyah, a violent quarrel was nigh\nbringing Ansars and Mohadjirun to blows.\n\nJajjah, leading Umar's horse by the bridle, hustled Simana ibn Ubair,\nan ally of the Banu Auf ibn Khazraj, in order to deprive him of his\nturn at the well. Simana turned upon him, and the two adversaries,\nlocked in murderous embrace, rolled on the ground, Simana shouting:\n'Help! O comrades of the Ansars!' and Jajjah: 'Help! O comrades of the\nMohadjirun!'\n\nThey were hauled apart, and for the moment the quarrel came to\nnothing. But on both sides, great effervescence reigned in the minds\nof the tribesmen. The \"Hypocrite,\" Abdullah ibn Abi Salul, an\neye-witness of the scuffle, worked up the men's exasperation to the\nhighest pitch by these words: 'O citizens of Al-Madinah! have ye seen\nthe impudence of all these Quraish? They pick a quarrel with us in our\nown country, abusing our hospitality and relying on their numbers.\nSuch is the result of your candour, when ye opened your doors to them\nand shared your property with them. How true is the saying of our\nancestors: 'Feed thy dog and he will devour thee!' Once back in\nAl-Madinah, will not the strong make up their minds to drive out the\nweak?'\n\nZayd, son of Arquam, reported these wicked remarks to Mohammad. By his\nside stood Umar who flew into a violent passion. 'O Prophet!' he\ncried. 'Wilt thou not order Abbad ibn Bashir to put this impostor to\ndeath?'--'How cometh it, Umar, that thou canst give such a piece of\nadvice?' rejoined the Prophet. 'If people are able to say: 'Mohammad\ncutteth his companions' throats,' what a fine stir there would be in\nAl-Madinah. No, no!' he went on, turning to Abbad; 'but give out\norders to depart at once.'\n\nThe sun was at its zenith; the heat overpowering. It was not a\nfavourable moment for folding the tents. Nevertheless, the Prophet,\nlashing his she-camel on the tender skin of her belly, to increase her\nspeed, led his soldiers in a forced march lasting all day, all night,\nand all through the morning of the next day till noon.\n\nIt was then, seeing his brave warriors beginning to stagger, that he\ncalled a halt. All his men, worn out by fatigue, dropped on the\nground, overcome by deep sleep where they fell, without having been\nable to give vent to the feelings of fury seething in their hearts and\nwhich might have caused most sanguinary conflicts among them.\n\nThe \"Hypocrite\" Abdullah had a son who was also called Abdullah. He\nwas a sincere Believer and he went to the Prophet. 'They tell me,'\nquoth the young man, 'that thou didst intend to kill Abdullah, my\nfather. In that case, charge me to bring thee his head, for by Allah!\nthou shalt know that among the Khazraj, there is no son more devoted\nto his father than I. If thou shouldst charge any other to execute\nhim, I should not be able to bear the sight of his murderer going\nunpunished and I should kill him. Therefore I should be slaying a true\nMussulman in order to avenge a Mussulman \"Hypocrite,\" and render\nmyself deserving of hell-fire.'\n\nThe Prophet tranquilised the stoical Believer by these words: 'Give no\ncredit to what thou didst hear. On the contrary, we look upon thy\nfather as our friend and comrade, so long as he remaineth with us.'\n\n[Sidenote: THE TAYANNUM, OR THE CEREMONY OF ABLUTION PERFORMED WITH\nSAND]\n\nIt was during this expedition that the following Revelation came down:\n\"_But if ye are sick, or on a journey, or if one of you come from the\nplace of retirement, or if ye have touched women and find no water,\nthen take clean sand and rub your faces and your hands with it._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, V, 9.)\n\nThus was established the Tayammum, or purification by sand, destined\nto prevent the Believers from ever forgetting their salutary duty; for\nthis did away with the pretext, so frequent in their deserts, that\nlack of water hindered the performance of ablutions.\n\n[Sidenote: THE BATTLE OF THE DITCH (_Year V of the Hegira, A.D. 627_)]\n\nA deputation of Jews from the tribe of the Banu Nazir, and a few\nmalcontents of the Wayls journeyed to Makkah to offer the Quraish an\nalliance. The Ghatafans, a tribe hailing from the north of the Hijaz,\nand the \"Habash,\" or Arab Confederates, joined them. Thus was\norganised a vast conspiracy, threatening Al-Madinah on all sides.\n\nThis time, when the Prophet got to hear of the importance of this\nexpedition, he had no difficulty in persuading the Believers that the\nonly way to save themselves was by entrenchment in the town and there\nawaiting the advent of the enemy.\n\nAl-Madinah was protected in almost every direction, either by\nramparts, fortlets, or gardens. At the north only would it have been\npossible for the enemy to arrange a formidable assault. A learned\nPersian, Salman-i-Farisi, recently converted, explained to the Prophet\na system of efficacious protection. It was by means of a ditch, and\nSalman had seen it practised in his own country. Mohammad was so\nstruck by the Persian's arguments that this ditch was ordered to be\ndug immediately. All the Believers, confiding in their chief's\nfarsightedness, set ardently to work.\n\nNevertheless, they were in a state of extreme distress. An icy north\nwind, such as blows frequently in winter on these table-lands of the\ndesert where there is intense radiation, benumbed their shivering\nbodies. Roads where the work of revictualling was carried on were\nblocked by the enemy; provisions were lacking. The pangs of hunger\nwould have paralysed their strength if it had not been kept up and\nrekindled by faith, for all they had to eat were a few grains of\nbarley cooked in rancid, nauseous mutton-fat.\n\nMeanwhile, the shovelfuls of earth accumulated, thrown up with great\nspirit by the workers, and the ditch had reached a good depth, when\nsuddenly the pickaxes struck against a rock which they were powerless\nto uproot. Mohammad filled his mouth with water and spat it out on the\nstone, at the same time as he implored the help of the Almighty. The\ndiggers again applied themselves to their task and the vigour of their\narms, increased tenfold by the certainty of success which the\nProphet's action had instilled into their hearts, met with no further\nobstacles. It seemed to them that the hard stone had become as friable\nas the sand; the rock splitting into countless fragments under the\nattack of their tools.\n\nScarcely was the ditch ready, when the entire plain was covered by the\ntents of the enemy's army, ten thousand strong: the Quraish, Banu\nKamanah, Ghatafans, Arabs of the Tuhamah and of the Najd, etc. Despite\ntheir great superiority of numbers, the Infidels were not sanguine as\nto the result of their conflict with the Prince of Apostles, and they\ncast about for new allies. Huwai ibn Akhtab, an enemy of Allah,\napproached Kab ibn Asad, Prince of the Jewish tribe of the Banu\nQuraizah who, although deeply hostile to the Prophet, had signed a\ntreaty with him. Ill at ease, Kab repulsed his visitor in these terms:\n'O Huwai! the step thou dost take is fraught with great danger for my\ntribe. I have signed a treaty with strict fidelity.'--'Open thy door\nto me, O Kab, for I only wish to partake of thy \"Shishah,\" a kind of\nsoup. Kab let him in, and Huwai immediately broached the subject that\nbrought him there. He vaunted the power of the ten thousand\nConfederates encamped near the Uhud, and demonstrated how he was\ncertain of ridding the world of Mohammad. 'Thou bringest me ugly\nbusiness, O Huwai!' replied Kab, still hesitating. ''Tis an empty\nraincloud in which only thunder and lightning remain. I see no\nadvantage for me. What have I to do with all this?'\n\nHis interlocutor never left off until he had coaxed Kab into\ncancelling his contract with Mohammad and forming an alliance with the\nInfidels.\n\nThe rumour of this defection coming to the Prophet's ears, he sent Sad\nibn Muaz, Sad ibn Ubaidah and Chuat ibn Zubayr to see if it was true.\nWhen these envoys reminded the Banu Quraizah of their pledge, the\nfollowing reply was made: 'Who is this Prophet of Allah of whom ye\nspeak? There exists no treaty between him and us.'\n\nThis was downright treachery, for the Banu Quraizah were marvellously\nwell-informed as to the Believers' secrets and weak points of the\ntown. To guard against the anxiety that such treason might create\namong his disciples, Mohammad, when his envoys returned, exclaimed:\n'Allah is Great! Here have we good news! Hearken, O Moslem comrades!'\nIn this way he predicted that the spoils accruing from the overthrow\nof the Banu Quraizah would soon enrich the Believers, thus brazenly\nbetrayed.\n\nThe sight of the ten thousand sparkling spears that made the plain\nlook like a field of darts, produced, nevertheless, a great impression\non the Believers lining the ramparts. The \"Hypocrites,\" as was their\nwont, instead of exhorting the citizens to pluck up courage, tried to\nsow the seeds of panic. 'Admire Mohammad,' they would say. 'He\npromised us the treasures of Chosroes and of C\u00e6sar; and yet, this very\nday, he himself is not certain of having a roof over his head!'\n\nTo put an end to these gloomy forebodings, the Prophet made his troops\nsally forth and posted them behind the ditch. They were covered in the\nrear by the Sala hill. At that juncture, some of the soldiers whose\ncourage was on the wane asked the permission of the Prophet to return,\nsaying: 'Of a truth, our houses are left defenceless.' \"_But they were\nnot left defenceless: verily their sole wish was to flee away * If the\nenemy had effected an entry at all points, and they had been asked to\npromote rebellion among the Believers, they would certainly have done\nso; but only a short time would they have remained in._\" (THE QUR'AN,\nXXXIII, 13, 14.)\n\nFrankly, great anxiety reigned; but the faith of the sincere\nMussulmans and the unchanging serenity of the Apostle got the best of\nit. On the other hand, the Confederates, despite all their advantage,\nwere still smitten with terror at the thought of the mysterious forces\nthat they always found facing them each time they fought against\nAllah's warriors; and dared not risk an attack before making sure that\nit would not turn out to be another miserable, humiliating failure. So\nthey were contented with drawing near to the walls.\n\nFor twenty days and twenty nights, hostilities were limited to\nencircling the city and a few flights of arrows, without any result.\nAshamed, at last, of their inaction, several horsemen of the Quraizah\nand Kinanas, got ready for the fray. In close rank, they broke away\nfrom the enemy front. Their breasts pressed to the necks of their\nsteeds, they dashed forward in a frenzied charge, swallowed up in the\norange-tinted whirlwind of dust.... Then suddenly, the living\nhurricane stopped dead, and when the clouds of sand enfolding the\nidolatrous riders lifted, they were seen petrified with affright in\nfront of the deep ditch in which they had nearly been engulphed;\nwhilst the horses, with twitching nostrils, their mouths twisted and\nbleeding by reason of the sudden jerk of the bit, stopping them in\ntheir forward bound, remained with stiffened, trembling legs on the\nedge of the trench....\n\n'By our gods!' swore the Infidels, 'this is a trick that Arabs never\nplay!' They sought for a spot where the moat was the most narrow, and\nsavagely spurring on their steeds, they lifted them in fantastic\njumping efforts and so reached the other side. Ali, followed by a few\nsoldiers, went out to meet them. Getting between them and the ditch,\nhe cut off their retreat. One of the men on horseback, Amr ibn\nAbd-i-Aud, of frightful aspect and gigantic stature, howled the vilest\ncurses and challenged the Believers to single combat. With the\npermission of the Prophet who buckled on his own breastplate, rolled\nhis turban round his head and placed his sword in his hand, Ali stood\nface to face with the giant. At the sight of his assailant, only a\nboy, Amr, the terrible, made a gesture of scorn and pity. 'I am loth\nto shed thy blood,' he said, 'for thy father was my friend '--'As for\nme,' retorted Ali, 'I shall have no compunction in shedding thine.'\n\nAt these words, Amr foamed with rage, and Ali bade him remark that if\nhe despised his young adversary, he did not disdain to profit by\nremaining on horseback to defend himself against an enemy on foot. Amr\njumped off his horse and hamstrung it; thereby showing that he did not\nwish to use it for fight or flight. Mad with rage at the mocking\nchallenge of so youthful a foe, he beat his own face with his clenched\nfists.... Then he rushed at Ali, aiming a fierce blow which glanced\nlightly off the lad's forehead, after having smashed his shield to\npieces.\n\nAs quick as lightning, Ali sprung on one side and, by an unexpected\nbound, got behind his adversary. Carried forward by the violence of\nhis advance, the monster was bewildered and staggered when he tried to\nturn round. Ali seized the opportunity at once and made a skilful\nthrust. The blade pierced Amr's throat, through and through, cutting\nthe carotid artery. An enormous gush of blood spurted from the gaping\nwound; like a drunken man, the colossus, with hoarse hiccoughs\nproceeding from his severed throat, made a few faltering steps and\nfell in a heap at the feet of Islam's champion.\n\nAt this sight, the Mussulmans sang the \"Takbir,\" and the other\nInfidels, overwhelmed by consternation, fled at a wild gallop. One of\nthem, Nuhfil ibn Abdullah, having miscalculated his jump, rolled with\nhis mount down into the ditch, where he was slowly being killed by\nshowers of stones, when Zubayr put an end to the torture by a cut from\nhis scimitar, which after having cleft his body in twain, was stopped\nby the saddle.\n\nSafiyah, the Prophet's aunt on his mother's side, kept an eye on the\nfoe from the top of a fortlet belonging to Hasan ibn Sabit, who\nremained by her side. She caught sight of a Jew wandering round the\nramparts and said to Hasan: 'Seest thou that Jew prowler? Without a\ndoubt, he seeketh to find a weak point in our walls, and whilst the\nProphet and his soldiers are busy on the front facing the enemy, other\nJews will be fetched to follow the spy and capture our fortlet. Go\ndown and kill him!'--'May Allah pardon thee! O daughter of Abdul\nMuttalib, I am not a warrior accustomed to the use of arms. I am a\npoet.'\n\nShrugging her shoulders, masculine-minded Safiyah seized a mace and\nwent down. Gliding behind the Jew, she felled him by dint of dealing\nrepeated blows on his head; and then went back to Hasan. 'Now thou\ncanst go down and strip the Jew of all he possesseth, for it is not\nseemly for a woman to undress a man.'\n\nSeveral skirmishes of slight importance took place at long intervals;\nbut if an attack was not to be feared, thanks to the precautionary\nmoat which had upset the Confederates' calculations, the garrison\nmight have been mastered by famine. Great uneasiness prevailed in\ntheir ranks.\n\nMeanwhile, Naim, Prince of the Ghatafans, sought out Mohammad, saying:\n'O Prophet! I have become a Mussulman and my people know it not. I am\nentirely at thy disposal.'--'Of what use is all thy courage? Thou art\nalone! But couldst thou not help us by provoking relinquishment among\nthe Confederates? In all wars, there are tricks which are licit.'\n\nNaim understood at once the part he had to play. He went to the Banu\nQuraizah, having often broken bread among them when he was an\nidolater.\n\n[Illustration: _\"Al Fitr\", the Prayer on the Breaking of the Ramadhan\nFast._]\n\n'O Banu Quraizah!' said he, 'ye know how I feel towards you\nall?'--'Verily, and we have entire confidence in thee.'--'Being so,\nlisten to me. The Quraish and the Ghatafans, your allies, are not in\nthe same position as you. This part of the country is yours: here is\nyour property; here dwell your families. Ye cannot abandon your land\nfor another. They, on the contrary, are only here to fight Mohammad\nand his companions; their belongings and their families are beyond\ntheir enemies' reach. If the fortune of war turneth against them, they\nwill return in tranquility to their own country and leave you in\nyours, to do the best you can with this man. Will ye be able to resist\nhim, once ye face him alone? Fight therefore no more with these\n\"qawms\" without claiming hostages chosen from their noblemen, so as to\nmake sure that you will never be left in the lurch before ye have\nbrought Mohammad to his knees.'--'Of a truth, thy advice is good!'\nthey declared unanimously. Nai then went to the Quraish\nidol-worshippers and talked to them. 'Ye know how I feel towards you\nall.'--'Aye.'--'I have been able to ascertain something that I\nconsider is only right that you should be told at once. But swear to\nkeep it secret.'--'We swear!'--'This is it,' he went on. 'Know that\nthe Jews regret having annulled their compact with Mohammad and\nconsequently have sent him this message: \"Most certainly do we regret\nwhat we did, but if thou dost consent to pardon us, we will give up to\nthee several hostages chosen amongst the most noble of the Quraish or\nthe Ghatafans we have seized; and we will remain thy faithful allies\nuntil thine enemies are exterminated.\" Mohammad having accepted, the\nJews therefore will come and claim hostages, pretexting that they are\ncertain of never being thrown over whilst holding these sureties. Take\ncare never to give them a single hostage!'\n\nHe said the same thing to the Ghatafans, his fellow-countrymen, and\nwas just as successful with them. The Quraish and the Ghatafans swore\nthey would be on their guard.\n\nOne night, on the eve of a Saturday in the month of Shawwal, Abu\nSufyan and the chieftains of the Ghatafans sent Ikrimah to the Banu\nQuraizah, charging him to say to them: 'We can no longer sojourn in\nthese parts, so unsuitable to our horses and camels. Be ready to fight\nMohammad to-morrow. We must get done with him!' They made answer:\n'To-morrow is a Saturday, the Sabbath day, which means obligatory\nrepose in our religion. But, at any rate, we cannot fight by your side\nunless ye grant us hostages chosen from the most noble among you, as a\nguarantee that ye will not abandon us before having crushed our common\nenemy.' When Ikrimah repeated these words, the Quraish and the\nGhatafans cried out: 'By all our gods, what Naim told us concerning\nthe Banu Quraizah was perfect truth!' The Confederates immediately\nsent another message, declaring plainly: 'By our gods, we'll not give\nyou a single hostage!'\n\nIt was now the turn of the Banu Quraizah to find out how correct was\nthe information vouchsafed by Naim and they came to a rupture with the\nConfederates. This piece of news, reported by Naim, made the Prophet\nrejoice exceedingly; but being desirous of knowing the effect produced\nby this rupture in the ranks of the Quraish and the Ghatafans, he said\nto Huzaifah: 'Make thy way, this very night, into the enemy's camp and\nfind out what they may be planning. Come back and tell me without\nletting anyone know.'\n\nThanks to the pitchy darkness of that wintry night, Huzaifah glided\namong the enemies' tents. A high, icy wind had put out all the fires\nand blown down all the cooking-pots. The whistling gusts deafened all\nears; and the shivering idolaters huddled together, wrapped up in the\nfolds of their mantles. 'Keep an eye on your companions!' was the\nwatchword shouted by Abu Sufyan, meaning: 'Beware of spies!' Huzaifah,\nwith great presence of mind, seized the hand of an Infidel standing\nclose to him and demanded in threatening accents: 'Who art\nthou?'--'Such an one; son of such an one.' Huzaifah let him go, and\nthe Infidel, forced to exonerate himself, never thought of putting\nquestions as well.\n\nThe relinquishment of the Banu Quraizah; the difficulties with regard\nto feeding camels and horses; and, above all, the disorder arising\nfrom that calamitous night, caused Abu Sufyan to be discouraged. After\na short discussion between him and the other Quraish chieftains, in\nthe hearing of invisible Huzaifah, the return of the besiegers to\ntheir dwellings was decided.\n\nHaving got to know all he wanted, Huzaifah went back to his camp. He\nfound the Prophet praying and he beckoned to his disciple to approach.\nWhen Huzaifah was close to him, to warm his messenger, he covered him\nwith part of the mantle spread out on the ground in lieu of a praying\ncarpet. When Mohammad had finished his devotions, he listened to the\nintrepid scout and congratulated him on the success of his mission.\n\nNext day, the plain was clear of the enemy; and the Prophet, leaving\nthe ditch, led his troops back to Al-Madinah. 'The Quraish came here\nto attack us for the last time,' he declared. 'Henceforward it will be\nfor us to go and beard them in their dens.'\n\n[Sidenote: THE TREATY OF AL-HUDAIBIYAH (_Year VI of the Hegira A.D.\n628_)]\n\nThe Prophet dreamt that he entered Makkah in the midst of his\ncompanions and then marched to Mina, in the Valley of Sacrifices. This\nvision embodied the greatest desire of his heart; and all the\nBelievers felt the same, as they suffered from not being able to visit\nthe Holy Places since the Hegira. So Mohammad determined to satisfy\ntheir craving.\n\nIn the month of Zu'l-Qa'dah, he went out of Al-Madinah, and took the\nroad to Makkah at the head of fourteen hundred pilgrims, driving\nseventy camels for sacrificial purposes. To show that his intentions\nwere peaceful, he caused garlands to be hung round the victims' necks.\nFurthermore, at Zu'l Halifah, he solemnly put himself in the state of\n\"Ihram,\" which consists in assuming the pilgrim's garb of double\ncloths without seams, and abstaining from all that is forbidden during\nthe visit to the holy places: approaching women; the use of perfumes;\ncutting the beard, hair or nails; fighting or quarrelling; and the\nslaying of animals others than those sacrificed. His disciples\nfollowed his example and he gave out the \"Talbiyah\": \"_I stand up for\nThy service, O Allah!_\" which they all repeated in chorus.\n\nAt Osfan, he met with Bishr ibn Al-K\u00e2ab on his return from Makkah\nwhither he had been sent to glean information, and who told him: 'O\nProphet! the Quraish know that thou art on the way. They have called\nupon the Saquifs and the Habash who are coming to face thee, bringing\nwith them their wives and children, to stop themselves from even\nthinking of flight. They also lead their she-camels and the young\ncamels, so as to be certain not to suffer from lack of meat or milk;\nand the warriors have covered their bodies with skins of panthers as a\ntoken that they will never give in, but fight to the last gasp. At\nthis moment, they are encamped at Zu Sua. Khalid ibn Walid, at the\nhead of their cavalry, is in ambush at Kurrat-ul-Ghamin.'\n\n'Who can guide us along some other road than that by which they expect\nus?' asked the Prophet. A guide of the Aslams proffered his services\nand led the army of the Believers through an unknown path, but it was\nfrightful to look upon. It meandered through an inextricable chaos of\nwild ravines, jagged rocky heights, abrupt ascents and descents,\nstrewn with pointed pebbles that cut the feet of men and animals.\n\nAfter having mastered exhaustion and fatigue, the Believers debouched\nin the sandy bed of a broad wadi which seemed to their bruised and\nbleeding feet like a carpet of the richest pile. They offered up\nthanksgivings to the Compassionate, and obeying the commands of their\ninspired leader, they cried out: \"_We implore the forgiveness of Allah\nand we repent in His Presence!_\"\n\nThen they went through the pass of Al Morar, and arrived at the foot\nof the hill of Al-Hudaibiyah, situated partly on holy ground and\npartly in ordinary territory, a day's journey from Makkah. At this\nspot, Qaswa, the Prophet's she-camel, suddenly knelt and refused to\nget up. 'Is she restive?' asked his companions.--'No, she is not\nrestive,' replied Mohammad; 'but she is stopped by Him who formerly\nstopped the elephant of the Negus Abrah, and prevented him entering\nMakkah.' And the Apostle gave orders to pitch the tents.\n\nThe enemy, surprised at not having met Mohammad, and knowing he was\nnot far off, soon found out that he had taken a new road. They turned\nback in the greatest haste, sending their horsemen on in front to bar\nthe way to their city. They despatched Budail and several Arabs of the\nKhuzzah tribe, to sound the Prophet as to his intentions.\n\nBudail, having heard from the Prophet's own lips that all he wanted\nwas to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Places and not to wage war\nagainst his fellow-countrymen, returned to inform the Quraish. But\nthey had no faith in the Khuzza men whose secret sympathy for Mohammad\nwas known, so they sent him another messenger, Al Halis ibn Alqamah.\n\n'Let the victims be paraded in front of him,' ordered the Prophet when\nhe saw him arrive. When Al Halis had seen the long rows of victims\ngoing by with garlands round their necks which were shorn at the parts\nwhere their throats would be cut, he thought it would be useless to\ncontinue and went back to the Quraish to give them an account of his\nobservations.\n\n'Sit down,' they told him. 'Thou art naught else but a simpleton of\nthe Bedouin tribes and thou dost not understand the cunning of\nMohammad who haileth from our part of the country.' Al-Halis got out\nof temper. 'O Assembly of the Quraish! Ye do not respect the terms of\nour compact. No one hath a right to drive away from the Temple of\nAllah the man who cometh to glorify the Most High! By Him who holdeth\nin His hands the soul of Al-Halis, ye will let Mohammad finish his\npious visit in peace; or else we Confederates will break off with\nyou--and at once!' They shrugged their shoulders. 'Pshaw! Let us be\nuntil we have achieved what we have planned.' And they charged Ora ibn\nMasud, a chieftain of the Saquifs, with the mission which, in their\njudgment, had been badly carried out by the previous messengers. 'O\nAssembly of the Quraish!' he objected; 'I have hearkened to the bitter\nwords with which ye welcomed the return of your men sent to the enemy.\nYe know me by my mother; I am on your side, for I belong to the folks\ndwelling in the Makkan valley. If ye suspect me in the least, lay your\nhearts bare ere I depart.'--'Thou art in the right. We know thee. We\nare not at all distrustful of thee.'\n\nOra came into the presence of the Prophet and bowed down to him. 'O\nMohammad,' he said, 'thou hast gathered together a horde of people of\nall countries and thou dost come back to thy egg (birthplace) to smash\nit with their assistance! Now the Quraish have sworn a most solemn\noath, to the effect that never, so long as their eyelashes quiver on\ntheir eyelids, shalt thou set foot again in Makkah, unless by force of\narms. And, by our gods! the scum surrounding thee must flee from thy\nside, before the sun setteth on another day!'\n\nAt these words, a flame of indignation lit up the eyes of the\ncompanions standing, the lower half of their faces veiled, behind the\nProphet. From out of the group, strode Abu Bakr. He went up to the\nInfidel and shouted to him: 'Begone and bite the belly of Lat, thine\nidol! Dost thou think for a moment that we could abandon Allah's\nMessenger?'--'Who is this man, O Mohammad?' queried Ora.--'The son of\nAbu Kuhafah.'--'By our gods!' Ora went on, turning to Abu Bakr, 'if I\nwere not bound to thee by a debt of gratitude, I would have rewarded\nthee according to thy deserts. But, by thine insult, we are quits for\nthe future.'\n\nThe messenger now went up to Mohammad, and while speaking to him,\nplucked familiarly at his beard, as was the custom in those days\nbetween people engaged in discussion. 'Take thy hand away from the\nProphet's face before I come to rid thee of thine arm!' cried another\nof the companions. 'Who is this boor?' asked Ora.--'Dost thou not know\nhim?' replied the Prophet with a smile. 'He is thy brother's son, Al\nMughairah Shuba.'--'O traitor!' exclaimed Ora to his nephew, 'hast\nthou so soon forgotten thy crimes that were pardoned thanks to my\nintervention?' He then continued his conversation with Mohammad who\ntreated him with the respect due to his rank. The Prophet reiterated\nhis statement that his intentions were purely pacific. During his\nsojourn in the camp of the Believers, Ora was able to see how\nboundless was their veneration for their chieftain. When the Prophet\nperformed his ablutions, his companions rushed to share the water he\nhad used. If he had his head shaved, not a hair fell to the ground\nwithout being picked up and treasured. So Ora, on his return, said to\nthose who had sent him forth: 'I have seen Chosroes in the midst of\nhis sumptuous Persian court; C\u00e6sar, in the proud Senate of Roman\npatricians; the Negus, at the head of his formidable bodyguard of\nAbyssinian warriors. Well then, I swear that I have never met with a\nmonarch who, surrounded by the noblemen of his court, held the same\nposition as Mohammad among his companions. And what is more\nremarkable, contrary to what taketh place round about the mighty,\nMohammad's followers expect nothing from him; neither favours, riches,\nnor honours! That is what I have ascertained. Now act as it pleaseth\nyou.'\n\nAlthough the Quraish were deeply affected by his declaration, they\npersisted in their delusion and sent forty or fifty of their partisans\nto prowl round the Believers' army, with the idea of surprising and\ncapturing a few soldiers of Islam. The Believers were on their guard\nand it was they who took a certain number of the Infidels prisoners.\nThey were led before the Prophet, but resolved not to belie his own\nwords of peace, he pardoned and freed them, although by having been\ncaught attacking perfidiously, they deserved death.\n\nJust then, Mohammad wanted to send Umar with a message to the noblemen\nof Makkah, but he made the following reply: 'O Prophet! the Quraish\nknow my feelings towards them as manifested by many inimical acts of\nmine. I have everything to fear from them, because there is no longer\nany member of my family in Makkah. But I can show you a man whose\ninfluence will be much more efficacious than mine. I mean Usman ibn\nAffan.'\n\nMohammad, recognising this to be sound advice, despatched Usman to Abu\nSufyan and the noblemen of the city, to assure them that he was\nactuated by pacific sentiments, and to inform them of his wish to do\nhonour to the \"House of Allah\" by a pilgrimage. When the Prophet's\nenvoy had finished explaining the object of his mission to the men of\nMakkah, they replied: 'O Usman! if thou dost desire to perform the\nritual circuits of the \"Tawaf,\" we authorise thee to do so.'--'I will\nnot accomplish them unless following in the footsteps of Allah's\nMessenger.' This answer exasperated the citizens of Makkah who threw\nUsman into a prison, despite his quality of ambassador. Finding that\nUsman did not return, the Believers concluded that he had been\nmurdered and they were overwhelmed with the most profound indignation.\nMohammad hesitated no longer and proclaimed: 'We will not go away\nuntil we have punished the \"qawm\" of the Infidels for the abominable\ncrime they have just committed!' Umar, acting under the Prophet's\norders, cried out with all the strength of his lungs: 'O Believers!\ncome and take the Oath--the Oath! Come while ye invoke the name of\nAllah!'\n\nThe Prophet, seated in the shade of a gum-tree, awaited the coming of\nthe Faithful who went in haste to him. They quivered with enthusiasm,\nand resolved to follow him blindly even if they had to make war in\nholy territory. They struck their palms against his to swear fidelity\ntill death. Just then, the news of Usman's murder being denied on the\nbest authority, the Prophet clapped his hands together, so as to take\nthe oath in place of Usman and acknowledge it.\n\nMeanwhile, the intense agitation manifested on this occasion, in the\nranks of the Believers, was notified by spies to the Quraish. They\ngrew uneasy and sent Sohail ibn Amr with a flag of truce, giving him\nthe following instructions: 'Offer peace to Mohammad, but claim as\ncondition that he turneth back this year, for never could we put up\nwith the sarcasms of the Arabs who will maintain that he came into our\ncity in spite of all we said or did. Next year, at the same epoch, he\nmay accomplish his pilgrimage to the Holy Places, and it pleaseth\nhim.'\n\nSohail went back with these proposals and the Prophet accepted,\ndespite Umar's vehement protestations. 'I am the servant of Allah,'\nMohammad told him. 'He leadeth me not astray, and I cannot disobey the\norders He sendeth me. How now, O Umar? I decide; and thou must\nperforce oppose my decision?' Umar, hearing these words, was overtaken\nby such confusion that he trembled in every limb, and icy sweat poured\noff him....\n\nQuoth Umar: \"From that day forth, I have never ceased praying,\nfasting, giving alms, and freeing slaves, so as to be granted pardon\nfor my error.\"\n\n'O Ali!' said the Prophet, at this juncture, 'write: in the name of\nAllah, the Merciful, the Compassionate!'--'I cannot accept that\nwording,' protested Sohail. 'Write simply: in Thy name, O Allah!'--'So\nbe it! Write: in Thy name, O Allah! It hath been agreed between the\nundersigned, Mohammad, Prophet of Allah, and--'--'If I acknowledged\nthat thou art the Prophet of Allah,' interrupted Sohail. 'I should not\nbe at war with thee!'--'Well then, write: between Mohammad ibn\nAbdullah and Sohail ibn Amr: Hostilities shall be suspended for a\nperiod of ten years. Anyone escaping from Makkah and taking refuge\nwith Mohammad shall be given up to the Quraish. Mohammad and his\nfollowers will turn back, and not attempt to enter into Makkah this\nyear, against the will of the Quraish. Next year, the Quraish will\ncease all opposition to the visit of the Mussulmans to the Holy\nPlaces where they may sojourn for three days, but only carrying\nthe arms permitted to pilgrims: sheathed sabres.' Hearing these\nclauses, seemingly so disadvantageous for them, the Mussulmans\nwere roused and shouted: 'O Prophet! is it thou who signeth such a\ncompact?'--'Assuredly!' replied Mohammad with a smile. 'Those among us\nwho take refuge with the idolaters being insincere, we need not regret\nthem; and Allah will have rid us of them. As for those of the Makkan\nMussulmans who take refuge with us, if we give them up, Allah will not\nabandon them, for He will know how to succour them.'\n\nThe treaty had scarcely been signed by the leading Believers and\nprincipals among the idolaters, when Abu Jindal, son of Sohail, who\nhad become converted and kept a prisoner, suddenly made his\nappearance, still dragging round his ankles the links of his broken\nchains. He rushed into the midst of his Moslem brethren who welcomed\nhim with transports of joy.\n\nSohail flew into a passion at this sight. He lashed his son's face\nwith a thorny twig; and, seizing him by his garments, drove him into\nthe Prophet's presence, saying: 'O Mohammad! here is the first\nfugitive: I call upon thee to give him up to me; the treaty having\nbeen concluded before he arrived.'--'Thou hast right on thy side.'--'O\nmy Mussulman brethren!' cried Abu Jindal, 'am I thus given back to the\nidolaters who persecute me on account of my religion? See to what\nstate they have reduced me!' The whole of the stoical Believer's body\nwas indeed covered with traces of the ill-usage from which he had\nsuffered. 'Be resigned, O Abu Jindal,' said the Prophet; 'and put thy\ntrust in Allah. He will not abandon thee; nor you; nor the\n\"Mustazifin\" (those who are oppressed like thee); and He will deliver\nthee when the time cometh.... But we have concluded a treaty on these\nterms, with the \"qawm\" of the Quraish, and on no account can we break\nour word.'\n\nNevertheless, the Prophet made overtures to Sohail, asking him to give\nup Abu Jindal in exchange for a ransom; but Sohail refused\nunmercifully. Umar, in his turn, approached the ill-fated Mussulman,\nsaying: 'Patience, O Abu Jindal! Thou art in the power of infidels\nwhose blood hath no more value than that of dogs,' and he showed him\nhis sword, hoping thereby to incite him to murder his father. Despite\neverything, the son loved his father tenderly and thus did he reply:\n'Why dost thou not slay him thyself?'--'The Prophet hath forbidden us\nto do so.'--'Well then, must not I also observe the conditions imposed\nby Mohammad?'\n\nWhen Muqirris ibn Hafz, one of the Makkans who had accompanied Sohail,\nwitnessed this distressing scene, he was overcome with pity, and swore\nto protect Abu Jindal against his father and all his persecutors.\n\nBut whilst their companion was dragged away in the direction of\nMakkah, the Believers were heartbroken.... Their sanguine enthusiasm,\narising from the fact of their expedition, gave place to gloomy\ndiscouragement; and when the Prophet, to show them that all was\nfinished, sent forth his order: 'Sacrifice the victims and shave your\nheads!' it seemed as if they had suddenly lost their hearing.\n\nLoudly invoking the name of Allah, Mohammad slew the first victim with\nhis own hand. He then sat down and was shaved by Khurash ibn Umaiyah.