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HUDSON EDITION

Mahomet and His Successors

WASHINGTON IRVING

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOLUME I.

NEW YORK
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

27 and 29 West 23d Street

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by

G. P. Putnam and Son,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District

of New York.

Preface.

OME apology may seem necessary for present*
ing a life of Mahomet at the present day, when
no new fact can be added to those already
known concerning him. Many years since, during a
residence in Madrid, the author projected a series of
writings illustrative of the domination of the Arabs in
Spain. These were to be introduced by a sketch of the
life of the founder of the Islam faith, and the first mover
of Arabian conquest. Most of the particulars for this
were drawn from Spanish sources, and from Gagnier's
translation of the Arabian historian Abulfeda, a copy of
which the author found in the Jesuits' Library of the
Convent of St. Isidro, at Madrid.

Not having followed out in its extent the literary plan
devised, the manuscript life lay neglected among the
author's papers until the year 1831, when he revised and
enlarged it for the Family Library of Mr. John Murray.
Circumstances prevented its publication at the time, and
it again was thrown aside for years.

During his last residence in Spain, the author beguiled

7

3 PREFACE.

the tediousness of a lingering indisposition, by again re-
vising the manuscript, profiting in so doing by recent
lights thrown on the subject by different writers, and
particularly by Dr. Gustav Weil, the very intelligent and
Jearned librarian of the University of Heidelberg, to
whose industrious researches and able disquisitions, he
acknowledges himself greatly indebted.*

Such is the origin of the work now given to the public ;
on which the author lays no claim to novelty of fact, nor
profundity of research. It still bears the type of a work
intended for a Family Library ; in constructing which
the whole aim of the writer has been to digest into an
easy, perspicuous and flowing narrative, the admitted
facts concerning Mahomet, together with such legends
and traditions as have been wrought into the whole
system of oriental literature ; and at the same time to
give such a summary of his faith as might be sufficient
for the general reader. Under such circumstances, he
has not thought it worth while to encumber his pages
with a scaffolding of references and citations, nor depart
from the old English nomenclature of oriental names.

W. L

SUNNYSIDE, 1849.

* Mohammed der Prophet, sein Leben und seine Lehere. Stuttgart, 1843,

Contents.

CHAPTER I.

PASS

Preliminary Notice of Arabia and the Arabs 19

CHAPTEK II.

Birth and Parentage of Mahomet. — His Infancy and Childhood, .... 36

CHAPTER III.

Traditions concerning Mecca and the Caaba 43

CHAPTER IV.

First Journey of Mahomet with the Caravan to Syria 48

CHAPTER V.

Commercial Occupations of Mahomet.— His Marriage with Cadijah. . 55

CHAPTER VI.

Conduct of Mahomet after his Marriage.— Becomes anxious for Relig-
ious Reform.— His Habits of Solitary Abstraction.— The Vision

of the Cave.— His Annunciations as a Prophet 00

9

1Q CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.

Mahomet inculcates his Doctrines secretly and slowly.— Receives fur-
ther Revelations and Commands.— Announcement to his Kin-
dred.—Manner in which it was received.— Enthusiastic Devotion
of Ali. — Christian Portents

CHAPTER VIII.
Outlines of the Mahometan Faith 77

CHAPTER IX.

Ridicule cast on Mahomet and his Doctrines. — Demand for Miracles.
—Conduct of Abu Taleb.— Violence of the Koreishites.— Ma-
homet's Daughter Rokaia, with her Husband Othman and a
Number of Disciples, take Refuge in Abyssinia. — Mahomet in
the House of Orkham.— Hostility of Abu Jahl ; his Punishment. 87

CHAPTER X.

Omar Ibn al Khattab, Nephew of Abu Jahl, undertakes to revenge
his Uncle by slaying Mahomet. — His wonderful Conversion to
the Faith. — Mahomet takes refuge in a Castle of Abu Taleb. —
Abu Sofian, at the head of the rival Branch of Koreishites, per-
secutes Mahomet and his Followers.— Obtains a Decree of Non-
intercourse with them. — Mahomet leaves his Retreat and makes
Converts during the Month of Pilgrimage. —Legend of the Con-
yersion of Habib the Wise 96

CHAPTER XI.

The Ban of Non-intercourse mysteriously destroyed. — Mahomet en-
abled to return to Mecca.— Death of Abu Taleb ; of Cadijah.—
Mahomet betroths himself to Ayesha.— Marries Sawda.— The
Koreishites renew their Persecution. -Mahomet seeks an Asylum

CONTENTS. 11

TAGE

In Tayef . — His Expulsion thence. — Visited by Genii in the Desert
of Naklah 107

CHAPTER XII.

Night Journey of the Prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem ; and thence
to the Seventh Heaven 116

CHAPTER XIII.

Mahomet makes Converts of Pilgrims from Medina. — Determines to
fly to that City. — A Plot to slay him. — His Miraculous Escape. —
His Hegira, or Flight. — His Reception at Medina 131

CHAPTER XIV.

Moslems in Medina, Mohadjerins and Ansarians. — The party of Ab-
dallah Ibn Obba and the Hypocrites. — Mahomet builds a
Mosque ; preaches ; makes Converts among the Christians. —
The Jews slow to believe. — Brotherhood established between
Fugitives and Allies 144

CHAPTER XV.

Marriage of Mahomet with Ayesha. — Of his Daughter Fatima with
Ali. — Their Household Arrangements 152

CHAPTER XVI.

The Sword announced as the Instrument of Faith. — First Foray
against the Koreishites.— Surprisal of a Caravan 156

CHAPTER XVII.
The Battle of Beder 168

CHAPTER XVIII.

Death of the Prophet's Daughter Rokaia. — Restoration of his Daugh-
ter Zeinab. — Effect of the Prophet's Malediction on Abu Lahab

12 CONTENTS.

PASS

and his Family.— Frantic Rage of Henda, the Wife of Abu
Sofian. — Mahomet narrowly escapes Assassination. — Embassy of
the Koreishites. — The King of Abyssinia 174

CHAPTER XIX.

Growing Power of Mahomet. — His Resentment against the Jews.—
Insult to an Arab Damsel by the Jewish tribes of Kainoka. — A
Tumult. — The Beni Kainoka take Refuge in their Castle. — Sub-
dued and punished by Confiscation and Banishment. — Marriage
of Oth man to the Prophet's Daughter Omm Kolthum, and of the
Prophet to Hafza 180

CHAPTER XX.

Henda incites Abu Sofian and the Koreishites to revenge the Death
of her Relations slain in the Battle of Beder. — The Koreishites
sally forth, followed by Henda and her Female Companions. —
Battle of Ohod. — Ferocious Triumph of Henda. — Mahomet con-
soles himself by marrying Hend, the Daughter of Omeya 185

CHAPTER XXL

Treachery of certain Jewish Tribes ; their Punishment. — Devotion
of the Prophet's Freedman Zeid ; Divorces his Beautiful Wife
Zeinab, that she may become the Wife of the Prophet 193

CHAPTER XXII.

Expedition of Mahomet against the Beni Mostalek. — He espouses
Barra, a Captive.— Treachery of Abdallah Bon Obba.— Ayesha
slandered. — Her Vindication. — Her Innocence proved by a Reve-
lation 199

CHAPTER XXIII.

The Battle of the Moat.— Bravery of Saad Ibn Moad.— Defeat of the
Koreishites.— Capture of the Jewish Castle of Koraida.— Saad

CONTENTS. 13

FAGS

decides as to the Punishment of the Jews. — Mahomet Espouses
Rehana, a Jewish Captive. — His Life endangered by Sorcery;
saved by a Revelation of the Angel Gabriel 206

CHAPTER XXIV.

Mahomet undertakes a Pilgrimage to Mecca. — Evades Khaled and a
Troop of Horse sent against him. — Encamps near Mecca. — Ne-
gotiates with the Koreishites for Permission to enter and com-
plete his Pilgrimage.— Treaty for ten Years, by which he is per-
mitted to make a yearly Visit of three Days.— He returns to
Medina 217

CHAPTER XXV.

Expedition against the City of Khaiibar ; Siege. — Exploits of Ma-
homet's Captains. — Battle of Ali and Marhab. — Storming of the
Citadel. — Ali makes a Buckler of the Gate.— Capture of the
Place. — Mahomet poisoned; he marries Safiya, a Captive; also
Omn Habiba, a Widow 223

CHAPTER XXVI.

Missions to various Princes ; to Heraclius ; to Khosru II. ; to the Pre-
fect of Egypt.— Their Result 23l

CHAPTER XXVII.

Mahomet's Pilgrimage to Mecca ; his Marriage with Maimuna.—
Khaled Ibn al Waled and Amru Ibn al Aass become Proselytes. . 235

CHAPTER XXVIII.

A Moslem Envoy slain in Syria.— Expedition to avenge his Death.—
Battle of Muta.— Its Results 238

14 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXIX.

PA«K

Designs upon Mecca.— Mission of Abu Sofian.— Its Result 343

CHAPTER XXX.
Surprise and Capture of Mecca 247

CHAPTER XXXI.

Hostilities in the Mountains.— Enemy's Camp in the Valley of Autas.
— Battle of the Pass of Honein. — Capture of the Enemy's Camp.
— Interview of Mahomet with the Nurse of his Childhood. — Divi-
sion of Spoil. — Mahomet at his Mother's Grave 264

CHAPTER XXXII.

Death of the Prophet's Daughter Zeinab. — Birth of his son Ibra-
him.—Deputations from Distant Tribes. — Poetical Contest in
Presence of the Prophet. — His Susceptibility to the Charms of
Poetry. —Reduction of the City of Tayef ; Destruction of its Idols.
— Negotiation with Amir Ibn Tafiel, a proud Bedouin Chief; In-
dependent Spirit of the latter. — Interview of Adi, another Chief,
^ith Mahomet 279

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Preparations for an Expedition against Syria. — Intrigues of Abdal-
lah Ibn Obba. — Contributions of the Faithful. — March of the
Army. — The Accursed Region of Hajar. — Encampment at
Tabuc— Subjugation of the neighboring Provinces. — Khaled

CONTENTS. 15

PAGE

surprises Okaider and his Castle.— Return of the Army to Me-
dina 286

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Triumphal Entry into Medina.— Punishment of those who had refused
to join the Campaign. — Effects of Excommunication. — Death of
Abdallah Ibn Obba.— Dissensions in the Prophet's Harem 296

CHAPTER XXXV.

Abu Beker conducts the Yearly Pilgrimage to Mecca.— Mission of
Ali to announce a Revelation 301

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Mahomet sends his Captains on distant Enterprises. — Appoints Lieu-
tenants to govern in Arabia Felix.— Sends Ali to suppress an
Insurrection in that Province. — Death of the Prophet's only Son
Ibrahim.— His Conduct at the Death-bed and the Grave.— His
growing Infirmities.— His Valedictory Pilgrimage to Mecca, and
his Conduct and Preaching while there 304

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Of the two False Prophets, Al Aswad and Mose'ilma 814

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

An Army prepared to march against Syria. — Command given to
Osama.— The Prophet's Farewell Address to the Troops.— His
Last Illness.— His Sermons in the Mosque.— His Death and the
Attending Circumstances 318

Iq CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

PAGH

Person and Character of Mahomet and Speculations on his Prophetic
Career 331

849
Appendix "*

Mahomet and his Successors.

CHAPTEE L

PRELIMINARY NOTICE OF ARABIA AND THE ARABS.

UEING a long succession of ages, extending
from the earliest period of recorded history
down to the seventh century of the Christian
era, that great chersonese or peninsula formed by the
Eed Sea, the Euphrates, the Gulf of Persia, and the
Indian Ocean, and known by the name of Arabia, re-
mained unchanged and almost unaffected by the events
which convulsed the rest of Asia, and shook Europe and
Africa to their centre. While kingdoms and empires rose
and fell ; while ancient dynasties passed away ; while the
boundaries and names of countries were changed, and
their inhabitants were exterminated or carried into cap-
tivity, Arabia, though its frontier provinces experienced
some vicissitudes, preserved in the depths of its deserts
its primitive character and independence, nor had its no-
madic tribes ever bent their haughty necks to servitude.

19

20 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

The Arabs carry back the traditions of their country
to the highest antiquity. It was peopled, they say, soon
after the deluge, by the progeny of Shem the son of
Noah, who gradually formed themselves into several
tribes, the most noted of which are the Adites and
Thamudites. All these primitive tribes are said to have
been either swept from the earth in punishment of their
iniquities, or obliterated in subsequent modifications of
the races, so that little remains concerning them but
shadowy traditions and a few passages in the Koran.
They are occasionally mentioned in oriental history as
the " old primitive Arabians," — the " lost tribes."

The primitive population of the peninsula is ascribed,
by the same authorities, to Kahtan or Joctan, a descend-
ant in the fourth generation from Shem. His posterity
spread over the southern part of the peninsula and along
the Red Sea. Yarab, one of his sons, founded the king-
dom of Yemen, where the territory of Araba was called
after him ; whence the Arabs derive the names of them-
selves and their country. Jurham, another son, founded
the kingdom of Hedjaz, over which his descendants bore
sway for many generations. Among these people Hagar
and her son Ishmael were kindly received, when exiled
from their home by the patriarch Abraham. In the pro-
cess of time Ishmael married the daughter of Modad,
a reigning prince of the line of Jurham ; and thus a
stranger and a Hebrew became grafted on the original
Arabian stock. It proved a vigorous graft. Ishmael's

ORIGIN OF THE ARABS. 21

wife bore him twelve sons, who acquired dominion over
the country, and whose prolific race, divided into twelve
tribes, expelled or overran and obliterated the primitive
stock of Joctan.

Such is the account given by the peninsular Arabs of
their origin ; * and Christian writers cite it as containing
the fulfillment of the covenant of God with Abraham, as
recorded in Holy Writ. " And Abraham said unto God,
O that Ishmael might live before thee. And God said,
As for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold, I have
blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multi-
ply him exceedingly : twelve princes shall he beget, and I
will make him a great nation." (Genesis xvii. 18, 20.)

These twelve princes with their tribes are further
spoken of in the Scriptures (Genesis xxv. 18) as occupying
the country " from Havilah unto Shur, that is before
Egypt, as thou goest towards Assyria ; " a region identi-
fied by sacred geographers with part of Arabia. The de-
scription of them agrees with that of the Arabs of the
present day. Some are mentioned as holding towns and
castles, others as dwelling in tents, or having villages in

* Besides the Arabs of the peninsula, who were all of the Shemitic
race, there were others called Cushites, being descended from Cush the
son of Ham. They inhabited the banks of the Euphrates and the Persian
Gulf. The name of Cush is often given in Scripture to the Arabs gener-
ally as well as to their country. It must be the Arabs of this race who
at present roam the deserted regions of ancient Assyria, and have been
employed recently in disinterring the long-buried ruins of Nineveh. They
are sometimes distinguished as the Syro- Arabians. The present work re-
lates only to the Arabs of the peninsula, or Arabia Proper.

22 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

the wilderness. Nebaioth and Kedar, the two first-born
of Ishmael, are most noted among the princes for their
wealth in flocks and herds, and for the fine wool of their
sheep. From Nebaioth came the Nebaithai who inhab-
ited Stony Arabia ; while the name of Kedar is occasion-
ally given in Holy Writ to designate the whole Arabian
nation. "Woe is me," says the Psalmist, "that I so-
journ in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar."
Both appear to have been the progenitors of the wander-
ing or pastoral Arabs ; the free rovers of the desert.
" The wealthy nation," says the prophet Jeremiah, " that
dwelleth without care ; which have neither gates nor
bars, which dwell alone."

A strong distinction grew up in the earliest times be-
tween the Arabs who "held towns and castles," and
those who " dwelt in tents." Some of the former occu-
pied the fertile wadies, or valleys, scattered here and
there among the mountains, where these towns and cas-
tles were surrounded by vineyards and orchards, groves
of palm trees, fields of grain, and well-stocked pastures.
They were settled in their habits, devoting themselves to
the cultivation of the soil and the breeding of cattle.

Others of this class gave themselves up to commerce,
having ports and cities along the Bed Sea ; the southern
shores of the peninsula and the Gulf of Persia, and car-
rying on foreign trade by means of ships and caravans.
Such especially were the people of Yemen, or Arabia
the Happy, that land of spices, perfumes, and frankjto-

INLAND COMMERCE, 23

cense ; the Sabsea of the poets ; the Sheba of the sacred
Scriptures. They were among the most active mercan-
tile navigators of the eastern seas. Their ships brought
to their shores the myrrh and balsams of the opposite
coast of Berbera, with the gold, the spices, and other rich
commodities of India and tropical Africa. These, with
the products of their own country, were transported by
caravans across the deserts to the semi-Arabian states of
Ammon, Moab, and Edom or Idumea, to the Phoenician
ports of the Mediterranean, and thence distributed to the
western world.

The camel has been termed the ship of the desert, the
caravan may be termed its fleet. The caravans of Yemen
were generally fitted out, manned, conducted, and guarded
by the nomadic Arabs, the dwellers in tents, who, in this
respect, might be called the navigators of the desert.
They furnished the innumerable camels required, and
also contributed to the freight by the fine fleeces of their
countless flocks. The writings of the prophets show the
importance, in Scriptural times, of this inland chain of
commerce, by which the rich countries of the south,
India, Ethiopia, and Arabia the Happy, were linked with
ancient Syria.

Ezekiel, in his lamentations for Tyre, exclaims, "Arabia
and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in
lambs, and rams, and goats ; in these were they thy mer-
chants. The merchants of Sheba and Eaamah occupied
in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precioua

24 MAHOMET AND U1S SUCCESSORS.

stones and gold. Haran, and Canneh, and Eden,* the
merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chelmad, were thy
merchants." And Isaiah, speaking to Jerusalem, says—
" The multitude of camels shall cover thee ; the drome-
daries of Midian and Ephah ; all they from Sheba shall

come ; they shall bring gold and incense All

the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee ;
the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee." (Isaiah
lx. 6, 7.)

The agriculturing and trading Arabs, however, the
dwellers in towns and cities, have never been considered
the true type of the race. They became softened by set-
tled and peaceful occupations, and lost much of their
original stamp by an intercourse with strangers. Yemen,
too, being more accessible than the other parts of Arabia,
and offering greater temptation to the spoiler, had been
repeatedly invaded and subdued.

