55

" malady of the prophet; and die repentance which
" was the consequence of it? and the like, what
" dost thou say about it? Moreover, Omar's im-
" peding the writing of a last will in the mortal
" malady of the prophet, as the Imam Ismail Bok-
" hdri{ has related upon the authority of Abd-ulla,
" the son of Abas, that in his mortal malady the
" house of the prophet was full of his companions.
"He'said:

" Make haste, let me put down a writing for your sake, in order that,
" after me, you may be safe against error arid deceit."

" But Omar said : ' The prophet is overcome by
" * the malady, and his intellect is obstructed; the
" ' heavenly book, and the proofs of the text of the
" ' Koran are sufficient for us.' On which ac-
t6 count accumulated contradictions and conflict-
4 * ing discussions rose to such a height that the pro-
" phet said: ' Leave me.' The Sonnite resumed :
" The prophet himself declared :

that moment till her death never spoke to any of the enemies of her hus-
band. The prophet, according to authentic traditions, said: 4< Whoever
" gives offence to Fatimah gives offence to me; and whoever offends me,
" offends God."

1 Muhammed, son of Ismail al Jisfi, called Bochari, from his native
town in Mazinderan, lived from the year of the Hejira 194 to 256 (A. D.
809-869). He is chiefly celebrated by a work composed, as he says him-
self, at the prophet's tomb at Madina, from six hundred thousand tradi-
tions, and called Masnad es sahih, the sincere (just) Masnad. " Mas-
" nad" signifies a collection of traditions, each of which is accompanied
with the name of the traditionist by whom it was handed down.