\nRecovering from their state of prostration by this example, the\nBelievers repented, and ashamed at having shown such little eagerness\nin obeying their leader, they imitated him at once by sacrificing the\nvictims and cutting off their own hair. Allah (Glory be to Him!) sent\na high wind that whirled away the shorn locks and carried them within\nthe precincts of the Holy Temple....\n\nThe sojourn of Mohammad at Al-Hudaibiyah extended over nineteen or\ntwenty days. He gave the signal to return; and his soldiers who, until\nthe last moment, secretly hoped to march on the enemy, obeyed him\nwithout murmuring, despite their deep disappointment. On arriving at\nAl-Madinah, fresh scenes of the kind they had just witnessed, produced\na heartbreaking effect. Nothwithstanding, they were much gratified to\nfind that the Prophet refused to give up to the idolaters several\nMoslem women who had fled from Makkah, such as: Ummi-i-Kulsum bint\nOgbah, Sabiyah bint Al-Haris, etc., a Revelation having taught him\nthat women were not to be included in the treaty: \"_O Believers! when\nbelieving women, fleeing from idolatry, come over to you as refugees,\nthen make trial of them ... and if ye have ascertained them to be\nBelievers, let them not go back to the unbelievers; they are not\nlawful for them, nor are the unbelievers lawful for these women. But\ngive the husbands back what they have spent for their dowers._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, LX, 10.) By way of compensation, the clauses of the treaty\nconcerning men were scrupulously respected.\n\nLike Abu Jindal, there was a Believer named Abu Basir who had escaped\nfrom his persecutors and he was given back to a tribesman of the Banu\nAmar, accompanied by a slave; these two having been sent to Al-Madinah\nto claim the refugee. They took him away in full view of the Believers\nwho would have preferred to sink into the earth sooner than be forced\nto remain powerless and witness such a sight. Alone, among them all,\nthe Prophet who saw what they could not see, remained unmoved and\npromised freedom by the aid of the Almighty to his ill-fated\ndisciples.\n\nAt Zu'l Holifah, the three men sat down in the shade of a wall to rest\nawhile. The tribesman of the Banu Amar, priding himself on the success\nof his mission, thought he would act the part of an invincible hero\nand, unsheathing his sabre, he flourished it, bawling: 'With this good\nsword, I could cut down Ansars from daybreak to nightfall and never\nfeel tired!'--'Is thy blade really so sharp as all that?' asked Abu\nBasir. 'Let me see if it is, O my brother!'\n\nBlinded by pride, the man of the Banu Amar cast all distrust from his\nmind. He allowed the edge of the steel to be examined by Abu Basir\nwho, suddenly pulling it out of the conceited wretch's hands,\nbrandished it over the Infidel's head and with a single blow,\nstretched him dead at his feet. Seeing this, the slave, overcome by\nterror, fled to Al-Madinah where he implored Mohammad's protection. At\nthe same moment, Abu Basir arrived, bestriding his victim's she-camel\nwhich he had captured. He made the animal kneel before the Mosque and,\nwith the sabre in his grasp, he went and addressed the Prophet,\nsaying: 'Thou canst not be blamed for what hath occurred, for thou\ndidst remain true to thy word in giving me into the hands of my\nenemies. But Allah hath delivered me from their persecution! Here are\nthe spoils. A fifth part is due to thee, Take it!'--'I can touch no\nplunder coming from that foe without being false to my oath. Away with\nthy booty; and now, go whither it pleaseth thee.' When Abu Basir was\ngone, after taking leave of him, the Prophet added: 'Woe to his\npeople! That man is a brand of war! Would that he were accompanied by\na few comrades as determined as he!'\n\nAbu Basir went to Al-Aish, near the seashore, on the road to Syria\ntrodden by the Quraish caravans. Once there, he was met by Abu Jindal\nand seventy other Mussulmans who, having heard that the Prophet could\nnot be held responsible for those who freed themselves without his\nassistance, had made good their escape from the idolaters. These\nrefugees were quite as determined as Abu Basir. They elected to remain\nin that part of the country because it was very woody and well suited\nto the irregular warfare of partisans in ambush. They captured all the\nconvoys venturing in those regions and their success and the\nenticement of booty caused them to be joined by many Arabs of the\nGhifar, Aslams, and Buhaunah tribes, etc., who became converts to\nIslam and formed a \"jihsh\" of more then three hundred highwaymen.\n\nIt was then that the Believers began to fathom the reasons for the\nProphet's placidness when he accepted the paragraph, seemingly so\nunfavourable, concerning the restitution of fugitives. Hungered by the\nstoppage of all revictualling caravans, the Quraish finished by\nsending written entreaties, begging him to suppress the very clause\nwhich at first pleased them so much. They informed Mohammad that all\nMussulmans who should get out of Makkah to join him, could remain\nunder his protection; and he was begged to recall Abu Basir and his\nfellow-raiders. So it turned out that when Mohammad gave the Quraish\nsatisfaction, he had the advantage of doing a generous act at the same\ntime as he increased his fighting strength to a most appreciable\nextent.\n\nThe results, therefore, of the expedition of Al-Hudaibiyah, to all\nappearances so poor, were of great importance. In the Qur'an, it is\nset down as being almost equal to the battle of Badr. In fact, at the\nmoment when the Mussulmans thought they ought to attack the Holy City,\nall of them, whether Makkan Mohadjirun, or Ansars of Al-Madinah, took\nthe oath of fealty without hesitation. After the Prophet's death, the\ntree under which he accepted the pledge was so celebrated that\nnumerous were the Faithful who came to pray in its shade; and Umar was\nobliged to have it felled, because he feared lest it became the object\nof a cult tainted with fetichism.\n\nTo crown all and complete these results, the following verses came\ndown: \"_Well pleased now hath Allah been with the Believers when they\nplighted fealty to thee under the tree; and He knew what was in their\nhearts: therefore did He send down upon them a spirit of secure\nrepose, and rewarded them with a speedy victory. * And with the rich\nbooty which they took._\" (THE QUR'AN, XLVIII, 18, 19.)\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Nay rather Allah is your liege lord, and\nHe is the best of helpers._]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE SEVENTH]\n\n[Illustration: _An Arab Horseman of the Desert._]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Verily, We have won for thee an\nundoubted victory._]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE SEVENTH\n\n\nMohammad was never able to get the Jews to ally themselves with him,\ndespite all his advances, and the encouragement he had lavished on\nthem. As we have seen already, they could not admit of the expected\nProphet belonging to any other race but theirs; nor pardon him for\nhaving, by means of religious fraternity, put an end to the secular\nquarrels of the citizens of Al-Madinah, which, in olden days, had been\na source of abundant profit. To sum up, the victories of the Islamic\nArabs led the Jews to fear that they would never be able to free\nthemselves from the Arabic yoke. Therefore each fresh success of the\nMussulman armies increased the jealousy of the Jews and their perfidy\nsoon degenerated into open hostility, necessitating a long series of\nexpeditions against them.\n\nFor the sake of clarity, we gather into one chapter the whole of these\nexpeditions, although they took place at long intervals.\n\n[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST THE QAYNUQA JEWS (_Year II of the Hegira\nA.D. 624_) ]\n\nAn Arab woman, seated close to the shop belonging to a jeweller of the\nQaynuqa Jews, was the victim of a most insulting practical joke.\nWithout her knowing it, someone had hooked the lowest edge of her robe\nto the part of the apparel covering her shoulders, so that when she\nrose to her feet, her nakedness was displayed to the gaze of the Jews\nin the shop, who were all overtaken by a fit of the most indecent\nhilarity.\n\nAn Arab, very indignant, struck down the insulter with a blow from a\nclub. He was felled in his turn, by the jeweller's relatives. Other\nArabs rushed to avenge him, and a pitched battle took place in the\nopen, blood flowing on both sides.\n\nJews being the agressors, the Prophet, knowing their deep-rooted\ninimical feelings, profited by the opportunity to demand in due form\nthat they should become converts to Islam. At first he tried\npersuasion: 'By so doing, you will be making a loan to Allah which\nwill bring you in marvellous interest,' he told them.--'Allah must be\nvery poor,' they replied, 'since He is reduced to borrow of us who are\nrich?'\n\nAt this blasphemy, the Prophet threatened them with exemplary\npunishment, unless they embraced Islam immediately. They shrugged\ntheir shoulders. 'Thou art proud indeed by reason of thy victory over\nsoldiers of no account,' said the Jews. 'Try now to attack us and thou\nwilt see that we are in nowise like thy fellow-countrymen of Makkah.'\n\nMohammad called upon the Mussulmans to come to his aid, and the Banu\nQaynuqa, losing their arrogance as soon as Allah's warriors showed\nthemselves, ran away and took refuge in neighbouring strongholds\nbelonging to their co-religionists. After holding out for a fortnight,\nthey had to surrender and beg for mercy. The Prophet ordered their\nthroats to be cut as an example to the other Jews that would deliver\nthem from the temptation of copying their slaughtered brethren.\nAbdullah, the \"Hypocrite,\" with whom they were allied, interceded with\nMohammad in their favour. Twice he answered: 'Let me be.'\n\nAbdullah placed his hand on the heart of Allah's Apostle and\nsupplicated him, saying: 'I cannot stand by and see them massacred! It\nwould be black ingratitude on my part!'--'They are at thy disposal,'\nthe Prophet told him at last. 'But their belongings are ours.'\n\nThe Qaynuqa, saved by the intervention of the \"Hypocrite,\" had to go\ninto exile in Syria, and their property was divided among the victors.\n\n[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST THE JEWS OF THE BANU NADIR (_Year III of\nthe Hegira, A.D. 625_)]\n\nThe Jews of the Banu Nadir having claimed money compensation for the\ndeath of two of their brethren killed by the soldiers of Amr, the\nProphet went among the tribesmen to enquire into the matter.\n\nHe had just given them satisfaction; and, whilst conversing with a few\ncompanions, the Prophet was seated in the shade of a house, when a\nJew, son of Jahsh ibn Ka'b, climbed stealthily on to the flat roof\nwith the intention of crushing Mohammad with great stones already\nbrought there. By celestial inspiration, Mohammad looked up just as\nthe son of Jahsh was about to commit the crime. The Apostle of Allah\nmoved quickly away from the wall, dragging his companions with him.\n\nAs soon as he returned to Al-Madinah, he called his warriors together,\nand set out with them to punish the authors of this treacherous act.\nThe Banu Nadir, having failed in their attempt, shut themselves up in\ntheir strongholds, but after holding out for six days, they had to\nfollow the example of the Qaynuqa and surrender unconditionally,\nthrowing themselves on the mercy of their conqueror.\n\nTheir lives were spared, but of all their immense wealth, each man was\nonly allowed the load of one camel.\n\n[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST THE JEWS OF THE BANU QURAIZAH (_Year V\nof the Hegira, A.D. 627_)]\n\nThe Confederates, being dispersed following their defeat at the Battle\nof the Ditch, the Mussulmans had laid down their arms. One day, when\ntaking their siesta, recuperating after passing sleepless nights and\nundergoing great fatigue during the siege, they were suddenly awakened\nby the voice of the Mua'zzin. Acting under the Prophet's orders, he\nshouted: 'Let all who hear and obey refrain this day from saying the\nprayer of \"Asr\" (afternoon), unless in the midst of the Banu\nQuraizah.'\n\nMohammad judged that the treachery of these tribesmen, renouncing\ntheir alliance and joining his enemies, deserved immediate punishment.\nThe same day, he camped with his soldiers at the well of Enna, in\nfront of his enemies' citadels; and after a blocus of twenty-five\ndays, forced them to capitulate.\n\nThe Aus, to whom the Banu Quraizah had long been allied, begged the\nProphet to spare their lives, as in the case of the Qaynuqa. The\nProphet, however, considered that the treachery of the Banu Quraizah\nwas a much more serious matter and he was not at all inclined to let\nhimself be mollified. At last, desirous of meeting them halfway, he\nsaid: 'O Assembly of the Aus! will ye not consent to let one among you\nbecome arbitrator and decide what shall be done with your\nallies?'--'Yea! we consent.'--'Then let one of your chieftains, Sa'b\nibn Mu'adh, seal their fate.'\n\nNow, Sa'b ibn Mu'adh had been badly wounded during the Battle of the\nDitch by an arrow which had severed an artery in the arm and he prayed\nAllah to let him live long enough to punish the Banu Quraizah for\ntheir felony. Sa'b, corpulent and too weak to walk, had himself placed\non the back of an ass; where propped up by cushions and supported by\ntwo Believers, he was led to the assembly of the Mohadjirun and the\nAnsars, who stood up to do him honour, saying: 'The Prophet hath\ncommissioned thee to decide the fate of they allies.'--'Will ye swear\nby Allah that my decision be carried into effect!'--'We swear\nit!'--'Well then, I decide that the men shall be slain, their property\ndivided, and their wives and children sent into bondage.'--'Thy\ndecision hath been inspired by the will of Allah!' concluded Mohammad.\n\nSeven hundred Jews paid for their unjustifiable treachery with their\nlives. The wish for which Sa'b had lived was fulfilled. His old wound\nburst open, causing the last drops of his blood to flow away, and he\nearned the crown of martyrdom.\n\n[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST THE JEWS OF KHAIBAR (_Year VI of the\nHegira, A.D. 628_)]\n\nNotwithstanding these grave defeats, the power of the Jews in Arabia\nwas not definitively crushed.\n\nThe land of Khaibar, about ninety-six miles north of Al-Madinah, still\nbelonged to them and it was richer and more important than the\nterritory they had lost. Many Jews, driven from the neighbourhood of\nAl-Madinah, had taken refuge there; and by their thirst for revenge,\nthey rekindled the hatred which the inhabitants already felt towards\nIslam.\n\nThe Jews of Khaibar, fancying themselves safe from any attack of the\nMussulmans, never let an opportunity escape to do them harm; and\ncopying the manner in which Mohammad had proceeded against the\nMakkans, the Jews found out a good way to satisfy their rancour. The\nregion between Khaibar and the sea was inhabited by the tribe of the\nGhatafans, their allies, and they had come to an agreement to block\nthe road and stop all Mussulman caravans leaving Al-Madinah to travel\nto Syria. The damage inflicted from these tactics had often made the\nProphet think about sending an expedition against the Jews of Khaibar,\nbut he was too busy round about Makkah, to carry out this plan.\n\nOn returning from Al-Hudaibiyah, the ten years' truce, signed with the\nQuraish, freed him from all anxiety as regarded them, and the\nRevelation he received at that moment: \"_He rewarded them with a\nspeedy victory. * And with a rich booty,_\" (THE QUR'AN, XLVIII,\n18-19), seeming to him to apply to Khaibar, and nothing else, he\nhesitated no longer, and decided to march against this fortress, the\nlast stronghold of the Jews in Arabia.\n\nThe Ghatafans, secretly forewarned by Abdullah, the \"Hypocrite,\"\nrushed to the aid of the Jews, their allies, but on arriving at the\nWadi'r Raji, they found that the Mussulman forces had outstripped them\nand thus they were cut off from the road to Khaibar. Whilst brought to\na dead stop, disagreeably surprised, they heard noises behind them,\nnear their tents, and imagining that part of the Mussulman \"qawm\" had\nbeen diverted to take them in the rear, they turned back in great\nhaste.\n\nThe palm-gardens of Khaibar, spreading between the sombre heights of\nthe Harra like an emerald lake whence emerged rocky, citadel-crowned\nislets, came suddenly into view, after passing through a ravine. To be\nable to take possession of them, the Prophet invoked the aid of the\nAlmighty. But night coming on, Mohammad postponed the attack till the\nfollowing day. When the first rays of the sun gilded the tops of the\ndate-trees, the Khaibar husbandmen left their strongholds to go in\ntheir gardens; their spades, pickaxes and baskets hanging from their\nshoulders. Suddenly, they found themselves confronted by the\nBelievers' army debouching from the Harra; spearheads and swords\nreflecting the light of the rising sun in ensanguined radiance.\n\n'Mohammad and his Jihsh!' they cried, and throwing away implements and\nbaskets, fled as fast as their legs would carry them. 'Allah is\ngreat!' proclaimed the Prophet. 'Khaibar shall be destroyed. When we\nswoop down on the territory of a nation, its awakening is terrible! Lo\nand behold the sinister omen! On our behalf, its inhabitants abandon\ntheir tools that will serve to undermine their ramparts and dig their\ngraves.'\n\nThe first of the many Khaibar citadels to fall into the Mussulmans'\nhands was that of Na'im. It was there they had to mourn the loss of\nMahmud ibn Maslama, who, tired of having fought all day in the sun,\nwearing heavy armour, had imprudently gone close to the rampart to\nrest in the shade. A mill-stone, hurled from an embrasure, smashed the\nvaliant soldier's helmet, split his skull, and caused the skin of his\nforehead to fall down over his eyes. In that parlous state, the\nwounded man was brought into the presence of the Prophet who put the\nstrip of flesh back in its place, fastening a turban round it; but the\nbest of attention was unavailing in face of such a serious injury, and\nit was not long before Mahmud gave up the ghost.\n\nThe citadels of Natha, the next to be invested, resisted more\nobstinately. In order to force the besieged to capitulate, the Prophet\ngave orders to cut down under their eyes four hundred palm-trees of\ntheir oasis, but all in vain. He therefore put an end to such\ndevastation, contrary to his principles, for as he has said: 'Among\nall trees, there is one which is blessed like a Mussulman: 'tis the\npalm.'\n\nThe siege continuing, famine began to make itself felt, discouraging\nthe besiegers, when Umar, having taken a Jew prisoner, the captive, to\nsave his life, offered to give the Prophet valuable information. In\nthe cellars of Sa'b ibn Mu'adh, one of the Natha citadels, called\nafter the man, instruments of warfare of all kinds were stored:\nbattering-rams; catapults for siege purposes; and armour, shields,\npikes, lances and swords for the equipment of combatants. Just then,\nthis fort happened to be weakly garrisoned, and the Jewish captive\nundertook to take the Mussulmans inside by means of a secret itinerary\nknown to him alone.\n\nMohammad having accepted the offer, seized upon Sa'b easily, and\nthanks to the machines he found therein, which he used to destroy the\nramparts, he captured the remaining fortresses of Natha, one after the\nother. They all contained provisions in abundance. While taking one of\nthese forts, the poet Amr ibn u'l-Uhayha, pursuing one of the enemy,\ndealt him a furious sabre-cut, aiming at his legs to stop him in his\nflight. But the blade, too short, striking the empty air, rebounded\nfrom the force of the blow and pierced Amar's knee, setting up such\nstrong hemorrhage that he expired soon afterwards, being sacrificed by\nhis own hand, whilst fighting for Allah.\n\nThe most important of all the Khaibar citadels was still standing:\nthat of Al-Qamus, in which Kinana, Prince of the Banu-Nadir, had taken\nrefuge. It was defended by Marhab al-Yahudi, an illustrious warrior.\nBuilt on the top of a vertical black rock, with smooth sides, and\nsurrounded by cleverly-designed fortifications, this fort was said to\nbe impregnable. After ten days of desperate efforts against the\nramparts, the Believers, however, succeeded in effecting a breach,\ninto which leapt the Prophet, setting the example to his companions;\nbut after having been in the greatest danger, he was compelled to\nretrace his steps.\n\nThe shooting pains of neuralgia forcing him to take forty-eight hours'\nrest, he entrusted the standard to Abu Bakr, who led an attack through\nthe breach, with the most ardent courage, but he also had to beat a\nretreat at last. Umar took his place, accomplishing prodigies of\nvalour, likewise without success.\n\nHearing of their failure, Mohammad declared: 'By Allah! to-morrow I'll\nconfide the flag to an intrepid fellow, to whom flight is unknown. He\nloveth Allah and His Messenger, and by them he is beloved. 'Tis he who\nwill capture Al-Qamus by sheer strength.'\n\nNext day, all the companions clustering close to the Prophet were\nanxious to learn who was the man among them to be so greatly honoured.\nBut without glancing at the group, he sent for Ali who had to remain\nin the rear because he was suffering from painful ophthalmia. Led by a\nfriend, he came into the Prophet's presence. Ali's eyes were covered\nby a bandage.\n\n'Come hither, close to me,' said Mohammad. 'Take this flag and keep a\nhold on it until the Almighty shall open a way for thee through these\nramparts.'--'I suffer cruelly from my eyes, O Prophet!' replied Ali.\n'I cannot even see to walk.'\n\nMohammad made Ali rest his head in his lap; separated the young man's\nswollen eyelids, and rubbed the bloodshot eyes with a little saliva.\nAll inflammation vanished immediately and every vestige of pain\ndisappeared.... The Prophet then buckled his own breastplate on Ali\nand armed him with his own sword, celebrated under the title of\n\"Dhu'l-Fiqar\".\n\nAli went towards the fortress, planting in the ground, close to the\nramparts, the white flag on which stood out in bold relief,\nembroidered in black letters, the Islamic profession of faith. He then\ngot ready to storm the breach.... Al-Harith, at the head of a few\nJews, tried to bar the way and drive back the Mussulman hero, but the\nleader of the children of Israel succumbed, struck down by Ali; and\nthe soldiers who had followed all ran away.\n\nThe brother of Al-Harith, Marhab, famous and feared, came now to the\nfront, eager for revenge. He produced an effect of terror by his\ngigantic stature, double armour, a pair of swords, a three-headed\nspear, a double turban; and his helmet on which sparkled a jewel as\nbig as an egg. His eyes, too, glistened like two carbuncles. Puffed up\nby pride, he strode to the breach. 'The whole of the land of Khaibar,\nfrom end to end, knoweth my valour! When war rageth, sometimes I\npierce with my lance; and sometimes I slice with my sword! Doth there\nexist in all the world a champion who dare stand up against me?'\n\nWithout being moved by this bragging bombast, Ali showed himself to\ntake up the challenge: 'I'll be that man! Verily I, called by my\nmother Haydra, the lion cub, in memory of my father, known as the\nLion. With my sabre I'll give thee good measure!'\n\nHearing this reply, Marhab became purple with rage. Brandishing his\nscimitar, he rushed at Ali. The formidable blade hissed through the\nair and it seemed as if the champion of Islam had just been\nannihilated. But the sword of the terrible Jew was stopped by Ali's\nshield in which it penetrated deeply and stuck therein. Without giving\nhis adversary time to drag it away, Ali loosened his hold of the\nbuckler, now useless and in his way, and replied to the attack by a\nwonderful cut that split the helmet, turban and skull of his enemy,\nscattering the brains in every direction. The steel was only stopped\nby the Jew's teeth, forming barrier. The giant fell in a huddled heap,\nlike a tower ruined by an earthquake, in a cloud of dust, with a noise\nas of thunder....\n\nSeized with affright, the Jewish soldiers fled, pursued by Ali's men.\nHe tore from its hinges the heavy door of the ramparts and it served\nhim as a shield in place of the one broken in the fight. Resistance\nwas cut short and Al-Qamus, the impregnable, was captured by the\nwarriors of Islam.\n\nWhen the fall of the famous fort became known, the Jews of Fadak and\nof Wadi'l-Qura, two places a few days' march towards the north, sent\nin their submission. In concordance with their co-religionists of\nKhaibar, they supplicated the Prophet to let them live as farmers on\ntheir estates which they alone knew how to cultivate properly; and to\nallow them to take half of the crops as remuneration for their labour.\nMohammad consented, on condition that the Believers would have the\nright to alter this decision, should they deem it necessary.\n\nKhaibar was the most fertile land of all the Hijaz; the spoils were\ntherefore considerable. One half was set apart to defray the expenses\nof the pilgrimage to take place during the current year; the rest was\ndistributed among the warriors. The land, with the exception of the\nportion due to the Prophet and to orphans, was divided in such a way\nthat each man received one share, and each charger two shares; making\nthree shares for each horseman. This was done with the aim of\nencouraging the breed of horses. A supplementary gift fell to the lot\nof any soldier being the owner of a pure-blooded courser.\n\n[Sidenote: IMPORTANCE OF HORSE-BREEDING ACCORDING TO THE PROPHET]\n\nThese measures show the importance attributed by the Prophet to the\nequine race in the life of the Arabs.\n\nUp till then, horses were very rare in Arabia, being looked upon as\narticles of luxury, as it were. Led by the bridle by the side of the\ncamels ridden by the warriors, the steeds were only called upon when\ncharging or pursuing the enemy. The Prophet completed these\narrangements by founding race-meetings destined to develop emulation\namong breeders and horsemen. In the Qur'an, so as to inspire Believers\nwith the fear, of the Day of Retribution, horses galloping breathless\nare called to witness: \"_By the panting chargers! * And those that\ndash off sparks of fire * And those that scour to the attack at morn!\n* And stir therein the dust aloft! * And cleave therein their midway\nthrough a host! * Truly, Man is to his Lord ungrateful! * And of this\nhe verily is himself a witness * And truly he is vehement in the Love\nof this world's good. * Knoweth he not, then, that when that which is\nin the graves shall be torn forth * And that which is in men's breasts\nshall be brought out * Verity their Lord shall on that day be well\ninformed concerning them?_\" (THE QUR'AN, C, 1-11.)\n\nUnfortunately, tame translation is powerless to give an idea of the\ndizzy, whirling rhythm and the panting, galloping, neighing--if one\nmay venture so to write--assonance of the first verses of this surah.\nOne of the most celebrated horsemen of that epoch, Abdullah ibn Abi\nSarh, afterwards governor of Egypt and who inflicted cruel defeats on\nthe Romans, by land and sea, was such an enthusiastic admirer of this\nsurah that it was always on his lips, and he recited it even on his\ndeathbed.\n\nThanks to the vigorous impulsion given by the Prophet to\nhorse-breeding, the race of pure-blooded barbs unrivalled in the\nworld, was soon formed, to be kept up ever afterwards.\n\n[Sidenote: THE POISONED LAMB]\n\nAfter sunset, when the Prophet had said the prayer of \"Magrib,\" he\nwent back to the camp. Near his tent, he saw seated the Jewess Zainab,\ndaughter of Al-Harith, and wife of Sallam ibn Mishkam. She awaited\nMohammad's coming to give him the present she had brought: a lamb\nspitted on a spear, and which had been roasted at a fire fed with\naromatic wood from the desert. He thanked the woman, and when she had\ntaken her leave, he invited his companions to sit down and partake of\nthe roast. Its crisp, golden outer skin looked very tempting.\n\nThe Prophet was the first to fall to, twisting off a shoulder, into\nwhich he bit and began to chew a morsel. Following his example, Bishr\nibn U'l-Bara took a mouthful of meat; masticating and swallowing it.\nThe other guests had already reached out their hands in like fashion,\nwhen the Prophet spat out the piece he was chewing and stopped them\nabruptly, shouting: 'Hold your hands! This shoulder hath just told me\nthat it is poisoned!'--'By Him who is Generosity incarnate!' exclaimed\nBishr, 'I thought that my mouthful had a peculiar flavour and guessed\nwhat it meant; but seeing thee chew thine, I could not spit it out,\nsaving your reverence. If this poison should destroy thy life, what\nliking can remain to me for mine?'\n\nScarcely had Bishr uttered these words than his face, overspread by a\nblackish hue, became distorted, and he writhed on the ground, a prey\nto unbearable suffering.\n\nThe Prophet sent at once for the Jewess and said to her: 'Thou hast\npoisoned this lamb?'--'Who told thee so?'--'This!' and he showed her\nthe fragment of shoulder he held.--'It is true,' she confessed.--'Why\ndidst thou do this thing?'--'My father, my uncle, my husband and many\nof my people have suffered the sad fate thou knowest of, by thy fault.\nAnd I did think: if Mohammad is naught but a mighty monarch, I end his\ndays and glut their vengeance and mine. If, on the contrary, he is\ntruly a Prophet, he is in no danger, because his Allah will warn him\nof my purpose.'\n\nThis clever answer calmed the Prophet and he was perchance on the\npoint of pardoning the guilty woman for her abominable crime, when\nBishr expired at that moment. Mohammad delivered the Jewess into the\nhands of the dead man's relatives who came clamouring to be avenged.\nZainab was crucified and the remains of the fatal lamb were burnt.\n\nAlthough the Prophet spat out the perfidious piece of meat almost as\nsoon as it passed his lips, the poison filtered through his body as\nfar as his entrails, and he never fully recovered from its pernicious\neffects. Three years later, when fatally ill, Bishr's sister coming\ninto his house to ask after his health, he told her: 'The vein of my\nheart was torn by the food I ate with thy brother, at Khaibar.'\n\n[Sidenote: AMRATU'L-QADA OR THE PIOUS VISITATION (_Year VII of the\nHegira, A.D. 629_)]\n\nAt the same time as the expeditionary forces, laden with spoils, came\nback from Khaibar, the last emigrants arrived from Abyssinia. Among\nthem was Jafar, son of Abu Talib and brother to Ali. Their return made\nMohammad very joyful. With sincere effusion, he kissed Jafar between\nthe eyes and declared: 'I know not which causeth me the greatest joy:\nthe taking of Khaibar, or the return of Jafar.'\n\nAmong those returning was also Umm Habiba, daughter of Abu Sufyan, the\nProphet's mortal enemy. She had emigrated with her husband,\nUbaydu'llah ibn Jahsh, but he was a convert to Christianity and had\ndied in Abyssinia, while she remained steadfast to Islam. As a reward\nfor such fidelity, as well as hoping to disarm by alliance one of his\nmost fierce adversaries, the Prophet had sent Amr ibn Umayya to the\nNegus, asking to be married by proxy to Umm Habiba and to have her\nsent back afterwards with the other emigrants. This being done, Umm\nHabiba, on arriving at Al-Madinah, was received in the dwelling of her\nillustrious husband.\n\nAs for the emigrants, Mohammad proposed that they should be allowed a\nshare of the Khaibar booty. This arrangement being ratified by\nunanimous consent, they were thus compensated for having sacrificed\ntheir property and left their country in order to remain true to their\nfaith.\n\nThe date on which the treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah gave the Prophet the\nright to come to Makkah with his disciples to visit the Holy Places\nhaving arrived, he was now on the point of being able to fulfil one of\nhis most ardent aspirations and also see his native land.\n\nFollowed by the same number of pilgrims, and driving before him the\nsame number of camels, destined to be sacrificed, as in the expedition\nof Al-Hudaibiyah, he made his partisans disarm and left in the valley\nof Batn Ya'jiju, a great quantity of weapons, brought as a\nprecautionary measure, in the care of a guard, two hundred strong,\ncommanded by Aws ibn Khawli. 'We only penetrate into the Holy Land,'\ndeclared the Prophet, 'carrying the arms of the traveller: our swords\nin their scabbards, according to the terms of our oath, but if we\ndetect in the glances of the idolatrous Quraish the slightest sign of\ntreachery, our other weapons will be found handy.'\n\nHe then pushed on. Self-communing, he climbed the Kuda hill, in order\nto descend into the valley near the cemetery of Al-Hajun where rested\nhis beloved Khadijah (May Allah welcome her in His Grace!) When he\ncast eyes on the first houses of Makkah, unspeakable emotion\noverpowered him by reason of the remembrances and hopes they evoked.\nFearing lest treachery, on the part of the Infidels, should force him\nto order reprisals, causing the blood of his fellow-countrymen to\nsully the streets of the city where he was born, he cried out: 'O\nAllah, spare us all misfortune in the Holy City!' He never ceased\nrepeating this request until he left the precincts of Makkah.\n\nOn the approach of the Believers, the leading citizens, exasperated at\nthe triumphant return of the men they had banished, went out of the\ntown and hid their impotent rage in tents pitched in the neighbouring\nravines. As for the mass of the inhabitants, like all mobs, they were\ndominated by a feeling of curiosity and clustered either on the\nheights of the Jabal Qu'ayqu'an, or on the terrace-roof of the\n\"Dar-un-Nadwa\", House of Council, from which they were able to look\ndown into the interior of the Temple. From the gossip of the crowd\ncould be gathered the general hope: that the Prophet and his partisans\nwould arrive in a state of complete exhaustion, their blood and bodies\nimpoverished by the torrid summer heat and pernicious fevers of\nAl-Madinah.\n\nForewarned by divine inspiration, Mohammad cautioned his companions.\n'Allah will be merciful to those,' said he, 'who this day display\ntheir bodily vigour.'\n\nWith the exception of the common people mustering on the roof of the\n\"Dar-un-Nadwa,\" the city was quite empty. The Prophet could have\ncaptured it without striking a blow; but his soul, incapable of such\ntreachery, was entirely engrossed by pious thoughts. Riding his\nshe-camel, Qaswa, its bridle held by Abdullah ibn Rawaha, and\nsurrounded and followed by his disciples, he passed through the\noutlying districts, under the eyes of enemies, without even honouring\nthem by a single glance. He alighted on the Temple threshold, wrapping\nhimself up in the folds of his mantle, by throwing one end over his\nleft shoulder, leaving his right arm and shoulder at liberty. Followed\nand imitated by all the Faithful, he kissed the Black Stone and\nperformed the \"Tawaf,\" the seven ritual circuits round the Ka'bah. The\nthree first were made with swift, measured strides (called \"Ramal,\" or\n\"Harwala\"), with a view of proving the fine state of health of the\nBelievers to the Infidels looking on. They shook their heads gloomily,\nsaying to each other: 'So these are the men described to us as\nenfeebled by the heat and fevers of Al-Madinah!' At the bottom of\ntheir hearts, the Unbelievers were forced to confess that such men as\nthese, their mental well-being surpassing even their bodily health,\nwere unconquerable. The four remaining circuits were made with slow\ndignity, as Mohammad had no desire to demand useless efforts from his\npartisans; and ever since that day, this manner of performing the\n\"Tawaf\" is religiously copied by pilgrims.\n\n[Illustration: _\"Among all trees, one is blessed like the Mussulman,\n'tis the palm,\" said the Prophet._ 2 views]\n\nThe Prophet then ordered Bilal to call the Faithful to prayer. When\nthe idolaters heard the resounding accents of the black freed slave,\nreverberating in the echoes of the valley, they were so deeply annoyed\nthat they envied the fate of their illustrious dead, Abu Jabal and Abu\nLahab, prevented from hearing this call by the weight of the earth\npiled on their graves. After the prayer, Mohammad again bestrode his\nshe-camel, to perform the \"Sa'y\" which is the run between the two\nhills of Safa and Marwa. His example swept away the Believers'\nscruples; for until then, they had hesitated about going through this\nceremony, being embarrassed by the presence of the idols Isaf and\nNa'ila, set up at that spot.