It was among the other class of Arabs, the rovers of
the desert, the "dwellers in tents," by far the most
numerous of the two, that the national character was
preserved in all its primitive force and freshness. No-
madic in their habits, pastoral in their occupations, and
acquainted by experience and tradition with all the hid-
den resources of the desert, they led a wandering life,
roaming from place to place in quest of those wells and
springs which had been the resort of their forefathers

* Haran, Canna, and Aden, ports on the Indian Sea.

NATIONAL CHARACTER. 25

since the days of the patriarchs ; encamping wherever
they could find date-trees for shade, and sustenance and
pasturage for their flocks, and herds, and camels ; and
shifting their abode whenever the temporary supply was
exhausted.

These nomadic Arabs were divided and subdivided into
innumerable petty tribes or families, each with its
Sheikh or Emir, the representative of the patriarch of
yore, whose spear, planted beside his tent, was the en-
sign of command. His office, however, though continued
for many generations in the same family, was not strictly
hereditary ; but depended upon the good-will of the
tribe. He might be deposed, and another of a different
line elected in his place. His power, too, was limited,
and depended upon his personal merit and the confidence
reposed in him. His prerogative consisted in conducting
negotiations of peace and war; in leading his tribe
against the enemy ; in choosing the place of encampment,
and in receiving and entertaining strangers of note. Yet,
even in these and similar privileges, he was controlled
by the opinions and inclinations of his people.*

* In summer the wandering Arabs, says Burckhardt, seldom remain
above three or four days on the same spot ; as soon as their cattle have
consumed the herbage near a watering place, the tribe removes in search
of pasture, and the grass again springing up, serves for a succeeding
camp. The encampments vary in the number of tents, from six to eight
hundred ; when the tents are but few, they are pitched in a circle ; but
more considerable numbers in a straight line, or a row of single tents,
especially along a rivulet, sometimes three or four behind as many others.
In winter, when water and pasture never fail, the whole tribe spreads

26 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

However numerous and minute might be the divisions
of a tribe, the links of affinity were carefully kept in
mind by the several sections. All the Sheikhs of the
same tribe acknowledge a common chief called the
Sheikh of Sheikhs, who, whether ensconced in a rock-
built castle, or encamped amid his flocks and herds in the
desert, might assemble under his standard all the scat-
tered branches on any emergency affecting the common
weal.

itself over the plain in parties of three or four tents each, with an inter-
val of half an hour's distance between each party. The Sheikh's tent is
always on the side on which enemies or guests may be expected. To op-
pose the former and to honor the latter, is the Sheikh's principal busi-
ness. Every father of a family sticks his lance into the ground by the
side of his tent, and ties his horse in front. There also his camels repose
at night. — Burckhardt, Notes on Bedouins, vol. i. p. 33.

The following is descriptive of the Arabs of Assyria, though it is ap-
plicable, in a great degree, to the whole race : —

" It would be difficult to describe the appearance of a large tribe when
migrating to new pastures. We soon found ourselves in the midst of
wide-spreading flocks of sheep and camels. As far as the eye could
reach, to the right, to the left, and in front, still the same moving crowd.
Long lines of asses and bullocks, laden with black tents, huge cauldrons,
and variegated carpets ; aged women and men, no longer able to walk,
tied on the heap of domestic furniture; infants crammed into saddle-
bags, their tiny heads thrust through the narrow opening, balanced on
the animal's back by kids or lambs tied on the opposite side ; young
girls clothed only in the close-fitting Arab shirt, which displayed rather
than concealed their graceful forms ; mothers with their children on their
shoulders; boys driving flocks of lambs; horsemen armed with their long
tufted spears, scouring the plain on their fleet mares ; riders urging their
dromedaries with their short-hooked sticks, and leading their high-bred
steeds by the halter ; colts galloping among the throng ; such was the
motley crowd through which we had to wend our way." — Layard's Nvn&
veh, i. 4.

INURED TO WAR. 27

The multiplicity of these wandering tribes, each with
its petty prince and petty territory, but without a na-
tional head, produced frequent collisions. Revenge, toe,
was almost a religious principle among them. To avenge
a relative slain was the duty of his family, and often in-
volved the honor of his tribe ; and these debts of blood
sometimes remained unsettled for generations, producing
deadly feuds.

The necessity of being always on the alert to defend
his flocks and herds, made the Arab of the desert familiar
from his infancy with the exercise of arms. None could
excel him in the use of the bow, the lance, and the scim-
itar, and the adroit and graceful management of the
horse. He was a predatory warrior also ; for though at
times he was engaged in the service of the merchant, fur-
nishing him with camels and guides and drivers for the
transportation of his merchandise, he was more apt to
iay contributions on the caravan, or plunder it outright
in its toilful progress through the desert. All this he re-
garded as a legitimate exercise of arms; looking down
upon the gainful sons of traffic as an inferior race, de-
i -ased by sordid habits and pursuits.

Such was the Arab of the desert, the dweller in tents,
in whom was fulfilled the prophetic destiny of his ances-
tor Ishmael. " He will be a wild man ; his hand will be
against every man, and every man's hand against him." *

* Genesis xvi. 12.

28 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Nature had fitted him for his destiny. His form was
light and meagre, but sinewy and active, and capable oi
sustaining great fatigue and hardship. He was temper-
ate and even abstemious, requiring but little food, and
that of the simplest kind. His mind, like his body, was
light and agile. He eminently possessed the intellectual
attributes of the Shemitic race, penetrating sagacity, sub-
tle wit, a ready conception, and a brilliant imagination.
His sensibilities were quick and acute, though not last-
ing ; a proud and daring spirit was stamped on his sal-
low visage and flashed from his dark and kindling eye.
He was easily aroused by the appeals of eloquence, and
charmed by the graces of poetry. Speaking a language
copious in the extreme, the words of which have been com-
pared to gems and flowers, he was naturally an orator ;
but he delighted in proverbs and apothegms, rather than
in sustained flights of declamation, and was prone to con-
vey his ideas in the oriental style, by apologue and parable.

Though a restless and predatory warrior, he was gen-
erous and hospitable. He delighted in giving gifts ; his
door was always open to the wayfarer, with whom he was
ready to share his last morsel ; and his deadliest foe,
having once broken bread with him, might repose se-
curely beneath the inviolable sanctity of his tent.

In religion the Arabs, in what they term the Days of
Ignorance, partook largely of the two faiths, the Sabean
and the Magian, which at that time prevailed over the
eastern world. The Sabean, however, was the one to

RELIGION OF THE ARABS. 29

which they most adhered. They pretended to derive it
from Sabi the son of Seth, who, with his father and his
brother Enoch, they supposed to be buried in the pyra-
mids. Others derive the name from the Hebrew word,
Saba, or the stars, and trace the origin of the faith to the
Assyrian shepherds, who as they watched their flocks by
night on their level plains, and beneath their cloudless
skies, noted the aspects and movements of the heavenly
bodies, and formed theories of their good and evil influ-
ences on human affairs ; vague notions which the Chaldean
philosophers and priests reduced to a system, supposed
to be more ancient even than that of the Egyptians.

By others it is derived from still higher authority, and
claimed to be the religion of the antediluvian world. It
survived, say they, the Deluge, and was continued among
the patriarchs. It was taught by Abraham, adopted by
his descendants, the children of Israel, and sanctified and
confirmed in the tablets of the law delivered unto Moses,
amid the thunder and lightning of Mount Sinai.

In its original state the Sabean faith was pure and
spiritual ; inculcating a belief in the unity of God, the
doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments,
and the necessity of a virtuous and holy life to obtain a
happy immortality. So profound was the reverence of
the Sabeans for the Supreme Being, that they never
mentioned his name, nor did they venture to approach
him, but through intermediate intelligences or angels.
These were supposed to inhabit and animate the heay-

30 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

enly bodies in the same way as the human body is inhab-
ited and animated by a soul. They were placed in their
respective spheres to supervise and govern the universe
in subserviency to the Most High. In addressing them-
selves to the stars and other celestial luminaries, there-
fore, the Sabeans did not worship them as deities, but
sought only to propitiate their angelic occupants as in
tercessors with the Supreme Being ; looking up through
these created things to God the great Creator.

By degrees this religion lost its original simplicity and
purity, and became obscured by mysteries, and degraded
by idolatries. The Sabeans, instead of regarding the
heavenly bodies as the habitations of intermediate
agents, worshipped them as deities ; set up graven images
in honor of them, in sacred groves and in the gloom of
forests ; and at length enshrined these idols in temples,
and worshipped them as if instinct with divinity. The
Sabean faith too underwent changes and modifications
in the various countries through which it was diffused.
Egypt has long been accused of reducing it to the most
abject state of degradation ; the statues, hieroglyphics,
and painted sepulchres of that mysterious country, being
considered records of the worship, not merely of celestial
intelligences, but of the lowest order of created beings,
and even of inanimate objects. Modern investigation and
research, however, are gradually rescuing the most intel-
lectual nation of antiquity from this aspersion, and as
they slowly lift the veil of mystery which hangs over the

RIVAL 8ECT8. 31

fcombs of Egypt, are discovering that all these apparent
objects of adoration were but symbols of the varied attri-
butes of the one Supreme Being, whose name was too
sacred to be pronounced by mortals. Among the Arabs
the Sabean faith became mingled with wild superstitions,
and degraded by gross idolatry. Each tribe worshipped
its particular star or planet, or set up its particular idol.
Infanticide mingled its horrors with their religious rites.
Among the nomadic tribes the birth of a daughter was
considered a misfortune, her sex rendering her of little
service in a wandering and predatory life, while she
might bring disgrace upon her family by misconduct or
captivity. Motives of unnatural policy, therefore, may
have mingled with their religious feelings, in offering up
female infants as sacrifices to their idols, or in burying
them alive.

The rival sect of Magians or Guebres (fire worshippers),
which, as we have said, divided the religious empire of the
East, took its rise in Persia, where, after a while, its oral
doctrines were reduced to writing by its great prophet
and teacher Zoroaster, in his volume of the Zend-avesta.
The creed, like that of the Sabeans, wm originally simple
And spiritual, inculcating a belief in one supreme and
eternal God, in whom and by whom the universe exists ;
that he produced, through his creating word, two active
principles, Ormusd, the principle or angel of light or
good, and Ahriman, the principle or angel of darkness or
©vil : that these formed the world out of a mixture of

32 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

their opposite elements, and were engaged in a perpetual
contest in the regulation of its affairs. Hence the vicissi-
tudes of good and evil, accordingly as the angel of light
or darkness has the upper hand : this contest would con-
tinue until the end of the world, when there would be a
general resurrection and a day of judgment; the angel
of darkness and his disciples would then be banished to
an abode of woful gloom, and their opponents would
enter the blissful realms of ever-during light.

The primitive rites of this religion were extremely
simple. The Magians had neither temples, altars, nor
religious symbols of any kind, but addressed their
prayers and hymns directly to the Deity, in what they
conceived to be his residence, the sun. They reverenced
this luminary as being his abode, and as the source of
the light and heat of which all the other heavenly bodies
were composed ; and they kindled fires upon the moun-
tain tops to supply light during its absence. Zoroaster
first introduced the use of temples, wherein sacred fire,
pretended to be derived from heaven, was kept perpet-
ually alive through the guardianship of priests, who
maintained a watch over it night and day.

In process of time this sect, like that of the Sabeans,
lost sight of the Divine principle in the symbol, and came
to worship light or fire, as the real Deity, and to abhor
darkness as Satan or the devil. In their fanatic zeal the
Magians would seize upon unbelievers and offer them up
in the flames to propitiate their fiery deity.

THE 8ABEAN8 AND MAGIANS. 3$

To the tenets of these two sects reference is made
in that beautiful text of the " Wisdom of Solomon : "
" Surely vain are all men by nature who are ignorant of
God, and could not, by considering the work, acknowledge
the work-master ; but deemed either fire, or wind, or the
swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the violent water,
or the lights of heaven, to be gods which govern the
world."

Of these two faiths the Sabean, as we have before ob-
served, was much the most prevalent among the Arabs ;
but in an extremely degraded form, mingled with all kinds
of abuses and varying among the various tribes. The
Magian faith prevailed among those tribes which, from
their frontier position, had frequent intercourse with
Persia; while other tribes partook of the superstitions
and idolatries of the nations on which they bordered.

Judaism had made its way into Arabia at an early
period, but very vaguely and imperfectly. Still many of
its rites and ceremonies, and fanciful traditions, became
implanted in the country. At a later day, however,
when Palestine was ravaged by the Eomans, and the city
of Jerusalem taken and sacked, many of the Jews took
refuge among the Arabs ; became incorporated with the
native tribes ; formed themselves into communities ;
acquired possession of fertile tracts; built castles and
strongholds, and rose to considerable power and in-
fluence.

The Christian religion had likewise its adherent*?
vol. l— 3

34 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

among the Arabs. St. Paul himself declares in his Epis-
tle to the Galatians, that soon after he had been called to
preach Christianity among the heathens, he " went into
Arabia." The dissensions, also, which rose in the East-
ern shurch, in the early part of the third century, break-
ing it up into sects, each persecuting the others as it
gained the ascendency, drove many into exile into re-
mote parts of the East ; filled the deserts of Arabia with
anchorites, and planted the Christian faith among some
of the principal tribes.

The foregoing circumstances, physical and moral, may
give an idea of the causes which maintained the Arabs
for ages in an unchanged condition. While their isolated
position and their vast deserts protected them from con-
quest, their internal feuds, and their want of a common
tie, political or religious, kept them from being formida-
ble as conquerors. They were a vast aggregation of dis-
tinct parts ; full of individual vigor, but wanting coher-
ent strength. Although their nomadic life rendered
them hardy and active ; although the greater part of
them were warriors from their infancy, yet their arms
were only wielded against each other, excepting some of
the frontier tribes, which occasionally engaged as merce-
naries in external wars. While, therefore, the other
nomadic races of Central Asia, possessing no greater
aptness for warfare, had, during a course of ages, suc-
cessively overrun and conquered the civilized world,
this warrior race, unconscious of its power, remained

RELIGIOUS UNION OF THE TRIBES. 35

disjointed and harmless in the depths of its native
deserts.

The time at length arrived when its discordant tribes
were to be united in one creed, and animated by one
common cause ; when a mighty genius was to arise, who
should bring together these scattered limbs, animate
them with his own enthusiastic and daring spirit, and
lead them forth, a giant of the desert, to shake and over-
turn the empires of the earth.

CHAPTEE IL

BIRTH AND PARENTAGE OF MAHOMET.— HIS INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD.

AHOMET, the great founder of the faith of Is-
lam, was born in Mecca, in April, in the year
569 of the Christian era. He was of the val-
iant and illustrious tribe of Koreish, of which there were
two branches, descended from two brothers, Haschem
and Abd Schems. Haschem, the progenitor of Mahomet,
was a great benefactor of Mecca. This city is situated in
the midst of a barren and stony country, and in former
times was often subject to scarcity of provisions. At the
beginning of the sixth century Haschem established two
yearly caravans, one in the winter to South Arabia or
Yemen ; the other in the summer to Syria. By these
means abundant supplies were brought to Mecca, as well
as a great variety of merchandise. The city became a
commercial mart, and the tribe of Koreish, which en-
gaged largely in these expeditions, became wealthy and
powerful. Haschem, at this time, was the guardian of
the Caaba, the great shrine of Arabian pilgrimage and
worship, the custody of which was confided to none but
the most honorable tribes and families, in the same man-

BIRTH OF MAHOMET. 37

ner, as in old times, the temple of Jerusalem was in-
trusted only to the care of the Levites. In fact the guar-
dianship of the Caaba was connected with civil dignities
and privileges, and gave the holder of it the control of
the sacred city.

On the death of Haschem, his son, Abd al Motalleb,
succeeded to his honors, and inherited his patriotism.
He delivered the holy city from an invading army of
troops and elephants, sent by the Christian princes of
Abyssinia, who at that time held Yemen in subjection.
These signal services rendered by father and son, con-
firmed the guardianship of the Caaba, in the line of Ha-
schem ; to the great discontent and envy of the line oj
Abd Schems.

Abd al Motalleb had several sons and daughters,
Those of his sons who figure in history were, Abu Taleb,
Abu Lahab, Abbas, Hamza, and Abdallah. The last
named was the youngest and best beloved. He married
Amina, a maiden of a distant branch of the same illustri-
ous stock of Koreish. So remarkable was Abdallah for
personal beauty and those qualities which win the affec-
tions of women, that, if Moslem traditions are to be
credited, on the night of his marriage with Amina, two
hundred virgins of the tribe of Koreish died of broken
hearts.

Mahomet was the first and only fruit of the marriage
thus sadly celebrated. His birth, according to similar
traditions with the one just cited, was accompanied by

38 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

signs and portents announcing a child of wonder. Sis
mother suffered none of the pangs of travail. At the
moment of his coming into the world, a celestial light
illumined the surrounding country, and the new-born
child, raising his eyes to heaven, exclaimed: "God is
great ! There is no God but God, and I am his prophet."

Heaven and earth, we are assured, were agitated at his
advent. The Lake Sawa shrank back to its secret springs,
leaving its borders dry; while the Tigris, bursting its
bounds, overflowed the neighboring lands. The palace
of Khosru, the King of Persia, shook to its foundations,
and several of its towers were toppled to the earth. In
that troubled night the Kadhi, or Judge of Persia, beheld,
in a dream, a ferocious camel conquered by an Arabian
courser. He related his dream in the morning to the
Persian monarch, and interpreted it to portend danger
from the quarter of Arabia.

In the same eventful night the sacred fire of Zoroaster,
which, guarded by the Magi, had burned without inter-
ruption for upwards of a thousand years, was suddenly
extinguished, and all the idols in the world fell down.
The demons, or evil genii, which lurk in the stars and the
signs of the zodiac, and exert a malignant influence over
the children of men, were cast forth by the pure angels,
and hurled, with their arch-leader, Eblis, or Lucifer, into
the depths of the sea.

The relatives of the new-born child, say the like au«
thorities, were filled with awe and wonder. His mother's

BIRTH OF MAHOMET. 39

brother, an astrologer, cast his nativity, and predicted
that he would rise to vast power, found an empire, and,
establish a new faith among men. His grandfather, Abd
al Motalleb, gave a feast to the principal Koreishites, the'
seventh day after his birth, at which he presented this
child, as the dawning glory of their race, and gave him
the name of Mahomet (or Muhamed), indicative of his
future renown.

Such are the marvelous accounts given by Moslem
writers of the infancy of Mahomet, and we have little
else than similar fables about his early years. He was
scarce two months old when his father died, leaving him
no other inheritance than five camels, a few sheep, and a
female slave of Ethiopia, named Barakat. His mother,
Amina, had hitherto nurtured him, but care and sorrow
dried the fountains of her breast, and the air of Mecca
being unhealthy for children, she sought a nurse for him
among the females of the neighboring Bedouin tribes.
These were accustomed to come to Mecca twice a year,
in spring and autumn, to foster the children of its inhab-
itants ; but they looked for the offspring of the rich,
where they were sure of ample recompense, and turned
with contempt from this heir of poverty. At length
Halema, the wife of a Saadite shepherd, was moved to
compassion, and took the helpless infant to her home.
It was in one of the pastoral valleys of the mountains.*

* The Beni Sad (or children of Sad) date from the most remote antiq-
uity, and, with the Katan Arabs, are the only remnants of the primitive

40 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Many were the wonders related by Halema of her in*
fant charge. On the journey from Mecca, the mule which
bore him became miraculously endowed with speech, and
proclaimed aloud that he bore on his back the greatest
of prophets, the chief of ambassadors, the favorite of the
Almighty. The sheep bowed to him as he passed ; as he
lay in his cradle and gazed at the moon, it stooped to
him in reverence.

The blessing of heaven, say the Arabian writers, re-
warded the charity of Halema. While the child re-
mained under her roof, everything around her pros-
pered. The wells and springs were never dried up ; the
pastures were always green; her flocks and herds in-
creased tenfold; a marvelous abundance reigned over
her fields, and peace prevailed in her dwelling.

The Arabian legends go on to extol the almost super-
natural powers, bodily and mental, manifested by this
wonderful child at a very early age. He could stand
alone when three months old ; run abroad when he was
seven, and at ten could join other children in their sports
with bows and arrows. At eight months he could speak
so as to be understood; and in the course of another
month could converse with fluency, displaying a wisdom
astonishing to all who heard him.

At the age of three years, while playing in the fields
with his foster-brother, Masroud, two angels in shining

tribes of Arabia. Their valley is among the mountains which range
southwardly from the Tayef. — Burckhardt on the Bedouins, vol. ii. p. 47.

PURIFICATION OF TO UNO MAHOMET. 41

apparel appeared before them. They laid Mahomet
gently upon the ground, and Gabriel, one of the angels,
opened his breast, but without inflicting any pain. Then
taking forth his heart, he cleansed it from all impurity,
wringing from it those black and bitter drops of original
sin, inherited from our forefather Adam, and which lurk
in the hearts of the best of his descendants, inciting them
to crime. When he had thoroughly purified it, he filled
it with faith and knowledge and prophetic light, and
replaced it in the bosom of the child. Now, we are as-
sured by the same authorities, began to emanate from
his countenance that mysterious light which had contin-
ued down from Adam, through the sacred line of proph-
ets, till the time of Isaac and Ishmael ; but which had
laid dormant in the descendants of the latter until it
thus shone forth with renewed radiance from the features
of Mahomet.

At this supernatural visitation, it is added, was im-
pressed between the shoulders of the child the seal of
prophecy, which continued throughout life the symbol and
credential of his divine mission ; though unbelievers saw
nothing in it but a large mole, the size of a pigeon's egg.

When the marvelous visitation of the angel was related
to Halema and her husband, they were alarmed lest
some misfortune should be impending over the child, or
that his supernatural visitors might be of the race of evil
spirits or genii, which haunt the solitudes of the desert,
wreaking mischief on the children of men. His Saadite

42 MAHOMET AND BIS 8UCCESS0BS.

nurse, therefore, carried him back to Mecca, and deliv-
ered him to his mother, Amina.

He remained with his parent until his sixth year, when
she took him with her to Medina, on a visit to her rela-
tives of the tribe of Aclij ; but on her journey homeward
she died, and was buried at Abwa, a village between Me-
dina and Mecca. Her grave, it will be found, was a
place of pious resort and tender recollection to her son,
at the latest period of his life.

The faithful Abyssinian slave Barakat, now acted as a
mother to the orphan child, and conducted him to his
grandfather Abd al Motalleb, in whose household he re-
mained for two years, treated with care and tenderness.
Abd al Motalleb was now well stricken in years ; having
outlived the ordinary term of human existence. Finding
his end approaching, he called to him his eldest son Abu
Taleb, and bequeathed Mahomet to his especial protec-
tion. The good Abu Taleb took his nephew to his bosom,
and ever afterwards was to him as a parent. As the
former succeeded to the guardianship of the Caaba at the
death of his father, Mahomet continued for several years in
a kind of sacerdotal household, where the rites and cere-
monies of the sacred house were rigidly observed. And
here we deem it necessary to give a more especial notice
of the alleged origin of the Caaba and of the rites and
traditions and superstitions connected with it, closely in-
terwoven as they are with the faith of Islam and the
story of its founder.

CHAPTER III.

TRADITIONS CONCERNING MECCA AND THE CAABA.

HEN Adam and Eve were cast forth froif* Para-
dise, say Arabian traditions, they fell in differ-
ent parts of the earth ; Adam on a mountain of
the island of Serendib, or Ceylon ; Eve in Arabia on the
borders of the Red Sea, where the port of Joddah is now
situated. For two hundred years they wandered separate
and lonely about the earth, until, in consideration of their
penitence and wretchedness, they were permitted to come
together again on Mount Arafat, not far from the present
city of Mecca. In the depth of his sorrow and repent-
ance, Adam, it is said, raised his hands and eyes to
heaven, and implored the clemency of God ; entreating
that a shrine might be vouchsafed to him similar to that
at which he had worshipped when in Paradise, and round
which the angels used to move in adoring processions.

The supplication of Adam was effectual. A tabernacle
or temple formed of radiant clouds was lowered down by
the hands of angels, and placed immediately below its
prototype in the celestial paradise. Towards this heaven-
descended shrine, Adam thenceforth turned when in

43

44 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

prayer, and round it he daily made seven circuits in imi-
tation of the rites of the adoring angels.

At the death of Adam, say the same traditions, the
tabernacle of clouds passed away, or was again drawn up
to heaven; but another, of the same form and in the
same place, was built of stone and clay by Seth, the son
of Adam. This was swept away by the deluge. Many
generations afterwards, in the time of the patriarchs,
when Hagar and her child Ishmael were near perishing
with thirst in the desert, an angel revealed to them a
spring or well of water, near to the ancient site of the
tabernacle. This was the well of Zem Zem, held sacred
by the progeny of Ishmael to the present day. Shortly
afterwards two individuals of the gigantic race of the
Amalekites, in quest of a camel which had strayed from
their camp, discovered this well, and, having slaked their
thirst, brought their companions to the place. Here
they founded the city of Mecca, taking Ishmael and his
mother under their protection. They were soon expelled
by the proper inhabitants of the country, among whom
Ishmael remained. "When grown to man's estate, he mar-
ried the daughter of the ruling prince, by whom he had
a numerous progeny, the ancestors of the Arabian people.
In process of time, by God's command he undertook to
rebuild the Caaba, on the precise site of the original
tabernacle of clouds. In this pious work he was assisted
by his father Abraham. A miraculous stone served Abra-
ham as a scaffold, rising and sinking with him as he built

ARABIAN TRADITIONS. 45

the walls of the sacred edifice. It still remains there an
inestimable relic, and the print of the patriarch's foot is
clearly to be perceived on it by all true believers.

While Abraham and Ishmael were thus occupied, the
angel Gabriel brought them a stone, about which tradi-
tional accounts are a little at variance ; by some it is said
to have been one of the precious stones of Paradise,
which fell to the earth with Adam, and was afterwards
lost in the slime of the deluge, until retrieved by the
angel Gabriel. The more received tradition is, that it
was originally the guardian angel appointed to watch
over Adam in Paradise, but changed into a stone and
ejected thence with him at his fall, as a punishment for
not having been more vigilant. This stone Abraham and
Ishmael received with proper reverence, and inserted it
in a corner of the exterior wall of the Caaba, where it
remains to the present day, devoutly kissed by worship-
pers each time they make a circuit of the temple. When
first inserted in the wall it was, we are told, a single
jacinth of dazzling whiteness, but became gradually
blackened by the kisses of sinful mortals. At the resur-
rection it will recover its angelic form, and stand forth a
testimony before God in favor of those who have faith-
fully performed the rites of pilgrimage.

Such are the Arabian traditions, which rendered the
Caaba and the well of Zem Zem objects of extraordinary
veneration from the remotest antiquity among the people
of the East and especially the descendants of IshmaeL

46 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Mecca, which incloses these sacred objects within its
walls, was a holy city many ages before the rise of Ma-
hometanism, and was the resort of pilgrims from all
parts of Arabia. So universal and profound was the
religious feeling respecting this observance, that four
months in every year were devoted to the rites of pil-
grimage, and held sacred from all violence and warfare.
Hostile tribes then laid aside their arms ; took the heads
from their spears ; traversed the late dangerous deserts in
security; thronged the gates of Mecca clad in the pil-
grim's garb ; made their seven circuits round the Caaba
in imitation of the angelic host ; touched and kissed the
mysterious black stone ; drank and made ablutions at the
well Zem Zem in memory of their ancestor Ishmael ; and
having performed all the other primitive rites of pil-
grimage returned home in safety, again to resume their
weapons and their wars.

Among the religious observances of the Arabs in these
their " days of ignorance ; " that is to say, before the pro-
mulgation of the Moslem doctrines, fasting and prayer
had a foremost place. They had three principal fasts
within the year ; one of seven, one of nine, and one of
thirty days. They prayed three times each day ; about
sunrise, at noon, and about sunset ; turning their faces in
the direction of the Caaba, which was their kebla or
point of adoration. They had many religious traditions,
some of them acquired in early times from the Jews, and
they are said to have nurtured their devotional feelings

EARLY RELIGIOUS BIAS. 47

with the book of Psalms, and with a book said to be by
Seth, and filled with moral discourses.

Brought up, as Mahomet was, in the house of the
guardian of the Caaba, the ceremonies and devotions
connected with the sacred edifice may have given an
early bias to his mind, and inclined it to those specu-
lations in matters of religion by which it eventually
became engrossed. Though his Moslem biographers
would fain persuade us his high destiny was clearly
foretold in his childhood by signs and prodigies, yet his
education appears to have been as much neglected as
that of ordinary Arab children ; for we find that he was
not taught either to read or write. He was a thoughtful
child, however ; quick to observe, prone to meditate on
all that he observed, and possessed of an imagination
fertile, daring, and expansive. The yearly influx of pil-
grims from distant parts made Mecca a receptacle for all
kinds of floating knowledge, which he appears to have
imbibed with eagerness and retained in a tenacious mem-
ory ; and as he ■ increased in years, a more extended
sphere of observation was gradually opened to him.

CHAPTEK IV.

FIRST JOURNEY OF MAHOMET WITH THE CARAVAN TO SYRIA.

AHOMET was now twelve years of age, but, as
we have shown, he had an intelligence far be-
yond his years. The spirit of inquiry was
awake within him, quickened by intercourse with pil-
grims from all parts of Arabia. His uncle Abu Taleb,
too, beside his sacerdotal character as guardian of the
Caaba, was one of the most enterprising merchants of the
tribe of Koreish, and had much to do with those cara-
vans set on foot by his ancestor Haschem, which traded
to Syria and Yemen. The arrival and departure of those
caravans, which thronged the gates of Mecca and filled
its streets with pleasing tumult, were exciting events to a
youth like Mahomet, and carried his imagination to for-
eign parts. He could no longer repress the ardent curi-
osity thus aroused ; but once, when his uncle was about
to mount his camel to depart with the caravan for Syria,
clung to him, and entreated to be permitted to accom-
pany him. "For who, 0 my uncle," said he, "will take
care of me when thou art away ? "

The appeal was not lost upon the kind-hearted Abu

48

SUPERSTITIONS OF THE DESERT. 49

Taleb. He bethought him, too, that the youth was of an
age to enter upon the active scenes of Arab life, and of a
capacity to render essential service in the duties of the
caravan; he readily, therefore, granted his prayer, and
took him with him on the journey to Syria.

The route lay through regions fertile in fables and tra-
ditions, which it is the delight of the Arabs to recount in
the evening halts of the caravan. The vast solitudes of
the desert, in which that wandering people pass so much
of their lives, are prone to engender superstitious fan-
cies ; they have accordingly peopled them with good and
evil genii, and clothed them with tales of enchantment,
mingled up with wonderful events which happened in
days of old. In these evening halts of the caravan, the
youthful mind of Mahomet doubtless imbibed many of
those superstitions of the desert which ever afterwards
dwelt in his memory, and had a powerful influence over
his imagination. "We may especially note two traditions
which he must have heard at this time, and which we
find recorded by him in after years in the Koran. One
related to the mountainous district of Hedjar. Here, as
the caravan wound its way through silent and deserted
valleys, caves were pointed out in the sides of the moun-
tains once inhabited by the Beni Thamud, or children of
Thamud, one of the " lost tribes " of Arabia ; and this
was the tradition concerning them.

They were a proud and gigantic race, existing before
the time of the patriarch Abraham. Having fallen into
VOL. i. — i

50 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

blind idolatry, God sent a prophet of the name of Saleh,
to restore them to the right way. They refused, how-
ever, to listen to him, unless he should prove the divin-
ity of his mission by causing a camel, big with young, to
issue from the entrails of a mountain. Saleh accord-
ingly prayed, and lo ! a rock opened, and a female camel
came forth, which soon produced a foal. Some of the
Thamudites were convinced by the miracle, and were
converted by the prophet from their idolatry; the
greater part, however, remained in unbelief. Saleh left
the camel among them as a sign, warning them that a
judgment from heaven would fall on them, should they
do her any harm. For a time the camel was suffered to
feed quietly in their pastures, going forth in the morn-
ing, and returning in the evening. It is true, that when
she bowed her head to drink from a brook or well, she
never raised it until she had drained the last drop of
water; but then in return she yielded milk enough to
supply the whole tribe. As, however, she frightened the
other camels from the pasture, she became an object of
offense to the Thamudites, who hamstrung and slew her.
Upon this there was a fearful cry from heaven, and great
claps of thunder, and in the morning all the offenders
were found lying on their faces dead. Thus the whole
race was swept from the earth, and their country was
laid for ever afterward under the ban of heaven.

This story made a powerful impression on the mind of
Mahomet, insomuch that, in after years, he refused to let

JUDGMENTS ON IDOLATRY. 51

his people encamp in the neighborhood, but hurried
them away from it as an accursed region.

Another tradition, gathered on this journey, related to
the city of Eyla, situated near the Eed Sea. This place,
he was told, had been inhabited in old times by a tribe
of Jews, who lapsed into idolatry and profaned the Sab-
bath, by fishing on that sacred day ; whereupon the old
men were transformed into swine, and the young men
into monkeys.

We have noted these two traditions especially, because
they are both cited by Mahomet as instances of divine
judgment on the crime of idolatry, and evince the bias
his youthful mind was already taking on that important
subject.

Moslem writers tell us, as usual, of wonderful circum-
stances which attended the youth throughout this jour-
ney, giving evidence of the continual guardianship of
heaven. At one time, as he traversed the burning sands
of the desert, an angel hovered over him unseen, shelter -
ing him with his wings ; a miracle, however, which evi-
dently does not rest on the evidence of an eye-witness ;
at another time he was protected by a cloud which hung
over his head during the noontide heat ; and on another
occasion, as he sought the scanty shade of a withered
tree, it suddenly put forth leaves and blossoms.

After skirting the ancient domains of the Moabites and
the Ammonites, often mentioned in the sacred Scriptures,
the caravan arrived at Bosra, or Bostra, on the confines

52 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

of Syria, in the country of the tribe of Manasseh, beyond
the Jordan. In Scripture days it had been a city of the
Levites, but now was inhabited by Nestorian Christians.
It was a great mart, annually visited by the caravans ;
and here our wayfarers came to a halt, and encamped
near a convent of Nestorian monks.

By this fraternity Abu Taleb and his nephew were en-
tertained with great hospitality. One of the monks, by
some called Sergius, by others Bahira, * on conversing
with Mahomet, was surprised at the precocity of his in-
tellect, and interested by his eager desire for information,
which appears to have had reference, principally, to mat-
ters of religion. They had frequent conversations to-
gether on such subjects, in the course of which the efforts
of the monk must have been mainly directed against that
idolatry in which the youthful Mahomet had hitherto
been educated ; for the Nestorian Christians were strenu-
ous in condemning not merely the worship of images, but
even the casual exhibition of them ; indeed, so far did
they carry their scruples on this point, that even the
cross, that general emblem of Christianity, was in a great
degree included in this prohibition.

Many have ascribed that knowledge of the principles
and traditions of the Christian faith displayed by Ma-
homet in after life, to those early conversations with this
monk ; it is probable, however, that he had further in-

* Some assert that these two names indicate two monks who held con-
versations with Mahomet.

RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES. 53

tercourse with the latter in the course of subsequent vis-
its which he made to Syria.

Moslem writers pretend that the interest taken by the
monk in the youthful stranger, arose from his having ac-
cidentally perceived between his shoulders the seal of
prophecy. He warned Abu Taleb, say they, when about
to set out on his return to Mecca, to take care that his
nephew did not fall into the hands of the Jews ; foresee-
ing with the eye of prophecy the trouble and opposition
he was to encounter from that people.

It required no miraculous sign, however, to interest a
sectarian monk, anxious to make proselytes, in an intelli-
gent and inquiring youth, nephew of the guardian of the
Caaba, who might carry back with him to Mecca the
seeds of Christianity sown in his tender mind; and it
was natural that the monk should be eager to prevent
his hoped-for convert, in the present unsettled state of
his religious opinions, from being beguiled into the Jew-
ish faith.

Mahomet returned to Mecca, his imagination teeming
with the wild tales and traditions picked up in the
desert, and his mind deeply impressed with the doctrines
imparted to him in the Nestorian convent. He seems
ever afterwards to have entertained a mysterious rever-
ence for Syria, probably from the religious impressions
received there. It was the land whither Abraham the
patriarch had repaired from Chaldea, taking with him
the primitive worship of the one true God. " Verily,"

54 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

he used to say in after years, " God has ever maintained
guardians of his word in Syria ; forty in number ; when
one dies another is sent in his room ; and through them
the land is blessed." And again — " Joy be to the people
of Syria, for the angels of the kind God spread their
wings over them." *

* Mishcdt-ul-Masabih, vol. ii. p. 812.