\n\nBy the performance of these rites, instituted by Abraham and\nperpetuated by the Arabs, the Prophet had in view a nationalist and\npolitical goal, which he wished to combine with his religious aims. If\nhe kissed the Black Stone, it was not by reason of a feeling of\nsuperstitious worship which would have contradicted all the principles\nof the Qur'an much too flagrantly, but solely through a feeling of\nreverence for this relic of his glorious ancestor.\n\nQuoth Ibn Abi Shayba, following Isa ibn Talha: \"Addressing the Black\nStone, the Prophet declared: Verily, I know that thou art nothing more\nthan a stone, powerless to do harm, or be of any use. Then he kissed\nit.... In this conjuncture, Abu Bakr, followed by Umar, one after the\nother, came and kissed it, declaring: By Allah! I know that thou art\nnothing more than a stone, powerless to do harm or be of any use, and\nif I had not seen the Prophet kiss thee, I should not have kissed\nthee!\"\n\nIn like fashion, by the \"Sa'y\" and the ablutions at the well of\nZamzam, Mohammad kept alive the touching remembrance of the Arab's\nancestor Ishmael and of his mother Hajar (Hagar). \"Being too weak to\ncarry any farther her wretched child succumbing athirst in a horrible\ndesert, Hajar placed her offspring on the ground in the shade of a\nshrub and ascended a hill, hoping to see from afar a well or spring;\nbut all in vain. Then, fearing that the soul of Ishmael might have\nescaped from his body, she came back, panting, to his side, and\nclimbed another hill for the same purpose, but with no more success\nthan before. So she went down again, tortured by the same anguish.\n\n\"Seven times did she run in despair between the two hills until,\nmaddened, she thought she would only find a corpse, when she caught\nsight of her beloved son quenching his thirst at a spring which, by\norder of the Compassionate, had gushed forth under the heel of the\npoor child. And to this miraculous well was given the name of Zamzam.\"\n\nIn imitation of Hajar, pilgrims pass seven times along the path of\nagony which she trod between the two hills known as Safa and Marwa,\nand it is their duty to drink and perform their ablutions at the\nZamzam spring.\n\nOn the following day, in commemoration of the sacrifice of Abraham,\nthe victims were immolated in the valley of Mina. Their flesh was\nshared among the pilgrims who, having shaved their heads, were once\nagain in the state of \"halal,\" ordinary life, which they had\nrelinquished since Zu'l-Holifah.\n\nWhile still in the state of \"ihram,\" Mohammad, thanks to the special\nprivilege derived from his position as Allah's Messenger, married a\nwoman of Makkah, named Maimunah. She was fifty years of age and\nextremely poor; but this matrimonial alliance was bound to bring\nnotable recruits to Islam. In the first place, her brother-in-law,\nAl-Abbas, was Mohammad's uncle. He was her \"wakil,\" or guardian, and\ndecreed her union with the Prophet. But the marriage was only\nconsummated at the first halt on the return journey to Al-Madinah.\n\nDespite the rage of the idolatrous Quraish, who could not bear to look\nupon the sight of their enemy's pilgrimage, the Prophet had gained his\nend: to inform the Arabs of the whole of the Peninsula that he had no\nintention of abolishing their secular traditions; but on the contrary,\nwould devote all his efforts to consolidate them, by restoring their\nprimitive purity.\n\nThe \"Amratu'l-Qada\" was thus the cause of great reaction; bringing\nabout immediate conversions; among others, those of three great\npersonages: Uthman ibn Talha, Amr ibnu'l-As and Khalid ibn Walid,\nbesides preparing the minds of the majority of the Arabs to follow\ntheir example.\n\n[Sidenote: THE PROPHET SENDS AMBASSADORS TO THE PRINCIPAL MONARCHS OF\nTHE WORLD]\n\nThe definitive defeat of the Jews rallied a great part of Arabia to\nthe Prophet; and the rest of the Peninsula was fatally bound, in\ncourse of time, to come under the sway of Islam.\n\nIt was then that Mohammad turned towards neighbouring empires. Allah's\npresence filled the universe and Islam, which counted already in its\nranks disciples of many different origins, was not destined to be\nmerely confined to the land of the Arabs. It spread over the whole\nworld. As it is written in the Qur'an: \"_We have not sent thee\notherwise than to mankind at large._\" (XXXIV, 27).\n\nTo the most powerful monarchs of Europe, therefore, Mohammad\ndespatched envoys carrying letters inviting those potentates to\nembrace the religion of Allah, the Only One; and the missives bore a\nseal on which the Prophet had caused to be engraved these words, set\nout in three lines: \"From Allah--the Prophet--Mohammad.\"\n\nOn receipt of the message, Al-Mundhir, King of Bahrayn, and Badhan,\nPersian Satrap of Yaman, became converts to Islam. Al-Muqawqas,\nViceroy of Egypt, sent rich presents, among which, as well as Duldul,\na white mule, and Ya'fur, an ass, was a young slave, Mary the Copt.\nShe at once became Mohammad's concubine. Hirqal, (Heraclius), the\nRoman Emperor, and the Najashi, (Negus), of Abyssinia, both replied by\nmost courteous letters.\n\nKesra (Chosroes), King of Persia, swore he would punish the Prophet\nfor his audacity and the Almighty immediately chastised the monarch,\nfor he was murdered by his son Shiru'e, (Siroes), who took his\nfather's place on the throne. Al-Harith, son of Abu Shamar, was fated\nto see his kingdom torn asunder, even as he had torn the letters\ndelivered to him by the Prophet's envoy.\n\nOnly one of these ambassadors, Al-Harith ibn Amr, was received with\ncontumely and afterwards treacherously murdered near Karak in the\nBalqua region, following orders given by Shurabil al-Ghassani who\ngoverned this region under Roman rule.\n\n[Sidenote: THE EXPEDITION OF MUTAH (_Year VII of the Hegira, A.D.\n629_)]\n\nWhen the news of the outrage on his ambassador came to the Prophet's\nears, he determined to be instantly avenged, although he did not\nconceal from himself the dangers of the undertaking.\n\nThis time the Believers had to face, not only the Syrian Arabs,\noutnumbering those of the Hijaz, but also the Roman troops who\noccupied the Balqua-Land. The Prophet placed Zayd ibn Al-Haris at the\nhead of three thousand men; but foreseeing that in this unequal\nstruggle, his army might be deprived of its leader, he nominated in\nadvance, as successor, Jafar, son of Abu Talib; and if misfortune\nbefell Jafar, Abdullah ibn Rawaha; and lastly, in the case of anything\nunluckily happening to the latter, it was left to the soldiers to\nchoose a commander themselves.\n\nA Jew was present at the council of war and made the following\nremarks: 'O Abul Qasim! (a surname of Mohammad), if thou art really a\nProphet, all the men thou hast appointed are irretrievably lost. When\nour prophets of Israel, after having placed a general at the head of\ntheir armies, used to add: 'and, if he is killed, name such an one in\nhis place,' that infallibly meant that he was bound to lose his life.'\nThen, turning to Zayd, he went on: 'I swear to thee that if Mohammad\nis a true Prophet, thou wilt never return from this expedition.' Zayd\nreplied simply: 'I swear to thee that Mohammad is the Prophet of\nAllah.' Then the Apostle tied the white \"Liwa\" (flag) to a spearhead\nand gave it into the hands of Zayd.\n\nFilled with funereal sentiments, Mohammad accompanied his troops to\nSaniyat-ul-Wida, (the Pass of Farewells). It was there that he halted\nand gave them his final instructions: 'Remain ever in fear of Allah.\nFight in his name and kill His foes who are yours. But leave in peace\nsuch men as dwell in the seclusion of monasteries. Spare women,\nchildren and the blind. Destroy no monuments; cut down no trees; and\nwhen ye shall have avenged the death of Al-Harith ibn Amr, summon the\nArab tribes of Syria to Islam.'\n\nShurahbil, anxious as to the results of his cowardly outrage, called\nupon all the Arabs of the surrounding country: the Banu Bahra, the\nBanu Lakhm, the Judham, the Baliyy, etc., and he notified his fears to\nTheodurus, lieutenant of Heraclius, who sent him all the Roman troops\nthen occupying the land.\n\nShurahbil had therefore mustered an army of nearly a hundred thousand\nmen before the Mussulman forces arrived at Mu'an. When they found\nthemselves fronting such formidable cohorts, the Believers remained\ntwo days and two nights in consultation and many among them proposed\nthat a messenger should be despatched to the Prophet who would then\ndecide whether they were to turn back or fight. Perhaps he might send\nthem reinforcements. But the utterances of Abdullah ibn Rawaha revived\nthe courage of the Believers. 'O comrades! how is it that ye seem to\nfear the very thing ye come to seek: martyrdom in the Holy War? We\nreckon not on numbers to gain the victory, but on the faith with which\nAllah hath inspired us!'--'Thou dost speak truly!' they cried and,\nhesitating no longer, advanced towards the enemy, coming in contact\nwith him at Mutah, a little village situated south of the Karab fort.\n\nLike lions, they dashed into the centre of their massed foes, whose\nchief, Malik ibn Rafila, was killed by a spear-thrust.... Recovering\nfrom their first surprise and profiting by their great numerical\nsuperiority, the Infidels were not long in getting the best of the\nstruggle and they encircled the Mussulmans completely. Outnumbered,\nZayd ibn Al-Haris died the death of a hero; and Jafar, obeying the\nProphet's instructions, bounded forward to uphold the standard that\nZayd's contracted fingers still gripped, and to take command in his\nplace.\n\nJafar rode a magnificent chestnut charger, but seeing the immediate\ndanger, he alighted and hamstrung his steed, so that if the master\nsuccumbed, his horse should not be captured by the enemy to be used\nagainst Islam. By his example, he was able to rally the Believers and\nlead them in an enthusiastic charge, whilst waving the Islamic\nstandard which proudly spread its wings above their heads. But soon,\nlike an eagle wounded in its flight, the flag fell down; the hand that\nheld it being hacked off by a blow from a scimitar.\n\nJafar picked up the standard, grasping it in his left hand, when\nanother sword-cut sliced his unwounded wrist. Jafar stooped, and\nseizing the flag between the bleeding stumps of his arms, he kept it\naloft by pressing the staff against his breast, and with sublime\nheroism, continued to charge the enemy until he fell, riddled with\nninety wounds.\n\nAbdullah ibn Rawaha succeeded him and met with the same fate shortly\nafterwards. The Mussulmans, attacked on all sides, seeing their\nleaders struck down, gave way and began to flee in disorder. Arqam ibn\nAmir stopped them. 'O comrades!' he cried out, ''tis better to be\nstruck in the breast than in the back!' Picking up the standard, he\npassed it on to Khalid ibn Walid who refused it at first, saying:\n'Thou hast a better right to this honour than I, for thou wert at\nBadr.'\n\nBut Arqam insisting, Khalid took charge of the flag. His impetuous\nenergy instilled fresh courage and confidence into the hearts of the\nBelievers, ashamed of their momentary weakness, and being a skilful\nstrategist as well as a valiant soldier, he succeeded with the help of\nAllah, in freeing the Mussulman troops and reorganising the fighting\nfront in such masterly fashion that the Infidels were unable to claim\nthe victory.\n\nAt sunrise, the next day, he was first to attack, so as not to give\nthe enemy time to recover from his partial defeat. To deceive him with\nregard to the numerical weakness of the Islamic forces, he resorted to\nthe following stratagem: by rapid evolutions of various sections of\nhis army, he made the rearguards pass to the van, and _vice versa_, in\nsuch a way that the enemy, continually seeing fresh adversaries\nconfronting him, imagined that the Mussulmans had been greatly\nreinforced during the night. The Infidels' certainty of triumph,\nmainly founded on their numbers, vanished; and seized with\nindescribable terror, they gave way, pursued by the Believers who\nslaughtered them ruthlessly. During that memorable day, Khalid had\nnine sabres broken in his hand.\n\nBy divine inspiration, the Prophet was informed of the ordeals of his\narmy. After general prayer, he went up in the pulpit, his eyes full of\ntears, and cried out three times: 'The Gate of Good! Know ye all that\nZayd hath fallen a martyr; implore the mercy of Allah in his favour.\nThen Jafar and Abdullah died martyrs; implore the mercy of Allah for\nthem. Then the standard was upheld by Khalid ibn Walid, who is the\nsword among all the swords of Allah. And the Almighty granted him\nvictory.'\n\nMohammad afterwards went to see Asama bint Omis, the wife of Jafar,\nand bent down over his children to \"smell\" them; tears welling up in\nhis eyes and trickling pearl-like down his beard. 'O Prophet!' asked\nAsama, 'what maketh thee weep? Hast thou had news of Jafar and his\ncomrades?'--'Aye, and now they are no more!'\n\nThe wretched woman dropped down, groaning in despair and, lacerating\nher cheeks with her nails. Attracted by her shrieks, the other wives\nimitated her and the whole house resounded with lugubrious\nlamentation. The Prophet ordered one of his companions to impose\nsilence on the women. 'It is not fitting,' said Mohammad, 'to mourn\nthus for Jafar. Hath he not obtained the great reward? I pray Allah\nthat He may permit the father's place on this earth to be taken in\nposterity by the most accomplished among his children!'\n\nSuddenly he lifted his eyes to heaven and murmured: 'The Salvation and\nMercy of Allah be upon you!'--'To whom dost thou speak, O Prophet?'\nasked one of his followers.--'I have just seen Jafar go by in the\nmidst of a procession of angels. He was mounting to Paradise with\nruby-studded wings in lieu of his amputated hands. He greeted me and I\nreturned his greeting.'\n\nSohail, who recorded this tradition, is careful to add: 'Such are\nmerely images: the wings are symbols of the supernatural strength of\nJafar's soul; and the rubies are the precious drops of his blood.'\n\nIn the midst of the universal mourning at Al-Madinah, the Prophet\nordered the funereal repast know as \"Al-Oudhim,\" to be prepared. It\nwas destined for the families of the martyrs; for it is hard for those\nwhose souls are saddened to have to think about preparing nourishment\nfor the body.\n\nWhen the return of the army was announced, the whole of the population\nof the city, rich or poor, went out to meet it. The Prophet ordained\nthat the mounted men should lift up the children and give them a ride\non the pummels of the saddles. He took the son of Jafar in his arms\nand seated the child in front of him. The soldiers, on arriving,\nconfirmed the tidings of their leaders' death and the people of\nAl-Madinah, thinking that these heroes had not been fully avenged,\nthrew handfuls of dust in the soldiers' faces, and inveighed against\nthem: 'O cowards! ye fled, even when ye trod the Path of Allah!'\n\nThe Prophet bade the crowd be silent and made this declaration: 'On\nthe contrary, these warriors deserve your greatest praise, for they\nreturned and charged courageously!'\n\n[Sidenote: THE TAKING OF MAKKAH (_The 21st Day of Ramadhan Year VIII\nof the Hegira, January 11th A.D. 630_)]\n\nIt was not long before the idolaters of Makkah violated the ten years'\ntruce, signed at Al-Hudaibiyah.\n\nBy surprise, one night, they massacred a score of Mussulmans belonging\nto the tribe of the Khuza'a, encamped at the well of Al-Watir. In face\nof such terrible treachery, the Prophet threw all scruples to the\nwinds. Determined to attack, he proposed to organise an expedition.\n\nThe Makkans, well aware that their crime would not go unpunished,\ndelegated Abu Sufyan to go to Al-Madinah, to offer compensation and\nask for the truce to be maintained. On arriving, Abu Sufyan went to\nthe dwelling of Umm Habiba, his daughter, who, as we know, was one of\nMohammad's wives. But, when he made as if to sit down on a carpet, Umm\nHabiba, guessing his purpose, quickly folded up the rug and placed it\non one side. 'O my daughter,' said Abu Sufyan in offended tones, 'dost\nfind thy father unworthy of that carpet, or is that carpet unworthy of\nthy father?'--'That carpet belongeth to the Prophet,' she replied.\n'Now thou art a worshipper of idols; therefore in a state of impurity,\nand thou wouldst sully it with thy impiety.'--'Of a surety, O my\ndaughter, some misfortune hath happened, bringing disorder to thy\nmind, since the day thou left us!'\n\nUnderstanding, by this kind of welcome, that there was no hope for him\nin that quarter, he sought out the Prophet from whom no reply was\nobtained. Then he made desperate attempts to circumvent Abu Bakr; and\ntried his best with Umar and Ali, supplicating them to intercede in\nfavour of his fellow-citizens, but with no greater success. Full of\napprehension, he mounted his camel and went back on the road to\nMakkah.\n\nThe steps taken by Abu Sufyan no longer allowed the Prophet to conceal\nhis designs. His sole care was to hurry on with his preparation, so as\nto surprise the men of Makkah before they had time to place the city\nin a state of defence. On the tenth day of the month of Ramadhan,\nafter having left Abu Ruhm Kulthum al-Shifari as his lieutenant at\nAl-Madinah, the Prophet set out, followed by an army of no\ninconsiderable strength, increased on the way by numerous tribes\njoining, and the total forces soon numbered ten thousand men.\n\nThe fast of Ramadhan was strictly kept by all the Faithful, but when\nthey reached the well of Al-Kadid in the middle of the day exactly,\nthe Prophet judged that their constancy had been sufficiently tested.\nFearing that deprivation of drink, joined to extreme fatigue, might\nhave a dangerous effect on their health, he asked for a jar filled\nwith water to be brought to him. Overlooking the crowd on his tall\nshe-camel, he swallowed a mouthful in front of all, so as teach by his\nexample that they might break their fast when on a journey as soon as\nthey felt their strength exhausted. Thus prescribes the Qur'an: \"_But\nhe among you who shall be sick, or on a journey, shall fast that same\nnumber of other days._\" (II, 180.)\n\nAfter that halt, the Prophet hastened the march of his army so\nactively that he camped at Marru'dh-Dhahran, close to the town gates,\nbefore the Quraish were able to find out anything about the important\nstrength of the Mussulman troops, or the road they had taken.\n\nAbbas, Mohammad's uncle, kept in Makkah till then by his business\nfunctions as superintendent of the water supply, joined the Believers\nat Al-Juhfa, with the whole of his family. The sincerity of his\nconversion had not caused him to forget the love he felt for his\nfellow-citizens. He was most uneasy about their fate, in case they\nshould behave in such a way that Mohammad would be forced to take the\ntown by murderous onslaught.\n\nQuoth Abbas: \"When the tents were pitched, I rode the Prophet's white\nmule and went to Al-Arak, on the road to the Arafa, hoping to meet a\ncarrier of wood, brickmaker, or pilgrim whom I might charge to take a\nwarning to the Quraish and exhort them to go and implore the mercy of\nAllah.\n\n\"Whilst advancing with due precaution in the dark, two men passed\nquite close to me. They were hidden from my sight by big boulders and\nthey talked in whispers. One of them, his mind engrossed by the\nmyriads of golden stars that the camp-fires of the Faithful caused to\nscintillate on the hills beneath the real silvery stars of the\nfirmament, said: 'Never have I seen so many lights as this night on\nthose mountains.'--'They are probably the camp-fires of the Khuza'a,\ndetermined to wage war to avenge their dead.'--'The Khuza'a are not so\nnumerous. No, truly, these cannot be their fires!' replied the first\nspeaker whose voice I recognised. It was that of Abu Sufyan. 'O father\nof Handala!' I called to him.--'O father of Al-Fadl! if 'tis thee,\nwhat dost thou want of me?' he returned, having also recognised my\nvoice.--'O Abu Sufyan! the Prophet is here at the head of such a great\narmy that all resistance is impossible. To-morrow the Quraish will be\ncut to pieces!'--'What is to be done! Canst thou advise me?'--'If thou\nart taken prisoner during the fight, thy head will be cut off. Doubt\nit not. But get up behind me on my mule. I will take thee to Mohammad\nand implore him for thee.'\n\n\"Abu Sufyan, understanding that this was his last hope of safety,\ncould only submit. He got up behind me and we went on in front of his\ncompanion Budayl, who made up his mind to follow us.\n\n\"Every time the flicker of one of the many camp-fires lit up our\nlittle group, on the dark background, sentinels stopped us, asking:\n'Who is that man?' But when I told them that I was Abbas, the\nProphet's uncle, and as they recognised the mule, they allowed us to\npass....\n\n\"All went well until we came to the lights of Umar's tents. He came\nforward to meet us and also demanded: 'Who is that man?' Just then,\nthe flame of the brazier lit up the face of my companion who held me\ntightly. Umar knew him again, and cried out in sudden joy: 'Ah! 'tis\nthee, Abu Sufyan, with no treaty or safe-conduct, O enemy of Allah!\nThe Almighty be praised for delivering thee into our hands!'\n\n\"He ran to the Prophet's tent. I made the mule gallop along,\noutstripped him and jumped off, going into Mohammad's tent; but Umar\narrived, almost at the same instant. 'O Prophet!' he shouted. 'Here is\nAbu Sufyan, Allah's enemy, without treaty or safe-conduct, given up to\nus by the Almighty! Charge me to cut his head off!'\n\n\"I interfered: 'O Prophet! He is under my protection. No one but me\nshall go near him this night.' As Umar kept on manifesting still\ngreater hatred, I said to him: 'Softly, O Umar! If Abu Sufyan was one\nof the Banu Adi ibn Kab, thy relatives, thou wouldst not behave in\nthis way; but he is one of the Banu Abd Manaf, related to the Prophet,\nwhich thou must not forget!'\n\n\"Umar made answer: 'Softly, O Abbas! Know that thy conversion gave me\nmore pleasure than that of my father, Al-Khattab, would have caused\nme, for he lived and died in idolatry; for the sole reason that, as I\nknow well, the Prophet attached more importance to thy conversion than\nto that of my father.' Allah's Messenger cut our dispute short by\nsaying: 'Take away Abu Sufyan, O Abbas, and to-morrow at dawn, come\nback here with him.'\n\n\"I obeyed. Abu Sufyan passed the night in perfect safety in my tent,\nbut seeing all the Mussulmans rise up at one bound at the first\nglimmer of daybreak, he was overcome by anxiety. 'O father of\nAl-Fadl!' he asked; 'what are they about? Do they want to kill\nme?'--'Be not alarmed,' I told him in reply. 'They only want to pray.'\n\n\"At the sight of these ten thousand men, the mysterious light\nreflected by the rosy dawn playing on them; all piously repeating\nevery gesture of the Prophet; bowing down when he bowed down and\nprostrating themselves when he prostrated himself, he could not\nrefrain from exclaiming: 'By Allah! I have never seen kings obeyed as\nthis man is obeyed; not even Chosroes, nor C\u00e6sar, nor any of the most\npowerful monarchs of the universe!'\n\n\"'Come,' I told him, when prayers had been said. 'I will intercede for\nthee; and thou wilt intercede for thy qawm.'--'How now?' asked the\nProphet when the idolater came before him. 'Dost thou not acknowledge,\nO Abu Sufyan! that there is no God but Allah?'--'By my father and my\nmother! How patient, generous and conciliatory thou art! Yea, I\nacknowledge it. If with Allah there were other gods, they would have\ngiven me some little help.'--'Dost thou acknowledge that I am the\nProphet of Allah?'--'By my father and my mother! As for that, there is\nstill some doubt in my mind. I will see later.'--'Woe unto thee! O Abu\nSufyan!' I exclaimed, indignant at his reply. 'Hasten to bear witness\nto the whole truth, or I deprive thee of my protection and thine head\nwill fall from thy shoulders!'\n\n\"Abu Sufyan still hazarded a few objections: 'What wilt thou do with\nthe statue of Al-Uzza that is in my dwelling?'--'Thou shalt throw it\nin the privy!' shouted an angry voice. It was that of Umar, listening\nbehind the canvas of the tent, hoping to be ordered to execute the man\nwho had been an enemy of Allah. 'Woe unto thee, O Umar! thou art an\nindecent fellow,' he replied. 'Let me come to terms with my uncle's\nson.'\n\n\"Having made up his mind by this time, he recited the profession of\nIslamic faith integrally, at the same time as his companion Budayl,\nwho had just rejoined us.\n\n\"I remarked to the Prophet: 'Thou knowest how proud is Abu Sufyan.\nInvest him with some authority, no matter what, and he will be bound\nto us definitively.'\n\n\"My idea met with Mohammad's approbation and he gave out the following\nproclamation: 'He who taketh refuge in the dwelling of Abu Sufyan will\nbe in safety; he who taketh refuge in the Temple will be in safety; he\nwho layeth down his arms and remaineth shut up in his house will be in\nsafety.'\n\n\"The Prophet then said to me: 'O Abbas! bring Abu Sufyan to a halt\nwhere the valley is narrow, on the mountain top, so that all the\nwarriors of Allah will pass before his eyes.' I obeyed and took my\nstand with Abu Sufyan on one of the rocks overhanging the outlet of\nthe valley. One after the other passed the soldiers of the Sulaym, the\nMuzayna, the Banu Ghifar, the Banu Ka'b, the Kinana, the Juhayn, etc.,\nand my companion, despite all his efforts, could not hide the\nimpression made upon him by the numbers of the Believers. When he\ncaught sight of the Ashja, he cried out: 'Those tribesmen,\nnotwithstanding, were the most inveterate of all the Prophet's\nenemies!'--'Truly,' I retorted, 'but Allah, in His Generosity,\ninstilled Islam in their hearts!'\n\n\"At last, the Prophet appeared, surrounded by his bodyguard, the\nflower of his army, comprising the Ansars and the Mohadjirun, called\n\"Al-Khadra,\" the green guards. When Abu Sufyan saw these warriors\nentirely covered in sombre armour, from which the sun caused blinding\nsparks to fly, he started in affright: 'By Allah! O Abbas, who are\nthose men?'--'The Prophet with his companions, the Ansars and the\nMohadjirun.'--'None can make a stand against such troops! Verily, O\nAbbas, this morning, thy brother's son is resplendent with the majesty\nof a glorious king!'--'His majesty is not that of a king, O Abu\nSufyan! 'tis that of a Prophet. And now that thine eyes convince thee\nthat all resistance would be rank folly, hasten back to thy people and\nlet thy good advice save them from misfortune!' Without losing a\nminute, Abu Sufyan went on his way to the town, where immediately on\narriving, he was surrounded by anxious crowds overwhelming him with\nquestions. 'O Assembly of the Quraish!' he cried, 'Mohammad is upon us\nwith such an army that ye cannot hope to resist him for a single\ninstant!'\"\n\nHis wife, Hind, furious at the emotion caused by these tidings, caught\nhim by his moustaches to make him hold his tongue and she bawled:\n'Hearken not to the old fool and traitor! Kill him!' Tearing himself\nout of the shrew's clutches, Abu Sufyan went on: 'Woe unto you, if ye\nlet yourselves be led astray by this woman! Again I say to you, ye are\nlost without fail if ye dream of resistance.' He then added proudly:\n'All those who take refuge in the dwelling of Abu Sufyan will be in\nsafety.'--'May Allah cause thee to perish!' was the reply made to him\non all sides. 'How can thy house afford security for all of us?'\n\nIt was then that he concluded to announce that which he had\nintentionally omitted, out of pure vanity: 'Likewise will be in safety\nall those taking refuge in the Temple; and eke those who, laying down\ntheir arms, remain behind closed doors in their dwellings.'\n\n[Sidenote: ENTRY OF THE PROPHET INTO MAKKAH]\n\nThe Prophet stopped his she-camel at Dhu Tawad. At the sight of\nMakkah, where he hoped to make his entry victoriously without shedding\nthe blood of his fellow-countrymen, he offered up thanksgivings to the\nMost Generous, bowing down deeply until his beard swept the pummel of\nhis saddle. He then placed his troops for the occupation of the city:\nZubayr was to go in by the Kuda road; Khalid ibn Walid, by the\noutlying western districts; Sa'd ibn Ubayda, by the pass of Al-Kada.\nBut as the latter chieftain, in his ardour, let drop this remark:\n'To-day is a day of carnage; allowable even in the holy precincts!'\nMohammad bade Ali deprive the rash speaker of his command and take\ncharge of the standard in his place.\n\nZubayr, Ali, and Ubayda met with no resistance and, without striking a\nblow, occupied the parts of the city assigned to them. As for Khalid,\njust as he passed through the suburbs, a volley of arrows disturbed\nhis troops and several of his men were killed. The darts came from\nmarksmen in ambush, posted by Safwan ibn Umayya and Ikrimah, behind\nthe rocks of the Jabal Al-Khandama. Without the least hesitation,\nKhalid called on his soldiers to storm the position. He routed the\nenemy, massacred many and pursued the survivors, putting them to the\nsword. Some fled to the Temple; others ran towards the sea.\n\nFrom the summit of Al-Hajun, which the Prophet had just reached, he\nsaw the sparkle of spearheads and swords. 'What's this?' he cried.\n'Did I not forbid all fighting?' He despatched an Ansar to Khalid and\nwhen he came into the presence of Mohammad, he upbraided him severely\nfor having given battle against his strict orders.\n\n'The enemy were the agressors. They riddled us with their arrows,'\nreplied Khalid. 'I held back as much as I could, but I was obliged to\nunsheath my sword to defend ourselves.... And Allah granted us the\nvictory!'--'The Will of Allah be done!' concluded the Prophet, getting\nready to make his own entry into the town.\n\nHe rode Qaswa, his favourite she-camel. Behind him, on the same\nanimal, was Usama, the son of Zayd ibn Al-Haris. Mohammad prostrated\nhimself on his saddle and recited the surah of Victory: \"_Verily, We\nhave won for thee an undoubted victory * In token that Allah forgiveth\nthy earlier and later faults, and fulfilleth his goodness to thee, and\nguideth thee on the right way. * And that Allah succoureth thee with a\nmighty succour._\" (THE QUR'AN, XLVIII, 1, 2, 3.)\n\nRound the red-striped drapery that covered his head, the Prophet\nrolled a black turban, letting one end hang down between his\nshoulders. He rode to the Ka'bah to perform the \"tawaf\", and without\nleaving the saddle, saluted the Black Stone by touching it with the\nend of a hooked stick. He then alighted to enter the sanctuary, but\nseeing the idols that dishonoured it, he started back in horror. In\nfront of an image of Abraham holding divining arrows, he cried out:\n'May Allah annihilate all those who represent our ancestor Abraham\ntrying to peer into futurity by means of arrows!' Mohammad ordered the\nimpious statue to be destroyed. With his own hands, he shattered a\ndove carved in wood and went in proclaiming: 'Allah is Great!'\n\n[Illustration: _Bird's-eye View of Makkah, the Most Sacred City, as\nseen from the Jabal Abi-Qubais._ 2 views]\n\nHe then went up to the three hundred and sixty idols ranged round the\nTemple. Beginning with the biggest: Hubal, he pierced its eyes with\nthe hooked stick, saying: 'Truth hath come, error hath vanished; error\nis perishable!' The idol fell face downwards, shattered in a thousand\npieces.\n\nOne after the other suffered the same fate, as he passed in front of\nthem. A single effigy remained standing--the idol of the\nKhuza'a--fashioned out of bronze and enamel. It stood superbly erect\non the Temple's terrace-roof. 'Kneel down,' was the order given by the\nProphet to Ali. Mohammad mounted on his shoulders. 'Rise!' Ali was\nunable to do so, despite all his bodily strength. He felt himself\ncrushed by supernatural weight: that of the Prophecy. Seeing this, the\nProphet got down, knelt in his turn and said to Ali: 'Climb up on my\nback to destroy that idol!' Ali, overcome by confusion, refused; but\nfinally obeyed, as Mohammad persisted.\n\nQuoth Ali: \"I stood upon the Prophet's shoulders; he drew himself up\nerect and I felt myself lifted by some unknown force by which I could\nhave risen to heaven had I tried.\n\n\"The idol was fixed by iron clamps, but at the words of the Prophet:\n'Truth hath come; error hath vanished,' it tottered without the least\neffort on my part and falling to the ground, crumbled away in dust.\"\n\nThe people, recovered from affright, stole gradually forth from their\ndwellings and, dumb with stupor, looked on while their impotent idols\nwere being destroyed.... When the last vestige of idolatry had\ndisappeared, the Prophet, turning towards the Ka'bah, proclaimed:\n'There is no God but Allah! He hath no associates! He hath kept his\nword and succoured His Servant and dispersed His enemies!' Mohammad\nturned to the Makkans: 'O Assembly of the Quraish! how shall I treat\nyou, do ye think?'--'With generosity, O generous brother, son of a\ngenerous man!' they replied, devoured by anxiety.--'Begone!' he told\nthem. 'Ye are free!' (According to the laws of war, they were slaves\nand captives.)\n\nThe only exceptions to this magnanimous amnesty were made in the cases\nof eleven men and six women whose conduct had been inexcusable. He\nordered them to be put to death, wherever found. The sentence was\nimmediately carried out, and a few of the condemned were executed,\nincluding Huwarith, who brutally ill-treated Fatimah, the Prophet's\ndaughter and Ali's wife, when she went away from Makkah.\n\nIn order to establish the new state of affairs firmly, Mohammad\nproceeded to appoint immediately the two most important functions of\nMakkah: the custodian of the Ka'bah and that of the Zamzam well.\n\nHe sent to claim the keys of the Temple from Uthman ibn Talha who,\nafter having in a fit of fury locked the gates, took the keys away\nwith him to his house. The Prophet had them torn from him forcibly,\nand intended to confide them to his uncle Abbas whom he maintained at\nhis post as Superintendent of the Zamzam well. But a Revelation made\nthe Prophet alter his mind and he was ordered to reinstate the former\ncustodian of the Temple. Mohammad therefore charged Ali to take the\nkeys back to Uthman and say to him: 'O son of Talha, take the keys\nonce more and with them the appointment as custodian of the Ka'bah.'\n\nThis official, touched by such generosity, so little deserved,\nhastened to give the Prophet the promise of sincere gratitude and\nabsolute fidelity.\n\nJust then a touching group approached: there was Abu Quhafa, an old\nblind man, bent beneath the burden of his eighty-seven years, and\nleaning on the arm of his son, Abu Bakr. 'Why didst thou not let this\nnoble old man remain in his dwelling, whither I could have gone to see\nhim?' said the Prophet to Abu Bakr.--'It is only right that he cometh\nto thee, and not that thou shouldst go to him,' replied Abu Bakr.\n\nMohammad made the venerable sightless man sit by his side, paying him\ngreat attention, stroking his breast affectionately, and was overjoyed\nto hear that Abu Quhafa had come to announce his conversion to the\nfaith of Islam.\n\n[Sidenote: THE PROPHET AT SAFA]\n\nNext day, all the inhabitants of Makkah wended their way towards the\nhill of Safa where the Prophet had called them together to receive\ntheir submission.\n\nTranquilized already by the generosity of the first utterances and\nacts of their conqueror, they did not seem to be affected by the\nfeelings of sadness, shame and dejectedness that usually overcome the\nvanquished. Was not their conqueror one of their own people? Would not\nhis glory become their glory; his triumph, their triumph; and his\nempire, their empire? As a matter of fact, despite their hostility\ntowards him, most of them had suffered cruelly at being separated from\ntheir genial fellow-countryman; the man who, in the heyday of his\nyouth, had been called by them: \"Al-Amin,\" the Reliable. They were\ngreatly moved as they called to mind the mysterious charm of his\npersonality and the irresistible allurement of his speech.\n\nFor some time past, in secret, they had feverishly longed to join the\nenthusiastic religious movement that Mohammad stirred up throughout\nthe whole of Arabia, and become converted in their turn. How derisive\ntheir idols seemed now; the miserable fragments of the graven images\nswelling the garbage heaps swept out of the city! Even those men who\nexploited the superstition surrounding the false gods of wood or\nstone, were the first to arrive at Safa, being in a hurry to get the\nfact forgotten that they had been the priests of such a coarse cult.\nDespite the levelling humility which Mohammad required of all his\ndisciples, those who had waxed fat on the proceeds of commercial\nidolatry were inwardly proud of the family ties binding them to the\nProphet upon whom, of old, they had showered the vilest insults.\n\nAs for Mohammad, it is impossible to describe the sublime emotion that\nseized upon his great soul when he saw flocking to him from all parts,\ntheir eyes at last open to the Light, all those among his\nfellow-countrymen who had so stubbornly fought against him and whom he\ncherished, notwithstanding their injustice. Seated beneath the\nProphet, Umar, as his deputy, received the submission of the Makkans\nwho all came, one after the other, to strike his palm, and in the name\nof Mohammad, he pledged his word to protect them. When this grand\nceremony was finished, a most poignant scene was enacted on the slopes\nof the hill.