Note.— The conversion of Abraham from the idolatry into which the
world had fallen after the deluge, is related in the sixth chapter of the
Koran. Abraham's father, Azer, or Zerah, as his name is given in the
Scriptures, was a statuary and an idolater.

" And Abraham said unto his father Azer, ' Why dost thou take graven
images for gods ? Verily, thou and thy people are in error.'

" Then was the firmament of heaven displayed unto Abraham, that he
might see how the world was governed.

"When night came, and darkness overshadowed the earth, he beheld a
bright star shining in the firmament, and cried out to his people who
were astrologers : ' This, according to your assertions, is the Lord.'

"But the star set, and Abraham said, 'I have no faith in gods that
set.'

"He beheld the moon rising, and exclaimed, 'Assuredly, this is the
Lord.' But the moon likewise set, and he was confounded, and prayed
unto God, saying, ' Direct me, lest I become as one of these people, who
go astray.'

" When he saw the sun rising, he cried out, ' This is the most glorious
of all; this of a certainty is the Lord.' But the sun also set. Then said
Abraham, ' I believe not, my people, in those things which ye call gods.
Verily, I turn my face unto Him, the Creator, who hath formed both the
heavens and the earth.' "

CHAPTEE V.

COMMERCIAL OCCUPATIONS OF MAHOMET.— HIS MARRIAGE WITH CADIJAH.

AHOMET was now completely launched in
active life, accompanying his uncles in various
expeditions. At one time, when about sixteen
years of age, we find him with his uncle Zobier, journey-
ing with the caravan to Yemen ; at another time acting
as armor-bearer to the same uncle, who led a warlike
expedition of Koreishites in aid of the Kenanites against
the tribe of Hawazan. This is cited as Mahomet's first
essay in arms, though he did little else than supply his
uncle with arrows in the heat of the action, and shield
him from the darts of the enemy. It is stigmatized
among Arabian writers as al Fadjar, or the impious war,
having been carried on during the sacred months of pil-
grimage.

As Mahomet advanced in years, he was employed by
different persons as commercial agent or factor in cara-
van journeys to Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere ; all which
tended to enlarge the sphere of his observation, and to
give him a quick insight into character and a knowledge

of human affairs.

55

56 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

He was a frequent attender of fairs also, which, in
Arabia, were not always mere resorts of traffic, but occa-
sionally scenes of poetical contests between different
tribes, where prizes were adjudged to the victors, and
their prize poems treasured up in the archives of princes.
Such, especially, was the case with the fair of Ocadh ;
and seven of the prize poems adjudged there, were hung
up as trophies in the Caaba. At these fairs, also, were
recited the popular traditions of the Arabs, and incul-
cated the various religious faiths which were afloat in
Arabia. From oral sources of this kind, Mahomet grad-
ually accumulated much of that varied information as to
creeds and doctrines which he afterwards displayed.

There was at this time residing in Mecca a widow,
named Cadijah (or Khadijah), of the tribe of Koreish.
She had been twice married. Her last husband, a
wealthy merchant, had recently died, and the extensive
concerns of the house were in need of a conductor. A
nephew of the widow, named Chuzima, had become ac-
quainted with Mahomet in the course of his commercia]
expeditions, and had noticed the ability and integrity
with which he acquitted himself on all occasions. He
pointed him out to his aunt as a person well qualified to
be her factor. The personal appearance of Mahomet
may have strongly seconded this recommendation ; for
he was now about twenty-five years of age, and extolled
by Arabian writers for his manly beauty and engaging
manners. So desirous was Cadijah of securing his ser-

THE WIDOW GADIJAK 57

vices, that she offered him double wages to conduct a
caravan which she was on the point of sending off to
Syria. Mahomet consulted his uncle Abu Taleb, and by
his advice accepted the offer. He was accompanied and
aided in the expedition by the nephew of the widow, and
by her slave Maisara, and so highly satisfied was Cadijah
with the way in which he discharged his duties, that, on
his return, she paid him double the amount of his stipu-
lated wages. She afterwards sent him to the southern
parts of Arabia on similar expeditions, in all which he
gave like satisfaction.

Cadijah was now in her fortieth year, a woman of judg-
ment and experience. The mental qualities of Mahomet
rose more and more in her estimation, and her heart
began to yearn toward the fresh and comely youth. Ac-
cording to Arabian legends, a miracle occurred most
opportunely to confirm and sanctify the bias of her in-
clinations. She was one day with her handmaids, at the
hour of noon, on the terraced roof of her dwelling, watch-
ing the arrival of a caravan conducted by Mahomet. As
it approached, she beheld, with astonishment, two angels
overshadowing him with their wings to protect him from
the sun. Turning, with emotion, to her handmaids,
C( Behold!" said she, "the beloved of Allah, who sends
two angels to watch over him ! "

Whether or not the handmaidens looked forth with the
same eyes of devotion as their mistress, and likewise dis-
cerned the angels, the legend does not mention. Suffice

58 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

it to say, the widow was filled with a lively faith in the
superhuman merits of her youthful steward, and forth-
with commissioned her trusty slave, Maisara, to offer
him her hand. The negotiation is recorded with simple
brevity. "Mahomet," demanded Maisara, "why dost
thou not marry?" "I have not the means," replied
Mahomet. " Well, but if a wealthy dame should offer
thee her hand : one also who is handsome and of high
birth?" "And who is she?" "Cadijah!" "How is
that possible ? " " Let me manage it." Maisara returned
to his mistress and reported what had passed. An hour
was appointed for an interview, and the affaii was
brought to a satisfactory arrangement with that prompt-
ness and sagacity which had distinguished Mahomet in
all his dealings with the widow. The father of Cadijah
made some opposition to the match, on account of the
poverty of Mahomet, following the common notion that
wealth should be added to wealth : but the widow wisely
considered her riches only as the means of enabling her
to follow the dictates of her heart. She gave a great
feast, to which were invited her father and the rest of
her relatives, and Mahomet's uncles Abu Taleb and
Hamza, together with several other of the Koreishites,
At this banquet wine was served in abundance, and soon
diffused good humor round the board. The objections to
Mahomet's poverty were forgotten ; speeches were made
by Abu Taleb on the one side, and by Waraka, a kinsman
of Cadijah, on the other, in praise of the proposed nup-

MARRIAGE FESTIVITIES. 59

tials ; the dowry was arranged, and the marriage formally
concluded.

Mahomet then caused a camel to be killed before his
door, and the flesh distributed among the poor. The
house was thrown open to all comers ; the female slaves
of Cadijah danced to the sound of timbrels, and all was
revelry and rejoicing. Abu Taleb, forgetting his age and
his habitual melancholy, made merry on the occasion.
He had paid down from his purse a dower of twelve and
a half okks of gold, equivalent to twenty young camels.
Halema, who had nursed Mahomet in his infancy, was
summoned to rejoice at his nuptials, and was presented
with a flock of forty sheep, with which she returned, en-
riched and contented, to her native valley, in the desert
of the Saadites.

CHAPTEE VI.

CONDUCT OF MAHOMET AFTER HIS MARRIAGE. — BECOMES ANXIOUS FOR RELIG-
IOUS REFORM.— HIS HABITS OF SOLITARY ABSTRACTION.— THE VISION OH
THE CAVE. — HIS ANNUNCIATION AS A PROPHET.

HE marriage with Cadijah placed Mahomet
among the most wealthy of his native city.
His moral worth also gave him great influence
in the community. Allah, says the historian Abulfeda,
had endowed him with every gift necessary to accomplish
and adorn an honest man ; he was so pure and sincere,
so free from every evil thought, that he was commonly
known by the name of Al Amin or The Faithful.

The great confidence reposed in his judgment and
probity, caused him to be frequently referred to as arbi-
ter in disputes between his townsmen. An anecdote is
given as illustrative of his sagacity on such occasions.
The Caaba having been injured by fire, was undergoing
repairs, in the course of which the sacred black stone
was to be replaced. A dispute arose among the chiefs
of the various tribes, as to which was entitled to perform
so august an office, and they agreed to abide by the deci-
sion of the first person who should enter by the gate Al

60

CONDUCT AFTER MARRIAGE. 61

Haram. That person happened to be Mahomet. Upon
hearing their different claims, he directed that a great
cloth should be spread upon the ground, and the stone
laid thereon ; and that a man from each tribe should
take hold of the border of the cloth. In this way the
sacred stone was raised equally and at the same time by
them all to a level with its allotted place, in which Ma-
homet fixed it with his own hands.

Four daughters and one son, were the fruit of the mar-
riage with Cadijah. The son was named Kasim, whence
Mahomet was occasionally called Abu Kasim, or the
father of Kasim, according to Arabian nomenclature.
This son, however, died in his infancy.

For several years after his marriage he continued in
commerce, visiting the great Arabian fairs, and making
distant journeys with the caravans. His expeditions
were not as profitable as in the days of his stewardship,
and the wealth acquired with his wife diminished, rather
than increased in the course of his operations. That
wealth, in fact, had raised him above the necessity of
toiling for subsistence, and given him leisure to indulge
the original bias of his mind— a turn for reverie and
religious speculation, which he had evinced from his
earliest years. This had been fostered in the course of
his journeyings by his intercourse with Jews and Chris-
tians, originally fugitives from persecution, but now
gathered into tribes, or forming part of the population of
cities. The Arabian deserts too, rife as we have shown

62 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

them with fanciful superstitions, had furnished aliment
for his enthusiastic reveries. Since his marriage with
Cadijah, also, he had a household oracle to influence him
in his religious opinions. This was his wife's cousin
Waraka, a man of speculative mind and flexible faith ;
originally a Jew ; subsequently a Christian ; and withal
a pretender to astrology. He is worthy of note as being
the first on record to translate parts of the Old and New
Testament into Arabic. From him Mahomet is supposed
to have derived much of his information respecting those
writings, and many of the traditions of the Mishnu and
the Talmud, on which he draws so copiously in his
Koran.

The knowledge thus variously acquired and treasured
up in an uncommonly retentive memory, was in direct
hostility to the gross idolatry prevalent in Arabia, and
practiced at the Caaba. That sacred edifice had grad-
ually become filled and surrounded by idols, to the num-
ber of three hundred and sixty, being one for every day
of the Arab year. Hither had been brought idols from
various parts, the deities of other nations, the chief of
which, Hobal, was from Syria, and supposed to have the
power of giving rain. Among these idols, too, were
Abraham and Ishmael, once revered as prophets and
progenitors, now represented with divining arrows in
their hands, symbols of magic.

Mahomet became more and more sensible of the gross-
ness and absurdity of this idolatry, in proportion as his

FIXED RELIGIOUS IDEA. 63

intelligent mind contrasted it with the spiritual religions,
which had been the subject of his inquiries. Various
passages in the Koran show the ruling idea which grad-
ually sprang up in his mind, until it engrossed his
thoughts and influenced all his actions. That idea was
a religious reform. It had become his fixed belief, de-
duced from all that he had learnt and meditated, that
the only true religion had been revealed to Adam at his
creation, and been promulgated and practiced in the days
of innocence. That religion inculcated the direct and
spiritual worship of one true and only God, the Creator
of the universe.

It was his belief, furthermore, that this religion, so
elevated and simple, had repeatedly been corrupted and
debased by man, and especially outraged by idolatry;
wherefore a succession of prophets, each inspired by a
revelation from the Most High, had been sent from time
to time, and at distant periods, to restore it to its original
purity. Such was Noah, such was Abraham, such was
Moses, and such was Jesus Christ. By each of these,
the true religion had been reinstated upon earth, but had
again been vitiated by their followers. The faith, as
taught and practiced by Abraham when he came out of
the land of Chaldea, seems especially to have formed a
religious standard in his mind, from his veneration for
the patriarch as the father of Ishmael, the progenitor of
his race.

It appeared to Mahomet that the time for another re-

64 MAHOMET AJVD HIS SUCCESSORS.

form was again arrived. The world had once more lapsed
into blind idolatry. It needed the advent of another
prophet, authorized by a mandate from on high, to re-
store the erring children of men to the right path, and to
bring back the worship of the Caaba to what it had been
in the days of Abraham and the patriarchs. The proba-
bility of such an advent with its attendant reforms, seems
to have taken possession of his mind, and produced hab-
its of reverie and meditation, incompatible with the ordi-
nary concerns of life and the bustle of the world. We are
told that he gradually absented himself from society, and
sought the solitude of a cavern on Mount Hara, about
three leagues north of Mecca, where, in emulation of the
Christian anchorites of the desert, he would remain days
and nights together, engaged in prayer and meditation.
In this way he always passed the month of Eamadhan,
the holy month of the Arabs. Such intense occupation
of the mind on one subject, accompanied by fervent en-
thusiasm of spirit, could not but have a powerful effect
upon his frame. He became subject to dreams, to ecsta-
sies, and trances. For six months successively, according
to one of his historians, he had constant dreams bearing
on the subject of his waking thoughts. Often he would
lose all consciousness of surrounding objects, and lie
upon the ground as if insensible. Cadijah, who was
sometimes the faithful companion of his solitude, beheld
these paroxysms with anxious solicitude, and entreated
to know the cause ; but he evaded her inquiries, or an-

VISION IN THE CA VERN. 65

swered them mysteriously. Some of his adversaries have
attributed them to epilepsy, but devout Moslems declare
them to have been the workings of prophecy ; for already,
say they, the intimations of the Most High began to
dawn, though vaguely, on his spirit ; and his mind labored
with conceptions too great for mortal thought. At
length, say they, what had hitherto been shadowed out
in dreams, was made apparent and distinct by an angelic
apparition and a divine annunciation.

It was in the fortieth year of his age, when this famous
revelation took place. Accounts are given of it by Mos-
lem writers as if received from his own lips, and it is
alluded to in certain passages of the Koran. He was
passing, as was his wont, the month of Ramadhan in the
cavern of Mount Hara, endeavoring by fasting, prayer,
and solitary meditation to elevate his thoughts to the
contemplation of divine truth. It was on the night
called by Arabs Al Kader, or the Divine Decree ; a night
in which, according to the Koran, angels descend to
earth, and Gabriel brings down the decrees of God.
During that night there is peace on earth, and a holy
quiet reigns over all nature until the rising of the morn.

As Mahomet, in the silent watches of the night, lay

wrapped in his mantle, he heard a voice calling upon

him ; uncovering his head, a flood of light broke upon

him of such intolerable splendor that he swooned away.

On regaining his senses, he beheld an angel in a human

form, which, approaching from a distance, displayed a
vol. i. — 5

66 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

silken cloth covered with written characters. "Head!*
said the angel.

" I know not how to read ! " replied Mahomet.

" Bead ! " repeated the angel, " in the name of the
Lord, who has created all things ; who created man from
a clot of blood. Eead, in the name of the Most High, who
taught man the use of the pen ; who sheds on his soul
the ray of knowledge, and teaches him what before he
knew not."

Upon this Mahomet instantly felt his understanding
illumined with celestial light, and read what was written
on the cloth, which contained the decrees of God, as
afterwards promulgated in the Koran. When he had
finished the perusal, the heavenly messenger announced,
" O Mahomet, of a verity, thou art the prophet of God !
and I am his angel Gabriel."

Mahomet, we are told, came trembling and agitated
to Cadijah in the morning, not knowing whether what he
had heard and seen was indeed true, and that he was a
prophet decreed to effect that reform so long the object
of his meditations ; or whether it might not be a mere
vision, a delusion of the senses, or worse than all, the
apparition of an evil spirit.

Cadijah, however, saw everything with the eye of faith,
and the credulity of an affectionate woman. She saw in
it the fruition of her husband's wishes, and the end of his
paroxysms and privations. " Joyful tidings dost thou
bring ! " exclaimed she. " By him, in whose hand is the

CONCURRENCE OF WARAKA. 67

sottl of Cadijah, I will henceforth regard thee as the
prophet of our nation. Bejoice," added she, seeing him
still cast down; "Allah will not suffer thee to fall to
shame. Hast thou not been loving to thy kinsfolk, kind
to thy neighbors, charitable to the poor, hospitable to
the stranger, faithful to thy word, and ever a defender of
the truth?"

Cadijah hastened to communicate what she had heard
to her cousin Waraka, the translator of the Scriptures ;
who, as we have shown, had been a household oracle of
Mahomet in matters of religion. He caught at once,
and with eagerness, at this miraculous annunciation.
"By him in whose hand is the soul of Waraka," ex-
claimed he ; " thou speakest true, O Cadijah ! The angel
who has appeared to thy Imsband is the same who, in
days of old, was sent to Moses the son of Amram. His
annunciation is true. Thy husband is indeed a prophet! "

The zealous concurrence of the learned Waraka, is said
to have had a powerful effect in fortifying the dubious
mind of Mahomet.

Note. — Dr. Gustav Weil, in a note to Mohammed der Prophet, discusses
fche question of Mahomet's being subject to attacks of epilepsy ; which
has generally been represented as a slander of his enemies and of Chris-
tian writers. It appears, however, to have been asserted by some of the
oldest Moslem biographers, and given on the authority of persons about
him. He would be seized, they said, with violent trembling, followed by
a kind of swoon, or rather convulsion, during which perspiration would
stream from his forehead in the coldest weather ; he would lie with his
eyes closed, foaming at the mouth and bellowing like a young camel,
Ayesha, one of his wives, and Zeid, one of his disciples, are among the per-

08 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

sons cited as testifying to that effect. They considered him at such times
as under the influence of a revelation. He had such attacks, however, in.
Mecca, before the Koran was revealed to him. Cadijah feared that he
was possessed by evil spirits, and would have called in the aid of a con-
jurer to exorcise them, but he forbade her. He did not like that any one
should see him during these paroxysms. His visions, however, were not
always preceded by such attacks. Hareth Ibn Haschem, it is said, once
asked him in what manner the revelations were made. "Often," replied
he, " the angel appears to me in a human form, and speaks to me. Some-
times I hear sounds like the tinkling of a bell, but see nothing. [A ring-
ing in the ears is a symptom of epilepsy.] When the invisible angel has
departed, I am possessed of what he has revealed." Some of his revela-
tions he professed to receive direct from God, others in dreams ; for the
dreams of prophets, he used to say, are revelations.

The reader will find this note of service in throwing some degree of
light upon the enigmatical career of this extraordinary man.

CHAPTEK Vn.

»AHOMET INCULCATES HIS DOCTRINES SECRETLY AND SLOWLY. — RECEIVES
FURTHER REVELATIONS AND COMMANDS. — ANNOUNCEMENT TO HIS KIN-
DRED.— MANNER IN WHICH IT WAS RECEIVED. — ENTHUSIASTIC DEVOTION
OP ALL — CHRISTIAN PORTENTS.

HOR a time Mahomet confided his revelations
merely to his own household. One of the first
to avow himself a believer, was his servant
Zeid, an Arab of the tribe of Kalb. This youth had been
captured in childhood by a freebooting party of Koreish-
ites, and had come by purchase or lot into the posses-
sion of Mahomet. Several years afterwards his father,
hearing of his being in Mecca, repaired thither and of-
fered a considerable sum for his ransom. " If he chooses
to go with thee," said Mahomet, "he shall go without
ransom : but if he chooses to remain with me, why should
I not keep him?" Zeid preferred to remain, having
ever, he said, been treated more as a son than as a slave.
Upon this, Mahomet publicly adopted him, and he had
ever since remained with him in affectionate servitude.
Now, on embracing the new faith, he was set entirely
free, but it will be found that he continued through life

70 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

that devoted attachment which Mahomet seems to have
had the gift of inspiring in his followers and dependents.

The early steps of Mahomet in his prophetic career,
were perilous and doubtful, and taken in secrecy. He
had hostility to apprehend on every side ; from his im-
mediate kindred, the Koreishites of the line of Haschem,
whose power and prosperity were identified with idola-
try ; and still more from the rival line of Abd Schems*
who had long looked with envy and jealousy on the Ha-
schemites, and would eagerly raise the cry of heresy and
impiety to dispossess them of the guardianship of the
Caaba. At the head of this rival branch of Koreish was
Abu Sofian, the son of Harb, grandson of Omeya, and
great-grandson of Abd Schems. He was an able and am*
bitious man, of great wealth and influence, and will be
found one of the most persevering and powerful oppo-
nents of Mahomet.*

Under these adverse circumstances the new faith was
propagated secretly and slowly, insomuch that for the
first three years the number of converts did not exceed
forty ; these, too, for the most part, were young persons,
strangers, and slaves. Their meetings for prayer were
held in private, either at the house of one of the initiated,

* Niebuhr {Travels, vol. ii.) speaks of the tribe of Harb, which pos-
sessed several cities and a number of villages in the highlands of Hedjas,
a mountainous range between Mecca and Medina. They have castles on
precipitous rocks, and harass and lay under contribution the cara-
vans. It is presumed that this tribe takes its name from the father of
Abu Sofian ; as did the great line of the Omeyades from his grandfather.

OPPOSITION OF ABU LAHAB. 71

or in a cave near Mecca. Their secrecy, however, did
not protect them from outrage. Their meetings were dis-
covered ; a rabble broke into their cavern and a scuffle
ensued. One of the assailants was wounded in the head
by Saad, an armorer, thenceforth renowned among the
faithful, as the first of their number who shed blood in
the cause of Islam.

One of the bitterest opponents of Mahomet was his
uncle Abu Lahab, a wealthy man, of proud spirit and ir-
ritable temper. His son Otha had married Mahomet's
third daughter, Kokaia, so that they were doubly allied.
Abu Lahab, however, was also allied to the rival line of
Koreish, having married Omm Jemil, sister of Abu
Sofian, and he was greatly under the control of his wife
and his brother-in-law. He reprobated what he termed
the heresies of his nephew, as calculated to bring dis-
grace upon their immediate line, and to draw upon it the
hostilities of the rest of the tribe of Koreish. Mahomet
was keenly sensible of the rancorous opposition of this
uncle, which he attributed to the instigations of his wife,
Omm Jemil. He especially deplored it, as he saw that
it affected the happiness of his daughter Kokaia, whose
inclination to his doctrines brought on her the re-
proaches of her husband and his family.

These and other causes of solicitude preyed upon his
spirits, and increased the perturbation of his mind. He
became worn and haggard, and subject more and more to
fits of abstraction. Those of his relatives who were at/

72 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

tached to him, noticed his altered mien, and dreaded an
attack of illness ; others scoffingly accused him of mental
hallucination ; and the foremost among these scoffers was
his uncle's wife, Omm Jemil, the sister of Abu Sofian.

The result of this disordered state of mind and body
was another vision, or revelation, commanding him to
" arise, preach, and magnify the Lord." He was now to
announce, publicly and boldly, his doctrines, beginning
with his kindred and tribe. Accordingly, in the fourth
year of what is called his mission, he summoned all the
Koreishites of the line of Haschem to meet him on the
hill of Safa, in the vicinity of Mecca, when he would un-
fold matters important to their welfare. They assembled
there, accordingly, and among them came Mahomet's
hostile uncle Abu Lahab, and with him his scoffing wife,
Omm Jemil. Scarce had the prophet begun to discourse
of his mission, and to impart his revelations, when Abu
Lahab started up in a rage, reviled him for calling them
together on so idle an errand, and catching up a stone,
would have hurled it at him. Mahomet turned upon him
a withering look ; cursed the hand thus raised in menace,
and predicted his doom to the fire of Jehennam ; with
the assurance that his wife, Omm Jemil, would bear the
bundle of thorns with which the fire would be kindled.

The assembly broke up in confusion. Abu Lahab and
his wife, exasperated at the curse dealt out to them, com-
pelled their son, Otha, to repudiate his wife, Rokaia, and
sent her back weeping to Mahomet. She was soon in-

ASSEMBLAGE OF THE HASCHEMITES. 73

demnified, however, by having a husband of the true
faith, being eagerly taken to wife by Mahomet's zealous
disciple, Othman Ibn Affan.

Nothing discouraged by the failure of his first attempt,
Mahomet called a second meeting of the Haschemites at
his own house, where, having regaled them with the
flesh of a lamb, and given them milk to drink, he stood
forth and announced, at full length, his revelations re-
ceived from heaven, and the divine command to impart
them to those of his immediate line.

" O children of Abd al Motalleb," cried he, with enthu-
siasm, "to you, of all men, has Allah vouchsafed these
most precious gifts. In his name I offer you the bless-
ings of this world, and endless joys hereafter. Who
among you will share the burden of my offer? Who
will be my brother, my lieutenant, my vizier ? "

All remained silent ; some wondering ; others smiling
with incredulity and derision. At length Ali, starting up
with youthful zeal, offered himself to the service of the
prophet, though modestly acknowledging his youth and
physical weakness.* Mahomet threw his arms around
the generous youth, and pressed him to his bosom.
"Behold my brother, my vizier, my vicegerent," ex-
claimed he ; " let all listen to his words, and obey him."

The outbreak of such a stripling as Ali, however, was

* By an error of translators, Ali is made to accompany his offer of
adhesion by an extravagant threat against all who should oppose Ma-
homet.

74 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

answered by a scornful burst of laughter of the Ko*
reishites ; who taunted Abu Taleb, father of the youthful
proselyte, with having to bow down before his son, and
yield him obedience.

But though the doctrines of Mahomet were thus un-
graciously received by his kindred and friends, they
found favor among the people at large, especially among
the women, who are ever prone to befriend a persecuted
cause. Many of the Jews, also, followed him for a time,
but when they found that he permitted his disciples to
eat the flesh of the camel, and of other animals forbidden
by their law, they drew back and rejected his religion as
unclean.

Mahomet now threw off all reserve, or rather was in-
spired with increasing enthusiasm, and went about
openly and earnestly proclaiming his doctrines, and
giving himself out as a prophet, sent by God to put an
end to idolatry, and to mitigate the rigor of the Jewish
and the Christian law. The hills of Safa and Kubeis,
sanctified by traditions concerning Hagar and Ishmael,
were his favorite places of preaching, and Mount Hara
was his Sinai, whither he retired occasionally, in fits of
excitement and enthusiasm, to return from its solitary
cave with fresh revelations of the Koran.

The good old Christian writers, on treating of the ad-
vent of one whom they denounce as the Arab enemy of
the church, make superstitious record of divers prodigies
which occurred, about this time, awful forerunners of

CHRISTIAN PORTENTS. 75

the troubles about to agitate the world. In Constanti-
nople, at that time the seat of Christian empire, were
several monstrous births and prodigious apparitions,
which struck dismay into the hearts of all beholders.
In certain religious processions in that neighborhood,
the crosses on a sudden moved of themselves, and were
violently agitated, causing astonishment and terror.
The Nile, too, that ancient mother of wonders, gave
birth to two hideous forms, seemingly man and woman,
which rose out of its waters, gazed about them for a time
with terrific aspect, and sank again beneath the waves.
For a whole day the sun appeared to be diminished to
one third of its usual size, shedding pale and baleful rays.
During a moonless night a furnace light glowed through-
out the heavens, and bloody lances glittered in the sky.

All these, and sundry other like marvels, were inter-
preted into signs of coming troubles. The ancient ser-
vants of God shook their heads mournfully, predicting
the reign of antichrist at hand ; with vehement persecu-
tion of the Christian faith, and great desolation of the
churches ; and to such holy men who have passed
through the trials and troubles of the faith, adds the
venerable Padre Jayme Bleda, it is given to understand
and explain these mysterious portents, which forerun
disasters of the church ; even as it is given to ancient
mariners to read in the signs of the air, the heavens and
the deep, the coming tempest which is to overwhelm
their bark.

76 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Many of these sainted men were gathered to glory
before the completion of their prophecies. There, seated
securely in the empyreal heavens, they may have looked
down with compassion upon the troubles of the Christian
world ; as men on the serene heights of mountains look
down upon the tempests which sweep the earth and sea,
wrecking tall ships, and rending lofty towers.

CHAPTEK VnL

OUTLINES OF THE MAHOMETAN FAITH.

HOUGH it is not intended in this place to
go fully into the doctrines promulgated by
Mahomet, yet it is important to the right ap-
preciation of his character and conduct, and of the events
and circumstances set forth in the following narrative, to
give their main features.

It must be particularly borne in mind, that Mahomet
did not profess to set up a new religion ; but to restore
that derived in the earliest times from God himself.
" We follow," says the Koran, " the religion of Abraham
the orthodox, who was no idolater. We believe in God
and that which hath been sent down to us, and that
which hath been sent down unto Abraham and Ishmael,
and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which was
delivered unto Moses and Jesus, and that which was de-
livered unto the prophets from the Lord : we make no
distinction between any of them, and to God we are re-
signed." *

* Koran, chap. ii.

77

73 MAHOMET AND MIS SUCCESSORS.

The Koran,* which was the great book of his faith,
was delivered in portions irom time to time, according
to the excitement of his feelings, or the exigency of cir-
cumstances. It was not given as his own work, but as a
divine revelation ; as the very words of God. The Deity
is supposed to speak in every instance. " We have sent
thee down the book of truth, confirming the scripture
which was revealed before it, and preserving the same in
its purity." f

The law of Moses, it was said, had for a time been the
guide and rule of human conduct. At the coming of Je-
sus Christ it was superseded by the Gospel ; both were
now to give place to the Koran, which was more full and
explicit than the preceding codes, and intended to reform
the abuses which had crept into them through the neg-
ligence or the corruptions of their professors. It was the
completion of the Law ; after it there would be no more
divine revelations. Mahomet was the last, as he was the
greatest, of the line of prophets sent to make known the
will of God.

The unity of God was the corner-stone of this reformed
religion. " There is no God but God," was its leading-
dogma. Hence, it received the name of the religion of
Islam,:]: an Arabian word, implying submission to God.

* Derived from the Arabic word Kora, to read or teach,
f Koran, ch. v.

% Some etymologists derive Islam from Salem or Aslama, which signi-
fies salvation. The Christians form from it the term Islamism, and the

OUTLINES OF MAHOMETANISM. 79

To this leading dogma, was added, "Mahomet is the
prophet of God ;" an addition authorized, as it was main-
tained, by the divine annunciation, and important to pro-
cure a ready acceptation of his revelations.

Beside the unity of God, a belief was inculcated in his
angels or ministering spirits; in his prophets; in the
resurrection of the body; in the last judgment and a
future state of rewards and punishments, and in predes-
tination. Much of the Koran may be traced to the
Bible, the Mishnu and the Talmud of the Jews,* espe-
cially its wild though often beautiful traditions concern-
ing the angels, the prophets, the patriarchs, and the good

Jews have varied it into Ismailism, which they intend as a reproach, and
an allusion to the origin of the Arabs as descendants of Ishmael.

From Islam the Arabians drew the terms Moslem or Muslem, and
Musulman, a professor of the faith of Islam, These terms are in the
singular number and make Musliman in the dual, and Muslimen in the
plural. The French and some other nations follow the idioms of their
own languages in adopting or translating the Arabic terms, and form the
plural by the addition of the letter s ; writing Musulman and Musul-
mans. A few English writers, of whom Gibbon is the chief, have imi-
tated them, imagining that they were following the Arabian usage. Most
English authors, however, follow the idiom of their own language, writ-
ing Moslem and Moslems, Musulman and Musulmen ; this usage is also
the more harmonious.

* The Mishnu of the Jews, like the Sonna of the Mahometans, is a col-
lection of traditions forming the Oral Law. It was compiled in the sec-
ond century by Judah Hakkodish, a learned Jewish Rabbi, during the
reign of Antoninus Pius, the Roman Emperor.

The Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonish Talmud, are both commen-
taries on the Mishnu. The former was compiled at Jerusalem, about
three hundred years after Christ, and the latter in Babylonia, about two
centuries later. The Mishnu is the most ancient record possessed by the
Jews except the Bible.

80 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

and e^il genii. He had at an early age imbibed a rever-
ence for the Jewish faith, his mother, it is suggested,
having been of that religion.

The system laid down in the Koran, however, was es-
sentially founded on the Christian doctrines inculcated
in the New Testament ; as they had been expounded to
him by the Christian sectarians of Arabia. Our Saviour
was to be held in the highest reverence as an inspired
prophet, the greatest that had been sent before the time
of Mahomet, to reform the Law ; but all idea of his di-
vinity was rejected as impious, and the doctrine of the
Trinity was denounced as an outrage on the unity of God.
Both were pronounced errors and interpolations of the
expounders ; and this, it will be observed, was the opin-
ion of some of the Arabian sects of Christians.

The worship of saints and the introduction of images
and paintings representing them, were condemned as
idolatrous lapses from the pure faith of Christ, and such,
we have already observed, were the tenets of the Nes-
torians with whom Mahomet is known to have had much
communication.

All pictures representing living things were prohib-
ited. Mahomet used to say, that the angels would not
enter a house in which there were such pictures, and
that those who made them would be sentenced in the
next world, to find souls for them, or be punished.

Most of the benignant precepts of our Saviour were
incorporated in the Koran. Frequent alms-giving was

OUTLINES OF MAH0METANI8M. 81

enjoined as an imperative duty, and the immutable law
of right and wrong, " Do unto another, as thou wouldst
he should do unto thee," was given for the moral con
duct of the faithful.

" Deal not unjustly with others," says the Koran, " and
ye shall not be dealt with unjustly. If there be any
debtor under a difficulty of paying his debt, let his credi-
tor wait until it be easy for him to do it ; but if he remit
it in alms, it will be better for him."

Mahomet inculcated a noble fairness and sincerity in
dealing. " O merchants ! " would he say, "falsehood and
deception are apt to prevail in traffic, purify it therefore
with alms ; give something in charity as an atonement ;
for God is incensed by deceit in dealing, but charity ap-
peases his anger. He who sells a defective thing, con-
cealing its defect, will provoke the anger of God and the
curses of the angels.

" Take not advantage of the necessities of another to
buy things at sacrifice ; rather relieve his indigence.

" Feed the hungry ; visit the sick, and free the captive
if confined unjustly.

"Look not scornfully upon thy fellow man; neither
walk the earth with insolence ; for God loveth not the
arrogant and vainglorious. Be moderate in thy pace, and
speak with a moderate tone ; for the most ungrateful of
all voices is the voice of asses." *

* The following words of Mahomet, treasured up by one of his disci-
ples, appear to have been suggested by a passage in Matthew xxv. 35-45 s
TOL. i.— 6

82 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Idolatry of all kinds was strictly forbidden ; indeed it
was what Mahomet held in most abhorrence. Many of
the religious usages, however, prevalent since time im-
memorial among the Arabs, to which he had been accus-
tomed from infancy, and which were not incompatible
With the doctrine of the unity of God, were still retained.
Such was the pilgrimage to Mecca, including all the rites
connected with the Caaba, the well of Zem Zem, and
other sacred places in the vicinity ; apart from any wor-
ship of the idols by which they had been profaned.

The old Arabian rite of prayer, accompanied or rather
preceded by ablution, was still continued. Prayers in-
deed were enjoined at certain hours of the day and night ;
they were simple in form and phrase, addressed directly
to the Deity with certain inflexions, or at times a total

" Veiily, God will say at the day of resurrection, * 0 sons of Adam ! I
was sick, and ye did not visit me.' Then they will say, « How could we
visit thee ? for thou art the Lord of the universe, and art free from sick-
ness.' And God will reply, ' Knew ye not that such a one of my servants
was sick, and ye did not visit him ? Had you visited that servant, it
would have been counted to you as righteousness.' And God will say,
' O sons of Adam ! I asked you for food, and ye gave it me not.' And the
sons of Adam will say, ' How could we give thee food, seeing thou art the
sustainer of the universe, and art free from hunger ? ' And God will say,
' Such a one of my servants asked you for bread, and ye refused it. Had
you given him to eat, ye would have received your reward from me.' And
God will say, ' 0 sons of Adam, I asked you for water, and ye gave it me
not.' They will reply, fc O, our supporter ! How could we give thee
water, seeing thou art the sustainer of the universe, and not subject to
thirst ? ' And God will say, ' Such a one of my servants asked you for
water, and ye did not give it to him. Had ye done so, ye would have re
ceived your reward from me.' "

OUTLINES OF MAH0METANI8M. 83

prostration of the body, and with the face turned towards
the Kebla, or point of adoration.