\n\nAn odious barrier, formed by the idols, which for nigh upon twenty\nyears separated the Quraish Mohadjirun from the Quraish dwelling in\nMakkah, was broken down never to be set up again, and all the enemy\nbrethren threw themselves in each other's arms, reconciled and\nreunited in \"the Path of Allah.\"\n\nA third group of brothers rejoined them soon. They were the Ansar\ncitizens of Al-Madinah, the rival town to Makkah; and the two cities,\nnow having become two sisters, called themselves by the glorious name\nof \"Al-Haramani, the two Sacred Cities.\"\n\nOne incident, however, cast a gloom over this unforgettable\nmanifestation that realised so perfectly the dream which had haunted\nthe Prophet, filling him with superhuman perseverance. The Khuza'a,\nfalling across one of the murderers of their brethren, cut his throat.\nMohammad caused the guilty parties to be brought before him and, after\nblaming them severely, he added: 'I will compensate your victim's\nrelatives myself, but cease all reprisals. Too much blood hath been\nshed already. On the day when He created the Heavens and the Earth,\nAllah declared the territory of Makkah to be holy; its sacred\ncharacter hath remained for all before me and shall remain for all\nafter me. Not only shall the lives of human beings be sacred here, but\nit is likewise forbidden to hunt game, fell trees and cut grass.'--'In\nthis prohibition, O Prophet! the Idhkhir must be excepted,' remarked\nAbbas. 'It furnisheth us with that which we cannot do without, to wit:\nfuel for the forge and the cooking of food.' After a moment's silence,\nthe Prophet concluded: 'With the exception of the Idhkhir, which it\nwill be allowable to uproot.' Following this declaration, all those\ncondemned to death, and who had not been executed the first day, were\ngranted a free pardon.\n\nAmong the crowd of Makkan women who came to declared their devotion,\nMohammad's attention was drawn to a female hiding herself behind her\ncompanions. Despite the fact that she was disguised, he recognised\nferocious Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan. 'Aye! 'tis I!' she cried,\nthrowing off her veil, 'I am Hind, and I implore pardon for the past!'\n\nThe Prophet, in spite of the odious mutilation of the body of his\nuncle Hamzah, forgave her. Hind, when she returned to her dwelling,\nlavished insults on her private family idol: 'O impotent idol! How mad\nwe all were to rely on thy succour!' And she smashed it to pieces.\n\nThe son of Abu Jahal, Ikrimah, who had organised the ambush that\nnearly entrapped Khalid, fled to the sea coast. The fugitive's pardon\nwas granted to Umm Hakim, his wife, who rejoined him when he was on\nthe point of embarking. She brought him back, and the Prophet, fearful\nlest his companions, remembering how he had been so often outraged by\nAbu Jahal, Ikrimah's father, might seek to be avenged on Ikrimah\npersonally, declared: 'Ikrimah hath come to Islam. Let no one insult\nhis father's memory! To insult the dead is to wound the living!' And\nIkrimah, deeply moved by such rare tolerance, became one of the most\nardent defenders of the Religion.\n\nAl-Uhayha, the slayer of Hamzah, was pardoned likewise, after becoming\na convert to Islam. Habbar who, by a blow of the shaft of his spear,\nhad brought about the death of Zainab, Mohammad's daughter, had fled,\nfearing deserved punishment; and then, confiding in the infinite\nclemency of the Prophet, came and gave himself up, after having\nembraced the Islamic faith in all sincerity. 'Go thy way in peace,'\nsaid Allah's Apostle. 'Thy conversion doth wipe out the past; but\nnever let me see thee more!'\n\nSafwan, the second instigator of the ambush in which Khalid was to\nhave fallen, profited also by the victor's magnanimity; and as he\nbegged for a delay of two month's reflection before abjuring idolatry,\nthe Prophet replied: 'I grant thee four months.'\n\nIbn Abi Sarh was the only man who had great trouble in softening the\njust wrath that his defection had kindled in Mohammad's heart. Ibn Abi\nSarh was well versed in the arts of calligraphy and horsemanship.\nFormerly in the Prophet's employ as secretary, he had shamelessly\nchanged words and altered the sense of the Revelations whilst copying\nthem out, in order to make a mockery of the Word of Allah. When his\ncrime was discovered, he fled to Makkah and reverted to idol-worship.\nWhen the town was taken, he took refuge under the roof of Usman ibn\nAffan, his foster-brother. After having kept the faithless scribe in\nhiding for some time, Usman made up his mind to take him to the\nProphet and beg for mercy, but in vain. At each supplication, he\naverted his head. Finally, giving way to fresh and pressing\nentreaties, Mohammad consented to grant a free pardon, but when the\nguilty wretch was gone, the Prophet said to his companions: 'If I kept\nsilence just now, it was but to give one of you time to kill\nhim.'--'We were only waiting for one glance of thine eyes to put him\nto death.'--'A sign by a look of the eye is a treacherous act,' he\nreplied, 'ill befitting one of Allah's Messengers.'\n\nFrom the foregoing examples, it can be seen how carefully the Prophet\ntried to win over his fellow-countrymen by gentleness, but\nnevertheless never deviating from inexorable firmness when anything\nconcerning idolatry was in question. His mercy led to results which\ncould never have been obtained by sanguinary repression.\n\nHe conquered all hearts. With the exception of the Hawazin and the\nSaquifs, all the neighbouring tribes came in at once and made their\nsubmission. From that day onwards, no one could earn the title of\nMohadjer by emigration, because Islam was as firmly establised in\nMakkah as in Al-Madinah.\n\n[Sidenote: GHAZWAH OR EXPEDITION OF HUNAIN (_6th day of Shawwal,\nYear VIII of the Hegira, 28th of January, A.D. 630_)]\n\nRelying on the solidity of the ramparts surrounding their town of\nTaif; hoping to be able to take refuge there in case of defeat, the\nHawazin and the Saquifs had refused to bow down to the Prophet. They\neven got ready to fight him and, under the leadership of two\ncelebrated warriors, Malik ibn Awf and Durayd ibnu's-Simma, they\nmustered in the valley of Awtas.\n\nMohammad, being told about their plans, sent Ibn Abi Hadrad as scout.\nWhen he came back with positive information, the Prophet resolved to\nset out and face his foes.\n\nHis ten thousand soldiers were joined by more than two thousand\nMakkans, lately converted, and impatient to prove their devotion and\nfervour. The effect produced by the army of the Believers was so\nimposing that a voice in the group of the Banu Bakr, it is said, cried\nout: 'Truly we need not fear defeat with such a big army!'\n\nThis exclamation of pride displeased the Prophet greatly, for vanity\nweakens endeavour and causes forgetfulness of the fact that victory is\ngranted by Allah. Mohammad blamed the boastful cry in the most severe\nterms.\n\nOn the bank of a \"wadi,\" the troops saw a big green tree, growing by\nitself, which the idolaters worshipped and looked upon with\nsuperstitious awe. Beneath its shade, they sacrificed victims and, on\nits branches, they hung their weapons, imagining they would become\ninvincible by this verdant contact. Several soldiers, their minds not\nyet sufficiently purified from the stain of fetich observances, longed\nto possess likewise a tree, \"Dhat Anwat,\"--\"Carrier of Weapons\"--and\nsent in a demand to the Apostle which made him very indignant.\n\n'Your demand,' he replied, 'is just as abominable as that of the\nBanu-Isra'il, when saved by a miracle from Pharaoh's hosts and the\nwaves of the sea, they asked Moses for an idol in human shape. Ye are\na stupid \"qawm\" accustomed to adopt without reflecting the vilest\ncustome of your neighbours!'\n\nQuoth Jabir ibn Abdullah: \"Shortly before daybreak, we reached the\n\"wadi\" of Hunain, at the entrance of an extremely narrow and deep\ndefile. All of a sudden, while we were still in the black shadows of\nthe lofty crags, the first rays of the sun, on the other side of of\nthe pass, lit up a sight that made our hearts leap impatiently.\n\n\"Under the careless guard of a few sentinels, our enemies' tents were\npitched in the plain. Between them, women and children passed to and\nfro. Round the encampment, countless flocks of sheep and herds of\ncamels were about to depart to pasture-land. Without waiting for the\nProphet's orders, overwrought by the hope of plunder, we rush into the\npass, so narrow that we were pressed together, shoulder to shoulder.\nNo sooner was the entire army in the defile, when a lengthy, whistling\nmurmur was heard in the air and, like great swarms of locusts, clouds\nof arrows darkened the sky. The darts were showered on us, aimed from\ntwo ridges, overlooking the pass.... We had fallen into an ambush\norganised by cunning Durayd.\n\n\"In consequence of the sting of the arrows from which there was no\nescape, for not one was lost in the soil, all finding a target as\nthey pierced with a hissing noise the flesh of men, horses and camels,\nmad terror overcame us. Indescribable panic was also caused by our\nfoes, lying in wait, concealed at the egress of the pass and who, with\nsavage shouts, charged into our ranks. Tugging at the bridles of our\ncamels, we turned round, the poor beasts grunting gloomily and shaking\ntheir long necks bristling with arrows. In the inextricable confusion\nof their stampede and fright, they tripped each other up and rolled\nover on the ground with their riders, who were at once trampled on by\nfleeing comrades....\n\n\"Whilst the archers continued to distress us with their darts, we\ndiscovered that the entry into the pass was barricaded by another\ndetachment of our enemies who had allowed us to ride through and now\nawaited our return. At their head was a soldier of the Hawazin,\nbestriding a gigantic red camel and he was signalling with a spear to\nwhich he had fixed a black flag. When a Believer passed within reach,\nhe lowered his lance to run him through, and perchance he missed, he\nsignalled with his flag lifted again to those following him, and they\npursued the Mussulman and put him to death.\"\n\nThe defeat seemed irretrievable. Already many of the Prophet's old\nenemies, their hearts still brimming with, rancour, began to gloat\nover the critical situation of the Mussulmans. 'Their flight will not\ncease until they reach the sea coast!' cried Abu Sufyan, who busied\nhimself with consulting his divining arrows which he carried concealed\nin his quiver. 'Mohammad's sorcery is powerless this day!' exclaimed\nKalada ibn Hanbal in his turn. But his brother Safwan, although not\nyet converted, silenced him with these words: 'May a gag close thy\nmouth!'\n\nIn the midst of general confusion, the Prophet alone was cool and\ncollected. He posted himself on a low hill, to the right of the\nvalley. 'I am the Prophet of Allah and no impostor!' he declared, and\nurging his mule forward, went to throw himself in the thick of the\nfight. Abu Bakr rushed in front of the animal and, seizing the bridle,\nheld it back. To try and rally his troops, Mohammad ordered Abbas to\nshout: 'O Ansars and Mohadjirun, my companions! O ye who took their\noath over there!' (at Al-Hudaibiyah). When, from the top of a rock,\nhis stentorian voice carried the Prophet's cry to the fugitives, they\nwere covered with great confusion. Regaining their self-control, they\nreplied: 'We are here at thy service!'\n\nBut what was to be done to stem such a torrent of fleeing men and\nbeasts, crowded together between the two vertical sides of the ravine?\nThe Faithful did their best to lash the camels, twisting their necks\nby pulling the bridle contrariwise. With great strides, the frightened\nanimals kept on in their flight.... It was then that the warriors of\nAllah slung their shields round their necks and jumped out of the\nsaddle, leaving their camels to go on alone. Unsheathing their swords,\nthe soldiers turned back to begin fighting again.\n\nThe Prophet, standing up in his stirrups, saw with joy that the\nsituation was changed, and when his gaze fell upon the countless\nwarriors rushing into the brazier of the battle, he cried out: 'The\nfurnace is alight!'\n\nAli, accompanied by an Ansar, resolved to put a stop to the exploits\nof the Bedouin of the Hawazin, proudly waving his spear adorned with\nthe black flag. With one blow of his scimitar, Ali hamstrung the\ncamel, and at the same moment, the Ansar brought down the Infidel by\nslicing his leg from the knee to the heel, putting an end to his\nmisery as soon as he was flattened out on the ground.\n\nMad terror seized the idolaters when thinking they had crushed the\nMussulmans, they resumed the offensive. It was now the Infidels' turn\nto give way.... Mohammad ordered his mule to lie down. The animal bent\nits knees until its belly rested on the ground. Then taking up a\nhandful of dust, the Prophet, as he had done at Badr, threw it towards\nhis enemies whose flight became a mad rout. It seemed as if they had\nbeen blinded by this dust and that their soldiers were dispersed\nexactly the same as these impalpable atoms....\n\n\"_Now hath Allah helped you in many battle-fields, and, on the day of\nHunain, when ye prided yourselves on your numbers; but it availed you\nnothing; and the earth, with all its breadth, became too strait for\nyou: then turned ye your backs in flight. * Then did Allah send down a\nspirit of tranquillity upon His Apostle, and upon the Faithful; and He\nsent down hosts which ye saw not and punished the Infidels._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, IX, 25, 26.)\n\nHarried by the sword during their retreat, Malik and the remains of\nhis army managed to find safety in the fortified town of Taif.\n\nLess lucky, Durayd, the Infidels' second leader, was unable to escape\nhis fate. Ninety years of age and blind, he was unable to direct his\ncamel when abandoned by his panic-stricken fellow-countrymen, and he\nfell into the hands of a mere lad, Rabi'a ibn Rafia. When he saw the\nlitter in which reclined this celebrated warrior, paralysed by the\ninfirmities of great age, the youth thought he had captured a woman.\nHe made the camel kneel, parted the hangings and was petrified at only\nfinding an old man. Vexed and disappointed, he dealt Durayd a\nsabre-cut, but the aged fighter did not even seem to know that he had\nbeen struck. 'What sort of weapon hath thy mother placed in thy hands,\nO little vagabond?' he asked in accents of supreme scorn. 'Take my\nsabre, hanging from my camel's saddle. Lift the blade aloft and hit\nbetween the vertebrae of the back and those of the head. That was how\nI used to strike men down.'\n\nAbashed at his first failure, Rabi'a followed this piece of advice and\nthe famous warrior rolled dead in the dust.\n\nUrged on by the spur of victory, the Prophet pursued the fugitives to\nthe foot of the ramparts of Taif and tried to take the town. After a\nuseless siege of twenty days, he preferred to give up all ideas of an\nattack in favour of other means, slower but more sure, and instead of\ninvoking the wrath of the Divinity against the inhabitants, he said:\n'O Allah! enlighten the people of Taif and inspire them with a desire\nto come to Thy Apostle of their own free will!'\n\nDespite the disappointment of his troops, he retook the road to\nMakkah, camping at Al-Ji'rana where all the prisoners were collected,\nas well as all the booty to be divided.\n\nWhen the Prophet arrived, a female captive, Ash-Shayma, of the Banu\nSad, which was a fraction of the Hawazin, was struggling to escape\nfrom the brutality of the soldiery. On perceiving Mohammad, she cried\nout: 'O Prophet of Allah, I am thy foster-sister!'--'Prove it!'--'See\nthe scar on my shoulder where thou didst bite me when I carried thee,\na baby boy, on my back.'\n\nThe Prophet recognised the cicatrice. Much moved, he shed tears,\nspread his mantle on the ground, and asked Ash-Shayma to sit down on\nit. 'According to thy wish,' he said, 'thou wilt find generous\nfriendship by my side; or thou canst return to thy tribe with all the\ngifts I'll lavish on thee.'--'Send me back to my people in the desert,\nO Prophet! Such is my sole desire.' Mohammad set her free, after\nhaving loaded her with presents.\n\nA deputation of the Hawazin was presented to the Prophet, and Abu\nSorada, an old man belonging to the division of the Banu Sa's, spoke\nin their name: 'O Prophet! among thy prisoners are thine aunts,\nsisters of the wet-nurses who suckled thee. As for the male captives,\nthey were the companions of thy childhood--almost of thy race! In the\ngreat misfortune which crusheth us, we implore thee in the name of\nAllah! If, for the same reasons, we were forced to implore Al-Harith\nibn Abi Chammar, or Nu'man ibnu'l Mundhir, they would surely take pity\non us! Now thou art the best of nurslings!'--'Which do ye prefer: your\nfamilies or your property?' asked Mohammad, scarcely able to hide his\ntender feelings.--' O Prophet! give our wives and children back to us.\nWe love them quite otherwise to our property.'--'I restore to you all\nmale and female captives belonging to the Banui Muttalib,' declared\nMohammad loudly.--'But those who are ours belong to the Apostle of\nAllah!' cried the Mohadjirun and the Ansars immediately. Thus all the\nprisoners, numbering about six thousand, were given up to the\ndelegates of the Hawazin.\n\nThe family of Malik ibn Awf formed an exception to this ruling.\nMohammad, however, charged those he had just liberated to make him the\nfollowing proposal: 'If Malik cometh to me and becometh a convert to\nIslam, I will give him back his property. Nay, more--I will make him a\npresent of a hundred camels.'\n\nMalik accepted. He left Taif secretly, and when converted, gave such\ntokens of sincerity, that the Prophet appointed him as commander over\nall the Mussulmans of the country. It was the best way to curb the\nresistance of the inhabitants of Taif.\n\nAnd so it turned out indeed, for this able leader, proud of the\ninvestiture, at the head of troops stirred by faith, continued to war\nagainst the Saquifs. By pitilessly raiding their flocks and caravans,\nblocking them by hunger behind the ramparts of their city, he soon\ncompelled them to come in their turn and implore the Prophet's mercy,\nwhen they were converted to Islam. The booty was considerable,\nconsisting of about twenty-four thousand camels and forty thousand\nsheep. After the emotions of the affair of the prisoners, Mohammad\nresolved to postpone the division of the plunder until another day,\nand he mounted his she-camel. But his soldiers were so impatient to\nshare the spoils that they followed and importuned him. By accident,\nthey pushed his animal against a thorny shrub, and its branches tore\nthe mantle of Allah's Chosen One. 'Now, you men, give me back my\nmantle!' he told them, and yielding to their entreaties, he returned\nto see the booty shared among them.\n\nHe tried, above all, to ingratiate himself definitively with the\nnobles of the city, by favouring them in all ways; and afterwards,\nthey were called \"Al-mu'allafa qulubuhum,\" \"those whose hearts have\nbeen won over.\" Abu Sufyan and Mu'awiya his son; Hakim ibn Hizam,\nAn-Nadr ibn Al-Harith, Suhayl, Ikrimah Uyayna, Al-Ajra, and Safwan,\nall received fifty camels each. This difference of treatment gave rise\nto protestations. Ibn Mirdas manifested his dissatisfaction in a piece\nof poetry: 'My share of the booty and that of Al-Ubayd have been\ndistributed to Oyama and Al-Ajra. And yet their fathers, Al-Hasan and\nAl-Habis, never took precedence of my father in any assembly\nwhatsoever!'\n\nThe Prophet sent for him and asked: 'Hast thou composed these rhymes:\n\"My share of the booty and that of Al-Ubayd have been distributed to\nAl-Ajra and Oyama?\" changing the order of the two last names\nmentioned; without noticing that he had thus broken the metre. In the\nQur'an, Allah says: \"_We have not taught him (Mohammad) poetry._\"\n(XXXVI, 59.)\n\nAbu Bakr pointed this out to him. 'No matter,' he replied. 'The\nmeaning remaineth the same.' And he gave orders to \"cut the poet's\ntongue\" by granting him all he claimed.\n\nAn Arab of the Tamim tribe, Dhu'l Khuwaysira, dared to say to Allah's\nMessenger: 'Thou wert unjust in thy division.' Umar started up. 'I'll\ncut the throat of that insolent churl!' he shouted.--'Nay! let him go\nhis own road,' was Mohammad's simple reply.\n\nThe Prophet was obliged to resort to most skilful political measures\nin order to spare all kinds of feelings during the division of these\nriches; and to prevent dangerous jealousy arising among his disciples.\nAll the spoils, nevertheless, were nearly all allotted and he seemed\nto have forgotten his devoted Ansars who, naturally, expected to rank\namong the first to be rewarded. With ever-increasing surprise, they\nsaw no share offered to them and the rich bounty flowing into the\nhands of the Quraish and the Bedouins.\n\nAt last there was no more left to give away and the Ansars exchanged\nbitter remarks: 'By Allah, the Prophet thinketh only of his own\npeople. Now that, thanks to us, he hath returned victorious to his\nbirthplace, we are forgotten and neglected.'\n\nSa'd ibn Ubada, having heard these complaints, went and told Mohammad,\nwho said: 'Good! Call the Ansars together!'\n\nWhen they were mustered, the Prophet came before them. 'O Assembly of\nthe Ansars!' he said; 'I have been told about your talk and the\nsadness of your souls. Did I not seek you out when ye had been led\nastray? Hath not Allah led you all into the right path? Ye were\nunfortunate: hath not Allah made you happy? Each man was his brother's\nenemy: hath not Allah reconciled your hearts?'--'Truly!' they answered\nunanimously. 'Allah and His Apostle are the most compassionate and\ngenerous!'--'And on your part,' he added, 'did ye not welcome me with\ncompassion and generosity when I was a homeless wanderer? Have ye not\nthe right to say to me: \"Thou wert branded as an impostor and we put\nfaith in thee; thou wert east down and we helped thee to be\nvictorious; thou wert poverty-stricken and we made thee rich?\"'--'Nay,\nnay!' protested every man of the Assembly. 'We are indebted to thee\nfor everything and thou dost owe us nothing!'--'In that case,' he went\non, 'O Ansar comrades! how could you let the least feeling of\naffection arise in your hearts concerning the fleeting riches of this\nworld, with which I have endowed certain persons in order to\nstrengthen their vacillating faith, whilst I knew that you were\nunshaken. Know ye not that these people will return to their\nhomesteads with camels and sheep only, whilst ye will take the Prophet\nof Allah back with you to your dwellings?... By Him who holdeth\nMohammad's soul in His hands, I swear that if the Arab tribes retired\ninto one valley and the Ansars into another, I would follow into the\nvalley of the Ansars. For me, the Ansars are as a shirt on the skin;\nand for me, the other tribes are as the mantle outside everything. O\nAllah, show mercy to the Ansars; to the sons of the Ansars; and to the\nchildren of their children!'\n\nThese words, which the Prophet was unable to utter without betraying\nintense emotion, mollified the entire Assembly. Tears of gratitude\nflowed from the eyes of the Ansars so abundantly that their beards\nwere wetted. All cried out, sobs causing them to falter: 'Aye, verily,\nwe accept our share of the booty, for the most beautiful portion is\nours!'\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Now hath Allah helped you in many\nbattle-fields, and, on the day of Hunain, when ye prided yourselves on\nyour numbers; but it availed you nothing._]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE EIGHTH]\n\n[Illustration: _\"Ad-da'wah\" or the Invocation_]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Accomplish the Pilgrimage and the\nVisitation of the Holy Places in honour of Allah._]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE EIGHTH\n\n\n[Sidenote: AYISHAH SLANDERED]\n\nQuoth Ayishah: \"During my return from the Mustaliq expedition,\npressing need compelled me to alight from my Hawdaj, (a kind of litter\ncarried on a camel's back). I found a lonely spot and stopped behind,\nwaiting until all the soldiers had marched past. But seeing my camel\nhalted, and thinking I was inside the hawdaj, they drove the animal\nforward to ensure it remaining in line with the rest.\n\n\"When I came back and found my camel gone, I shouted despairingly; but\nall in vain, until overcome by fatigue, I dropped down and fell\nasleep. One of the rearguards, Safwan Ibnu'l-Mu'attal, catching sight\nof me, recognised me and cried out: 'To Allah we belong and to Him\nshall we return!' Having awakened me by this exclamation, he brought\nup his camel, helping me into the saddle, and he led the animal by the\nbridle until we rejoined the Prophet.\"\n\nScandalmongers got hold of the story and ascribed shameful motives to\nthis chance meeting. Despite the accused woman's protestations of\ninnocence, Mohammad felt suspicion gnawing at his heart, and he kept\nAyishah at a distance, greatly to the confusion of his father-in-law,\nAbu Bakr.\n\nAt last, a Revelation called the accusers liars, and condemned\ncalumny: \"_With Allah it was a grave matter_,\" (THE QUR'AN, XXIV, 14),\nthus ridding the Prophet of all suspicion and putting an end to a\npainful situation.\n\n[Sidenote: THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF IBRAHIM]\n\nIn Year VIII of the Hegira, Mary, the Coptic concubine, gave birth to\na boy. The Prophet, who had never found consolation for the death of\nhis sons brought into the world by Khadijah, was beside himself with\njoy. He gave a slave as a present to Abu Rafi'a, for having brought\nthe news that a son was born, and Mohammad declared that the child's\nadvent freed the mother.\n\nOn the seventh day, the baby's hair was shaved off and buried; two\nsheep were sacrificed and alms were distributed to the poor. All the\nwet-nurses vied with each other for the honour of suckling the\nProphet's son, who was called Ibrahim. He was given into the care of\nUmm Burda, wife of Al-Bara ibn Aws, and she, was rewarded by the gift\nof a palm-garden.\n\nShe took her nursling into the country, to the Banu Mazin, where the\nProphet went frequently to see his son. He used to take him in his\narms, unceasingly \"smelling\" him and covering him with kisses. The\naffection he felt for the child's mother, Mary the Copt, also\nincreased, much to the great vexation of his other wives.\n\nIt happened, too, that he broke his strictly impartial household laws,\nand granted Mary a night that rightly belonged to Hafsa, Umar's\ndaughter. She was grieved to the heart by her rights being forgotten\nand reproached Mohammad so bitterly that he promised to cease all\nintercourse with his freed slave on condition that Hafsa held her\ntongue. But haughty Hafsa broke her word. She told her grievances to\nAyishah, who was likewise furiously exasperated at the favour shown to\nMary. It was now the turn of Hafsa to rouse the indignation of the\nother joint wives.\n\nScenes, scandal and shrieks caused life to be unbearable; so,\nrenouncing all consideration and refusing to let his spouses dictate\nto him, the Prophet put Hafsa away, after having blamed her severely\nfor her indiscretion. For a whole month, he refused to have anything\nto do with his helpmates who, although there was now no cause for\njealousy, still continued their quarrels; each woman accusing the\nother of being the cause of their common husband's neglect. All his\nwives swore that in future they would not pester him with their\nscolding.\n\nBut Mohammad kept his oath strictly. He sought seclusion in a room to\nwhich access could only be had by a staircase of palm-tree trunks, and\nwhere his sole couch consisted of a mat, of which the rough fibre made\ndents in his flesh. His meals were brought to him by a black guardian\nwho stood--an inexorable sentinel--in front of the door, which\nremained closed even to the most beloved among the Prophet's\ncompanions. At last, on the twenty-ninth day, mindful of the grief\nfelt by Umar and Abu Bakr at the humiliation experienced by their\ndaughters, Hafsa and Ayishah, Mohammad took them both back, and all\nhis other wives as well, after he had recited the following verses:\n\n\"_If ye assist one another against the Prophet, then verily, Allah is\nhis Protector and Gabriel and every just man among the Faithful; and\nthe angels are his helpers besides. * Haply if he put you both away,\nhis Lord will give him in exchange other wives better than you:\nMoslems, Believers, devout, penitent, worshippers, observant of\nfasting._\" (THE QUR'AN, LXVI, 4, 5.)\n\nThe joy and hopes accompanying the birth of Ibrahim were not destined\nto last long. The child breathed its last sigh at the age of seventeen\nmonths, under his father's eyes, and Mohammad could not repress\nshowers of tears.\n\nSeeing the Prophet's grief and remembering that in cases of mourning\nhe forbade all lamentations, rending of garments, or laceration of\nfaces, Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Awf said to him: 'Thou also, O Messenger of\nAllah?'--'O Ibn Awf!' he replied. 'Tears arise from compassion. They\nare not prohibited like shrieks and lamentations which are\nprotestations inspired by the Evil One against the decrees of\nProvidence.'\n\nThen, as his tears flowed in still greater abundance, he added: 'The\neyes shed tears; the heart is full of affliction, but we utter no\nexclamation displeasing to the Lord. True resignation is manifested at\nthe first shock; as, later, time bringeth succour. O Ibrahim, we are\ndeeply saddened by being separated from thee; but we belong to Allah\nand to Him shall we return!'\n\nZaira, mother of the wet-nurse, washed the poor little dead body;\nAl-Fadl ibn al-Abbas and Usama ibn Zayd carried it to the cemetery of\nAl-Bagi and lowered it into the grave. When the earth covered the son\non whom he had founded such great hopes, the Prophet prayed over the\ntiny tomb, and exclaimed: 'Declare, O my son! Allah is my Lord, His\nMessenger is my father, and Islam is my Religion!'\n\nAll who assisted at this scene were shaken by sobs. All of a sudden,\ntheir faces took on a livid tint, which, at the same time, spread over\nthe earth, the sand, and the rocks. The azure of the sky changed to a\nleaden hue; the sunlight paled and gradually faded away, although no\nclouds gathered to veil it. An icy shudder, resembling that of fever,\ncaused the whole face of nature to be stirred; and the birds, with\ncries of fright, took refuge in their nocturnal shelters. The last\nrays, still illuminating surrounding objects with dim and sinister\nlight, began to die away and darkness came on in open day, whilst a\nfew twinkling stars appeared in the sky.\n\nThe people in terror knew not which way to turn so as to escape the\nfearful cataclysm they anticipated. Many in the crowd, struck by the\nphenomenon coinciding with the death of Ibrahim, cried out: 'O\nProphet! the eyes of the sun itself are dimmed by tears and it hath\ndeparted to take part in thy mourning!'\n\nThe Prophet, struggling against his grief, drew himself up erect and\nproclaimed in firm accents: 'Nay; it is not so. The Sun and the Moon\nare two tokens of Allah's Almightiness. Like everything beautiful in\nthis world, their beauty is liable to be eclipsed by His orders....\nBut there is no eclipse for the death of any mortal!'\n\n[Sidenote: GHAZWAH, OR EXPEDITION OF TABUK (_Jumada, Year VIII of the\nHegira, August A.D. 630_)]\n\nAt the battle of Mutah, the Christian Greeks learnt to their cost what\nit meant to put the valour of Allah's warriors to the test; and in\ntheir hatred of Islam's steady growth, they busied themselves in\nmustering a most terrible army to crush it.\n\nThe Prophet heard of this. He resolved to be first in the field and\nattack. Only his unshaken confidence in divine protection could have\ninspired him with such temerity. How many thousands of soldiers must\nhe gather together so as not to court irretrievable disaster? Now the\nmoment was not in the least favourable: a long drought had withered\ncrops and herbage; flocks were decimated; horrible famine plunged the\nwhole region in desolation; and the torrid heat of the second half of\nsummer destroyed all energy. The harvest of the savoury fruit of each\noasis, watered by inexhaustible wells, alone promised to be abundant\nand invigorating; and it was precisely when the Faithful were about to\nprofit by the only benefits of this lean year that the Apostle issued\nhis marching orders.\n\nSecret discontent invaded every heart and the incorrigible\n\"Hypocrites\" hastened to exploit it by hawking about everywhere\nperfidious remarks, such as these: 'Do ye think this war against the\nBanu'l-Asfar (the descendants of fair-headed Ishaq) will be child's\nplay, as was that against the swarthy sons of Ishmael? Remember that\narriving exhausted by the intolerable heat of the season and the\nsuperhuman fatigue of the road, ye will have to face the Nazarene\nsoldiers encased in armour!'\n\nThese arguments, which would have been logical if the struggle had not\nbeen in the cause of Allah, began to weaken the minds of those who\nwere hesitating. As for those who were convinced, they could not get\naway from the unheard-of difficulties bound to be met with in feeding\nthe troops, by reason of the dearth of provisions; and means of\ntransport, in consequence of the scarcity of camels. Following the\nlack of pasturage, the majority of these animals that had not\nsuccumbed to hunger, were in a pitiful state of decline. All these\ncircumstances were unfavorable; but no obstacle could stop the Chosen\nOne.\n\nAs the \"Hypocrites\" met to conspire in the house of Suwaylim, a Jew,\nthe Prophet sent Talha ibn Ubaydu'llah to burn their den. They said,\n\"_March not out in the heat.\" Say: \"A fiercer heat wilt be the fire of\nHell! Little then let them laugh, and much let them weep as the meed\nof their doings._\" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 82, 83.)\n\nCaring nothing for his own toil, the Prophet spared no pains to\nimpress upon his disciples the grandeur of the goal. So as to arouse\ngeneral interest, he treated each man differently according to the\ninward aspirations of his being. If in some he awakened the pure hope\nof celestial satisfaction, suitable to their souls loving ideality; in\nothers, he did not discourage hopes of material gratification, such as\nbooty and profane pleasures.\n\nAl-Jadd ibn Qays was a man of intrigue. He said to the Prophet: 'Thou\nknowest that in my \"qawm\" no man loveth woman better than I. Now, I\nfear I shall not be able to restrain myself at the sight of the\ncharming lasses of the Banu'l-Asfar. In that case, wilt thou blame\nme?'\n\nThe Prophet avoided answering. Al-Jadd interpreted such silence as\nshowing that Mohammad promised to shut his eyes. The debauchee could\nnot repress a start of joy, despite the presence of his son, who made\na gesture of disapproval, and his father threw his sandal in the lad's\nface.\n\nThanks to the indefatigable activity of their leader, it was not long\nbefore the Believers were carried away by enthusiasm. The difficulties\nto be overcome; the sacrifices to be made, instead of diminishing\ntheir optimism, only succeeded in feeding it, and those whose poverty\nor infirmities prevented them from joining the ranks of the fighters,\nbecame so sad that they were nicknamed the \"Bakka'un,\" or \"Weepers.\"\nNevertheless, they are excused by this Revelation: \"_It is no crime in\nthe weak, and in the sick, and in those who find not the means of\ncontributing, to stay at home, provided that they are sincere with\nAllah and His Apostle. Nor in those who when they came to thee that\nthou shoulsdt mount them, and thou didst say: \"I find not wherewith to\nmount you,\" and turned away their eyes, and shed floods of tears for\ngrief, because they found no means to contribute towards the\nexpense._\" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 92, 93.)\n\nMoved by their despair, the Prophet made an urgent appeal to the\ndevotion of all the Believers who, with admirable emulation, replied\nat once by bringing considerable sums. Abu Bakr placed the whole of\nhis fortune at the disposition of the Prophet. Usman ibn Affan\nfurnished ten thousand warriors with provisions and weapons. All vied\nwith each other in acts of generosity and women stripped themselves of\ntheir most precious jewellery.\n\nThe expeditionary force was soon organised and numbered between thirty\nto forty thousand men; a figure hitherto unknown in Arabia. The troops\nwere assembled at the Sanniyat-ul-Wida pass. Seeing the exaltation of\nthe Believers, the \"Hypocrites\" considered it prudent to conceal their\nsentiments, but they arranged to group themselves together in the rear\nand when the army had disappeared behind the \"Farewell Pass,\" the\nshufflers dropped out, one after the other, and made their way back to\nAl-Madinah.