At the end of each prayer, the following verse from the
second chapter of the Koran was recited. It is said to
have great beauty in the original Arabic, and is engraved
on gold and silver ornament?, and on precious stones
worn as amulets. " God ! There is no God but He, the
living, the ever living ; he sleepeth not, neither doth he
slumber. To him belongeth the heavens, and the earth,
and all that they contain. Who shall intercede with him
unless by his permission? He knoweth the past and
the future, but no one can comprehend anything of his
knowledge but that which he revealeth. His sway ex-
tendeth over the heavens and the earth, and to sustain
them both is no burthen to him. He is the High, the
Mighty ! "

Mahomet was strenuous in enforcing the importance
and efficacy of prayer. " Angels," said he, " come among
you both by night and day ; after which those of the
night ascend to heaven, and God asks them how they left
his creatures. We found them, say they, at their prayers,
and we left them at their prayers."

The doctrines in the Koran respecting the resurrection
and final judgment, were in some respects similar to
those of the Christian religion, but were mixed up with
wild notions derived from other sources ; while the joys
of the Moslem heaven, though partly spiritual, were
clogged and debased by the sensualities of earth, and in-

34 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

finitely below the ineffable purity and spiritual blessed-
ness of the heaven promised by our Saviour.

Nevertheless, the description of the last day, as con-
tained in the eighty-first chapter of the Koran, and
which must have been given by Mahomet at the outset of
his mission at Mecca, as one of the first of his revelations,
partakes of sublimity.

" In the name of the all merciful God ! a day shall
come when the sun will be shrouded, and the stars will
fall from the heavens.

" When the camels about to foal will be neglected, and
wild beasts will herd together through fear.

" When the waves of the ocean will boil, and the souk
of the dead again be united to the bodies.

"When the female infant that has been buried alive
will demand, For what crime was I sacrificed ? and the
eternal books will be laid open.

" When the heavens will pass away like a scroll, and
hell will burn fiercely ; and the joys of paradise will be
made manifest.

" On that day shall every soul make known that which
it hath performed.

" Verily, I swear to you by the stars which move
swiftly and are lost in the brightness of the sun, and by
the darkness of the night, and by the dawning of the day,
these are not the words of an evil spirit, but of an angel
of dignity and power, who possesses the confidence of
Allah, and is revered by the angels under his command

OUTLINES OF MAHOMETANISM. 86

Neither is your companion, Mahomet, distracted. He
beheld the celestial messenger in the light of the clear
horizon, and the words revealed to him are intended a*
an admonition unto all creatures."

Note. — To exhibit the perplexed maze of controversial doctrines from
which Mahomet had to acquire his notions of the Christian faith, we sub"
join the leading points of the jarring sects of oriental Christians alluded
to in the foregoing article ; all of which have been pronounced heretical
or schismatic.

The Sabellians, so called from Sabellius, a Libyan priest of the third
century, believed in the unity of God, and that the Trinity expressed but
three different states or relations, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, all form-
ing but one substance, as a man consists of body and soul.

The Arians, from Arius, an ecclesiastic of Alexandria in the fourth
century, affirmed Christ to be the Son of God. but distinct from him and
inferior to him, and denied the Holy Ghost to be God.

The Nestorians, from Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople in the fifth
century, maintained that Christ had two distinct natures, divine and hu-
- man ; that Mary was only his mother, and Jesus a man, and that it was
an abomination to style her, as was the custom of the church, the Mother
of God.

The Monophysites maintained the single nature of Christ, as their name
betokens. They affirmed that he was combined of God and man, so min-
gled and united as to form but one nature.

The Eutychians, from Eutyches, abbot of a convent in Constantinople
in the fifth century, were a branch of the Monophysites, expressly opposed
to the Nestorians. They denied the double nature of Christ, declaring
that he was entirely God previous to the incarnation, and entirely man
during the incarnation.

The Jacobites, from Jacobus, bishop of Edessa, in Syria, in the sixth
century, were a very numerous branch of the Monophysites, varying but
little from the Eutychians. Most of the Christian tribes of Arabs were
Jacobites.

The Mariamites, or worshippers of Mary, regarded the Trinity as con-
sisting of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Virgin Mary.

The Collyridians were a sect of Arabian Christians, composed chiefly of
females. They worshipped the Virgin Mary as possessed of divinity, and

86 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

made offerings to her of a twisted cake, called collyris, whence they de»
rived their name.

The Nazaraeaiis, or Nazarenes, were a sect of Jewish Christians, who
considered Christ as the Messiah, as born of a Virgin by the Holy Ghost,
and as possessing something of a divine nature ; but they conformed in
all other respects to the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law.

The Sbionites, from Ebion, a converted Jew, who lived in the first cen-
tury, were also a sect of judaizing Christians, little differing from the
Nazaraeans. They believed Christ to be a pure man, the greatest of the
prophets, but denied that he had any existence previous to being born of
the Virgin Mary. This sect, as well as that of the Nazarteans, had many
adherents in Arabia.

Many other sects might be enumerated, such as the Corinthians, Ma-
ronites, and Marcionites, who took their names from learned and zealous
leaders ; ana the Docetes and Gnostics, who were subdivided into various
sects of subtle enthusiasts. Some of these asserted the immaculate purity
of the Virgin Mary, affirming that her conception and delivery were ef-
fected like the transmission of the rays of light through a pane of glass,
without impairing her virginity : an opinion still maintained strenuously
in substance by Spanish Catholics.

Most of the Docetes asserted that Jesus Christ was of a nature entirely
divine ; that a phantom, a mere form without substance, was crucified by-
the deluded Jews, and that the crucifixion and resurrection were deceptive
mystical exhibitions at Jerusalem for the benefit of the human race.

The Carpocratians, Basilidians, and Valentinians, named after three
Egyptian controversialists, contended that Jesus Christ was merely a wise
and virtuous mortal, the son of Joseph and Mary, selected by God to re-
form and instruct mankind ; but that a divine nature was imparted to
him at the maturity of his age, and period of his baptism, by St. John.
The former part of this creed, which is that of the Ebionites, has been
revived, and is professed by some of the Unitarian Christians, a numer-
ous and increasing sect of Protestants of the present day.

It is sufficient to glance at these dissensions, which we have not ar-
ranged in chronological order, but which convulsed the early Christian
church, and continued to prevail at the era of Mahomet, to acquit him of
any charge of conscious blasphemy in the opinions he inculcated concern-
ing the nature and mission of our Saviour.

CHAPTEE IX.

RIDICULE CAST ON MAHOMET AND HIS DOCTRINES.— DEMAND FOR MIRACLES.
— CONDUCT OP ABU TALEB. — VIOLENCE OF THE KOREISHITES. — MAHOMET'S
DAUGHTER ROKAIA, WITH HER HUSBAND OTHMAN AND A NUMBER OF DIS-
CIPLES, TAKE REFUGE IN ABYSSINIA. — MAHOMET IN THE HOUSE OF ORK-
. HAM.— HOSTILITY OF ABU JAHL ■ HIS PUNISHMENT.

|HE greatest difficulty with which Mahomet had
to contend at the outset of his prophetic ca-
reer, was the ridicule of his opponents. Those
who had known him from his infancy — who had seen him
a boy about the streets of Mecca ; and afterwards occu-
pied in all the ordinary concerns of life, scoffed at his as-
sumption of the apostolic character. They pointed with
a sneer at him as he passed, exclaiming, " Behold the
grandson of Abd al Motalleb, who pretends to know what
is going on in heaven ! " Some who had witnessed his
fits of mental excitement and ecstasy, considered him in-
sane ; others declared that he was possessed of a devil,
and some charged him with sorcery and magic.

When he walked the streets he was subject to those
jeers, and taunts, and insults which the vulgar are apt to
vent upon men of eccentric conduct and unsettled mind.
tf he attempted to preach, his voice was drowned by dis-

87

88 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

cordant noises and ribald songs : nay, dirt was thrown
upon him when he was praying in the Caaba.

Nor was it the vulgar and ignorant alone who thus in-
sulted him. One of his most redoubtable assailants was
a youth named Amru ; and as he subsequently made a
distinguished figure in Mahometan history, we would im-
press the circumstances of this, his first appearance, upon
the mind of the reader. He was the son of a courtesan
of Mecca ; who seems to have rivaled in fascination the
Phrynes and Aspasias of Greece, and to have numbered
some of the noblest of the land among her lovers. When
she gave birth to this child, she mentioned several of the
tribe of Koreish who had equal claims to the paternity.
The infant was declared to have most resemblance to
Aass, the oldest of her admirers, whence, in addition to
his name of Amru, he received the designation of Ibn al
Aass, the son of Aass.

Nature had lavished her choicest gifts upon this natu-
ral child, as if to atone for the blemish of his birth.
Though young, he was already one of the most popular
poets of Arabia, and equally distinguished for the pun-
gency of his satirical effusions and the captivating sweet-
ness of his serious lays.

When Mahomet first announced his mission, this youth
assailed him with lampoons and humorous madrigals ;
which, falling in with the poetic taste of the Arabs, were
widely circulated, and proved greater impediments to the
growth of Islamism than the bitterest persecution.

A DEMAND FOR MIRACLES. 89

Those who were more serious in their opposition de-
manded of Mahomet supernatural proofs of what he
asserted. " Moses, and Jesus, and the rest of the proph-
ets," said they, " wrought miracles to prove the divin-
ity of their missions. If thou art indeed a prophet,
greater than they, work the like miracles."

The reply of Mahomet may be gathered from his own
words in the Koran. " What greater miracle could they
have than the Koran itself ; a book revealed by means of
an unlettered man ; so elevated in language, so incontro-
vertible in argument, that the united skill of men and
devils could compose nothing comparable. What greater
proof could there be that it came from none but God
himself? The Koran itself is a miracle."

They demanded, however, more palpable evidence ;
miracles addressed to the senses ; that he should cause
the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the
dead to rise ; or that he should work changes in the face
of nature ; cause fountains to gush forth ; change a sterile
place into a garden, with palm-trees, and vines, and run-
ning streams ; cause a palace of gold to rise, decked with
jewels and precious stones ; or ascend by a ladder into
heaven in their presence. Or, if the Koran did indeed,
as he affirmed, come down from heaven, that they might
see it as it descended, or behold the angei who brought
it ; and then they would believe.

Mahomet replied sometimes by arguments, sometimes
by denunciations. He claimed to be nothing more than

90 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

a man sent by God as an apostle. Had angels, said he,
walked familiarly on earth, an angel had assuredly been
sent on this mission; but woful had been the case of
those who, as in the present instance, doubted his word.
They would not have been able, as with me, to argue,
and dispute, and take time to be convinced ; their perdi-
tion would have been instantaneous. " God," added he,
" needs no angel to enforce my mission. He is a sufficient
witness between you and me. Those whom he shall dis-
pose to be convinced, will truly believe ; those whom he
shall permit to remain in error, will find none to help
their unbelief. On the day of resurrection they will ap-
pear blind, and deaf, and dumb, and groveling on their
faces. Their abode will be in the eternal flames of Je-
hennam. Such will be the reward of their unbelief.

"You insist on miracles. God gave to Moses the
power of working miracles. What was the consequence ?
Pharaoh disregarded his miracles, accused him of sor-
cery, and sought to drive him and his people from the
land; but Pharaoh was drowned, and with him all his
host. Would ye tempt God to miracles, and risk the
punishment of Pharaoh ? "

It is recorded by Al Maalem, an Arabian writer, that
some of Mahomet's disciples at one time joined with the
multitude in this cry for miracles, and besought him to
prove, at once, the divinity of his mission, by turning the
hill of Safa into gold. Being thus closely urged, he be-
took himself to prayer ; and having finished, assured his

MIRACLES WROUGHT BY MAHOMET. 91

followers that the angel Gabriel had appeared to him,
and informed him that, should God grant his prayer, and
work the desired miracle, all who disbelieved it would be
exterminated. In pity to the multitude, therefore, who
appeared to be a stiff-necked generation, he would not
expose them to destruction : so the hill of Safa was per-
mitted to remain in its pristine state.

Other Moslem writers assert that Mahomet departed
from his self-prescribed rule, and wrought occasional
miracles, when he found his hearers unusually slow of
belief. Thus we are told that, at one time, in presence of
a multitude, he called to him a bull, and took from his
horns a scroll containing a chapter of the Koran, just
sent down from heaven. At another time, while discours-
ing in public, a white dove hovered over him, and, alight-
ing on his shoulder, appeared to whisper in his ear;
being, as he said, a messenger from the Deity. On
another occasion he ordered the earth before him to be
opened, when two jars were found, one filled with honey,
the other with milk, which he pronounced emblems of
the abundance promised by heaven to all who should
obey his law.

Christian writers have scoffed at these miracles ; sug-
gesting that the dove had been tutored to its task, and
sought grains of wheat which it had been accustomed to
find in the ear of Mahomet ; that the scroll had pre-
viously been tied to the horns of the bull, and the vessels
of milk and honey deposited in the ground. The true

92 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

course would be to discard these miraculous stories alto-
gether, as fables devised by mistaken zealots ; and such
they have been pronounced by the ablest of the Moslem
commentators.

There is no proof that Mahomet descended to any
artifices of the kind to enforce his doctrines or establish
his apostolic claims. He appears to have relied entirely
on reason and eloquence, and to have been supported by
religious enthusiasm in this early and dubious stage of
his career. His earnest attacks upon the idolatry which
had vitiated and superseded the primitive worship of the
Caaba, began to have a sensible effect, and alarmed the
Koreishites. They urged Abu Taleb to silence his
nephew or to send him away ; but finding their entreaties
unavailing, they informed the old man that if this pre-
tended prophet and his followers persisted in their
heresies, they should pay for them with their lives.

Abu Taleb hastened to inform Mahomet of these men-
aces, imploring him not to provoke against himself and
family such numerous and powerful foes.

The enthusiastic spirit of Mahomet kindled at the
words. " O my uncle ! " exclaimed he, " though they
should array the sun against me on my right hand, and
the moon on my left, yet, until God should command me,
or should take me hence, would I not depart from my
purpose."

He was retiring with dejected countenance, when Abu
Taleb called him back. The old man was as yet uncon-

ANIMOSITY OF THE KOREISHITES. 93

verted, but he was struck with admiration of the un-
daunted firmness of his nephew, and declared that,
preach what he might, he would never abandon him to
his enemies. Feeling that of himself he could not yield
sufficient protection, he called upon the other descendants
of Haschem and Abd al Motalleb to aid in shielding their
kinsman from the persecution of the rest of the tribe of
Koreish ; and so strong is the family tie among the
Arabs, that though it was protecting him in what they
considered a dangerous heresy, they all consented ex-
cepting his uncle Abu Lahab.

The animosity of the Koreishites became more and
more virulent, and proceeded to personal violence. Ma-
homet was assailed and nearly strangled in the Caaba,
and was rescued with difficulty by Abu Beker, who him-
self suffered personal injury in the affray. His immedi-
ate family became objects of hatred, especially his
daughter Rokaia and her husband Othman Ibn Affan.
Such of his disciples as had no powerful friends to pro-
tect them were in peril of their lives. Full of anxiety for
their safety, Mahomet advised them to leave his danger-
ous companionship for the present, and take refuge in
Abyssinia. The narrowness of the Red Sea made it easy
to reach the African shore. The Abyssinians were Nes-
torian Christians, elevated by their religion above their
barbarous neighbors. Their najashee or king was reput-
ed to be tolerant and just. With him Mahomet trusted
his daughter and his fugitive disciples would find refuge.

94 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSOBS.

Othman Ibn Affan was the leader of this little band of
Moslems, consisting of eleven men and four women.
They took the way by the sea-coast to Jodda, a port
about two days' journey to the east of Mecca, where they
found two Abyssinian vessels at anchor, in which they
embarked, and sailed for the land of refuge.

This event, which happened in the fifth year of the
mission of Mahomet, is called the first Hegira or Flight,
to distinguish it from the second Hegira, the flight of the
prophet himself from Mecca to Medina. The kind treat-
ment experienced by the fugitives induced others of the
same faith to follow their example, until the number of
Moslem refugees in Abyssinia amounted to eighty-three
men and eighteen women, besides children.

The Koreishites finding that Mahomet was not to be
silenced, and was daily making converts, passed a law
banishing all who should embrace his faith. Mahomet
retired before the storm, and took refuge in the house of
a disciple named Orkham, situated on the hill of Safa,
This hill, as has already been mentioned, was renowned
in Arabian tradition as the one on which Adam and Eve
were permitted to come once more together, after the
long solitary wandering about the earth which followed
their expulsion from paradise. It was likewise connected
in tradition with the fortunes of Hagar and Ishmael.

Mahomet remained for a month in the house of Ork-
ham, continuing his revelations and drawing to him sec-
taries from various parts of Arabia. The hostility of the

ABU JAHL'S PUNISHMENT. 95

Koreishites followed him to his retreat. Abu Jahl, an
Arab of that tribe, sought him out, insulted him with
opprobrious language, and even personally maltreated
him. The outrage was reported to Hamza, an uncle of
Mahomet, as he returned to Mecca from hunting. Hamza
was no proselyte to Islamism, but he was pledged to pro-
tect his nephew. Marching .with his bow unstrung in his
hand to an assemblage of the Koreishites, where Abu
Jahl was vaunting his recent triumph, he dealt the
boaster a blow over the head, that inflicted a grievous
wound. The kinsfolk of Abu Jahl rushed to his assist-
ance, but the brawler stood in awe of the vigorous arm
and fiery spirit of Hamza, and sought to pacify him.
"Let him alone," said he to his kinsfolk; "in truth I
have treated his nephew very roughly." He alleged in
palliation of his outrage the apostasy of Mahomet ; but
Hamza was not to be appeased. "Well!" cried he,
fiercely and scornfully, " I also do not believe in your
gods of stone ; can you compel me?" Anger produced
in his bosom what reasoning might have attempted in
vain. He forthwith declared himself a convert, took the
oath of adhesion to the prophet, and became one of the
most zealous and valiant champions of the new faith.

CHAPTEE X.

OMAR IBN AL KHATTAB, NEPHEW OF ABU JAHL, UNDERTAKES TO REVENGB
HIS UNCLE BY SLAYING MAHOMET.— HIS WONDERFUL CONVERSION TO THE
FAITH. — MAHOMET TAKES REFUGE IN A CASTLE OF ABU TALEB. — ABU
SOFIAN AT THE HEAD OF THE RIVAL BRANCH OF KOREISHITES, PERSE-
CUTES MAHOMET AND HIS FOLLOWERS.— OBTAINS A DECREE OF NON-INTER-
COURSE WITH THEM. — MAHOMET LEAVES HIS RETREAT AND MAKES CON-
VERTS DURING THE MONTH OF PILGRIMAGE.— LEGEND OF THE CONVERSION
OF HABIB THE WISE.

HE hatred of Abu Jahl to the prophet was in-
creased by the severe punishment received at
the hands of Hamza. He had a nephew named
Omar Ibn al Khattab ; twenty-six years of age ; of gigan-
tic stature, prodigious strength, and great courage. His
savage aspect appalled the bold, and his very walking-
staff struck more terror into beholders than another
man's sword. Such are the words of the Arabian his-
torian, Abu Abdallah Mohamed Ibn Omal Alwakedi, and
the subsequent feats of this warrior prove that they were
scarce chargeable with exaggeration.

Instigated by his uncle Abu Jahl, this fierce Arab
undertook to penetrate to the retreat of Mahomet, who
was still in the house of Orkham, and to strike a poniard

96

FURY OF OMAR IBN AL KHATTAB. 97

to his heart. The Koreishites are accused of having
promised him one hundred camels and one thousand
ounces of gold for this deed of blood ; but this is im-
probable, nor did the vengeful nephew of Abu Jahl need
a bribe.

As he was on his way to the house of Orkham he met
a Koreishite, to whom he imparted his design. The
Koreishite was a secret convert to Islamism, and sought
to turn him from his bloody errand. " Before you slay
Mahomet," said he, "and draw upon yourself the ven-
geance of his relatives, see that your own are free from
heresy." "Are any of mine guilty of backsliding?"
demanded Omar with astonishment. "Even so," was the
reply ; " thy sister Amina and her husband Seid."

Omar hastened to the dwelling of his sister, and enter-
ing it abruptly, found her and her husband reading the
Koran. Seid attempted to conceal it, but his confusion
convinced Omar of the truth of the accusation, and
heightened his fury. In his rage he struck Seid to the
earth ; placed his foot upon his breast, and would have
plunged his sword into it, had not his sister interposed.
A blow on the face bathed her visage in blood. "Enemy
of Allah!" sobbed Amina, "dost thou strike me thus
for believing in the only true God ? In despite of thee
and thy violence, I will persevere in the true faith.
Yes," added she with fervor, "'There is no God but
God, and Mahomet is his prophet : ' — And now, Omar,
finish thy work ! "
vol. l.— 7

98 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Omar paused; repented of his violence, and took his
foot from the bosom of Seid.

" Show me the writing," said he. Amina, however,
refused to let him touch the sacred scroll until he had
washed his hands. The passage which he read, is said
to have been the twentieth chapter of the Koran, which
thus begins : —

" In the name of the most merciful God ! We have
not sent down the Koran to inflict misery on mankind,
but as a monitor, to teach him to believe in the true God,
the creator of the earth and the lofty heavens.

" The All Merciful is enthroned on high, to him be-
longeth whatsoever is in the heavens above, and in the
earth beneath, and in the regions under the earth.

" Dost thou utter thy prayers with a loud voice ? know
that there is no need. God knoweth the secrets of thy
heart ; yea, that which is most hidden.

" Verily, I am God ; there is none beside me. Serve me,
serve none other. Offer up thy prayer to none but me."

The words of the Koran sank deep into the heart of
Omar. He read farther, and was more and more moved ,
but when he came to the parts treating of the resurrec-
tion and of judgment, his conversion was complete.

He pursued his way to the house of Orkham, but with
an altered heart. Knocking humbly at the door, he
craved admission. " Come in, son of al Khattab," ex-
claimed Mahomet, " what brings thee hither? "

"I come to enroll my name among the believers of God

CONVERSION OF OMAR. 99

and his prophet." So saying, he made the Moslem pro-
fession of faith.

He was not content until his conversion was publicly
known. At his request, Mahomet accompanied him in-
stantly to the Caaba, to perform openly the rites of
Islamism. Omar walked on the left hand of the prophet,
and Hamza on the right, to protect him from injury and
insult, and they were followed by upwards of forty dis
ciples. They passed in open day through the streets of
Mecca, to the astonishment of its inhabitants. Seven
times did they make the circuit of the Caaba, touching
each time the sacred black stone, and complying with all
the other ceremonials. The Koreishites regarded this
procession with dismay, but dared not approach nor
molest the prophet, being deterred by the looks of those
terrible men of battle, Hamza and Omar ; who, it is said,
glared upon them like two lions that had been robbed of
their young.

Fearless and resolute in everything, Omar went by
himself the next day to pray as a Moslem in the Caaba,
in open defiance of the Koreishites. Another Moslem,
who entered the temple, was interrupted in his worship,
and rudely treated ; but no one molested Omar, because
he was the nephew of Abu Jahl. Omar repaired to his
uncle. " I renounce thy protection," said he. " I will
not be better off than my fellow-believers." From that
Sime he cast his lot with the followers of Mahomet, and

is one of his most strenuous defenders.

100 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Such was the wonderful conversion of Omar, afterwards
the most famous champion of the Islam faith. So exas-
perated were the Koreishites by this new triumph of
Mahomet, that his uncle Abu Taleb feared they might at-
tempt the life of his nephew, either by treachery or open
violence. At his earnest entreaties, therefore, the latter,
accompanied by some of his principal disciples, withdrew
to a kind of castle, or stronghold, belonging to Abu Taleb,
in the neighborhood of the city.

The protection thus given by Abu Taleb, the head of
the Haschemites, and by others of his line, to Mahomet
and his followers, although differing from them in faith,
drew on them the wrath of the rival branch of the Kore-
ishites, and produced a schism in the tribe. Abu Sofian,
the head of that branch, availed himself of the heresies
of the prophet to throw discredit, not merely upon such
of his kindred as had embraced his faith, but upon the
whole line of Haschem, which, though dissenting from
his doctrines, had, through mere clannish feelings, pro-
tected him. It is evident the hostility of Abu Sofian
arose, not merely from personal hatred or religious
scruples, but from family feud. He was ambitious oi
transferring to his own line the honors of the city so
long engrossed by the Haschemites. The last measure of
the kind-hearted Abu Taleb, in placing Mahomet beyond
the reach of persecution, and giving him a castle as a
refuge, was seized upon by Abu Sofian and his adherents,
as a pretext for a general ban of the rival line. They

MAHOMET AMONG THE PILGRIMS. 101

accordingly issued a decree, forbidding the rest of the
tribe of Koreish from intermarrying, or holding any in-
tercourse, even of bargain or sale, with the Haschem-
ites, until they should deliver up their kinsman, Maho-
met, for punishment. This decree, which took place in
the seventh year of what is called the mission of the
prophet, was written on parchment, and hung up in the
Caaba. It reduced Mahomet and his disciples to great
straits, being almost famished at times in the stronghold
in which they had taken refuge. The fortress was also
beleaguered occasionally by the Koreishites, to enforce
the ban in all its rigor, and to prevent the possibility of
supplies.

The annual season of pilgrimage, however, when hosts
of pilgrims repair from all parts of Arabia to Mecca,
brought transient relief to the persecuted Moslems.
During that sacred season, according to immemorial law
and usage among the Arabs, all hostilities were sus-
pended, and warring tribes met in temporary peace to
worship at the Caaba. At such times Mahomet and his
disciples would venture from their stronghold and return
to Mecca. Protected also by the immunity of the holy
month, Mahomet would mingle among the pilgrims and
preach and pray ; propound his doctrines, and proclaim
his revelations. In this way he made many converts,
who, on their return to their several homes, carried with
them the seeds of the new faith to distant regions.
Among these converts were occasionally the princes or

102 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

heads of tribes, whose example had an influence on then
adherents. Arabian legends give a pompous and extrav-
agant account of the conversion of one of these princes ;
which, as it was attended by some of the most noted
miracles recorded of Mahomet, may not be unworthy of
an abbreviated insertion.

The prince in question was Habib Ibn Malec, surnamed
the Wise on account of his vast knowledge and erudition ;
for he is represented as deeply versed in magic and the
sciences, and acquainted with all religions, to their very
foundations, having read all that had been written con-
cerning them, and also acquired practical information, for
he had belonged to them all by turns, having been Jew,
Christian, and one of the Magi. It is true, he had had
more than usual time for his studies and experience, hav-
ing, according to Arabian legend, attained to the age of
one hundred and forty years. He now came to Mecca at
the head of a powerful host of twenty thousand men,
bringing with him a youthful daughter, Satiha, whom he
must have begotten in a ripe old age ; and for whom he
was putting up prayers at the Caaba, she having been
struck dumb, and deaf, and blind, and deprived of the
use of her limbs.

Abu Sofian and Abu Jahl, according to the legend,
thought the presence of this very powerful, very idola-
trous, and very wise old prince, at the head of so formi-
dable a host, a favorable opportunity to effect the ruin of
Mahomet. They accordingly informed Habib the Wise

LEGEND OF HABIB THE WISE. 103

of the heresies of the pretended prophet ; and prevailed
upon the venerable prince to summon him into his pres-
ence, at his encampment in the Valley of Flints, there to
defend his doctrines ; in the hope that his obstinacy in
error would draw upon him banishment or death.

The legend gives a magnificent account of the issuing
forth of the idolatrous Koreishites, in proud array, on
horseback and on foot, led by Abu Sofian and Abu Jahl,
to attend the grand inquisition in the Valley of Flints ;
and of the oriental state in which they were received by
Habib the Wise, seated under a tent of crimson, on a
throne of ebony, inlaid with ivory and sandal-wood, and
covered with plates of gold.

Mahomet was in the dwelling of Cadijah when he re-
ceived a summons to this formidable tribunal. Cadijah
was loud in her expressions of alarm ; and his daughters
hung about his neck, weeping and lamenting, for they
thought him going to certain death; but he gently re-
buked their fears, and bade them trust in Allah.

Unlike the ostentatious state of his enemies, Abu So-
fian and Abu Jahl, he approached the scene of trial in
simple guise, clad in a white garment, with a black tur-
ban, and a mantle which had belonged to his grandfather,
Abd al Motalleb, and was made of the stuff of Aden. His
hair floated below his shoulders, the mysterious light of
prophecy beamed from his countenance ; and though he
had not anointed his beard, nor used any perfumes, ex-
cepting a little musk and camphor for the hair of his

104 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

upper lip, yet wherever he passed a bland odor diffused
itself around, being, say the Arabian writers, the fragrant
emanations from his person.

He was preceded by the zealous Abu Beker, clad in a
scarlet vest and white turban ; with his mantle gathered
up under his arms, so as to display his scarlet slippers.

A silent awe, continues the legend, fell upon the vast
assemblage as the prophet approached. Not a murmur,
not a whisper was to be heard. The very brute animals
were charmed to silence ; and the neighing of the steed,
the bellowing of the camel, and the braying of the ass
were mute.

The venerable Habib received him graciously : his first
question was to the point. "They tell thou dost pretend
to be a prophet sent from God ? Is it so ? "

" Even so," replied Mahomet. " Allah has sent me to
proclaim the veritable faith."

" Good," rejoined the wary sage, " but every prophet
has given proof of his mission by signs and miracles.
Noah had his rainbow : Solomon his mysterious ring :
Abraham the fire of the furnace, which became cool at
his command : Isaac the ram, which was sacrificed in his
stead : Moses his wonder-working rod, and Jesus brought
the dead to life, and appeased tempests with a word. If,
then, thou art really a prophet, give us a miracle in
proof."

The adherents of Mahomet trembled for him when
they heard this request, and Abu Jahl clapped his hands,

LEGEND OF HABIB THE WISE. 105

and extolled the sagacity of Habib the Wise. But the
prophet rebuked him with scorn. " Peace! dog of thy
race ! " exclaimed he ; " disgrace of thy kindred, and of
thy tribe." He then calmly proceeded to execute the
wishes of Habib.

The first miracle demanded of Mahomet was to reveal
what Habib had within his tent, and why he had brought
it to Mecca.

Upon this, says the legend, Mahomet bent toward the
earth and traced figures upon the sand. Then raising
his head, he replied, "O Habib! thou hast brought
hither thy daughter, Satiha, deaf and dumb, and lame
and blind, in the hope of obtaining relief of Heaven. Go
to thy tent ; speak to her, and hear her reply, and know
that God is all-powerful."

The aged prince hastened to his tent. His daughter
met him with light step and extended arms, perfect in all
her faculties, her eyes beaming with joy, her face clothed
with smiles, and more beauteous than the moon in an un-
clouded night.

The second miracle demanded by Habib was still
more difficult. It was that Mahomet should cover the
noontide heaven with supernatural darkness, and cause
the moon to descend and rest upon the top of the Caaba.

The prophet performed this miracle as easily as the
first. At his summons, a darkness blotted out the whole
light of day. The moon was then seen straying from
her course and wandering about the firmament. By the

106 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

irresistible power of the prophet, she was drawn from the
heavens and rested on the top of the Caaba. She then
performed seven circuits about it, after the manner of
the pilgrims, and having made a profound reverence to
Mahomet, stood before him with lambent, wavering mo-
tion, like a flaming sword, giving him the salutation of
peace, and hailing him as a prophet.

Not content with this miracle, pursues the legend,
Mahomet compelled the obedient luminary to enter by
the right sleeve of his mantle, and go out by the left ;
then to divide into two parts, one of which went towards
the east, and the other towards the west, and meeting in
the centre of the firmament reunited themselves into a
round and glorious globe.

It is needless to say that Habib the Wise was con-
vinced, and converted by these miracles, as were also
four hundred and seventy of the inhabitants of Mecca.
Abu Jahl, however, was hardened in unbelief, exclaiming
that all was illusion and enchantment produced by the
magic of Mahomet.

Note. — The miracles here recorded are not to be found in the pages of
the accurate Abulfeda, nor are they maintained by any of the graver of
the Moslem writers ; but they exist in tradition, and are set forth with
great prolixity by apocryphal authors, who insist that they are alluded to
in the fifty-fourth chapter of the Koran. They are probably as true
as many other of the wonders related of the prophet. It will be remem-
bered that he himself claimed but one miracle, "the Koran."

CHAPTER XL

THE BAN OP NON-INTERCOURSE MYSTERIOUSLY DESTROYED.— MAHOMBT EN.
ABLED TO RETURN TO MECCA. — DEATH OP ABU TALEB ; OF CADIJAH. —
MAHOMET BETROTHS HIMSELF TO AYESHA. — MARRIES SAWDA. — THE KO-
REISHITES RENEW THEIR PERSECUTION. — MAHOMET SEEKS AN ASYLUM IN
TAYEF.— HIS EXPULSION THENCE.— VISITED BY GENII IN THE DESERT OF
NAKLAH.

HREE years had elapsed since Mahomet and
his disciples took refuge in the castle of Abu
Taleb. The ban or decree still existed in the
Caaba, cutting them off from alT intercourse with the rest
of their tribe. The sect, as usual, increased under per-
secution, Many joined it in Mecca ; murmurs arose
against the unnatural feud engendered among the Ko-
/-eishites, and Abu Sofian was made to blush for the
lengths to which he had carried his hostility against
some of his kindred.

All at once it was discovered that the parchment in
the Caaba, on which the decree had been written, was so
substantially destroyed, that nothing of the writing re-
mained but the initial words, "In thy name, O Almighty
God ! " The decree was, therefore, declared to be an-
nulled, and Mahomet and his followers were permitted to

107

108 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

return to Mecca unmolested. The mysterious removal of
this legal obstacle has been considered by pious Moslems,
another miracle wrought by supernatural agency in favor
of the prophet ; though unbelievers have surmised that
the document, which was becoming embarrassing in its
effects to Abu Sofian himself, was secretly destroyed by
mortal hands.

The return of Mahomet and his disciples to Mecca,
was followed by important conversions, both of inhabi-
tants of the city and of pilgrims from afar. The chagrin
experienced by the Koreishites from the growth of this
new sect, was soothed by tidings of victories of the Per-
sians over the Greeks, by which they conquered Syria
and a part of Egypt. The idolatrous Koreishites exulted
in the defeat of the Christian Greeks, whose faith, being
opposed to the worship of idols, they assimilated to that
preached by Mahomet. The latter replied to their taunts
and exultations, by producing the thirtieth chapter of the
Koran, opening with these words : " The Greeks have
been overcome by the Persians, but they shall overcome
the latter in the course of a few years."

The zealous and believing Abu Beker made a wager of
ten camels, that this prediction would be accomplished
within three years. " Increase the wager, but lengthen
the time," whispered Mahomet. Abu Beker staked one
hundred camels, but made the time nine years. The pre-
diction was verified and the wager won. This anecdote
is confidently cited by Moslem doctors, as a proof that the

DEATH OF ABU TALEB AND OF CADIJAH. 109

Koran came down from heaven, and that Mahomet pos-
sessed the gift of prophecy. The whole, if true, was no
doubt a shrewd guess into futurity, suggested by a knowl-
edge of the actual state of the warring powers.

Not long after his return to Mecca, Mahomet was sum-
moned to close the eyes of his uncle Abu Taleb, then
upwards of fourscore years of age, and venerable in char-
acter as in person. As the hour of death drew nigh,
Mahomet exhorted his uncle to make the profession of
faith necessary, according to the Islam creed, to secure a
blissful resurrection.

A spark of earthly pride lingered in the breast of the
dying patriarch. " O son of my brother ! " replied he,
" should I repeat those words, the Koreishites would say,
I did so through fear of death."

Abulfeda, the historian, insists that Abu Taleb actually
died in the faith. Al Abbas, he says, hung over the bed
of his expiring brother, and perceiving his lips to move,
approached his ear to catch his dying words. They were
the wished-for confession. Others affirm that his last
words were, "I die in the faith of Abd al Motalleb."
Commentators have sought to reconcile the two accounts,
by asserting that Abd al Motalleb, in his latter days re-
nounced the worship of idols, and believed in the unity
of God.

Scarce three days had elapsed from the death of the
venerable Abu Taleb, when Cadijah, the faithful and de-
voted wife of Mahomet, likewise sank into the grave.

HO MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

She was sixty-five years of age. Mahomet wept bitterly
at her tomb, and clothed himself in mourning for her,
and for Abu Taleb, so that this year was called the year
of mourning. He was comforted in his affliction, says
the Arabian author, Abu Horaira, by an assurance from
the angel Gabriel, that a silver palace was allotted to
Cadijah in Paradise, as a reward for her great faith and
her early services to the cause.