\n\nTheir conduct was not surprising, but unfortunately their fatal advice\nhad deterred four good Moslems from their duty: the poet Ka'b ibn\nMabk, Murara ibnu'r-Rabi', Hilal ibn Umayya and Abu Khaythama. The\nlatter, suffocated by the extreme heat and also, perchance, by\nfeelings of shame, went into his orchard, surrounded by protecting\nwalls. It was there, under intertwining palms and vine-branches with\nleaves and grapes, which stretched like serpentine bind-weeds from one\ndate-tree to another, that two shelters were erected, built of\npalm-tree trunks and foliage; so impervious to sunlight that the\nobscurity therein seemed to be the shades of night. To complete the\nresemblance, the mysterious darkness of each of these arbours was\nilluminated by a young woman's face, as brilliant as the moon in the\nfulness of its fourteenth night.\n\nKindly attentive as well as beautiful, these loving spouses had\ncarefully watered the sandy soil, whence arose exquisite, moist\nodours. Ingeniously, too, they had hung up, in draughty corners,\noozing goat-skins in which water got to be as cool as snow; and they\nhad prepared delicate dishes of which the aroma sufficed to excite the\nmost rebellious appetite....\n\nAbu Khaythama, bathed in sweat, powdered all over with sand,\nexperienced a sensation of Eden-like comfort, when he glanced at the\ndelights in readiness and was about to revel in enjoyment by lazily\nstretching his limbs on soft rugs. But, suddenly, the emerald-tinted\nreflection of the shade that gently caressed his tired eyes, was\nfurrowed by the flash of a vision:\n\nIn a gloomy, wild, boundless space, beneath the deep azure hue of a\ncloudless sky, under the unbearable sting of a pitiless sun, a long\nline of human beings dragged itself along with difficulty, coming into\nview and then being lost to sight amid yellowish waves formed by rocks\nor sandheaps.... He recognised these mortals. They were his brethren\nin Islam. At their head was ... Allah's Chosen One!\n\n'The Prophet leads an expedition, under yon blazing sky! And Abu\nKhaythama is at rest, in this fresh shade, with fresh water and two\nfresh beauties! No! that cannot be!' he cried; and turning to his\nwives, each of them hoping to gain the preference: 'By Allah! I go not\ninto the shelter of any among you! I rejoin the Prophet! Prepare my\nprovisions for the journey; and that quickly!'\n\nThey obeyed. Releasing his camel, busy just then in drawing water, he\nclapped on the saddle. Then he took down his sword, spear and shield\nfrom where they were hanging, and without a look behind, abandoned\nfresh shade, fresh water and fresh beauties, to hurry in the track of\nthe army. He rejoined it at Tabuk.\n\nMeanwhile, after having followed the windings of the Wadi'l-Qura, a\nbroad valley where the verdant splashes of colour of more than one\noasis, encircling many villages or strongholds, stood out in gay, bold\nrelief on the dull hue of the arid landscape, the expedition had\nreached the fringe of the frightful desert surrounding Al-Hijr, or\nMada'in Salih, the Thamud country. The sight of this inhospitable\nregion oppressed the hearts of the Believers. With its Harra, or\nburning soil cracked and laid waste by celestial flames that marked it\nwith a distinguishing funereal hue of ashes and charcoal, it offered\nto their view the most startling image of a country cursed by the\nAlmighty.\n\n[Sidenote: THE THAMUD COUNTRY]\n\nIn the earliest ages, the idolatrous and debauched inhabitants of\nThamud, proud of the prosperity of their seven towns and massive\ndwellings, hewn out of the solid rock, welcomed with derision the\nProphet Salih, sent by Allah to lead them in the right path.\n\nSo as to show them that his mission was genuine, Salih implored the\nMost High to grant him the aid of a miracle. Thereupon, a rock split\nitself, with a roar which may be compared to that of ocean waves, and\nbrought forth a wonder in the shape of a gigantic she-camel,\nwonderfully hairy and advanced ten months in pregnancy. She dropped a\nlittle foal, already weaned, and bearing an astonishing resemblance to\nits mother.\n\nMiracles have nearly always been powerless to convert hardened sinners\nand the only result of this marvel was a recrudescence of perversity\namong the people of Thamud. To testify how little they valued such a\nportent, these impious wretches resolved to do away with the prodigy.\nWith sharp blades, they studded the two steep sides of a narrow rocky\npass, through which, each morning, the she-camel passed to graze in\nthe plains. In the evening, returning with her little camel, she\nrushed through and tore her flanks most cruelly. The poor beast,\nquivering, uttered groans and, it is said, the echo thereof resounds\neven nowadays, from time to time. She dropped down and died at the\negress of the defile that was called: \"Al-Huwayra,\"--the\ncamel-foal--remarkable by reason of a rock that took on a faithful\nresemblance to the young animal.\n\nSalih, after such sacrilege, realised how useless were his efforts,\nand called down the curse of Allah on the head of the Thamud people,\nupon whom punishment was quickly inflicted: \"_And they hewed them\nout secure abodes in the mountains * But they rebelled against\ntheir Lord's command: so the tempest took them as they watched its\ncoming ... * So that they were not able to stand upright, and could\nnot help themselves.... * We sent against them a single shout; and\nthey became like the dry sticks of the fold-builders._\" (THE QUR'AN,\nXV, 82. LI, 44, 46. LIV, 31.)\n\nEver since the wrath of Heaven destroyed its inhabitants, the country\nof Thamud is deserted. The abodes of this ungodly people alone were\nleft and are still remaining. Under the brows of their frontals, the\nwide-open doors look like the pupils of fantastic eyes, dilated by the\nhorror of the formidable sight they witnessed. The crevices scarring\nthe walls seem, likewise, to be mouths distorted by affright and\ncalling out to those who dare set foot in this desolate domain:\n\"Admire by our example, the vanity of mortals' pride and the emptiness\nof their undertakings. Who can describe the mighty efforts by which\nour masters carved us out of the heart of the mountain and adorned us\nwith slender pillars and graceful sculpture? Sheltered in our bosom,\nstronger than iron, were they wrong to reckon that they were in\nperfect safety?\n\n\"How mad were they! In vain their contracted hands clung despairingly\nto the angles of our walls, the storm of divine wrath passed over\nthem ... and they disappeared for evermore. Even we tottered on our\nfoundations like unto the limbs of a man devoured by fever whose teeth\nchatter noisily. If we were spared, it was only so that we might serve\nas a lesson to travellers straying into our mournful land.\"\n\nWhen the army of the Believers penetrated into the midst of\nstrangely-shaped stone blocks, emerging like reefs from a sea of sand,\nand showing in their smooth sides the dark openings that were the\nabodes of the people of Thamud, the Prophet covered his face with a\ncorner of his mantle, so as to avoid looking at these vestiges of\nimpiety. He closed his mouth and nostrils, not wishing to breathe the\nimpure air emanating from the ruins, and urged on his camel to get\naway from them as quickly as possible.\n\nFearing lest irresistible curiosity might lead the Soldiers of Islam\nastray, he exhorted them thus: 'If ye enter these dens of the ungodly,\ndo so only with tears in your eyes as ye recall their sad fate.' He\nknew that tears of this kind, welling up by reason of such terrible\nremembrances, would cause the attraction of curiosity to be dominated\nby fear of the Almighty. Impressed, however, by the strangeness of\nthese dwellings, seemingly those of superhuman beings or evil spirits;\nand by the deathly silence that reigned in these parts where formerly\na powerful people lived a riotous life of pride and debauchery, the\nFaithful sought but to follow the example of their inspired guide and\nflee from the accursed ruins.\n\nBesides, the soldiers were urged onwards by thirst; and when, in the\nmidst of the sandy plains, the famous well of the Thamud people came\nin sight where the she-camel of the miracle used to drink, they broke\ntheir ranks in the greatest disorder, trying to outstrip each other,\nracing to be the first to slake their thirst. The Prophet, who had\nbeen unable to restrain them, hurried along with his she-camel, caught\nthem up, and gave his orders in accents of great severity: 'Beware of\nthat water, tainted by impiety. Take care not to use it for drinking\npurposes; nor for your ablutions; nor for cooking your food! Let all\nwho have drunk of it, vomit it forth! Those who have kneaded \"hays\"\nwith it must throw that \"hays\" to their camels! Those who have used it\nto cook their victuals must scatter those victuals on the ground\nwithout touching them!' To put an end to all temptation, he ordered\nthe march to be resumed, without taking into account the fatigue or\nthe thirst of his troops.\n\nHis face still veiled by a fold of his mantle, the Prophet, obeyed and\nfollowed blindly by his soldiers, among whom deception and suffering\nhad not caused the slightest murmur, soon reached the entrance to the\nnarrow, weird pass of the \"Mabraku'n-Naqa.\"\n\nSkirted on each side by crags from one hundred and fifty to two\nhundred cubits high, the dark defile produced the most sinister\nimpression. The Faithful felt their breasts shrinking as if crushed\nbetween the dizzy dominating walls. What they most feared was to hear\nthe resounding echoes of the miraculous, disembowelled she-camel. In\nthat case, no power on earth could have mastered the mad terror that\nmust have overwhelmed the animals ridden by the soldiers. By dint of\nwild leaps and bounds, the camels would have thrown off their loads of\narms and food, and ridding themselves of their drivers, taken to\nflight; when, after throwing down and trampling all those who might\nhave tried to stop them, the men must have been abandoned on foot in\nthe midst of the most frightful of all deserts.\n\nThe slightest noises, amplified by the sonorous echoes of the rocky\nheights, made the Believers start and shudder. They went on in the\nmost profound silence, thinking only of how best to speed their\ncamels. At last the lugubrious passage was traversed; the soldiers'\nbreath came and went normally in their breasts now relieved of all\noppression, and a wide, open space, suitable for pitching the tents,\noffered itself to their gaze.\n\nWhen the Believers had finished the work of encampment, the Prophet\nwarned them that a heavy tempest would rage during the night, and he\nenjoined them solemnly: 'Let those in charge of camels tie them\nsecurely and no man leave his tent without a companion.'\n\nThey had scarcely time to give a look at the hobbles of their beasts\nthan the Prophet's prediction began to come true. The sun had set,\ncovered by a misty veil, contrasting with its habitual sumptuous\npurple; its rayless pallor was the sign of an extraordinary storm.\n\nAll of a sudden, a brownish curtain sprung up from the horizon, to\ndrag in its moving folds the orb of day, and the shades of coming\nnight took on a tarry tint. The darkness thickened to such an extent\nthat each man might have thought he was struck blind. A strange\nrumbling sound arose from the depth of the desert and approached with\nincredible rapidity, soon changing its deafening uproar which might\nhave been taken for the hissing of monstrous vipers, accompanied by\ndiabolical vociferation. At the same moment, the camp was crushed by a\ngigantic whirling spout of sand, tearing away in its gyrations\neverything that was not securely fastened. The pitchy darkness gave\nway to yellow obscurity, still more impenetrable to the eye.\n\nSheltered behind their camels, turning their backs to the tempest\nwhilst shuddering and snorting in terror, the Faithful veiled their\nfaces and covered their arms and legs, so as to guarantee their limbs\nagainst the fury of the raging sand that sank painfully into their\nflesh like thousands of wasps' stings. The soldiers flattened\nthemselves face downwards on the ground, digging in their nails;\nholding fast in fear of being swept away like flock of wool....\n\nDespite the horror of the hour, two soldiers forgot the formal\ndirections of the Prophet. One of them, urged by necessity, left the\nencampment and at once fell suffocated. The other tried to run after\nhis maddened camel that had broken its trammels and galloped away,\nonly to be caught immediately in the whirlwind, and rolled round and\nround in its spirals, like a pebble spinning when hurled from a sling;\nand he was whisked up to the summit of the Jabala Tay. When told of\nthis, the Prophet exclaimed: 'Did I not forbid you to leave the camp\nwithout a companion?'\n\nHe invoked the Mercy of the Compassionate in favour of the suffocated\nsoldier who gradually regained consciousness and came back to life. As\nfor the other victim, the Tay mountains restored him when the\nexpedition returned.\n\nThe hurricane, at last, after having exhausted its impotent fury\nagainst the soldiers of Allah, passed away to ravage other regions\nand the Faithful had no further accidents to deplore. But they were\nbroken down by their former difficult marches; and that night, instead\nof granting invigorating rest, only brought them fresh fatigue. The\nsimoon having dried up the last vestiges of moisture in their bodies,\ntheir thickened blood circulated difficultly in their veins and the\nbeatings of their temples led to unbearable singing in the ears.\n\nWhat would become of them on the long road they still had to travel\nbefore reaching the first well? The aspect of the surrounding country\nwas not at all calculated to encourage them. They fancied that they\nwere tramping through the ruins of a world destroyed by an\ninconceivable outbreak of fire. A black line marked the horizon: the\nnever-ending Harra, which seemed in some parts to be formed of coal,\nsoot and ashes; and in others, of iron congealed when molten, with\nenormous bubbles which, in bursting, had laid great crevices open,\nbordered with scattered slag as sharp as broken glass....\n\nThere, at any rate, the flames were extinguished, whereas, on the way\nthey went, fires seemed to be still smouldering. Blocks of rock rose\nup on all sides, like a real forest, and by their shape and colour,\nthey could bear comparison with gigantic tree-trunks, partly calcined\nand partly incandescent. Some were distorted in such strange fashion\nthat, in the eyes of the Faithful, they looked like mouthing demons\nescaped from Hell and posted where they stood to revel in the torments\nof Allah's soldiers passing by.\n\nSlippery slabs and pointed black stones of volcanic origin covered the\nearth, except where it was carpeted by sand of dazzling whiteness\nwhich, by its intense reverberation, kindled myriads of white-hot\nembers under every stone and in all the windings and turnings of the\ncrags and peaks. Even in the depths of the sapphire sky, a hovering\nvulture and a rare fleeting cloud were tinted with a bright orange\nhue, as if they reflected the blaze of an immense furnace. To complete\nthe illusion, lofty pillars of sand hung over all these remains, like\ncolumns of smoke issuing from a badly-extinguished conflagration.\n\nThe Believers' eyes, inflamed by the sandstorm, reddened by the\nrefraction on the dunes, produced--even in their sockets--the effect\nof burning embers. Each time they put their feet, lacerated by the\npebbles of the Hammada, to the overheated ground, their sufferings\nwere unbearable. Their thickened saliva, mixed with impalpable dust,\nformed a firm paste, which the throat would not allow to pass. Their\nskin, stretched as on a drumhead, resounded at the slightest touch,\ncracking in broad furrows, and split lips made speech impossible.\n\nSome of the soldiers were a prey to delirium, caused by thirst; a sure\nsign of death. To bring them back to life, the only resource of their\ncompanions was to make the sufferers drink the liquid contained in the\nstomach of a slaughtered camel, and to plaster the dying man's parched\nbreast with the still moist residue.\n\nThe Prophet endured the sufferings of each of his disciples, but at no\nmoment was his confidence shaken; he knew that if Allah often sees fit\nto put His servants to the test, never does He abandon them. So\nMohammad never ceased to implore His mercy.\n\nWould the day never come to an end? The sun, as if fastened in the sky\nby invisible bonds, at last seemed determined to come down to earth.\nThe orb was veiled, as on the preceding eve; its ruby disc was\nswallowed up on the horizon by the dark cloud in waiting and which,\ntravelling fast towards the zenith, covered the camp with an ebony\ncanopy, fringed with stalactites reflecting coppery tints. A series of\nlightning flashes struck furiously against the sides of this cupola,\nbreaking it into a thousand fragments. From between them, large drops\nof rain escaped, and then came more and more, to be followed at last\nby a diluvian downpour. The poor, parched soldiers shuddered\ndelightfully in feelings of indescribable comfort when the blessed\nshower, soaking through their garments, refreshed their racked limbs;\nand they rushed to quench their thirst at the numerous pools which the\nwaters of the heavens, rolling in cascades on the bare slopes, formed\nin every depression of the soil.\n\n[Illustration: _The Pilgrims of Mount Arafa, on the Ninth Day of the\nmonth of Zu'l Hijjah._ 2 views]\n\nThus reinvigorated, and their goat-skins filled again, the Believers\njoyfully resisted the fatigue of the march between each successive\nhalting-place and finally emerged, safe and sound, from that accursed\nregion.\n\n[Sidenote: ARRIVAL AND SOJOURN OF THE PROPHET AT TABUK]\n\nA vast plain of sparkling sand, streaked by a thin line of a beautiful\npeacock blue, now spread itself out to the gaze of the Prophet and his\nmen. This line, the goal of their efforts, soon became notched; and at\nlast appeared, sharply outlined on the turquoise sky, the slender\ntufts of the palm-trees of which it was formed.\n\nThis was the oasis of Tabuk! No pen can describe the joy of those, who\nhaving endured the anguish of thirst, arrived at this safe haven, an\noasis of date-trees; nor give an idea of the expression on their faces\nwhen, having slaked their thirst and performed their ablutions, they\nlooked down on the crystal water rippling in the \"Sawaqi;\" nor of\ntheir satisfaction when they laid themselves down in the light shade\nof the palm-trees.\n\nThe Prophet's soldiers had got through the hardest part of their task.\nThey had triumphed over the obstacles opposed to them by Nature, and\nhenceforward could look with deep disdain on any barriers formed by\nthe weapons of the Infidels. Besides, thanks to the fantastic rapidity\nwith which tidings travel through the desert, their arrival at Tabuk\nsoon came to the ears of the Christians and the Syrian Arabs who had\nformed a coalition to fight the Believers.\n\nThe enemies of Allah were overcome by stupor, for they had felt\ncertain that if the Prophet should try to carry out his audacious plan\nat such a time of year, the bones of all the men of his army would be\nscattered over the lonely Hijaz wilderness.\n\nTherefore, in spite of their enormous numerical superiority, they\nconcluded that any struggle against forty thousand Believers who had\njust accomplished this prodigious feat would be madness, and finish by\noverwhelming their opponents with indescribable disaster. Strife broke\nthe ranks of their innumerable army, and each party it comprised fled\ntowards its own part of the country without having dared to face the\nProphet. The pitiful helter-skelter retreat of the allies enhanced the\nmagic power of Islam as greatly as the most brilliant victory; and if\nMohammad had not been kept back by the necessity of fulfilling his\nmission in the Hijaz before any other undertaking, he could have\npenetrated in the depth of the Palatinat almost without striking a\nblow.\n\nAs it was, established at Tabuk, he received the eager submission of\nthe Arab lords who hurried to him, one and all, coming not only from\nthe vicinity, but also from distant regions, such as those of Sinai\nand Syria. Alone, the proud Prince of \"Dawmatu'l-Jandal,\" an important\ntown situated on the outskirts of the \"Nefud\" (Desert of Red Sand),\nhaving refused submission, the Prophet sent Khalid the Terrible to\nhim; and he was brought to his knees at once.\n\nDuring the few weeks' rest granted to his army, Mohammad never ceased\nthe work of organising the country and teaching new converts.\n\nOne event only saddened him in his success: the death of a most\ndevoted comrade, known as \"Dhu Nijadayn,\" (the man with the two\nshoulder-belts). To prove to all in what esteem he held this perfect\nMussulman, he insisted in helping, with his own noble hands, the\ngravedigger to lower the body into the earth, and Ibn Mas'ud, jealous\nat seeing the dead man so highly honoured, exclaimed: 'Ah! why am I\nnot buried in that tomb?'\n\n[Sidenote: THE PROPHET GOES BACK TO AL-MADINAH]\n\nThe return journey took place without any incident worthy of\nnarration. The hot months having gone by, the army was spared the\npangs of thirst; and during the first days of the month of Ramadhan,\nthe soldiers re-entered Al-Madinah.\n\nIn such a moment, in the midst of the acclamations greeting the\nreturning, energetic soldiers, the perfidious \"qawm\" of the\n\"Hypocrites\" knew not where to turn to hide their shame. To palliate\ntheir meanness, they invoked the most specious pretexts in vain. The\nApostle did not even deign to honour them by resentment, reserved for\nthe shaming of the three Ansars, deterred from their duty by the\ndouble-faced crew.\n\nDespite the repentant humility of the abashed men, the Prophet\nsentenced them most rigorously by putting them under interdict and\nforbidding the Believers to have anything to do with them. The\ndelinquents were completely isolated and the Faithful fled from them\nas if they were plague-stricken. Allah, notwithstanding, moved by\ntheir remorse, pardoned them:\n\n\"_He hath also turned in Mercy unto the three who were left behind, so\nthat the earth, spacious as it is, became too strait for them; and\ntheir souls became so straitened within them, that they bethought them\nthat there was no refuge from Allah but unto Himself. Then was he\nturned to them that they might turn to him. Verily Allah is He that\nturneth, the Merciful!_\" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 119.)\n\nThe \"Ghazwah\" of Tabuk was the last expedition led by the Prophet. To\nconclude the conquest of Arabia, he was satisfied thenceforth to send\nhis lieutenants to accomplish a certain number of \"Saraya\" or\nexpeditions, all fully successful, but which it would take too long to\ndescribe here.\n\nHe dwelt in Al-Madinah, kept busy in receiving the numerous\nsubmissions brought about by the victories of Islam. There were those\nof the Princes of Dawmatu'l-Jandal; of the Yaman; of the Uman, of\nBuhayra; of the Yamama; of Taif; of Najran, etc. He also devoted his\nenergies to the most difficult task of governing the Arabs, for the\nfirst time united to form a people of brothers; and in his work as\nlegislator, he displayed the resources of as much genius as when he\nwas at the head of his armies.\n\nAbout this time, the famous chief of the \"Hypocrites,\" Abdullah ibn\nSalul, died. Seized with remorse in his last moments, Abdullah\nimplored Mohammad's pardon and, despite the objections of ungovernable\nUmar, the Prophet was not to be stopped from saying prayers over the\nbody of his perfidious foe and burying him with his own hands. After\nthis proof of clemency and forgetfulness of offences, there no longer\nremained a single \"Hypocrite\" in Al-Madinah.\n\nIn his turn, Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, who had passed his life in composing\nvirulent satires against the Prophet, came to be converted by him, and\nrecited a poem which he had written in his honour. When Ka'b got as\nfar as the fifty-first verse:\n\n\"The Messenger of Allah is a flaming sword illuminating mortals; a\nsword of India, unsheathed by Allah,\" Mohammad pardoned him, making\nhim a present of his mantle which he threw over the poet's shoulders.\n\nAfter the return of his victorious lieutenants, the Prophet despatched\nmissionaries to the newly-converted tribes, in order to prevent them\nbacksliding by introducing any of their past superstitions into the\nreligion.\n\nOne of the principal missionaries was Mu'adh ibn Jabal, who was about\nto set out for the Yaman. So that all should see the consideration he\nattached to the mission entrusted to Mu'adh, the Prophet bound a\nturban round his envoy's head, helped him to mount his camel, and\nwalked by the animal's side, giving final instructions. Mu'adh\nconfused, made as if to alight, but Mohammad stopped him. 'Remain in\nthe saddle, O sincere friend!' he said. 'I follow the orders of Heaven\nand satisfy my heart. It is needful that a man performing important\nduties should be honoured. Ah! if only I had hopes of seeing thee\nagain, I should cut our conversation short; but probably I now speak\nto thee for the last time.' Much moved, they separated; never to meet\nagain in this world....\n\nIn the month of Zu'l-Qa'dah, the Apostle, ever mindful of the\nreligious and political importance of the pilgrimage to Makkah, sent\nAbu Bakr to accomplish it at the head of three hundred Mussulmans.\nScarcely had Abu Bakr reached Zu'l Holifah, when the Surah of\n\"Bara'ah\" was revealed:\n\n\"_O Believers! only they who join gods with Allah (that is to say,\nthose who in any way whatsoever, associate Allah the Only One with\nother divinities or persons) are unclean! Let them not therefore,\nafter this their year, come near the Sacred Temple (of Makkah)._\" (THE\nQUR'AN, IX, 28.)\n\nThis Surah, remarkable as being the only one in the Qur'an without the\nintroductory form: \"In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the\nCompassionate,\" was of the greatest importance, in so far as the\npilgrimage was concerned. It forbid all who were not Mussulmans from\nsetting foot in Holy Territory and even nowadays this prohibition\nbeing rigorously enforced, the pilgrims of Islam are safeguarded\nagainst enemy spies, and protected from the unseemly curiosity of\nforeigners.\n\nThis was also the final blow struck at idolatry among the Arabs who\ncould no longer come to Makkah unless they disowned their idols.\nConsequently, the Prophet charged Ali to rejoin the pilgrims' caravan\nin all haste and recite this imperative Surah to the assembled\nFaithful, after the sacrifices had been made in the valley of Mina.\n\n[Sidenote: THE VALEDICTORY PILGRIMAGE (_Zul-Hijjah, in Year X of the\nHegira, March A.D. 632_)]\n\nThe following year, the Prophet determined to lead the pilgrimage to\nMakkah personally. Since the Hegira, he had only accomplished the\n\"Amratu'l-Qada,\" or pious visitation, at a time when Makkah had not\nyet been entirely won over to Islam. Now the \"Hajj u'l-Akbar,\" or\nGreater Pilgrimage, which imposes, besides the visit to the Sacred\nTemple of Allah, a visit to the mountain of Arafa, or of Recognition,\n(so called because our first parents, Adam and Eve, met each other\nthere after having been driven out of Paradise), is one of the five\npillars of the practical religion of Islam.\n\nMohammad also wished to see his native land for the last time, having\na presentiment of his coming end, for he felt himself secretly\nundermined by the vestiges of poison remaining in his veins. He\nsolemnly announced his intention. The idea of seeing the Apostle of\nAllah and accomplishing the pilgrimage with him, stirred the\nenthusiasm of the whole of Arabia, and the number of pilgrims who\naccompanied him from Al-Madinah or joined him on the way, may be set\ndown at about hundred thousand.\n\nAt Zu'l Hobfah, all the Faithful, following the Prophet's example, put\nthemselves in the state of \"Ihram,\" as described in the chapter of\nal-Hudaibiyah, and assumed the robe also called \"Ihram,\" consisting of\ntwo seamless wrappers free from any dye likely to stain the skin. One\npiece of drapery is wrapped round the waist and the other, thrown\nloosely over the shoulders, covers the chest; the head, arms, and legs\nbeing left bare. After the Prophet had proclaimed the \"Talbiyah,\" the\npilgrims took it up in chorus: \"_I stand up for thy service, O Allah!\nThere is no Partner with Thee! Verily Thine is the Praise, the\nBlessing and the Kingdom!_\"\n\nDuring the journey, two unimportant incidents arose which we note\nnevertheless, because they show that a pilgrim is obliged to suppress\nall feelings of impatience or anger. The camel of Safiyah, one of the\nProphet's wives, was a slow animal, and being heavily laden, did not\nkeep up with the caravan, despite the efforts of its driver. Ayishah's\ncamel, possessing a good turn of speed and lightly burdened, Mohammad,\nafter having tried to explain these facts to its fair rider, gave\norders to change the loads of the two animals. But this displeased\nAyishah. She lost her temper and cried out: 'Thou sayest thou art\nProphet? Then why not do things justly?'\n\nNo sooner had these words escaped her lips, than her father, Abu Bakr,\nslapped her face; and as Mohammad upbraided him, he replied: 'Didst\nhear what she said?'--'Yea; but she must be excused. The essence of a\nwoman's mind is jealousy; and when jealousy masters her, she is\nincapable of seeing in what direction runs the current of a wadi!'\n\nOn arriving at the encampment of Al-Arj, the camel carrying the\nprovisions of the Prophet and of Abu Bakr was missing. Ayishah's\nfather laid the blame on the driver: 'How's this? Thou hadst but one\ncamel to look after and thou hast let it go astray?' Carried away by\ngreat anger, Abu Bakr, with his whip, gave the man a good hiding.\n'Admire the conduct of this pilgrim in the state of \"Ihram!\"' said the\nProphet, ironically. 'Come now, O Abu Bakr, be calm, and rest assured\nthat thy serving-man's sole desire was not to lose thy camel.'\n\nThe caravan took the same road as that of the pious visitation. The\nProphet entered Makkah in open day, and made his she-camel kneel in\nfront of the entrance of the Sacred Precincts, called the \"Door of\nSalvation,\" and on catching sight of the Ka'bah, he exclaimed: 'O\nAllah, increase the glory of this Temple and the number of its\nvisitors!'\n\nAfter three ablutions, he kissed the Black Stone, whilst tears welled\nup in his eyes. He then performed the \"Tawaf,\" and the \"Sa'y,\" in the\nsame way as during the pious visit.\n\nOn the eighth day of the month of Zu'l-Hijjah, he went to the valley\nof Mina where he caused a tent of woollen stuff to be pitched; and it\nwas there he said the prayers of the afternoon; of sunset; and of\nnightfall. Next day, after the prayer of the \"Fajr,\" he once more\nbestrode his she-camel, al-Qaswa, in order to reach the mountain of\nArafa.\n\nCountless crowds having gathered on the mountain's rocky slopes, as\nwell as on the plain and in the surrounding ravines, the Prophet\npreached, remaining on his she-camel which he had ridden and halted on\nthe summit. Standing immediately beneath him, was Rabiyah ibn\nUmmayatah, posted there to repeat the words of the sermon, with his\nresounding voice, during a pause made for that purpose at the\nconclusion of each sentence.\n\nAfter Allah had been glorified by the \"Takbir,\" the Prophet exhorted\nthe Faithful to treat their wives with the greatest gentleness, and\nnever to forget that the rights of spouses are equal to their duties.\nHe explicitly forbade the exaction of any interest whatsoever on money\nlent; and no murders committed during the \"days of ignorance\" were to\nbe avenged. He fixed the duration of the year at twelve lunar months;\nand declared that the \"Nasi,\" which added a month every three years to\nreestablish equilibrium and bring the same dates back to the same\nseasons, was impious and must be abolished....\n\nHe then concluded, as he cried: 'O Believers, your blood and your\nbelongings ought to be looked upon as holy to each of you, even as\nthis day is holy and as this land is holy! O Believers, remember what\nI say, for I know not if ever I shall be with you again on this spot,\nwhen this day is past. And, above all, never forget that every\nMussulman should be truly a brother to every other Mussulman, for all\nthe Mussulmans in the world form a single people of brothers!... O\nAllah! have I fulfilled my Mission?'--'Yea, verily, O Allah!' replied\nin unanimous outcry the hundred thousand mouths of the pilgrims, in\naccents of the most ardent gratitude.--'O Allah! hearken to their\ntestimony!' cried Mohammad.\n\nAt another spot, near the summit of the Arafa, and known by the name\nof \"As-Sakhrah,\" recognisable by being paved with broad slabs, a\nsudden Revelation came down to the Prophet. Under the burden of Divine\nInspiration penetrating the heart of her rider, the she-camel al-Qaswa\ncame nigh to breaking all her limbs, and she fell on her knees.\n\nHere are the words of Allah, the Most High: \"_This day have I\nperfected your religion for you, and have filled up the measure of my\nfavours towards you; and it is my pleasure that Islam be your\nreligion...._\" (THE QUR'AN, V, 5.)\n\nThis Revelation, terminating the Prophet's sermon which had so deeply\ntouched the Believers, stirred up the purest enthusiasm in the whole\nof the Assembly.\n\nNevertheless, Abu Bakr, far from participating in the general joy, was\nseized with a fit of intense melancholy, and was unable to hold back\nthe tears that filled his eyes. He thought that having found favour in\nthe eyes of the Almighty, His mercy was bound to decrease. Knowing\nthat his son-in-law's Mission was terminated, Abu Bakr was afraid that\nthe Prophet would soon disappear from this world....\n\nThe indigo shades of night had fallen over the valley and spread along\nthe slopes of the Arafa. All by himself, on the mountain top,\noverlooking the great multitude of pilgrims, the Prophet, on the back\nof his tall she-camel, still remained in the light of the last golden\nrays of sunset. His glance, ecstatic by faith, was resplendent with\nsuperhuman brilliancy; but his face, emaciated by illness, had taken\non the immaterial aspect of a vision about to fade.... The rising\nshadows reached and veiled him....\n\nIt was now the turn of the companions of the Prophet to find\nthemselves overcome by the same mournful apprehension that Abu Bakr\nhad felt, although scarcely a few moments before, they were\nmanifesting their joy at hearing that their religion had been\nperfected by Allah.... By degrees, their emotion was communicated to\nthe entire assembly of the Believers and their hundred thousand hearts\nwere filled with the keenest anguish.\n\nThe Prophet gave the signal of departure; but to prevent the accidents\nwhich any haste would inevitably cause among the great masses of such\na gathering, he tugged the bridle of swift Qaswa to him, twisting her\nhead round until her nostrils touched her ribs, whilst he slid on to\nher withers; unceasingly exhorting all: 'Go quietly, O ye people!'\n\nOn arriving at Muzdalifa, he said the prayer, \"Isha,\" and next day,\nafter the daybreak prayer, riding his she-camel, led by Bilal, and\nprotected from the sun by a mantle that Usama, riding behind him, held\nover his head, he went into the valley of Mina, in order to throw\nseven stones against each of the three pillars of rude masonry, called\n\"Jumurat.\" This is in commemoration of the pebbles thrown by Abraham\nto drive away the Devil who thrice tried to stop him at that spot.\n\nAfter that, the Prophet, to prove his gratitude for the sixty-three\nyears of life granted to him by the Creator, freed sixty-three slaves\nand, with his own hands, sacrificed sixty-three camels, their flesh\nand skins being distributed among the pilgrims by Ali, acting under\nMohammad's orders. He then had his head shaved by Mi'mar ibn Abdullah,\nwho commenced at the right temple and finished at the left. Finally,\nafter having once more performed the \"Tawaf\" round the Kab'ah, and\ndrunk for the last time some Zamzam water in a vase offered to him by\nhis uncle Abbas, the Superintendent of the Well, he set out again on\nthe road to Al-Madinah.\n\nSuch was the pilgrimage called the \"Valedictory Visitation,\" which\noverwhelmed the Believers with such deep emotion by apprising them\nthat Mohammad's Mission was fulfilled. This pilgrimage serves as a\npattern for all the pilgrimages which, during thirteen centuries, have\nbrought annually to these Holy Places, one hundred and fifty to two\nhundred thousand pilgrims, collected from all parts of the universe.\n\nAny pilgrimage, be the religion giving rise to it what it may, causes\ninexpressible emotion by the sight of so many faces beaming with\nfaith; and the most sceptical among the onlookers finds it difficult\nto escape the contagion of this outbreak of fervour. But, among the\nmajority of the spectators, inadmissible practices soon overcome\nsympathetic feelings and change them into aversion. At Makkah,\ndoubtless, as in all religious centres without exception, pilgrims are\nruthlessly exploited; but in this city, at least, the traffickers may\nbe excused: they dwell in the most inhospitable of all deserts and\nhave no other means of getting a living.\n\nWhat makes the Mussulman pilgrimage essentially different to any\nother, is the absence of those innumerable chapels, whose narrow\narches imprison souls, hampering them as they soar towards the Creator\nand holding them back on earth at the mercy of the clergy. Here are no\nfetishes, such as statuettes or miraculous icons, surrounded by their\nprocession of votive offerings; nor that multitude of saints, their\nworship taking the place of that of the \"Eternal,\" generally neglected\non these occasions. There are also none of those monks clad in varied\ngowns, all jealous of each other; quarrelling over pilgrims and\nreligious resorts for the greater glory of their sect or order.\n\nAt Makkah, prayers are said in the vast quadrangular courtyard\nsurrounding the Ka'bah; the ethereal vault of heaven takes the place\nof the masonry work of chapel roofs and, purified from all its mists,\nit opens to souls thirsting for ideal good, its lapis-lazuli depths,\nmore vertiginous here than in any other part of the world. At Makkah,\nnothing is worshipped except Allah, the Chosen One, and pilgrims seek\nthe remembrance of Abraham and Mohammad for no other reason than to\nstrengthen the fervour of their faith by following the Prophet's\nexample. They never pray to these Prophets in the same way as\nChristians adore their saints; on the contrary, Moslems pray to Allah\nfor their prophets.\n\nThe gates of the Ka'bah enclosure are open day and night. The pilgrim\nhurries there as soon as he gets to Makkah. At the sight of the temple\ndraped in black, the object of his unceasing thoughts during the\nsevere ordeals of the journey, in the midst of sandstorms or\ntempest-tossed, he is overtaken by such emotion that in this moment of\nsuperhuman ecstasy, he wishes his soul to be snatched away. Sobbing,\nhis breast heaving fitfully, under the influence of remorse, his face\nconvulsed by shame, he approaches the Black Stone to kiss it,\nexclaiming: 'O Allah! pardon me my sins; free my being from their\nburden and purify my heart, O Thou, the most Merciful among the\nCompassionate!'\n\nWhen the hour of prayer is called by the Muazzin, the spacious\nquadrangle is invaded by a veritable sea of Believers; their hurrying\nwaves scarcely leaving in the serried ranks the needful space for\nprostration. Following one of the \"Takbirs\" of the Imam, said after\nhim in an immense sigh escaping simultaneously from every breast, a\ngreat swell passes over all the Faithful, causing every head to be\nbowed, like billows breaking.\n\nAt another \"Takbir,\" it seems that the ground suddenly gives way under\nthe pilgrims' feet. At one bound, every forehead is pressed to the\nearth, where the body of each man remains crushed by the threefold\nweight of Contrition, Gratitude and Adoration; like so many rays\nconverging in the direction of the Temple which seems to be made still\ntaller by the added height of the prostrated pilgrims. Above them, the\nblack silk veil undulates, stirred by the gusts of a mysterious breeze\nwhich many attribute to angels' beating wings.\n\nThe Assembly of the Arafa is distinguished by quite as much grandeur.\nIn a wild valley stands the conical mountain of Arafa. Its slopes,\nbare of all vegetation, bristle with enormous boulders. There is no\nsign of life on its sides, nor in the neighbourhood; all around is the\nimage of desolation and the silence of death. But every year, on the\nninth day of the month of Zu'l-Hijjah, the funereal landscape evokes\nmost strikingly the future Day of Resurrection.\n\nSoil, sand and rocks disappear, truly cloaked by human beings,\nenwrapped in their white \"ihrams,\" and who might be taken for the\nresuscitated dead, freeing themselves from their shrouds after having\nlifted the rocks which were their gravestones. As it will happen on\nthat supreme day, all the earth's races are represented in the\ncountless crowds gathered together at this spot, deserted but a short\ntime before. Here some Arabs, with eyes of eagles, their complexion of\na reddish bronze; Ottomans, their features showing them to be\nenergetic and headstrong; Hindoos, with faces clear-cut and\nolive-tinted; Berbers, fair-haired and rosy-cheeked, their eyes blue;\nSomalis and Soudanese, their black skins shining in the sun with lunar\ngleams; refined Persians; bold Turcomans; yellow Chinese, with closed\neyelids; Javanese, high cheek-boned, etc.... Nowhere else in the world\ncan such a variety of faces and languages be met with.\n\nAfter the prayer of the \"Asr,\" (afternoon), the \"Khatib,\" or preacher,\nriding his she-camel, gorgeously harnessed, appears on the summit of\nthe Arafa where the sermon is given forth, interrupted by frequent\n\"Talbiyahs\": \"_Labbaika! Allahummah! Labbaika!_\" (I stand up for Thy\nservice, O Allah! I stand up! I stand up!)\n\nAt each \"Talbiyah,\" the pilgrims wave the ends of their white\ndraperies over their heads and the whole mountain seems to be\npalpitating under the beating of myriads of wings ready to fly, whilst\na lengthy clamour rises to the sky from every part of the valley,\nreverberating in the sonorous echoes of the desert. \"_Labbaika!\nAllahummah! Labbaika!_\" shout two hundred thousand pilgrims with one\nvoice, neglecting their own idioms, so as to become united in the same\ntongue: that of the Arabs, chosen by the Almighty for the Revelation\nof His Book.\n\nIn that sublime hour, in language as well as by the heart, all these\nmortals are cordially brothers. They have forgotten all their racial\ndifferences, distinctions of rank or caste, and all their political\nand religious feuds.... On the Arafa, Islam once more finds its\nperfect unity and its primitive outbreak of enthusiasm. What great\nconsolation! What balm for some of its wounds!\n\nQuoth the Prophet: 'The Moslems are as one body; the pain in any\nsingle limb gives rise to fever and insomnia in the whole of the\nframe.'\n\nOn the Arafa, Islam has nothing to fear from enemy spies; it can make\ngood its losses and prepare its future. Despite its disasters, it is\nmore alive than ever! Such is the impression of this unforgettable\nday, that each of the assistants takes back with him to his own\ncountry, as well as the title, so greatly envied, of \"Haji,\"\nsignifying Pilgrim to the Holy Places.\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Say: Go through the earth, and see how\nHe hath brought forth created beings._]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE NINTH]\n\n[Illustration: _Al Madinah, the City of the Prophet. The Dome of\nMohammad's Tomb._]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Thou truly art mortal, O Mohammad, and\nthey truly are mortals._]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE NINTH\n\n\n[Sidenote: ILLNESS AND DEATH OF THE PROPHET (_Rabi'u'l-Awwal, Year IX\nof the Hegira. June A.D. 632._)]\n\nQuoth Abu Muwayhiba, the Prophet's serving-man: \"One night towards the\nend of the month of Safar, my master woke me up. \"I must go and\nimplore the blessing of Allah,\" said he, \"for those at rest in the\ntombs of Baqui'u a'l-Gharqad. Come with me.\"\n\n\"I accompanied him. \"Blessed be you, O dwellers in the tomb!\" he\nexclaimed, when we reached the cemetery. \"Rest in peace! Allah hath\nspared you terrible ordeals, like unto the anguish of a dark night,\nmore terribly black at the end than at the beginning. Such are the\ntorments in store for those who are still upon this earth!\"\n\n\"As he finished speaking, the whole of his body was shaken by the\npalsy of fever, and he wended his way back to his dwelling with\ndifficulty; his temples racked by the unbearable pains known as\n\"Suda\"....\"\n\nQuoth Ayishah: \"When the Prophet returned from his visit to the\ncemetery of Al-Baqi, he came to see me in the middle of the night. I\nwas suffering from violent headache and as I complained, he said: 'Ah!\n'tis I who ought to complain of pains in the head and not thou!' He\nwent on, jokingly: 'Would it not be better for thee to die whilst I am\nstill in the land of the living? I could implore the Mercy of Allah in\nthy favour; with my own hands I could enfold thee in thy\nwinding-sheet; I could pray over thy body and place thee in thy\ngrave.' 'Of a surety thou doest me great honour in apprising me that\nthou wouldst act thus in my favour,' I replied; 'but I fear that after\nI was buried, thy sole consolation would be to bring back with thee,\ninto my room, some other of thy wives!' At this sally, a smile\nreturned to the Prophet's face and, for a brief moment, he forgot his\npain.\"\n\nAs time went on, his illness left him no rest; nevertheless, mastering\nhis sufferings, his mind was busier than ever, and he occupied himself\nwith the future of Islam, for he felt that the effects of his\nmanagement would soon be lacking.\n\nThinking that Syria was one of the gates through which the warriors of\nAllah would have to march to conquer the world, Mohammad's gaze was\nunceasingly turned towards that country and he resolved to organise a\nthird expedition against the Christians, in whose power it was.\n\nGreat rivalry at once arose with regard to commanding such an\nincursion. Of heroes and generals having been put to the test, Islam\nhad enough and to spare. The most famous among them: Ansars or\nMohadjirun, anxiously awaited the Prophet's choice.\n\nTo the stupefaction of all, however, Usama, barely twenty years of\nage, was chosen. It is true that this lad was the son of Zayd ibn\nHarith, the martyr of Mutah. Mohammad placed great reliance on the\nrevengeful ardour that Usama would show in fighting the murderers of\nhis father on the very spot where he gloriously succumbed, than on the\nexperience and warlike valour of the Mussulman generals.\n\nThis selection caused deception and gave rise to murmuring. The\nBelievers hesitated to put boundless confidence, such as is\nindispensable for success, in a chief so young and inexperienced.\nHaving been told about this, the Prophet rose and cut short all\ndisputes by these words: 'Ye criticise my choice of Usama, even as ye\nformerly cavilled at that of Zayd, his father! Listen! To you I swear,\nby Allah! that Zayd was truly worthy of the post of command with which\nI did entrust him. I cherished him above all other men; and after him,\nhis son is the man I prefer. Go, carry out my orders, and have\nconfidence!'\n\nThese simple words, uttered in a tone of inspired conviction, banished\nall hesitation; smoothing away all jealousy as if by magic; and the\nnoblest and most famous among all the chieftains, together with the\nmost humble soldiers, came enthusiastically to obey the commands of\nthe stripling. When the expedition marched into the \"Farewell Pass,\"\nthe Prophet was deeply moved as he saw his troops disappear. The\nsuperhuman faith animating the warriors at the parting hour proved to\nhim that no obstacle could bar their way on the road to victory and\nthat the irresistible torrent of Islam, like unto the salutary\noverflow of a wadi, was about to inundate the world and bring it the\nprolific germs of its new civilisation. Meanwhile, it was not long\nbefore the alarming news, relating to the Prophet's illness, stopped\nUsama's forward progress, bringing him back to Al-Madinah.\n\nAbout that time, the Apostle received a letter, couched in these\nterms: \"Musailimah, the Prophet of Allah, to Mohammad, the Prophet of\nAllah. Peace be with thee, I am thy associate. Let the exercise of\nauthority be divided between us. Half the earth is mine, and half\nbelongeth to the Quraish. But the Quraish are a greedy people, and\nwill not be satisfied with a fair division.\"\n\nThe author of this epistle, Musailimah, Prince of the Yamama, had\nrecently been converted to Islam; and then, fully appreciating the\nmajesty of the part played by the Prophet, this pretender planned with\nmonstrous pride to play the some part in his turn.\n\nTo the envoys bringing the impudent missive, Mohammad replied: 'Were\nit not that your situation as ambassadors causeth me to look upon your\nlives as sacred, I would have you beheaded.' And he handed them this\nanswer: \"Mohammad, the Prophet of Allah to Musailimah, the Impostor.\nPeace be with those who follow the right road! The earth is Allah's,\nand He giveth it to whom he will. Those only prosper who fear the\nLord!\"\n\nBoth Musailimah and Al-Aswad, another impostor, soon found out the\ndanger run by those who enacted the part of Prophet without having\nbeen called by Allah. They expiated their temerity most cruelly.\n\nThe Prophet's illness became daily more serious. He grew so weak that\nhe could only move about by dint of the most painful efforts.\n\nBeing in the house of Maimunah, he sent for his other wives. His usual\nhabit was to pass the night in turn, impartially, at each of their\ndwellings; but feeling himself weighed down by intense suffering, he\nbegged them to let him remain with Ayishah alone for the duration of\nhis illness; and to this they consented.\n\nQuoth Ayishah: \"The Prophet left the abode of Maimunah, thanks to the\nassistance of Al-Fadl and Ali, who held him in their arms. A bandage\nwas bound tightly round his head, and his weakness was so great that\nhe had no sooner set foot in my room than he swooned. When he came to,\nlancinating pains tortured his temples; and hoping to soothe his\npangs, he asked: 'Pour over me six skinsful of water drawn from a very\ncold spring, so that I may be in a fit state to go forth and preach to\nthe Faithful.' We sat him in a stone trough, borrowed from Hafsa, and\npoured water over him in abundance, until he bade us stop, by a wave\nof his hand, saying: 'Enough!'\"\n\nMomentarily invigorated, Mohammad went out through Ayishah's door\nwhich gave on to the Mosque; and again supported by his cousin Ali and\nAl-Fadl, he had great trouble in mounting the steps of the pulpit,\nfrom which he made the following declaration to the Faithful\nassembled: 'O Believers, if among you there be one whose back I have\nbeaten, here is my back so that he may do himself justice! If there be\none whose honour I may have wounded, here is my honour, let him be\navenged! If there be one whose property I may have seized, here is my\nproperty, let him satisfy his claim! Let no one hesitate in fear of my\nresentment, for resentment formeth no part of my disposition.' After\nhaving stepped down to give out the noonday prayer, he went up in the\npulpit again and repeated the same declaration.\n\nA man arose and claimed payment of a debt amounting to three drachmas.\nThe Prophet handed them over to him at once, adding: 'It is easier to\nput up with shame in this world than in the other.'\n\nHe then evoked the remembrance of the martyrs of Uhud, to whom he\ndevoted the best part of his prayer, imploring Allah's blessings in\ntheir favour. He wound up as follows: 'Allah hath offered one of His\nservants the choice between the riches of this earth and those that\nare to be found at His side.' At these words, divining that the\nProphet was alluding to himself and the state of his health, Abu Bakr\nburst into tears, and exclaimed: 'Ah! why cannot we offer our lives as\na ransom for thine?'--'O Believers!' replied Mohammad, 'it hath come\nto my ears that ye fear your Prophet may die; but before me hath any\nProphet been immortal as he accomplished his Mission? How can I dwell\neternally among you? Every soul is doomed to die. I must return to\nAllah and ye likewise will return to Him.'\n\nQuoth Ayishah: \"After this effort, when the Prophet came back to my\nroom, he fainted away again. When the call of the Muazzin was heard,\nhe rose up and asked for water wherewith to perform his ablutions,\nmeaning to lead the prayers. He swooned three times.\n\n\"As the Faithful awaited his coming in the Mosque, he sent Bilal to\nfetch Abu Bakr, so that he could perform the duties of Imam instead of\nthe Prophet. The crowd, guessing the reason of this change, broke out\ninto fits of sobbing....\n\n\"The Prophet was frequently seized with delirium. One Thursday, whilst\nall his companions gathered round his bed, he said to them: 'Bring\nhither to me ink and parchment; I would place on record a book for you\nwhich shall prevent your going astray for evermore.'--'Allah's\nMessenger is burdened by pain,' said Umar; 'have we not the Qur'an?\nAllah's Book sufficeth for us.'\n\n\"Several of his companions, accustomed never to argue about anything\nsaid by the Prophet and remembering that he was illiterate, thought\nthat in this supreme moment a miracle was about to be accomplished.\nTherefore they wanted to give him what he asked for. They were opposed\nby his partisans sharing Umar's opinion, and a quarrel began, the\nProphet recovering his senses by the noise. He told them\nreproachfully: 'It is not seemly to quarrel thus at a Prophet's\nbedside. Go away!'\n\n\"To soothe his unbearable pain, he dipped his hands in a pitcher of\ncold water and passed his wet palms over his face, as if to wipe it:\n'O Allah!' he cried, 'help me to support the terrors of the death\nstruggle!'\n\n\"He had Fatimah, his beloved daughter, fetched to him twice and spoke\nto her secretly, whispering in her ear. The first time, Fatimah's face\nwas bathed in tears; the second time, her features were lit up by a\nsmile. We asked her the reason of her changed expression, and she told\nus: 'The first time, my father warned me that he must soon succumb to\nhis illness, and I could not repress my tears. The second time, he\ninformed me that of all his family, I should be the first to rejoin\nhim, and so great was my joy that I could not stop myself from\nsmiling.'\"\n\nOn the Monday, the twelfth day of Rabi'u'l-Awwal, Abu Bakr was saying\nprayers in the presence of the Faithful, when Ayishah's door, giving\ninto the Mosque, was thrown open. Supported by Ali and Al-Fadl, the\nProphet appeared. His turban was twisted tightly round his head, and\nhis benumbed feet dragged along the ground. On seeing him, the\nFaithful were comforted by a ray of hope and a wave of emotion stirred\nthem all. Without turning round, Abu Bakr guessed that only the\narrival of the Prophet could have given rise to such a manifestation\nwhile prayers were being said, and he moved away to join the ranks of\nthe worshippers and let his place be taken by Mohammad. But he made\nBakr go back; pulling him by his garment, as he said: 'Continue to\nlead the prayers.'\n\nHe then sat down on Abu Bakr's right hand, under the pulpit, and his\nface beamed with happiness, at the sight of the piety of the\ncongregation. When prayers had been said, he spoke to the Believers\nfor the last time; and in tones firm enough to be heard outside the\nMosque, he preached a sermon predicting terrible ordeals and charging\nthem with the strictest observance of the principles of the Qur'an,\nfor such would be the only way leading to Salvation. Leaning against\none of the palm-tree trunk pillars, he chatted familiarly with some of\nhis companions, and then went back to his room.\n\nQuoth Ayishah: \"After this last effort, the Prophet was again\novertaken by greater pain than ever, and covered his face with a black\ngarment, which he threw off again, as it stifled him....\n\n\"Just then, Abdu'r Rahman, son of Abu Bakr, came in, holding in his\nhand a small twig of green \"araq,\" with which he was picking his\nteeth. The Prophet stared at the little stick and I made out that he\nwould have liked it. So I took it out of Abdu'r Rahman's hand. Cutting\noff the end of the toothpick, I shook it, cleaned it and gave it to\nAllah's messenger who immediately made use of it, picking his teeth\nmore carefully than ever before. When he had finished, he let the\nlittle stick drop from between his faltering fingers. He raised his\neyes to heaven, repeating three times: 'O Allah! with the\nCompassionate on High....!' And I felt his head, resting between my\nchin and shoulder, grow heavy on my arm.\n\n\"I guessed that the Prophet had chosen the eternal dwelling and that\nhis noble soul had just been taken by the Angel of Death. I placed my\nhead on the pillow and uttered a great cry of distress.... His wives\ncame running in; and all together, we went down on our knees, and tore\nour faces with our nails.\"\n\nOn hearing these lamentations, the Believers filled the Mosque. They\nwere dazed, like sheep straying on a dark, wintry night; but not one\nof the Faithful would admit that the Prophet was dead. The\ndisappearance of the man who led them in every way seemed an\nimpossibility.\n\n'How can he be dead?' they cried. 'Did we not count upon him to be our\nwitness on the Day of Resurrection? He is not dead; he hath been\ncarried up to Heaven, even as was Isa (Jesus).' And through the door\nthey cried: 'Beware lest ye bury him!'\n\nThis met with Umar's approval: 'No, verily, the Prophet is not dead!\nHe hath gone to visit the Lord, even as Moses did, when after an\nabsence of forty days, he reappeared to his people. In like fashion,\nMohammad will be restored to us. Those who say he is dead are traitors\nto the cause of Islam. Let their hands and feet be cut off!'\n\nAt that juncture, Abu Bakr, who had been fetched from the As-Sunuh\nquarter where he lived, arrived on horseback, galloping as fast as\npossible. He alighted and, making his way through the crowd in\nconsternation, he went into the Mosque without speaking to a soul, and\nfrom there, passed into the room of his daughter Ayishah in order to\nsee Allah's Messenger. A piece of striped stuff was thrown over the\nbody; Abu Bakr uncovered the Prophet's face, kissed him, wept and then\nbroke down under the weight of his great grief.... 'O Thou for whose\nransom I would have offered both father and mother,' he cried, 'thy\ncareer is well accomplished!'\n\nTearing himself away from his sorrowful contemplation, he covered up\nMohammad's face again and went out, going straight up to Umar who was\nharanguing the people. 'Sit down, O Umar!' he said. Umar refused to\nobey him. In the meantime, the majority of the Faithful left him by\nhimself, and gathered round Abu Bakr who told them: 'O Believers, if\nye adore Mohammad, know that Mohammad is dead; but if ye adore Allah,\nknow that Allah is alive, for Allah cannot die! Ye must have forgotten\nthese verses of the Qur'an: \"_Mohammad is no more than an Apostle;\nother Apostles have already passed away before him; if then he die, or\nbe slain, will ye turn upon your heels? Thou truly art mortal, O\n(Mohammad), and they truly are mortals._\" (THE QUR'AN, III, 138, and\nXXXIX, 31.)\n\nQuoth Umar: \"By Allah! scarcely did I hear Abu Bakr recite these\nverses than I felt my legs give way under me. I was near falling down,\nfor then I began to understand that the Prophet was really dead!\"\n\n[Sidenote: ABU BAKR ELECTED]\n\nBefore thinking about the funeral, it was urgent to guard against the\npressing danger threatening Islam, totally broken up by the loss of\nits inspired guide.\n\nThe man who had succeeded in bringing together in religious fraternity\nfamilies and tribes at loggerheads for centuries, having disappeared,\nwhat would become of this brotherhood? The immediate nomination of a\nCaliph, or lieutenant appointed to continue the Prophet's task, could\nalone prevent irretrievable disaggregation. This urgent necessity\nstirred the tribes tumultuously; a tragical conflict between Ansars\nand Mohadjirun was imminent, each party claiming to have the Caliph\nchosen from among its adherents. Happily, Umar's energy and spirit of\ndecision easily averted the crisis. Having succeeded in gaining a few\nmoments' silence, he called upon the Believers to take notice that\nduring the last days of his life, Mohammad had designated Abu Bakr,\nhis companion during the Hegira, to take his place as \"Imam,\" and\ndoubtless the Prophet would have chosen him for Caliph.\n\nThis opinion carried the day. When the sun rose again, all the\nBelievers, forgetting their disputes, came and took the oath of\nfidelity to Abu Bakr.\n\n[Sidenote: THE PROPHET'S BURIAL]\n\nThis important question being settled, the Faithful were free to\narrange the Prophet's funeral and give way to the despair that racked\ntheir souls.\n\nAt first, they were embarrassed, not daring to strip off his garments\nso as to wash the body according to the usual rites. Respect forbid\nthem to look on his nakedness, as if it were sacrilegious to do so.\nAfter long discussions, irresistible sleep weighed down their\neyelids; their chins rested on their breasts, when suddenly, a voice\nproceeding from the chamber of death was heard. They awoke at its\nsound and it replied to what was passing in their minds: 'Wash the\nProphet without undressing him.' That was the solution they sought,\nand without further delay, they acted on the suggestion. With striped\nstuff of the Yaman, Abbas erected a kind of tent in the room, so as to\nkeep the crowd away from the body. By the aid of seven skinsful of\nwater drawn from the well of Al-Ghars, at Quba, preferred by Mohammad\nto any other, Ali, Usama, Abbas and his sons, and Shukran, the freed\nslave, proceeded with the ritual washing. Abbas, assisted by his sons,\nAl-Fadl and Qutham, turned the venerated body over. Usama and Shukran\nsprinkled it with water and Ali wiped it without removing the shirt.\n\nThe first washing was done with plain water, the next with an infusion\nof lotus-flowers; and the third, and last, with camphorated water.\nAbbas and Ali then perfumed every part of the body that comes in\ncontact with the earth during the ceremony of prostration: forehead,\nnose, hands, knees and feet.\n\n'How sweet is thy smell, O Prophet!' exclaimed Ali; and all marvelled\nat not finding on Mohammad's frame any of those horrible traces of\ndecomposition following the separation of the soul from the body, with\nthe exception of a slight bluish tinge appearing on the nails.\n\nInstead of a shroud, the Prophet was wrapped in the garments he wore\nat the moment of death: his shirt, which after the ablutions was wrung\nout and allowed to drip; and a double robe woven at Najran. It was\nthen that Ali and Abbas, having replaced Mohammad on his bed, allowed\nthe crowd to enter.\n\nThe room was at once filled with as many Believers as it would hold,\nand after they had said: 'Peace be with thee, O Prophet, and also the\nMercy and Blessing of Allah!' they got ready to pray without an \"Imam\"\nto lead them, for the real \"Imam\" was present, although his soul had\nbeen called back to the side of the Almighty.\n\nAbu Bakr and Umar were in the front rank of the worshippers, and they\nconcluded the prayer by these words: \"_O Allah! we bear witness that\nhe hath accomplished the Mission Thou didst entrust to him. O Allah!\ngrant peace to those among us who follow faithfully the orders Thou\nhast revealed to him and hasten to reunite us with him. Amin!_\" And\nall the people, stirred to the innermost depths of their being,\nrepeated: \"_Amin! Amin!_\"\n\nFresh difficulties now arose, concerning the place of burial; some\nwanting the grave to be dug in the Mosque; others, at Al-Baqi, among\nthe tombs of the Prophet's family. A few mentioned Makkah, his\nbirthplace. Abu Bakr silenced them, affirming that he had heard\nMohammad say: 'Allah only taketh the soul of a Prophet on the spot\nwhere it is fitting that he should be buried.'\n\nThe bed was accordingly moved away and the grave dug in the ground\nunderneath it. This task was alloted to Talha, the gravedigger of\nAl-Madinah. He strengthened the sides of the grave by means of nine\nunburnt bricks, and carpeted the bottom with the red blanket that\nserved the Prophet as a rug for his camel when travelling, and which\nwas not to be used by anyone now that he was dead. Ali, Al-Fadl,\nQutham, and Shakran lowered the body into its last resting-place....\n\nAl Mughira ibn Shu'ba affirms that he was the last man to have the\nhappiness of contemplating the face of the Chosen One before it was\ncovered with earth. \"I let my finger-ring drop into the grave,' he\nsays, 'so that when I regained it, I should be the last to address a\nfarewell salute to the Prophet.\"\n\nThe sad ceremony was concluded in the middle of the night between\nTuesday and Wednesday. On the morrow, at dawn, when in his call to\nprayer, Bilal, the \"Muazzin,\" proclaimed: 'There is no God but Allah,\nand Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah!' he could only shout the name of\nMohammad through his sobs. The whole town replied to him, as by an\necho, in a long moan of despair which rose to heaven, from every door\nand window of the houses....\n\nEver since that day, the twelfth of the month of Rabi'u'l-Awwal, Year\nXII of the Hegira, (June 8th, A.D. 632), this extraordinary man, who\nwas, to say the least, the equal of the greatest of all Prophets;\nmonarch, general theologian, legislator and philosopher, and whose\nreligion counts at the present time three hundred millions of\ndisciples, rests in this spot where his noble soul was carried aloft.\n\nA sumptuous Mosque, erected over the room where he died, has taken the\nplace of the humble temple of raw bricks and palm-trunks that he built\nup with his own hand. A visit to his tomb is not one of the pillars of\nIslamic pratical religion, but nevertheless there are few pilgrims\nwho, after the severe trials endured during their journey to Makkah,\nhesitate to undertake the twelve days' caravan travel, so distressing\nand dangerous, between Mohammad's birthplace and Al-Madinah, in order\nto salute the Prophet's grave piously and enthusiastically....\n\nEven the learned men of Europe are beginning to forget secular\nprejudices and do justice to the founder of Islam. 'If a man's value\nis to be estimated by the grandeur of his works,' declares Dr. G. Le\nBon, 'we can say that Mohammad was one of the greatest men known in\nhistory.'\n\n[Illustration (Calligraphy) _Mohammad is no more than an apostle;\nother apostles have already passed away before him; if then he die, or\nbe slain, will ye turn upon your heels?_]\n\n[Illustration: _Imam leading the Prayers._]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _O my supreme Master, lavish thy\nBlessings and thy Favours for ever and ever on Thy Friend (Mohammad),\nthe best of all created beings._]\n\n\nTHE PROPHET'S PORTRAIT\n\n\nAccording to his son-in-law, Ali, the Prophet was of middle height and\nsturdy build. His head was large, his complexion healthy; with smooth\ncheeks, a thick beard, and wavy hair. When he was vexed, a vein\nswelled out on his forehead, from the top of his aquiline nose between\nhis eyebrows which were well arched and meeting.\n\nHis big eyes, framed by long lashes, were of a deep black, lit up at\ntimes by a few red gleams, and his glance was extraordinarily keen.\nHis mouth was large, well suited to eloquence. His teeth, as white as\nhailstones, were slightly separated in front. The palms of his hands,\nof which the fingers were long and slender, were broad and soft to the\ntouch like fine silk.\n\nThe Seal of Prophecy--which the monk Bahira discovered--was just below\nthe nape of the neck, between Mohammad's shoulder-blades. It resembled\nthe scar left by the bite of a leech, and was of a reddish hue,\nsurrounded by a few hairs.\n\nThe Prophet's gait was slow, solemn and majestic. In all\ncircumstances, he never lost his presence of mind and was\nquick-witted. When he turned round, the whole of his body moved,\nunlike frivolous folks twisting their necks and rolling their heads\nabout. If he held out an object to show it, he made use of the whole\nof his hand and not two or three fingers. When surprised, he glorified\nAllah, turning the palms of his hands to heaven, nodding his head and\nbiting his lips.\n\nWhen he made an affirmation, he struck his widely-open left hand with\nhis right thumb to lay stress on his declaration. If angry, his face\nflushed; he stroked his beard and passed his hand over his face,\ntaking a deep breath and exclaiming: 'I leave it to Allah, the best\nproxy!'\n\nHe was a man of few words; but each had many different meanings, some\nplain and others hidden. As for the charm of his elocution, it was\nsupernatural, going straight to the heart. None could resist it. The\nProphet's merriment never went beyond a smile, but if he was overcome\nby an excess of gaiety, he covered his mouth with his hand.\n\nHis disposition was even, without self-sufficiency or obstinacy.\nWhenever any of his companions called him, he replied immediately:\n'Here I am!' He liked to play with their children and would press them\nto his noble breast. He used to make the sons of his uncle Abbas stand\nin a row and, promising to reward the child who got first to him, they\nwould all run into his arms and jump on his knees.\n\nHe interested himself in the doings of all, whether slaves or nobles,\nand followed the funeral of the most humble Believer. He flew one day\ninto a most violent passion because, through negligence, he had not\nbeen apprised of the death of a poor negro who swept out the Mosque.\nHe insisted on being told where the grave was situated and went to\npray over it.\n\nWhen an applicant tried to get close to the Prophet's ear so as not to\nbe overheard, he would bend his head until the man had finished\nspeaking. When a visitor took the hand of Mohammad, he was never the\nfirst to withdraw it, but waited until the other chose to relax his\ngrasp. The Prophet often said: 'To be a good Mussulman, we must wish\nfor others that which we wish for ourselves.'\n\nNever did he let his blessed hand fall on a woman, nor on one of his\nslaves. Quoth Anas, who was seven years in his service: \"'He never\nscolded me; he never even asked me: 'Hast done this?' or: 'Why didst\nthou not do that'\" Abu Dharr heard the Prophet declare: 'These\nservants are your brothers, placed under your authority by Allah.\nWhoso is master over his brother must give him the same food as he\neateth and the same apparel as he weareth.'\n\nAn Arab who bore arms at the battle of Hunain, tells the following\nstory: \"My feet were shod with heavy sandals and in the thick of the\nfight, I accidentally trod on the Prophet's foot. He struck me with\nthe whip he held in his hand and cried out: 'By Allah! thou hast hurt\nme!' And all night long, I reproached myself for having inflicted pain\non Allah's Messenger. Next day, early in the morning, he sent for me.\nI went into his presence. I was trembling with fright. 'Thou art the\nman,' said he, 'who crushed my foot yesterday under thy thick sole and\nwhom I lashed with my whip? Well then, here are eighty lambs. I give\nthem to thee. Take them away.' And ever since that incident, the\nProphet's patience got the best of his anger.\"\n\nOf a loving disposition, he suffered at having been deprived at an\nearly age of maternal affection, which led him always to busy himself\nabout the way mothers and children got on together. His ideas in this\nconnection were summed up in this sentence: 'A son gains Paradise at\nhis mother's feet.' While saying prayers, if he heard a child cry, he\nwould hasten to conclude, so as to allow the mother to go and console\nher offspring, for he knew how mothers suffer when they hear their\nchildren cry.\n\nHis marvellous insight into mortals' souls and the depths of all\nthings, causing him to be the most prodigious psychologist ever known,\ndid not prevent him from consulting his companions for the least\nthing. Ayishah tells us: 'I never knew anybody ask for advice and\nlisten to different opinions so carefully as the Prophet.'\n\nIf feelings of kindly dignity prevented Mohammad from resorting to\nvulgar mockery or making use of cutting remarks, his mood was\nnevertheless playful. He was fond of joking, which is not reproved by\nAllah, if the sally contains a grain of truth. One day, for amusement,\nhe told Safiyah, his aunt on his father's side, that 'old women were\nnot allowed to enter Paradise.' The noble dame, well advanced in\nyears, burst into tears. So he went on: 'But all women will be\nresuscitated with the aspect of females thirty-three years of age,\njust as if they had all been born on the same day.'\n\nThe three things he loved best in this world were prayer, perfumes,\nand women.\n\nHe was so fond of praying that his feet used to swell in consequence\nof standing for too long a time whilst at his devotions; but he\nconsidered that the right to pray so often was one of the prerogatives\nof his position as a Prophet. Still he would not admit that his\nexample should be followed. This he proved when upraiding Abdullah ibn\nAmir: 'Have I heard aright when they tell me thou dost pass the night\nin prayer, upstanding; and then fast next day? If thou shouldst keep\non at this, thou wilt endanger thy sight and wear out thy body. Thy\nduty, that thou owest to thyself and thy people, is to fast and break\nthy fast; to rise in the night and also to sleep.'\n\nNext to prayer, Mohammad preferred women, for which his detractors\nhave blamed him severely. He was certainly an ardent lover; a male, in\nevery respect, morally and physically, but endowed with that chastity\nwhich fits in well with healthy voluptuousness. Following his example,\neven nowadays, the Arabs are remarkable for their extreme decency,\nalthough devoid of all affectation and having nothing in common with\nthe hypocritical mock-modesty of Puritans.\n\nMohammad had twenty-three wives, but he only had intercourse with\ntwelve of them; his other marriages taking place for political\nreasons. All the tribes were eager to be allied to him through one of\ntheir daughters and he was beseiged by matrimonial offers. One of\nthese women, Azza, sister to Dihya al-Kalbi, died of joy when she\nheard that the Prophet accepted her as spouse.\n\nHis love of women caused him to be brimful of kindness to them,\nand he sought to better their lot whenever he could. To begin\nwith, he abolished the monstrous custom of burying girls alive,\n\"Wa'du'l-Binat,\" of which we have already spoken. He then regulated\npolygamy, limiting the number of legitimate helpmates to four, which\ndid not prevent him from urging the Faithful to give heed to this\nverse of the Qur'an: \"_If ye fear that ye shall not act equitably,\nthen marry but one woman only._\" (IV, 3.)\n\nThen, after declaring that: 'among all things which are licit, divorce\nis the most displeasing to Allah,' he allowed a wife to ask for\nrelease if the husband neglected the duties of marriage.\n\nFinally, thanks to his ruling, a virgin could no longer be taken in\nmarriage against her will; the dower, formerly given by the husband to\nthe father of the affianced maiden, was ordered to be handed over to\nher. Such is the wise custom of the dower which the enemies of Islam\ncall the purchase of a wife. Doubtless, they know nothing about the\nterrible retort of Moslems when they notice that in certain Western\ncountries the dowry is paid to the bridegroom by the bride's father!\nOver and above the dower, the Mussulman husband has to defray\nhousehold expenses without touching his wife's fortune to which he has\nno right.\n\nThe Prophet also ordained that a wife is always entitled to some part\nof an inheritance. If it is only half a share, that is because the\ncompensation found by the spouse in the dowry and the household upkeep\nis taken into account.\n\nThe Prophet was fond of perfumes; for they completed the process of\npurification by ablutions. The man who has a sweet smell will be\nworthier and better able to safeguard his honour than he whose bodily\nodour is disgusting. Mohammad scented himself with musk and he liked\nsandal-wood, camphor and ambergris to be burnt. He used pomade for his\nhair, and four plaits hung down over his ears, two on each side. He\nclipped beard and moustache with scissors, keeping all in order by\nmeans of an ivory, or tortoise-shell comb. He blackened his eyelids\nwith \"Kuhl,\" which brightens the eye and strengthens the lashes. He\ntook care of his teeth by rubbing them often with the \"Miswak,\"\n(fragment of soft \"Araq\" wood), of which the fibre, when the end is\nchewed, has the same effect as a brush.\n\nHis apparel consisted generally of a tunic of cotton cloth,\nshort-sleeved, and not too long; together with a cloak, four cubits\nlong and two wide, woven in the Uman region. He also had a Yamanite\nmantle, six cubits long and three wide, which he wore on Fridays and\nholydays. Then, last of all, came his green mantle, inherited by the\nCaliphs; and a turban known as \"As-Sahab,\" bequeathed to his\nson-in-law, Ali.\n\nThe Prophet took the greatest care of his personal appearance and\nreached as far as simple, although very refined elegance. He was wont\nto look at himself in a mirror, or if that was lacking, in a jar full\nof water, to comb his hair, or adjust the folds of his turban, letting\none end hang down behind his back. He used to say: 'By attending to\nour exterior, we please Him of whom we are the servants.'\n\nTo make amends, he severely condemned extravagance in clothing;\nparticularly the use of silk, which for rich people furnishes an\nopportunity for a display of pride belittling the needy; but he\npermitted it for those to whom it was necessary for reasons of bodily\nhealth.\n\nHis love of justice and charity extended to animals. It was he who\ntold how \"a man saw a dog so thirsty that it lapped up mud. Taking off\none of his slippers, the man filled it with water which he offered to\nthe dog; keeping on in the same way until the animal had quenched its\nthirst. Allah was pleased at what the man did and welcomed him to\nParadise.\"\n\nThis kindness and the mysterious radiation emanating from Mohammad's\npersonality made an impression on animals; and even on inanimate\nobjects, as well as on human beings. When he went up the steps of a\npulpit newly constructed in the Mosque of Al-Madinah, the humble\npalm-tree trunk on which he habitually stood when preaching, began to\ngroan and was only quieted when he laid his blessed fingers on it.\n\nThe Prophet worked with his own hands. He milked his ewes, cobbled his\nshoes, mended his clothes, fed his camels, pitched his tent, etc.,\nwithout accepting the assistance of anyone. He carried home his own\npurchases from the market, and replied to one of the Faithful who\nwished to do so for him: 'It is incumbent on the buyer to take away\nwhat he buyeth.' Thus, by his example, he condemned the practice of\nwealthy people who bought largely, and without troubling about the\nweight of their purchases, forced their servants to carry the goods.\n\nHis disdain for the riches of this world reached to the highest pitch.\nAccording to Ayishah, this is what he said on this head:\n\n\"Allah offered to change all the pebbles round Makkah, into pure gold\nfor me and I answered: 'O Allah! all I ask is to be hungry one day and\nsatisfied the next. The day I am hungry, I will implore Thee and the\nday I am satisfied, I will thank Thee.' What have I to do with worldly\nwealth? I am like the traveller who lieth down in the shade of a tree;\nthe sun, as it turneth, beateth down upon him and he goeth away from\nthat tree never to return. O Allah! let me die poor and resuscitate me\nin the ranks of the poor!\"\n\nThe Prophet's sobriety was extreme; he never would have several kinds\nof food served at the same repast. If he ate meat, he went without\ndates; and if he ate dates, he deprived himself of meat. He showed a\npredilection for milk which appeases thirst and hunger at one and the\nsame time.\n\nMany months often passed without a fire being kindled in any of the\nProphet's houses for baking bread or preparing other kinds of food.\nAll this time, he and his family lived on dried dates only and his\nsole beverage was plain water. When hunger-pains gnawed his entrails\ntoo cruelly, he placed a stone on his belly and bound it there with a\ngirdle. He departed this life without having a surfeit of any sort of\nvictuals, not even of barley cake.\n\nHe never troubled about his body, so far as comfort went, although he\nkept it in a state of perfect purity by dint of continual ablutions.\nHe frequently slept on a rugged mat, the rough bristles deeply marking\nhis flesh. His pillow was made of palm-fibre and his bed was a mantle\nfolded in two. One night, when Ayishah had folded it in four, the\nProphet lost his temper, found his couch too soft and ordered it to be\nrestored to its usual state.\n\nBefore dying, he freed all his slaves and distributed the small amount\nof property he still possessed. He deemed it unseemly to appear before\nthe Lord with gold in his possession. In his dwelling, but thirty\nmeasures of barley were found; and to buy them, he had been forced to\nleave his breastplate at a usurer's as security for a loan.\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad\nis the Prophet of Allah._]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE TENTH]\n\n[Illustration: _A Writing-lesson at a village school devoted to the\nTeaching of the Qur'an._]\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Say: O my people! Act as ye best can: I\nverily will act my part, and hereafter shall ye know!_]\n\n\nCHAPTER THE TENTH\n\n\n[Sidenote: THE MARCH OF ISLAM]\n\nAt the very moment when fate had deprived Islam of its genial founder,\nthe organisation of this new religion was definitively and\nmeticulously arranged even in its most humble practices.\n\nThe soldiers of Allah had already conquered the whole of Arabia and\nthe attack on the colossal empire of the C\u00e6sars in Syria was begun. A\nshort period of unrest, inevitable after the disappearance of the\ninspired guide, caused a few rebellions; but Islam was so strongly\nconstituted, overflowing with such enthusiasm that it was about to\nastonish the world by its impressive forward march, unique perhaps in\nthe annals of history.\n\nFor the first time, rushing forth from their country forsaken by\nNature, the proud Arabs, stirred by the miracle of Faith, were about\nto become masters in less than a century of the best part of the old\ncivilised world from India to Andalusia, and that despite their\nextreme numerical inferiority.\n\nThis marvellous \u00e9pop\u00e9e engrossed the mind of the most wonderful man of\nour time, Napoleon, who always manifested the most sympathetic\ninterest in favour of Islam. During the Egyptian campaign, he declared\nthat he was: \"Muslimun Muwahhidun,\" _i.e._ Unitarian Mussulman.\n(_Bonaparte el l'Islam_, by Ch. Cherfils.) Towards the end of his\nlife, he returned to the subject: 'He thought that apart from\nfortuitous circumstances, giving rise to miracles, there must have\nbeen something more than we know in the establishing of Islam; that\nthe Christian world had been so remarkably cut into by the results of\nsome first cause still hidden; that these peoples, perhaps, suddenly\nemerging from the desert depths, had endured long periods of civil war\nin their midst, during which great characters and talents had been\nformed, as well as irresistible impulses, or some other cause of the\nsame kind.' (Las Casas, _M\u00e9morial de Sainte-H\u00e9l\u00e8ne_, iii, p. 183.)\n\nGuessing, therefore, that beneath the slumber of Islam in decadence,\nthere were incomparable reserves of energy, he tried, not once but\noften, to win it over by an alliance. If he succeeded, he deemed\nhimself capable of awakening it and, by its aid, changing the face of\nthe world.\n\nNapoleon was not mistaken; civil wars had indeed exalted the heroic\nqualities of the Arabs, but they had made all organisation and\nprogress impossible. Had it not been for the advent of Mohammad, these\nintrepid soldiers would have remained eternally in their deserts,\nsolely absorbed by the obsession of hereditary feuds.\n\nWhen Islam, abolishing pride of caste, birth, or race, made all\nBelievers really brothers and endowed them with religious and poetical\nsouls, based on equality, there was no exploit that these fiery-minded\nmen, their hearts untamable, were incapable of performing. These\ntreasures of combative energy, accumulated during centuries of civil\nwar, were not the only means by which they overthrew so many peoples,\nall different and superior to them in culture at that epoch. The\nArabs, likewise, had stored dream-treasures in their deserts, and\nthese visions of an unpolished, though young people were about to be\nimposed on those peoples who, although educated, were old and\nworn-out.\n\nWe advise all those who may have doubts about the genius of the Arabs\nto look through a collection of photographs showing the edifices\nerected in every part of the countries they held in subjection. There\nis nothing more striking than the unity of type distinguishing these\nmonuments from all other monuments in the world; and these buildings,\nwith their remarkable family likeness, were set up in India,\nTurkestan, Persia, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Barbary, Spain, etc., all\ncountries essentially different and so peculiar, by reason of their\ncharacteristic genius, that the genius of Greece or Rome was never\nable to be grafted successfully.\n\nThe Arabs borrowed largely from those they conquered, often utilising\ntheir talent and even their muscles in order to build palaces and\nmosques; but Arabic dreams were thus always realised.\n\nThe exceptional originality of the Arab style resided in the fact that\nit was always imperiously guided by an art that was born at the same\ntime as Islam. This art had no predecessors and offers us, as it were,\nthe materialness of the Arabs' ideal. It is the art of calligraphic\ndecoration, applied to the glorification of the word of Allah,\notherwise the verses of the Qur'an.\n\nEven reduced to its own resources, this art of Arabic calligraphy is\none of the most marvellous forms of decorative skill that has ever\nsprung from human imagination. It is perhaps the only science of\nornament of which it may be said without exaggeration that it\npossesses a soul, for like the voice, it expresses thought. Owing\nnothing even to the most cultured parts of the outer world, its\nindependence resembles that of music and seems like the stenography of\nthe innermost beatings of the heart.\n\nLook at the letters which spring swiftly and horizontally from right\nto left as if acting under the impulse of inward life. Then they whirl\non their own axis in discreet or impassioned curves, and are next\nerect, coming to a sudden halt, fixed in perpendicular pride.... They\nsoon start off again in their frenzied gallop, unrolling their\nflourishes, bestriding each other in delicious fantasy and causing the\nimagination to soar in wild dreams.\n\nTo follow the impulses of the reed-pen having traced these letters;\nand in order to enjoy the pure eminence of their form or the intense\nemotion of their curve, one need not be a past master of Arabic, or a\nsubtile graphologist; any artistic mind can penetrate without any\neffort the secrets of their soul.\n\nAfter having expressed the ideal of his nation with such\nperfection, the Arab calligrapher bent beneath his yoke--almost\nreligious--everything that was destined to support or enframe it:\narchitecture and other systems of embellishment, forcing them to yield\nto the sway of his shaping skill. Under this yoke, the heavy,\nhemispherical dome of Byzantium was improved by adopting the pure\noutline of the Saracen helmet. The curves of the commonplace arcade\nbecame those of the graceful ogive, or of the proud, far-extending\narch. The vulgar towers were metamorphosed into elegant minarets,\nleaping towards the peaks of ecstasy.\n\n[Illustration: _Theological Students, in the Courtyard of Al-Azhar,\nthe great Cairo Moslem University._]\n\nIn short, the only system of decoration which, with the exception of\nCalligraphy, borrows nothing from Nature: geometrical ornament--from\nwhich the Greek and Latin races merely derived poor and frigid\neffects--became endowed with real life. Henceforward this decoration\nwas significantly labelled as Arabesque and, following the example of\nits model, it tried skilfully to astonish the mind by straying in the\nmidst of the most inextricable entanglements and unexpected\ntransformations....\n\nHow precious are the creations of Moslem art! European amateurs nowadays\noutbid each other in golden offers for its vestiges, hoping through them\nto introduce into their homes a few gleams of the mirages that inspired\ntheir authors. Radiant stained-glass, variegated glassware, stuffs\nworked with gold or silver wire, sparkling silks, damaskeened, inlaid\nbronzes, exquisite miniatures in the dwellings of the West, do they not\nall sing the glory of Islam? Among all these treasures, connoisseurs\nalready begin to prefer those of Calligraphy which animates the\ntranscription of the divine verses by the delicate colouring of copies\nof the Qur'an, or of the thick enamel of earthware. By so doing, the\nbuyers of Europe follow the example of Mussulman princes of the best\nepoch who, to possess a page of calligraphy by a celebrated artist,\nlavished madly as much money as is given in our time for masterpieces of\npainters. May not these sacred inscriptions, causing their new\npossessors to be thrilled with admiration by reason of the refined\nelegance of their form, reveal one day to their purchasers the sublime\nbeauty of the Islamic soul lurking in these writings?\n\n[Sidenote: INFLUENCE OF MOSLEM CIVILISATION IN EUROPE DURING THE\nMIDDLE AGES AND THE RENAISSANCE]\n\nEven at a period when Europe was not inimically inclined towards\nIslam, it was dazzled by all its marvels and borrowed largely from the\ndecorative and architectural genius of the Arabs. Deep research would\nsoon prove that it owes much more to it than to Greek or Latin\nantiquity. Such a study would take us too far from our subject. We\nmay, however, point out as a curious fact that, according to the\nhistorian Dulaure, Arab architects were employed in the work of\nbuilding the Parisian cathedral of Notre Dame.\n\nIn the domain of science, the influence of the Moslems was just as\nfertile. To give an idea thereof, we cannot do better than summarise\nthe opinion vouchsafed by Doctor Gustave Le Bon, in his remarkable\nwork: _La Civilisation des Arabes_. (_The Civilisation of the Arabs._)\n\n\"First of all, it must be acknowledged that it is to the Arabs that we\nowe entirely the idea of experiment and observation, the basis of\nmodern scientific methods, overriding the authority of a master. This\nsubstitution is therefore not the work of Bacon, to whom it is\ngenerally attributed.\n\n\"After having established that the highest degree of science consists\nin giving rise to phenomena oneself and at will, the celebrated\nscientist Humboldt adds: \"The Arabs reached to this height, which was\nalmost unknown to the ancients.\"\n\n\"The study of mathematics enjoyed overspread favour among the Arabs,\nand the progress accomplished in algebra metamorphosed that science to\nsuch an extent that its invention has been attributed to them. To them\nalso are due the first application of algebra to geometry, and the\nintroduction of tangents into trigonometry.\n\n\"Astronomy was passionately studied in their schools of Bagdad,\nDamascus, Samarcand, Cairo, Fez, Toledo, Cordova, etc., and their\ndiscoveries may be summed up in the following enumeration:\nintroduction of tangents into astronomical calculation; construction\nof tables of planetary movement; strict determination of the obliquity\nof the ecliptic and of its gradual diminution; exact estimation of\nthe procession of the equinoxes; and the first precise determination\nof the year's duration. To them also we owe the ascertainment of the\nirregularities of the greatest latitude of the moon, and the discovery\nof the third lunar inequality, now called variation.\n\n\"In geography, the contribution of these bold travellers is most\nremarkable from a scientific viewpoint. They made those exact\nastronomical determinations which form the first foundation of\ncartography, and rectified the enormous errors of position committed\nby the Greeks.\n\n\"From the standpoint of exploration, they published accounts of travel\nwhich caused different parts of the world, scarcely suspected before\nthem, to be known, and where no European had ever set foot. The\nsources of the Nile, running through the great equatorial lakes, are\nexactly set out on a map by Al-Idrisi, dating from the year 1160, and\nwhich were only discovered by Europeans during the second half of the\nnineteenth century.\n\n\"In physical sciences, the sum total of their discoveries is still\nmore considerable. The following enumeration proves their importance:\nhigh attainment of knowledge in theoretical physics, especially in\noptics and in the creation of the most ingenious mechanical apparatus;\ndiscovery of the most fundamental bodies of chemistry, such as\nalcohol, nitric acid, sulphuric acid; and the most essential\noperation, such as distillation; application of chemistry to pharmacy\nand commerce, especially as regards the extraction of metals, the\nmanufacturing of paper from rags, which they caused to take the place\nof parchment, papyrus, or Chinese silk-paper.\n\n\"They were probably the first to use the compass in navigation; at any\nrate, they certainly introduced this fundamental invention to Europe.\n\n\"To conclude: the discovery of firearms. In 1205, the Emir Yaqub\nresorted already to artillery at the siege of Mahdiyya; in 1273, the\nSultan Abu Yusuf used cannons at the siege of Sijilmasa. In 1342, two\nEnglishmen, Lord Derby and Lord Salisbury, were present at the siege\nof Algeciras, defended by the Arabs in the same way. These travellers,\nhaving witnessed the effect of gunpowder, took this discovery back to\ntheir country. It was through them that the English made use of it,\nfour years later, at Cressy.\n\n\"In medical science, the Moslems followed Greek writers, and\nafterwards made most important progress. Nearly all the medical\nknowledge of Europe, at the epoch of the Renaissance, was borrowed\nfrom them. The remarkable progress they made in medicine, was in\nsurgery; the description of maladies; _materia medica_; and pharmacy.\nThey found out a quantity of methods, of which many--the use of cold\nwater in typhoid fever, for instance--crop up again in modern times,\nafter having been forgotten for centuries.\n\n\"_Materia medica_ owes them numerous medicines, such as: cassia,\nsenna, rhubarb, tamarinds, camphor, alcohol, ammonia, etc. They were\nthe true creators of pharmacy. Most of the preparations still in use\nnowadays are due to them: syrups, emulsions, pomades, ointments,\ndistilled water, etc.\n\n\"Surgery also owes fundamental progress to the Arabs. Their work\nserved as a basis for the teaching of Faculties of Medecine until\nquite recently. In the eleventh century of our era, they knew the\ntreatment of cataract by the lowering or the extraction of the\ncrystalline; lithotrity; the treatment of hemorrhage by irrigations of\ncold water; the use of caustics; setons; and cauterization by fire.\nAnesthesia, of which the principal discovery is supposed to be modern,\nseems to have been known to them. As a matter of fact, they speak\nfavourably of the use of tare before undertaking painful operations,\nso that the patient may be put to sleep until \"loss of consciousness\nand feeling\" supervenes.\n\n\"They had, likewise, implicit confidence in hygiene in medical\ntreatment, and placed great reliance on the resources of Nature.\nExpectant medecine, which, at the present time, seems the last word of\nmodern science, reasons exactly in the same way.\" (Dr. G. Le Bon, _La\nCivilisation des Arabes._)\n\nIn the domain of ideas, the influence of the Moslems had perhaps still\nmore valuable consequences. Jesus preached equality and fraternity,\nbut Mohammad was lucky enough to realise both among the Believers\nduring his lifetime.\n\nIt would be absurd to maintain that his direct example served to guide\nthe French Revolution which was not inspired by much of his levelling\nworks. Nevertheless, the first attempts of this enfranchisement of\nideas and the organisation of modern society on a new basis--and of\nthis there is ample proof--resulted logically from his doctrines.\nHonour is due to a Mussulman philosopher, Ibn Rushd, or Averroes, who\nlived in Spain from 1120 to 1198, for being the first to introduce\nfreethought--not to be confused with atheism--into Europe.\n\nAverroes opposed the pure deism of Islam to mythological pantheism and\nChristian anthromorphism, and his 'Commentaries of Aristotle,'\nalthough vividly coloured with Mussulman tints, impassioned all\nindependent minds in medieval Europe. Averroism, born of this\nenthusiasm, may be justly considered not only the precursor of Reform,\nbut also the father of modern Rationalism.\n\nThe influence exercised by Mussulman customs over those of Europe was\nequally healthful. The Arabs joined most chivalrous manners to extreme\nreligious tolerance.\n\n\"It was among the Arabs of Spain that the knightly spirit arose, and\nwhich was afterwards appropriated by the warriors of the North, as if\nit was a quality inherent in Christian nations,\" declares the\ncelebrated Spanish writer Blasco Ibanez, in his novel: _Dans L'Ombre\nde la Cath\u00e9drale_. (_In the Shadow Of the Cathedral._)\n\nIn this connection, we can again quote Dr. Le Bon:\n\n\"Like Christian chivalry, which came later, Arab chivalry had a code\nof its own. No man was worthy to be a knight unless he possessed the\nfollowing qualities: kindness, valour, amability, poetical talent,\neloquence, bodily strength, skill in horsemanship, and cleverness in\nhandling spear, sword and bow....\n\n\"In 1139, the Wali of Cordova having laid siege to Toledo, belonging\nto the Christians, Queen Berengaria, shut up in the city, sent him a\nherald to bid him take notice that it was unworthy of a brave, gallant\nand generous knight to attack a woman. The Arab general retired\nforthwith, asking as sole favour, to be allowed the honour of saluting\nthe Queen....\n\n\"The Arab chronicles of Spain are full of stories of the same kind,\nproving how wide-spread were these knight-errant-like qualities; and a\nvery religious learned man, Barth\u00e9lemy St. Hilaire, admits most\nloyally how greatly European customs are indebted to them. In his book\non the Qur'an, he says: \"Through having intercourse with the Arabs and\ncopying them, the boorish barons of the Middle Ages toned down their\nrough habits; and the knights, without lessening their bravery, became\ncognisant of more delicate, noble and humane sentiments. It is\ndoubtful whether Christianism alone, despite its benevolence, would\nhave inspired them with these feelings.\"\n\n\"The reader may perhaps ask why, under these conditions, the influence\nof the Arabs is so unappreciated in our day by learned men who, by\ntheir intellect, seem far above all religious prejudice. That is\nbecause independence of opinion is more apparent than real, and we are\nnot at all free to think as we like about certain subjects. The\nhereditary prejudices professed by us against Islamism and its\ndisciples have accumulated during too many centuries not to have\nbecome part and parcel of our organism....\n\n\"If we join thereto other prejudices also hereditary, and increased in\neach generation by our detestable classic education: that all sciences\nand literature of the past spring solely from Greeks and Romans, we\ncan easily understand that the great influence of the Arabs in the\nhistory of European civilisation is generally slighted.\n\n\"In certain minds, it will always seem humiliating that it is owing to\nthe Moslems that Christian Europe shook off barbarism....\" (Dr.\nGustave Le Bon, _La Civilisation des Arabes_.)\n\nWhat caused Islam to fall so rapidly, after having, during the eight\ncenturies of its domination in Spain, placed that country not only at\nthe head of occidental civilisation, but also causing it to shine\nquite as brilliantly from Delhi and Bokhara, as far as Constantinople\nand Fez?\n\nThe first cause may be found in the non-observance of the strictly\nlevelling principles that the Prophet had so much trouble to establish\nwhile he lived, and which were the motives of his successes and of\nthose of the first Caliphs. One example will serve to show how\nrigorously these principles were applied in the beginning: \"A rich,\npowerful, and proud monarch, Jabala, newly converted, struck violent\nblows in the face of a poor Bedouin, who had accidentally pushed\nagainst him while he was performing his devotions round the Ka'bah.\nWithout bringing into account the rank of the delinquent, or the\ndanger of estranging such an important personage, the Caliph Umar\nthought that, for the honour of the future of Islam, equality in the\neyes of law and justice should override all other considerations, and\nhe condemned King Jabala to undergo, at the hands of the humble\nBedouin, the same chastisement as had been inflicted on him.\"\n\nWith such strict principles, no one could possibly be proud of\nanything but his personal merit; and emulation gave birth to miracles\nfor the greater good of Islam. No men were chosen as chieftains except\nthose who deserved that honour, and once elected, they were blindly\nobeyed because they were sincerely admired and respected.\n\nUnfortunately, the complete observance of this master-thought of the\nProphet turned out to be ephemeral, and already under the rule of\nUsman, the third Caliph, aristocratic prejudices began to regain their\nevil influence. In vain Mohammad had said to his beloved daughter,\nFatimah-tuz-Zahra: 'Work, and reckon not that it sufficeth for thee to\nbe the Prophet's daughter;' the sons of most unimportant people\ndespised their Mussulman brothers of more lowly origin, and thought\nthat their social rank exempted them from making those efforts without\nwhich no progress can be realised. Moreover, rivalry between folks\nmore proud of their forbears than of their own works, gave rise again\nto fractricidal struggles, as ruthless as in the past; and with them,\nthe disorganisation and general anarchy which had paralysed the Arabs\nof pre-Islamic times. Having lost all taste for study; separated and\nexhausted by incessant civil wars, the Moslems were only able to offer\npuny resistance to the Christians, who dreamt of revenge and had\nprofited by these dissensions to organise themselves.\n\nIn the past as in the present, Islam might have avoided the greater\npart of its misfortunes if it always remembered this last adjuration\nof the Prophet in his sermon of the Valedictory Pilgrimage: 'Never\nforget that each Mussulman should be a true brother to every other\nMussulman!'\n\nThe second cause of its decline arose from one of the primordial\nqualities of Islam. The conformity of its dogma, almost entirely\ndevoid of supernaturalism, to the exigencies of reason, was at first\ninestimably advantageous for science which remained free from the\nhindrances of superstition. This suffices to explain the rapid rise of\nits civilisation. But the Moslem mind had gradually been lulled, being\nsatisfied with the magnificent results attained by the enthusiasm\nreigning in the first centuries of the Hegira. Henceforth, it\nwas at the mercy of animal passions and fetishism, in certain\nnewly-conquered countries. The cult of Saints and Intercessors,\n\"Awliya,\" or \"Murabitun,\" borrowed from the Christians and so strictly\nforbidden by the Qur'an, took the place of the cult of Science and, by\nits gross superstitions, barred all progress. Philosophers like\nAverroes, tried to struggle, but it was too late; the evil was too\ndeeply rooted among the masses who called these enlightened men\nungodly, and demanded that they should be put out of favour....\n\nThese two causes of decay are ancient, and contradict the real\ndoctrine of the Qur'an. On the other hand, there is one, dating from\nthe nineteenth century only, and which seems to be in accordance, if\nnot with the spirit, at least with the letter of the Holy Book. It is\nthat which results from the prohibition of any interest whatsoever\nbeing received for money lent.\n\n\"_They who swallow down usury, shall arise in the Resurrection only as\nhe ariseth whom Satan hath infected by his touch. This, for that they\nsay, 'Selling is only the like of usury': and yet Allah hath allowed\nselling, and forbidden usury._\" (THE QUR'AN, II, 276.)\n\nThe excellence of this principle is unquestionable, and, until the\nlast century, the slight inconveniences which might have troubled the\nMoslems in consequence of usury practised among them by Jews and\nChristians, were not to be compared with the advantages of this\nprecept of the Qur'an. But at the present time, when credit is\nindispensable to all great undertakings and when bankers have become\nthe real masters of the world, Islam, by adhering with exaggerated\nrigidity to the text of these verses, is momentarily reduced to\nfinancial and political ruin.\n\n[Sidenote: THE FUTURE OF ISLAM]\n\nSuch, we think, rapidly summarised, are the three leading causes of\nthe decline of Islam. Is there no remedy for this state of decay? Are\nthe three hundred millions of Moslems spread over the surface of the\nglobe, to be condemned to remain eternally in the sad situation\nestablished for them beyond the pale of modern civilisation? We think\nnot.\n\nFor the two first causes, the remedy is simple: it consists in\nreturning to the principles instituted by the Prophet. The remedy for\nthe third is to be found perhaps in a less strict interpretation of\nthe letter, but certainly in accordance with the spirit of the Sacred\nText. Enlightened Moslems are fully aware of this and henceforward,\nthey will take care not to confuse banking operations with the sordid\nusury condemned by the Prophet.\n\nThe wounds inflicted on Islam during the last century have at last\nawakened it from its lethargy. Its very defeats have shown the\nnecessity of adopting the scientific method of its conquerors. Islam\nrecalls to mind the words of the Prophet: \"Go, seek for Science\neverywhere, even in far China. The benefits of Science are superior to\nthe benefits of devotion. On the Day of Resurrection, the ink used by\nlearned men and the blood poured out by martyrdom will be measured:\nneither shall be preferred.\"\n\nRenovators, men of genius, such as the celebrated Shaykh Abduh, have\npointed out the right road to Islam, proving to Moslems that the\nteaching of Mohammad agrees with that of modern civilisation.\nThereupon, myriads of young men have gone through courses of European\nstudy and show wonderful facility, without losing any part of their\nnative originality; and, very soon, innumerable Moslems will take\ntheir places in the modern world without fear of any disparaging\ncomparisons.\n\nDoes this mean that the empire of Islam, following the example of\nJapan, will regain its rank among great political Powers? Considering\nthat the future of nations depends on the will of Allah, it is always\npresumptuous to predict it. Besides, political might is the most\nephemeral of all; a few months are enough to overthrow the most\nformidable empires. Such power proves nothing as regards the vitality\nof a religion, and is not absolutely necessary for the subject we\ntreat.\n\nThere are, indeed, conquests differing from those of armies. The\nimperialism of the Israelites, which disappeared centuries ago, has\nnever given the slightest sign of a return movement and yet few\npeoples possess at present the power of the Jews. Persecution was for\nthem the great educator, and nowadays, in all the nations of Europe\nand America, the Jews, thanks to their activity and intelligence,\noccupy the front rank. Why does not the same effect, due to the same\ncause--persecution--take place among the Moslems, who, for the most\npart, are first, cousins to the Israelites and who possess the\nadvantage of numbers?\n\nObjections are against the possibility of such a revival: Fatalism,\nFanaticism, Polygamy. Let us examine them.\n\nCan Mussulman fatalism fit in with a real effort on the road to\nprogress?\n\nIf some criticisms are justified by the way in which fatalism is\nunderstood by certain followers of the Murabitun, it has never\npossessed the importance ascribed to it. Islam is not more fatalist\nthan determinism, and it is still less than Christianism which adheres\nstrictly to the letter of the following precepts of the Gospel:\n'Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye\nshall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye\nshall put on.' (ST. MATTHEW, VI, 25.)\n\nWhy then accuse fatalism of having paralysed all effects among the\nMoslems, when the Prophet was one of the most active, persevering and\nenergetic men that the world has ever known; and when Islam is the\nonly religion which, no sooner founded, was followed immediately by\nsuch a marvellous \u00e9pop\u00e9e and such splendid civilisation? The word\n\"Islam\" signifies \"resignation to the decrees of Allah,\" that is to\nsay: to that which looks as if it could be mastered by energy and\ncourage. \"_Say: O my people! Act as ye best can._\" (THE QUR'AN, IV,\n135.) Far from being the cause of weakness, such resignation becomes\nthe source of incomparable moral strength for the Believer, fortifying\nhim during the ordeals of adversity.\n\nIn their intercourse with civilised beings belonging to other\nreligions, will not Moslems be stopped by the implacable and\nirreducible fanaticism of which they are accused? The main object is\nto see if this fanaticism is not one of the countless legends\ninimically invented during the Middle Ages. In order to permit the\nreader to form an opinion, here are some extracts chosen among\nthousands of the same kind.\n\nAccording to Ibn Abbas, Ibn Jari said: \"A man of the Banu Salim ibn\nAwf, named Al-Husayn, father of two sons who were Christians, whilst\nhe was a Mussulman, asked the Prophet: \"Ought I not force my children\nto embrace Islamism? They will have no other religion than the\nChristian religion!\" Allah (may He be glorified!) thereupon revealed\nfor this man the following verse: \"_Let there be no compulsion in\nReligion._\" (THE QUR'AN, II, 257.)\n\nWhen the Christian ambassadors of the Hijr territory came to see the\nProphet at Al-Madinah, he offered them half of his Mosque so that they\nmight say their prayers therein. He rose to his feet one day, as a\nfuneral procession went by, and when he was told that it was only a\nJew's burial, he replied: 'Is it not a soul?' He also said: 'He who\nill-treateth a Jew or a Christian will find me his accuser on the Day\nof Judgment. With ungodliness an empire may last; but never with\ninjustice.'\n\nNotwithstanding all legends, never, beyond the Hijaz, which means the\nsacred territory and its vicinity, did Moslems use force to obtain\nconversions. The Spanish Christians were never molested on account of\ntheir belief during the eight centuries of Mussulman domination. Many\nof them, indeed, occupied the highest posts at the Court of the\nCaliphs of Cordova. On the other hand, these same Christians, as soon\nas they became conquerors, immediately exterminated all Moslems\nwithout exception. The Jews, who had lived in peace under Arab rule,\nwere treated in the same way.\n\nIn his _Voyage Religieux en Orient_, the Abb\u00e9 Michon pays homage to\ntruth by this exclamation: 'It is a sad thing for Christian nations\nthat religious tolerance, the great law of charity between the\npeoples, should have been taught by Mussulmans.' (Quoted by Comte de\nCastries, in his book on Islam.)\n\nWhat about the Armenian massacres? will be alleged against us. Our\nanswer is that every time they have not been provoked by rebellions\nand conspiracies, they are condemned by all true Moslems just in the\nsame way as the massacre of all the Moslems in Spain is condemned\nnowadays by true Christians.\n\nBut the Armenian massacres were never the outcome of religious causes,\nfor never have the disciples of Mohammad thought of imitating the\nfollowers of Torquemada by forcing the Armenians to choose between\nconversion and death at the stake. Besides, Moslems do not lean\ntowards proselytism. Strictly speaking, they have no missionaries, and\nif their religion, at the present day, is the one that causes the most\nconversions in Africa and Asia, it is, as A. Burdo justly remarks: 'by\na kind of moral endosmose.' (_Les Arabes dans l'Afrique Centrale._)\n\nA good example, free from any proselytizing attempts, produces in\nreligious souls a much more powerful impression than the importunities\nof cathechists. Despite his hostility to Islam and his partiality, the\n\"savant\" Dozy is obliged to acknowledge that In Spain, formerly: 'it\nis a positive fact that many Christians became converted to Islam out\nof conviction.'\n\nThe rule of conduct of a Mussulman towards the followers of other\nreligions is fixed by these words of the Qur'an: \"_To you your\nreligions; and to me my religion._\" (CIX, 6.)\n\nHow can a Mussulman be intolerant, when he venerates alike the\nProphets honoured by Jew and Christian? For him, Moses, who spoke with\nAllah; and Jesus, inspired by Allah, deserve the same veneration as\nMohammad, the friend of Allah. \"_We make no distinction between any of\nHis Apostles._\" (THE QUR'AN, II, 285.)\n\nNever does any Mussulman dare to utter the slightest insult towards\nJesus; never would he allow any to be uttered in his presence, even\ncoming from the lips of people of Christian origin who consider Jesus\nto be responsible for sacerdotal errors. To insult Jesus would be to\ninsult the Qur'an which orders Him to be revered. We were privileged\nonce to witness the uncommon sight of a Mussulman condemned by a\nChristian judge for having struck a Jew who, in the presence of this\ndisciple of Mohammad, had made outrageous remarks on the birth of\nJesus.\n\nLet us now compare the respectful attitude of the Moslems as far as\nJesus is concerned, with the manner in which Europeans behave when\nMohammad's name is mentioned. In the Middle Ages, monks and\ntroubadours represented him to be either some monstrous idol, or an\nincorrigible drunkard, fallen on a dung-heap and devoured by hogs.\nHence, they pointed out, the repugnance of his disciples for\nswine-flesh. We should never be done if we tried to quote all that in\nformer times sprung from the fertile imagination of Mohammad's\nenemies.\n\nThe first Orientalists were no kinder. In the eighteenth century,\nGagnier, a most learned man, after blaming the Abb\u00e9 Maracci and Doctor\nPrideaux for their impassioned insults, speaks in his turn of Mohammad\nas 'the most villanous of all men; the most deadly of Allah's enemies;\nthe idiotic Prophet,' etc., whilst claiming to speak in guarded terms!\n\nThe companions of the Prophet have likewise not been spared from the\nearliest times. So that the barbarity with which Cardinal Ximenes\nburnt the marvellous libraries of the Moslems of Spain should be\nforgotten, many calumniators invented the famous legend of the\nconflagration of the libraries of Alexandria, by order of the Caliph\nUmar, thus fully showing the slanderers' great disdain for chronology.\nThese collections of books had not been in existence for several\ncenturies when Islam was revealed to the world. The first library,\nthat of Bruchium, containing four hundred thousand volumes, was\ndestroyed by fire during the war of C\u00e6sar against the Alexandrians;\nand the second, that of Serapeum, comprising two hundred thousand\nvolumes, bequeathed by Antony, was completely pillaged in the reign of\nTheodosius.\n\nThese ridiculous legends are dying out gradually at the present day;\nand yet we prefer their candid fanaticism to the malicious calumny\nwith which certain writers, still impregnated with medieval passionate\npartiality, try from behind a screen of Oriental science, to belittle\none of the men who do the most honour, not only to history, but to the\nhistory of humanity.\n\nAfter having adopted the modern civilisation of Christians, may not\nthe Moslems conclude by adopting their religion as well? To answer\nthis question, we need only quote the opinion of an author who,\nalthough a fervent Christian, acknowledges facts most loyally. In the\ncourse of a remarkable study of Islam, he writes:\n\n\"Islam is the only religion which has no recreants--It is very\ndifficult, if not impossible, to form an exact idea of the spiritual\nstate of a Moslem evangelized by a Christian. We can only imagine\nsomething very near it, by trying to realise in our minds the feelings\nof an enlightened Christian whom an idolater might be trying to\nconvert to his gross, superstitious cult.\" (_L'Islam_, by Comte Henry\nde Castries.)\n\nIslam, in spite of its irreducibleness, offers Christians many proofs\nof its feelings of veneration towards Jesus. Therefore, whence comes\nthe hatred with which the followers of Christ pursue Mohammad even in\nour present century of tolerance--not to say religious indifference?\n\nIs it because of its Asiatic origin? Was not Christianism essentially\nAsiatic, before Saint Paul had stripped it of Jewish trappings? Jesus\ndeclared: 'I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of\nIsrael.' (ST. MATTHEW, XV, 24.) Is it because of its doctrine? The\ndoctrine of Islam is almost the same as that of certain Protestant\nsects. Is it because of the remembrance of the Crusades? Despite the\nyears that are past, this remembrance has still disastrous influence\nover many ignorant minds, but if that was all, it would not suffice to\nexplain away the ostracism shown in Europe to Islam.\n\nWe must seek therefore some other cause, and we find it furnished by\nthe example of the only religion really reviled and persecuted in the\nsame way.\n\nThere exists a Protestant sect, the Mormons. After prodigies of\nwill-power, labour and intelligence, they have transformed one of the\nsaddest regions, a mere salt desert, into a thriving country. Europe\nand America ought to have applauded this work of civilisation,\nunanimously and enthusiastically. Far from so doing, every sect of\nChristianity forgot their own disagreements and united themselves\nagainst the Mormons with the same feeling of reprobation.\n\nOf what crime were they guilty? They practised polygamy like the\nMoslems. Such is the true explanation of the mystery: Islam is warned\nthat it will never be granted recognition unless it renounces\npolygamy.\n\nWe shall not risk trying to defend a custom thus violently condemned,\nbut content ourselves with making a few observations. As a matter of\nfact, polygamy is universal and will last out the world, despite all\npresent or future legislation. This is denied by none. The only\nquestion is to know if it is preferable to let it be avowed and\nlimited, or let it flourish hypocritically and boundlessly.\n\nAll travellers, G\u00e9rard de Nerval and Lady Morgan to wit, have noted\nthat among polygamous Moslems, polygamy is generally less widespread\nthan among so-called monogamous Christians. What can be more natural?\nFor Catholics and Protestants, does not polygamy possess the\nallurement of forbidden fruit?\n\n[Illustration: _Tombs of the Khaliphs. Under their rule, Moslem\ncivilisation enlightened the World._]\n\nBy troubling about polygamy, shall we not be set down as\nold-fashioned? Without taking other things into consideration, the\nneeds of modern life render it impraticable in large cities. It will\nhave died out before long, among civilised Moslems. If the principle\nsurvives, it will only be applied in the desert depths where it is an\nimperious necessity.\n\nWill morality improve by the disappearance of polygamy? That remains\ndoubtful. Prostitution, so rare in most Mussulman lands, will extend\nits ravages. A plague, now totally unknown, will break out: that of\nthe celibacy of women, which causes desolation in monogamous\ncountries--where, above all, following great wars, it attains\ndisastrous proportions.\n\nIn a study on the future of the French colonies, Charles Dumas,\nwriting about the Moslems, states: 'No race can gain freedom when it\ncondemns the half of itself (i.e. its women) to eternal bondage.'\n\nIs it true that Mussulman women are reduced to such a lamentable\nsituation? It is certain that in the eyes of European women enjoying\nuntrammelled freedom, the wearing of a veil and semi-claustration as\nwell, to which the women of Islam are subjected, must seem to be\ntokens of the most unbearable slavery. But if these ladies of Europe\nheard the reflexions of these same Mussulman women, objects of\nmonogamists' wives' heartfelt commiseration, they would be surprised\nto learn that they, in their turn, are not envied, but charitably\npitied. Besides, the wearing of the veil and claustration are in no\nwise religious obligations. The Verses of the Qur'an (XXXIII, 53, 55)\nby which these questions are supported, are solely aimed at the\nProphet's wives and not at those of all Believers, as might be deduced\nfrom the inexact translation of verse 55, by Kasimirski.\n\nThese practices, put in force many years after Mohammad's death, are\ntherefore fiercely attacked by numerous champions of the feminine\ncause. Among them, we note Qasim Bey Amin, with his book:\n\"Tahriru'l-Mirat\" (\"Woman's Emancipation\"); and Es Zahawi, the poet of\nBagdad, who wrote a celebrated letter on the veil, and says: 'Woman is\nthe remedy of youth, the beauty of nature and the splendour of life.\nWithout women, man is a sterile syllogism--he does not conclude!' And\nthen, relying on this verse: \"_And it is for the women to act as the\nhusbands act towards them with all fairness._\" (THE QUR'AN, II, 228),\nhe claims complete female freedom.\n\nWe will conclude by quoting the words of one of the fair sex, al-Sitti\nMalika who, with the consent of her father, Hifni Bey Nasif, formerly\nprofessor at the University of Al Azhar, published a Qasida,\nterminating with this verse: 'To unveil, if one is chaste, is no harm;\nand if one is not chaste, veils in excess offer no protection.'\n\nAt the same times as European queens of fashion have tried to\nacclimatise the Turkish veil in the West, perhaps at some future\nperiod, near or distant, the custom of wearing the veil may die out in\nthe East. In that case, the flower of Mussulman beauty will have been\nstripped of its graceful calyx. Will not the woman of the East regret\nthe mysterious charm she owed to her filmy mask? Will she be\ncompensated by the advantages accruing to her in consequence of\nbudding forth in the strong light of civilisation? The example of the\ngreat misery reigning among her sisters of the West, struggling for\nlife in opposition to men, may perhaps frighten the woman of the East\nwhen, with dazzled eyes, scarcely awakened from harem dreams, she\nplunges into the vortex of modern existence. The question is too\ndelicate. We dare not come to a conclusion. After all, the interest\nand possibility of such reforms vary too completely, from one country\nto another, so that no general rule can be fixed.\n\nBut if we hesitate about passing judgment on the reforms we have just\nset forth, we acknowledge unreservedly, to make amends, that the\neducation of woman is an imperious necessity for the future of Islam.\n\nEducation has nothing to do with the above-mentioned customs. It is in\nagreement with all the principles of the religion, and during the\nperiod of Islamic splendour, was lavished on Mussulman femininity\nwhose culture was superior to that of European women in those days.\n\nIn the East, education has never disappeared as completely as in some\nregions of the Maghrib. During a certain number of years, many\nMussulman women passed their leisure harem hours in educating\nthemselves, and their new intellectual birth began to be generalised.\nFrom education alone the evolution of manners and customs will proceed\nwherever it will be necessary in the sense and proportions creating\nthe least amount of trouble in the bosom of families.\n\n[Sidenote: CONCLUSION]\n\nThe knots relating to polygamy and the emancipation of woman (the only\nquestions that give a shadow of right to inimical critics of Islam)\nonce cut, Islam will appear to be what it really is: a religion\nessentially in conformity with the most modern needs and ideas, so\nmuch so that an Englishman, Oswald Wirth, was able to write: 'I\ndiscovered, one fine day, that I was a Mussulman, without knowing it,\nlike Monsieur Jourdain with his prose.' In like fashion, Goethe, after\nhaving studied the principles of the Qur'an, declared: 'If that is\nIslam, do we not all live in Islam?'\n\nVery soon, no one will venture to give credence to the childish\nlegends perpetuated since the Crusades, and Islam will at last claim\nto take its place in the van of modern civilisation....\n\nWe were writing the concluding lines when suddenly the most formidable\nconflict ever know in history broke out in Europe, and thousands of\nMoslem soldiers, descendants of the warriors of Poitiers, immediately\ninvaded the whole of France.\n\nThis time, they came not as conquerors, but as friends; as\nbrothers-in-arms, summoned by the Allies to take part in this gigantic\nstruggle on which depends the fate of civilisation. Their traditional\nheroism has been admired by all. The French soil is riddled by\nthousands of their graves, thereby they have implanted Islam for ever\nin the heart of Europe, in the most glorious way; and a strong\ncontingent of the Prophet's disciples is now in European territory.\n\nAfter such services rendered, it will be churlish to refuse them the\nfreedom of the city, so to speak, that we have already claimed on\ntheir behalf. We go further and ask if it is admissible to think that\ntheir example, dealing the last blow at the imputations of the past,\nmay give some Europeans food for fresh reflexion?\n\nUndeceived by the failure of integral rationalism, many anxious minds\nseek new paths. \"The modern system of intuition, towards which they\nhurry, following Bergson, its celebrated defender, represents decided\nreaction against rationalism, or to be more exact, against the\npowerlessness of rationalism....\n\n\"In the hearts of men hungering after faith, this eminent thinker has\ncaused the aspirations they seem to have lost definitively to be born\nanew. He allows them to hope for the survival of the soul; he tells\nthem that this world is not a great mass of machinery driven by blind\nforces and that intelligence is not the only formula of our senses....\n\n\"In affirming all this, the illustrious philosopher is perhaps\nconfining himself to the task of reviving ancient illusions; but he\nhas awakened them so that we may hear; and at a moment when they may\nserve to prepare the elements of a new religion, needed by many men.\"\n(_La Vie des V\u00e9rit\u00e9s_, by Dr. Gustave Le Bon.)\n\nSuch a movement is irresistible, especially after the sanguinary\nordeals we have undergone. We are therefore about to witness the\nefforts of new and old religions, trying to monopolize these\nmanifestations and turn them to account. Rationalism, however,\nalthough defeated, has nevertheless been fruitful, and it will oppose\nan insuperable barrier to the dogmas that run counter to reason much\ntoo violently.\n\nOn the other hand, must not mystic, pathetic and poetical aspirations\nbe reckoned with? Are they not the essential final causes of all\nreligions? To sum up, are not the most needful conditions of a modern\nreligion those of advanced Protestantism: \"Unitarism,\" clothed in a\nglorious cloak of poetry?\n\nIslam, freed from all the dross which it accumulated in its course,\nhas precisely these conditions, and already small communities of\nEuropean converts to Islam have been founded in England and America.\nOne of them, having Mr. Quilliam at his head, exists for several years\npast at Liverpool, and is remarkable for the fact that the majority of\nits proselytes belong to the weaker sex.\n\nThe conversion of Lord Headley, an English peer, followed by that of\nother well-known leading Londoners, created a great sensation. The\nMussulman commonwealth, founded by this eminent man, publishes a\nmonthly magazine, \"The Islamic Review,\" from which we take the\nfollowing significant passage:\n\n\"Why have Englishmen and other Europeans become Mussulmans? In the\nfirst place, because they sought for some simple, logical, essentially\npractical creed; (for we English flatter ourselves that we are the\nmost practical people under the sun) a creed fitting in with the\nconditions, customs, and occupations of every people; a divine, true\ncreed, where the Creator and Man are face to face, without any\nintermediary.\" (Sheldrake.)\n\nThat is what practical minds have found in Islam which, having no\nsacrements or worship of saints, needs no priest and could, at a\npinch, do without a temple. As Allah's presence fills the universe, is\nnot the whole of the earth one immense Mosque?\n\nMoreover, several modern desists, generally finding it difficult to\nexpress the aspiration of their souls, will find in the pure deism of\ntrue Islam, the most admirable ritual movements and words of prayer\nthat an artistic mind could dream of. In short, for more than one,\n'Islam realises the maximum of altruism with a minimum of\nmetaphysics.' (Christian Cherfils.)\n\nOther isolated conversions have taken place in France and in different\ncountries of Europe, Africa and Asia. Perhaps, in this way, we may\nwitness the realisation of this \"Hadis\" of the Prophet: 'Assuredly\nAllah will make this religion (Islam) all-powerful by means of men who\nwere strangers thereto!' of the principal characteristic of Islam is\nthat it is wonderfully fitted to all races of creation. Among his\nfirst disciples, Mohammad counted not only Arabs of the most different\ntribes, but also Persians, such as Salman al-Farsi; Christians, such\nas Waraqa; Abyssinians, such as Bilal; Jews, such as Mukhayriq,\nAbdullah ibn Sallam, etc. As it is said in the Qur'an: \"_We have not\nsent thee otherwise than to mankind at large._\" (XXXIV, 27.)\n\nEven during Mohammad's life, and in the very beginning, his doctrine\nasserted its stamp of universality. If suitable to all races, it is\nequally suitable to all intellects and to all degrees of civilisation.\nOf supreme simplicity, as in Mu'tazilitcism; desperately esoteric, as\nin Sufiism, bringing guidance and consolation to the European\n\"savant\"--leaving thought absolutely free and untrammelled--as well as\nto the negro of the Soudan, thereby delivered from the superstition of\nhis fetishism. It exalts the soul of a practical English merchant, for\nwhom 'time is money,' quite as much as that of a mystical philosopher;\nof a contemplative Oriental; or of a man of the West loving art and\npoetry. It will even allure a modern medical man, by the logic of its\nrepeated ablutions and the rhythm of its bowing and prostration, just\nas salutary for physical well-being as for the health of the soul\nitself.\n\nIt is therefore not too foolhardy to think that when the fearful storm\nhas passed and the respect due to all nationalities, as well as to all\nreligions, shall have been enforced, Islam will be able to look upon a\nfuture brimming with real hope.\n\nThanks to the great share it has taken in the events causing the\nupheaval of European civilisation, it has entered therein and will\nappear at last in its true light. The different nations will vie with\neach other in seeking to be allied to it, for they will have put its\nvalue to the test and have recognised the inexhaustible resources it\npossesses.\n\nThe disciples of the Prophet, awakened from their momentary lethargy,\nwill take their brilliant place in the world.\n\n--\"Insha'llah!\"--If Allah be willing!\n\n[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Allah will perhaps establish goodwill\nbetween yourselves and those of them with whom ye are at enmity, and\nAllah is Powerful: and Allah is Gracious, Merciful._]\n\n\n_This book was finished at Bou-S\u00e2ada, on the Twenty-seventh day of the\nmonth of Ramadhan; in the Year 1334 of the Hegira--the 28th of July,\nA.D. 1916._\n\n_O Allah! be indulgent towards its authors; excuse the extravagant\naudacity that urged them on in their hope of doing good, to affront\nsuch a vast subject, despite the scantiness of their knowledge._\n\n_O Thou, the Omniscient! pardon them the errors which, through\nignorance, they may have committed in such a sublime history as that\nof Thy Messenger, Our Lord Mohammad, the Seal of the Prophets._\n\n    _May Allah pour out for him His Blessings and His Favours!_\n    _Likewise on his Relatives,_\n    _And on his Companions!_\n    _Amin._\n\n\n\u00c9tienne DINET.\n\nSliman ben IBRAHIM.\n\n[Illustration: _A traditional old Scribe of the Desert._ Calligraphy:\n_One's pen should be ennobled; that is, by treating of worthy\nmatters._]\n\n\n     THE\n     BOOK\n  WAS FINISHED\nIN THE YEAR 1335\n    OF THE\n    HEGIRA\n\n\n[Illustration: MAP OF THE HIJAZ AND THE ROAD TO SYRIA]\n\n\n\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\nFearing to enlarge this work too much, we prefer to publish the notes,\nwhich we deem necessary for its justification, under the title:\n\"L'Orient vu de l'Occident,\" (The East Seen from the West), forming a\npamphlet to be issued later on.\n\nNevertheless, we give as follows a list of those works which we have\nspecially consulted.\n\n\nWORKS IN ARABIC\n\n\"Al-Qur'an wa huwa'l-Huda wa'l-Furqan.\"--\"Tafsir Anwaru't Tanzil wa\nAsraru't Tawil,\" by Al-Baydawi, (Commonly referred to as \"The\nCommentary of Al-Baydawi.\")--\"Tafsiru'l Qur'ani'l Karim,\" by the\nShaykh Mohammad Abduh. (\"The Commentary of the Shaykh Mohammad\nAbduh.\")--\"Siratu'n-Rasul,\" by Ibn Hisham. (Ibn Hisham's \"Life of the\nProphet.\")--\"Kitabu't Tabaqat,\" by Ibn Sad. (The \"Tabaqat\" of Ibn\nSad.)--\"Insanu'l-'Uyun fi sirati'l-Amiri'l-Mamun,\" by Ali ibn\nBurhanu'd-Dini'l-Halabi.--\"Nuru'l yaqin fi sirati Sayyidi'l-Marsulin,\"\nby Mohammad Al-Khudri.--\"Kitabu's-Sahih,\" by Al-Bukhari. (The \"Sahih\"\nof Al-Bukhari.)--\"Rihlat,\" by Abi'l Husayn ibn Jubayr. (The \"Travels\nof Ibn Jubayr.\")--\"Ar-Rihlatu'l Hijaziyya,\" by Mohammad\nAl-Batanuni.--\"Al-Bourdate,\" by the Shaykh Al-Busiri. (The \"Burda,\" or\n\"Mantle Poem of Al-Busiri.\")--\"Ummu'l Qura,\" by Al-Kawakibi.\n\n\nISLAMIC WORKS, IN ENGLISH\n\n\"The spirit of Islam\", by Ameer Ali Syied.--\"Islamic Review,\" edited\nby Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, B.A., L.L.B.\n\n\nWORKS IN FRENCH, OR TRANSLATED INTO FRENCH\n\nLe Coran, traduction de Savary.--Le Coran, traduction de\nKasimirski.--Le Coran, analys\u00e9 par J. La Baume.--Le Coran, sa po\u00e9sie,\nses lois, par Stanley Lane Pole.--L'Esprit lib\u00e9ral du Coran, par\nBen\u00e2ttar, El Hadi Seb\u00e2\u00ef et Abdel\u00e2ziz Ettsalbi.--Encyclop\u00e9die de\nl'Islam, dirig\u00e9e par le Professeur Houtsma.--Les Traditions islamiques\nd'El Bokhari, traduction de Houdas.--L'Islam, par le Comte Henry de\nCastries.--L'Islamisme, par Houdas.--\"Oumm el Quora\", (la m\u00e8re des\nCit\u00e9s) de El Kaouakibi, compte-rendu litt\u00e9ral, d'apr\u00e8s la version\nd'Omar Bouderba, par Christian Cherfils (en pr\u00e9paration).--L'Islamisme\nau point de vue social, textes d'Auguste Comte, publi\u00e9s par Christian\nCherfils.--Bonaparte et l'Islam, par Christian Cherfils.--Vie de\nMahomet, par J. Gagnier.--Essai sur l'histoire des Arabes, par\nCaussin de Perceval.--Histoire des Arabes, de S\u00e9dillot.--Histoire\ndes Arabes, de Huart.--\"La Civilisation des Arabes\", par le Dr.\nGustave Le Bon.--Essai sur l'histoire de l'Islamisme, par\nDozy.--Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne, par Dozy.--Le pr\u00e9sent de\nl'homme lettre, pour r\u00e9futer les partisans de la Croix, par Abd\nAllah Le Drogman.--De l'\u00e9tat pr\u00e9sent et de l'avenir de l'Islam,\npar  E. Montet.--Les H\u00e9ros (Mahomet, le h\u00e9ros comme Proph\u00e8te),\npar Carlyle.--Averrho\u00ebs et l'Averrho\u00efsme, par E. Renan.--Les\nMusulmans fran\u00e7ais de l'Afrique du Nord, par Isma\u00efl Hamet.--Les\nvieux Arabes, par P. Radiot.--Voyage en Arabie, par Hubert.--Mon\nvoyage \u00e0 la Mecque, par G. Courtellement.--\"Mohammed et la fin du\nMonde\", par P. Casanova.--L'enseignement de l'Arabe au Coll\u00e8ge de\nFrance, par P. Casanova.--Revue du Monde Musulman, dirig\u00e9e par A. Le\nChatelier.--\"L'Orient vu de l'Occident\", par E. Dinet et Sliman ben\nIbrahim.\n\n\n\n\nTRANSLATION OF THE ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY\n\n\nTITLE: _There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is the Prophet of\nAllah._\n\n\nCHAPTER THE FIRST.\n\nOpening: _In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful._\n\nClosing: _Then when ye have ended the prayer, make mention of Allah,\nstanding, and sitting, and reclining._ (THE QUR'AN, IV, 104.)\n\n\nCHAPTER THE SECOND.\n\nOpening: _Have We not opened thy breast for thee? * And taken off from\nthee thy burden?_ (THE QUR'AN, XCIV, 1-2.)\n\nClosing: _And provide for your journey; but the best provision is the\nfear of Allah._ (THE QUR'AN, II, 193.)\n\n\nCHAPTER THE THIRD.\n\nOpening: _Verily, we have caused It (the Qur'an) to descend on the\nnight of Power._ (THE QUR'AN, XCVII, 1.)\n\nClosing: _O thou enwrapped in thy mantle! * Arise and warn! * And thy\nLord--magnify Him!_ (THE QUR'AN, LXXIV, 1-3.)\n\n\nCHAPTER THE FOURTH.\n\nOpening: _Ye shall assuredly be tried in your possessions and in\nyourselves._ (THE QUR'AN, III, 183.)\n\nClosing: _And before them have We set a barrier and behind them a\nbarrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so that they shall not\nsee._ (THE QUR'AN, XXXVI, 8.)\n\n\nCHAPTER THE FIFTH.\n\nOpening: _And fight for the cause of Allah against those who fight\nagainst you._ (THE QUR'AN, II, 186.)\n\nClosing: _Believers! when ye confront a troop, stand firm and make\nfrequent mention of the name of Allah; haply it shall fare well with\nyou._ (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 47.)\n\n\nCHAPTER THE SIXTH.\n\nOpening: _And be not faint-hearted, and be not sorrowful; For ye shall\ngain the upper hand if ye be believers._ (THE QUR'AN, III, 133.)\n\nClosing: _Nay rather Allah is your liege lord, and He is the best of\nhelpers._ (THE QUR'AN, III, 143.)\n\n\nCHAPTER THE SEVENTH.\n\nOpening: _Verily, We have won for thee an undoubted victory._ (THE\nQUR'AN, XLVIII, 1.)\n\nClosing: _Now hath Allah helped you in many battle-fields, and, on the\nday of Hunain, when ye prided yourselves on your numbers; but it\navailed you nothing._ (THE QUR'AN, IX, 25.)\n\n\nCHAPTER THE EIGHTH.\n\nOpening: _Accomplish the Pilgrimage and the Visitation of the Holy\nPlaces in honour of Allah._ (THE QUR'AN, II, 192.)\n\nClosing: _Say: Go through the earth, and see how He hath brought forth\ncreated beings._ (THE QUR'AN, xxix, 19.)\n\n\nCHAPTER THE NINTH.\n\nOpening: _Thou truly art mortal, O Mohammad, and they truly are\nmortals._ (THE QUR'AN, XXXIX, 31.)\n\nClosing: _Mohammad is no more than an apostle; other apostles have\nalready passed away before him; if then he die, or be slain, will ye\nturn upon your heels?_ (THE QUR'AN, III, 138.)\n\n\nPORTRAIT OF THE PROPHET.\n\nOpening: _O my supreme Master, lavish thy Blessings and thy Favours\nfor ever and ever on Thy Friend (Mohammad), the best of all created\nbeings._ (Al-Bourdate. Poem by the Shaykh Al-Busiri, in honour of the\nProphet.)\n\nClosing: _There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is the Prophet of\nAllah._\n\n\nCHAPTER THE TENTH.\n\nOpening: _Say: O my people! Act as ye best can: I verily will act my\npart, and hereafter shall ye know!_ (THE QUR'AN, VI, 135.)\n\nClosing: _Allah will perhaps establish goodwill between yourselves and\nthose of them with whom ye are at enmity, and Allah is Powerful: and\nAllah is Gracious, Merciful._ (THE QUR'AN, LX, 7.)\n\n\nFINAL ENGRAVING: _One's pen should be ennobled; that is, by treating\nof worthy matters._\n\n\nCOVER: _Upon him, Mohammad, Salvation._\n\nSEAL: Mohammad's Seal. [Transcriber's note: seal not found.]\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\nFRONTISPIECE.--Ornamental page\n\nCHAPTER THE FIRST.--Ornamental page\n\n    Praying round the Sacred Temple of the Ka'bah of Makkah\n\nCHAPTER THE SECOND.--Ornamental page\n\n    The Night of the \"Maulid,\" the Prophet's Birthday. Moslems\n      leaving a village Mosque.\n\n    SCENES OF THE BADYA, OR NOMADIC LIFE.\n    --Watching over camels grazing\n    --The Flocks\n\nCHAPTER THE THIRD.--Ornamental page\n\n    \"At Takbir,\" or the Glorification\n\n    SCENES OF THE BADYA, OR NOMADIC LIFE.\n    --The Encampment\n\n    Moslem woman praying on the terrace-roof of her dwelling\n\nCHAPTER THE FOURTH.--Ornamental page\n\n    \"Ar Ruku,\" or the Inclination\n\n    The Friday Visit of Moslems to the Cemetery\n\n    SCENES OF THE BADYA, OR NOMADIC LIFE.\n    --The Departure\n\nCHAPTER THE FIFTH.--Ornamental page\n\n    Interior of a Mosque. \"Al Mihrab,\" the niche marking the\n      direction of Makkah\n\n    The Mu'azzin's Call\n\n    Believers perceiving the New Moon of the Month of Ramadhan\n\nCHAPTER THE SIXTH.--Ornamental page\n\n    \"As Sidjah,\" or Prostration\n\n    Setting out for the \"Jihad,\" or Holy War\n\n    \"Al Fitr,\" the Prayer on the breaking of the Ramadhan fast\n\nCHAPTER THE SEVENTH.--Ornamental page\n\n    An Arab horseman of the Desert\n\n    \"Among all trees, one is blessed like the Mussulman; 'tis\n      the Palm,\" said the Prophet\n\n    Bird's-eye view of Makkah, the Most Sacred City, as seen\n      from the Jabal Abi-Qubais\n\nCHAPTER THE EIGHTH.--Ornamental page\n\n    \"Ad Dawah,\" or the Invocation\n\n    The Pilgrims of Mount Arafa, on the Ninth day of the Month\n      of Zu'l Hijjah\n\nCHAPTER THE NINTH.--Ornamental page\n\n    Al-Madinah, the city of the Prophet.\n\n    The Dome of Mohammad's Tomb\n\nPORTRAIT OF THE PROPHET.--Imam leading the Prayer\n\nCHAPTER THE TENTH.--Ornamental page\n\n    A writing lesson at a village school devoted to the teaching\n      of the Qur'an\n\n    Theological Students in the courtyard of Al-Azhar, the great\n      Cairo Moslem University\n\n    Tombs of the Kaliphs. Under their rule, Moslem civilisation\n      enlightened the world\n\n    A traditional old scribe of the Desert\n\n    Final ornamental page\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nCHAPTER THE FIRST.--The Moslem Prayer.--Description of Makkah.\n--The Temple of the Ka'bah and the Black Stone.--The Marriage\nof Abdullah, Father of the Prophet.\n\nCHAPTER THE SECOND.--The Birth of Mohammad.--Mohammad's\nChildhood with the Banu Sad Tribe in their Badya-Land.--Mohammad\nand the two Angels.--Aminah's Death.--Mohammad's first Journey\nto Syria.--How Mohammad met the Monk Bahira.--The second Syrian\nvoyage.--The Marriage of Mohammad and Khadijah.--How the Temple\nof the Ka'bah was rebuilt.\n\nCHAPTER THE THIRD.--Desert Retirement.--The Revelation.--The\nFirst Moslems.--The Announcement of the Hour.--The First\nHostilities.--The Incident of the Blind Man.--How Hamzah was\nconverted.--Utbah's proposals.--The Miracle of the Qur'an.--How\nit was forbidden to listen to the Qur'an.\n\nCHAPTER THE FOURTH.--Persecution.--The Emigration to\nAbyssinia.--The Conversion of Umar, son of Al Khattab.--The\nExile of the Banu Hasham.--The Decree of Expulsion destroyed\nby a Worm.--The Death of Abu Talib and Khadijah.--The Journey\nto Taif.--The Nocturnal Journey and Ascension.--How six\nInhabitants of Yasrib were converted.--The two Oaths of the\nAqabah.--The Plot against the Prophet.\n\nCHAPTER THE FIFTH.--The Hegira, or the Migration of the Prophet\nto Al-Madinah.--Suraqa's Mishap.--The Prophet's Arrival at Quba.\n--The Era of the Hegira.--Arrival of the Prophet at Yasrib.\n--How the Mosque of Al-Madinah was built.--The Qiblah of Makkah.\n--Institution of the Azan, or Call of the Mu'azzin.--The Fast of\nRamadhan.--Property bestowed in Alms, and the prohibition of\nfermented liquors.--Ayishah in the House of the Prophet.\n--Hostility of the Jews and the Munafiqun.--Al-Jihad (the Holy\nWar), and how it was instituted.--The Gazwah of Badr.--The\nSojourn at Badr and the Return to Al-Madinah.\n\nCHAPTER THE SIXTH.--Ali's Marriage.--The Prophet's Marriage\nwith Hafsah and Ummu'l Masakin.--The Battle of Uhud.--The\nMarriage of Mohammad and Zainab.--The Ghazwah, or Expedition\nof Zat-ir-Riqua.--The Ghazwah, or Expedition of the Banu\nMustaliq.--The Tayammum, or the Ceremony of Ablution performed\nwith Sand.--The Battle of the Ditch.--The Treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah.\n\nCHAPTER THE SEVENTH.--Expedition against the Qaynuqa Jews.\n--Expedition against the Jews of the Banu Nadir.--Expedition\nagainst the Jews of the Banu Quraizah.--Expedition against the\nJews of Khaibar.--Importance of Horse-breeding according to\nthe Prophet.--The Poisoned Lamb.--Amratu'l-Qada, or the Pious\nVisitation.--The Prophet sends Ambassadors to the Principal\nMonarchs of the World.--The Expedition of Mutah.--The Taking\nof Makkah.--Entry of the Prophet into Makkah.--The Prophet at\nSafa.--Ghazwah, or Expedition of Hunain.\n\nCHAPTER THE EIGHTH.--Ayishah slandered.--The Birth and Death of\nIbrahim.--Ghazwah, or expedition of Tabuk.--The Thamud Country.\n--Arrival and Sojourn of the Prophet at Tabuk. The Prophet goes\nback to Al-Madinah.--The Valedictory Pilgrimage.\n\nCHAPTER THE NINTH.--- Illness and Death of the Prophet.--Abu-Bakr\nelected.--The Prophet's Burial.\n\nTHE PROPHETS PORTRAIT.\n\nCHAPTER THE TENTH.--The March of Islam.--Influence of Moslem\nCivilisation in Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.\n--The Future of Islam.--Conclusion.\n\nMAP OF THE HIJAZ AND THE ROAD TO SYRIA.\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY.\n\nINDEX OF THE ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY.\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n\n\n   THIS BOOK\n   WAS ISSUED\n FROM THE PRESS\nON THE THIRTIETH\n OF AUGUST 1918\n  FOR THE PARIS\n   BOOK CLUB\n\n\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\n     The original text does not include in-line translations of\n     the calligraphy that opens and closes each chapter. Here,\n     translations have been added to calligraphy as captions and\n     also appear in the original Translation of Arabic Calligraphy\n     index. 'Opening:' and 'Closing:' tags have been added to that\n     list.\n\n     There appear to be some discrepancies in the Year of\n     the Hegira, particularly in the sidenotes. Year of the\n     Hegira=622, Year I=623, Year II=624, etc.\n\n     Inconsistencies in spelling of Arabic names: Variations in\n     use of vowels, word endings, transliteration and internal\n     punctuation have been left as printed. Examples: Husain v.\n     Husayn, Habiba v. Habibah, Al Bagi v. Al Baqi, Muazzin v.\n     Mu'azzin. Variations that could be validated as typographical\n     errors have been corrected. Examples: Zeinah to Zeinab,\n     Zamzan to Zamzam, Al-Rahmah to Al-Rahman.\n\n     Obvious typographical errors in English and French have been\n     repaired.","title":"The Life of Mohammad, the Prophet of Allah","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":108258}