Though Cadijah had been much older than Mahomet
at the time of their marriage, and past the bloom of years
when women are desirable in the East, and though the
prophet was noted for an amorous temperament, yet he
is said to have remained true to her to the last ; nor ever
availed himself of the Arabian law, permitting a plurality
of wives, to give her a rival in his house. When, how-
ever, she was laid in the grave, and the first transport of
his grief had subsided, he sought to console himself for
her loss, by entering anew into wedlock ; and henceforth
indulged in a plurality of wives. He permitted, by his
law, four wives, to each of his followers ; but did not
limit himself to that number; for he observed that a
prophet, being peculiarly gifted and privileged, was not
bound to restrict himself to the same laws as ordinary
mortals.

His first choice was made within a month after the
death of Cadijah, and fell upon a beautiful child named
Ayesha, the daughter of his faithful adherent, Abu Be-
ker. Perhaps he sought, by this alliance, to grapple Abu

BETROTHED TO ATESHAW. HI

Beker still more strongly to his side ; he being one of
the bravest and most popular of his tribe. Ayesha, how-
ever, was but seven years of age, and, though females
soon bloom and ripen in those eastern climes, she was
yet too young to enter into the married state. He was
merely betrothed to her, therefore, and postponed their
nuptials for two years, during which time he caused her
to be carefully instructed in the accomplishments proper
to an Arabian maiden of distinguished rank.

Upon this wife, thus chosen in the very blossom of her
years, the prophet doted more passionately than upon
any of those whom he subsequently married. All these
had been previously experienced in wedlock ; Ayesha, he
said, was the only one who came a pure unspotted virgin
to his arms.

Still, that he might not be without due solace while
Ayesha was attaining the marriageable age, he took, as a
wife, Sawda, the widow of Sokran, one of his followers.
She had been nurse to his daughter Fatima, and was one
of the faithful who fled into Abyssinia from the early
persecutions of the people of Mecca. It is pretended
that, while in exile, she had a mysterious intimation of
the future honor which awaited her ; for she dreamt that
Mahomet laid his head upon her bosom. She recounted
the dream to her husband Sokran, who interpreted it as
a prediction of his speedy death, and of her marriage
with the prophet.

The marriage, whether predicted or not, was one of

112 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

mere expediency. Mahomet never loved Sawda with the
affection he manifested for his other wives. He would
even have put her away in after years, but she implored
to be allowed the honor of still calling herself his wife ;
proffering that, whenever it should come to her turn to
share the marriage bed, she would relinquish her right
to Ayesha. Mahomet consented to an arrangement which
favored his love for the latter, and Sawda continued, as
long as she lived, to be nominally his wife.

Mahomet soon became sensible of the loss he had
sustained in the death of Abu Taleb; who had been
not merely an affectionate relative, but a steadfast and
powerful protector, from his great influence in Mecca.
At his death there was no one to check and counteract
the hostilities of Abu Sofian and Abu Jahl ; who soon
raised up such a spirit of persecution among the Koreish-
ites, that Mahomet found it unsafe to continue in his na-
tive place. He set out, therefore, accompanied by his
freedman Zeid, to seek a refuge at Tayef, a small walled
town, about seventy miles from Mecca, inhabited by the
Thakifites, or Arabs of the tribe of Thakeef. It was one
of the favored places of Arabia, situated among vineyards
and gardens. Here grew peaches and plums, melons and
pomegranates ; figs, blue and green, the nebeck-tree pro-
ducing the lotus, and palm-trees with their clusters of
green and golden fruit. So fresh were its pastures and
fruitful its fields, contrasted with the sterility of the
neighboring deserts, that the Arabs fabled it to have

EXPULSION FROM TAYEF. 113

orignally been a part of Syria, broken off and floated
hither at the time of the deluge.

Mahomet entered the gates of Tayef, with some degree
of confidence, trusting for protection to the influence of
his uncle Al Abbas, who had possessions there. He
could not have chosen a worse place of refuge. Tayef
was one of the strongholds of idolatry. Here was main-
tained in all its force the worship of El Lat, one of the
female idols already mentioned. Her image of stone was
covered with jewels and precious stones, the offerings of
her votaries ; it was believed to be inspired with life, and
the intercession of El Lat was implored as one of the
daughters of God.

Mahomet remained about a month in Tayef, seeking in
vain to make proselytes among its inhabitants. When he
attempted to preach his doctrines, his voice was drowned
by clamors. More than once he was wounded by stones
thrown at him, and which the faithful Zeid endeavored in
vain to ward off. So violent did the popular fury become
at last, that he was driven from the city, and even pur-
sued for some distance beyond the walls by an insulting
rabble of slaves and children.

Thus driven ignominiously from his hoped-for place of
refuge, and not daring to return openly to his native city,
he remained in the desert until Zeid should procure a
secret asylum for him among his friends in Mecca. In
this extremity, he had one of those visions or super-
natural visitations which appear always to have occurred

VOL. I.— 8

114 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

in lonely or agitated moments, when we may suppose
him to have been in a state of mental excitement. It was
after the evening prayer, he says, in a solitary place in
the Valley of Naklah, between Mecca and Tayef. He was
reading the Koran, when he was overheard by a passing
company of Gins or Genii. These are spiritual beings,
some good, others bad, and liable like man to future
rewards and punishments. "Hark! give ear!" said the
Genii one to the other. They paused and listened as Ma-
homet continued to read. " Verily," said they at the end,
" we have heard an admirable discourse, which directeth
unto the right institution; wherefore we believe therein."
This spiritual visitation consoled Mahomet for his ex-
pulsion from Tayef, showing that though he and his doc-
trines might be rejected by men, they were held in rev-
erence by spiritual intelligences. At least so we may
infer from the mention he makes of it in the forty-sixth
and seventy-second chapters of the Koran. Thence-
forward, he declared himself sent for the conversion of
these genii as well as of the human race.

Note.— The belief in genii was prevalent throughout the East, long
before the time of Mahomet. They were supposed to haunt solitary
places, particularly toward nightfall ; a superstition congenial to the
habits and notions of the inhabitants of lonely and desert countries. The
Arabs supposed every valley and barren waste to have its tribe of genii,
who were subject to a dominant spirit, and roamed forth at night to
beset the pilgrim and the traveller. Whenever, therefore, they entered a
lonely valley toward the close of evening, they used to supplicate the pre-
siding spirit or lord of the place, to protect them from the evil genii
under his command.

VISITATION OF GENII. 115

Those columns of dust raised by whirling eddies of wind, and which
sweep across the desert, are supposed to be caused by some evil genius or
sprite of gigantic size.

The serpents which occasionally infest houses were thought to be often
genii, some infidels and some believers. Mahomet cautioned his follow-
ers to be slow to kill a house serpent. " Warn him to depart ; if he do
not obey, then kill him, for it is a sign that he is a mere reptile or an
infidel genius."

It is fabled that in earlier times, the genii had admission to heaven,
but were expelled on account of their meddling propensities. They have
ever since been of a curious and prying nature, often attempting to
clamber up to the constellations ; thence to peep into heaven, and see
and overhear what is going on there. They are, however, driven thence
by angels with flaming swords ; and those meteors called shooting stars
are supposed by Mahometans to be darted by the guardian angels at these
intrusive genii.

Other legends pretend that the earth was originally peopled by these
genii, but they rebelled against the Most High, and usurped terrestrial
dominion, which they maintained for two thousand years. At length,
Azazil, or Lucifer, was sent against them and defeated them, overthrow-
ing their mighty king, Gian ben Gian, the founder of the pyramids ;
whose magic buckler of talismanic virtue fell subsequently into the hands
of King Solomon the Wise, giving him power over the spells and charms
of magicians and evil genii. The rebel spirits defeated and humiliated,
were driven into an obscure corner of the earth. Then it was that God
created man, with less dangerous faculties and powers, and gave him
the world for a habitation.

The angels according to Moslem notions were created from bright
gems ; the genii from fire without smoke, and Adam from clay.
° Mahomet, when in the seventy-second chapter of the Koran, he alludes
to the visitation of the genii in the Valley of Naklah, makes them give
the following frank account of themselves.

" We formerly attempted to pry into what was transacting in heaven,
but we found the same guarded by angels with flaming darts ; and we sat
on some of the seats thereof to hear the discourse of its inhabitants ; but
whoso listeneth now finds a flame prepared to guard the celestial confines.
There are some among us who are Moslems, and there are others who
swerve from righteousness. Whoso embraceth Islamism seeketh the true
direction ; but those who swerve from righteousness shall be fuel for the
fire of Jehennain."

CHAPTEE Xn.

NIGHT JOURNEY OF THE PROPHET FROM MECCA TO JERUSALEM ; AND THEWCB
TO THE SEVENTH HEAVEN.

IN asylum being provided for Mahomet in the
house of Mutem Ibn Adi, one of his disciples,
he ventured to return to Mecca. The super-
natural visitation of genii in the Valley of Naklah, was
soon followed by a vision or revelation far more extra-
ordinary, and which has ever since remained a theme of
comment and conjecture among devout Mahometans.
We allude to the famous night journey to Jerusalem,
and thence to the seventh heaven. The particulars of it,
though given as if in the very words of Mahomet, rest
merely on tradition ; some, however, cite texts corrobo-
rative of it, scattered here and there in the Koran.

We do not pretend to give this vision or revelation in
its amplitude and wild extravagance, but will endeavor to
seize upon its most essential features.

The night on which it occurred, is described as one of
the darkest and most awfully silent that had ever been
known. There was no crowing of cocks nor barking of
dogs; no howling of wild beasts nor hooting of owls,

116

THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY. 117

The very waters ceased to murmur, and the winds to
whistle ; all nature seemed motionless and dead. In the
mid watches of the night, Mahomet was roused by a
voice crying, " Awake, thou sleeper ! '5 The angel Gabriel
stood before him. His forehead was clear and serene,
his complexion white as snow, his hair floated on his
shoulders ; he had wings of many dazzling hues, and his
robes were sown with pearls and embroidered with gold.

He brought Mahomet a white steed of wonderful form
and qualities, unlike any animal he had ever seen ; and
in truth, it differs from any animal ever before described.
It had a human face, but the cheeks of a horse : its eyes
were as jacinths and radiant as stars. It had eagle's
wings all glittering with rays of light; and its whole
form was resplendent with gems and precious stones. It
was a female, and from its dazzling splendor and incredi-
ble velocity was called Al Borak, or Lightning.

Mahomet prepared to mount this supernatural steed,
but as he extended his hand, it drew back and reared.

" Be still, O Borak ! " said Gabriel ; " respect the
prophet of God. Never wert thou mounted by mortal
man more honored of Allah."

" O Gabriel ! " replied Al Borak, who at this time was
miraculously endowed with speech ; " did not Abraham
of old, the friend of God, bestride me when he visited
his son Ishmael ? O Gabriel ! is not this the mediator,
the intercessor, the author of the profession of faith ? "

" Even so, O Borak, this is Mahomet Ibn Abdallah, of

118 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

one of the tribes of Arabia the Happy, and of the true
faith. He is chief of the sons of Adam, the greatest of
the divine legates, the seal of the prophets. All crea-
tures must have his intercession before they can enter
paradise. Heaven is on his right hand, to be the reward
of those who believe in him ; the fire of Jehennam is on
his left hand, into which all shall be thrust who oppose
his doctrines."

" 0 Gabriel ! " entreated Al Borak ; " by the faith ex-
isting between thee and him, prevail on him to intercede
for me at the day of the resurrection."

"Be assured, O Borak!" exclaimed Mahomet, "that
through my intercession thou shalt enter paradise."

No sooner had he uttered these words, than the animal
approached and submitted to be mounted; then rising
with Mahomet on its back, it soared aloft far above the
mountains of Mecca.

As they passed like lightning between heaven and
earth, Gabriel cried aloud, " Stop, O Mahomet ! descend
to the earth, and make the prayer with two inflections of
the body."

They alighted on the earth, and having made the
prayer —

"O friend and well beloved of my soul!" said Ma-
homet; "why dost thou command me to pray in this
place?"

" Because it is Mount Sinai, on which God communed
with Moses."

THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY, 119

Mounting aloft, they again passed rapidly between
heaven and earth, until Gabriel called out a second time,
" Stop, 0 Mahomet ! descend, and make the prayer with
two inflections."

They descended, Mahomet prayed, and again de-
manded, " Why didst thou command me to pray in this
place?"

"Because it is Bethlehem, where Jesus the Son of
Mary was born."

They resumed their course through the air, until a
voice was heard on the right, exclaiming, " O Mahomet,
tarry a moment, that I may speak to thee ; of all created
beings I am most devoted to thee."

But Borak pressed forward, and Mahomet forbore to
tarry, for he felt that it was not with him to stay his
course, but' with God the all-powerful and glorious.

Another voice was now heard on the left, calling on
Mahomet in like words to tarry ; but Borak still pressed
forward, and Mahomet tarried not. He now beheld be-
fore him a damsel of ravishing beauty, adorned with all
the luxury and riches of the earth. She beckoned him
with alluring smiles: "Tarry a moment, O Mahomet,
that I may talk with thee. I, who, of all beings, am the
most devoted to thee." But still Borak pressed on, and
Mahomet tarried not; considering that it was not with
him to stay his course, but with God the all-powerful
and glorious.

Addressing himself, however, to Gabriel, " What voices

120 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

are those I have heard ? " said he ; " and what damsel it
this who has beckoned to me ? "

" The first, O Mahomet, was the voice of a Jew ; hadst
thou listened to him, all thy nation would have been won
to Judaism.

" The second was the voice of a Christian ; hadst thou
listened to him, thy people would have inclined to Chris-
tianity.

"The damsel was the world, with all its riches, its
vanities, and allurements ; hadst thou listened to her,
thy nation would have chosen the pleasures of this life,
rather than the bliss of eternity, and all would have been
doomed to perdition."

Continuing their aerial course, they arrived at the gate
of the holy temple at Jerusalem, where, alighting from
Al Borak, Mahomet fastened her to the rings where the
prophets before him had fastened her. Then entering
the temple, he found there Abraham, and Moses, and Isa
(Jesus), and many more of the prophets. After he had
prayed in company with them for a time, a ladder of
light was let down from heaven, until the lower end
rested on the Shakra, or foundation-stone of the sacred
house, being the stone of Jacob. Aided by the angel
Gabriel, Mahomet ascended this ladder with the rapidity
of lightning,

Being arrived at the first heaven, Gabriel knocked at
the gate. " Who is there ? " was demanded from within.
" Gabriel." " Who is with thee ? " " Mahomet." " Has

TEE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY. 121

he received his mission?" "He has." "Then he is
welcome ! " and the gate was opened.

The first heaven was of pure silver, and in its resplen-
dent vault the stars are suspended by chains of gold. In
each star an angel is placed sentinel, to prevent the de-
mons from scaling the sacred abodes. As Mahomet en-
tered, an ancient man approached him, and Gabriel said,
" Here is thy father Adam, pay him reverence." Ma-
homet did so, and Adam embraced him, calling him the
greatest among his children, and the first among the
prophets.

In this heaven were innumerable animals of all kinds,
which Gabriel said were angels, who, under these forms,
interceded with Allah for the various races of animals
upon earth. Among these was a cock of dazzling white-
ness, and of such marvelous height, that his crest
touched the second heaven, though five hundred years'
journey above the first. This wonderful bird saluted the
ear of Allah each morning with his melodious chant. All
creatures on earth, save man, are awakened by his voice,
and all the fowls of his kind chant hallelujahs in emula-
tion of his note.*

* There are three to which, say the Moslem doctors, God always lends
a willing ear : the voice of him who reads the Koran ; of him who prays
for pardon ; and of this cock who crows to the glory of the Most High.
When the last day is near, they add, Allah will bid this bird to close his
wings and chant no more. Then all the cocks on earth will cease to crow,
and their silence will be a sign that the great day of judgment is im.
pending.

The Reverend Dr. Humphrey Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, in his Life

122 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

They now ascended to the second heaven. Gabriel, as
before, knocked at the gate ; the same questions and re-
plies were exchanged ; the door opened and they entered.

This heaven was all of polished steel, and dazzling
splendor. Here they found Noah : who, embracing Ma-
homet, hailed him as the greatest among the prophets.

Arrived at the third heaven, they entered with the
same ceremonies. It was all studded with precious
stones, 'and too brilliant for mortal eyes. Here was
seated an angel of immeasurable height, whose eyes were
seventy thousand days' journey apart. He had at his
command a hundred thousand battalions of armed men.
Before him was spread a vast book, in which he was con-
tinually writing and blotting out.

"This, O Mahomet," said Gabriel, "is Asrael, the
angel of death, who is in the confidence of Allah. In the
book before him he is continually writing the names of
those who are to be born, and blotting out the names of
those who have lived their allotted time, and who, there-
fore, instantly die."

They now mounted to the fourth heaven, formed of the

of Mahomet, accuses him of having stolen this wonderful cock from the
tract Bava Bart ha of the Babylonish Talmud, " wherein," says he, "we
have a story of such a prodigious bird, called Zig, which, standing with
his feet on the earth, reacheth up to the heavens with his head, and with
the spreading of his wings, darkeneth the whole orb of the sun, and caus-
eth a total eclipse thereof. This bird the Chaldee paraphrast on the
Psalms says is a cock, and that he crows before the Lord ; and the Chal-
dee paraphrast on Job tells us of his crowing every morning before the
Lord, and that God giveth him wisdom for that purpose."

THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY. 123

finest silver. Among the angels who inhabited it was one
five hundred days' journey in height. His countenance
was troubled, and rivers of tears ran from his eyes.
" This," said Gabriel, " is the angel of tears, appointed
to weep over the children of men, and to predict the
evils which await them."

The fifth heaven was of the finest gold. Here Mahomet
was received by Aaron with embraces and congratula-
tions. The avenging angel dwells in this heaven, and
presides over the element of fire. Of all the angels seen
by Mahomet, he was the most hideous and terrific. His
visage seemed of copper, and was covered with wens and
warts. His eyes flashed lightning, and he grasped a
flaming lance. He sat on a throne surrounded by flames,
and before him was a heap of red-hot chains. Were he
to alight upon earth in his true form, the mountains
would be consumed, the seas dried up, and all the inhab-
itants would die with terror. To him, and the angels his
ministers, is intrusted the execution of divine vengeance
on infidels and sinners.

Leaving this awful abode, they mounted to the sixth
heaven, composed of a transparent stone, called Hasala,
which may be rendered carbuncle. Here was a great
angel, composed half of snow and half of fire ; yet the
snow melted not, nor was the fire extinguished. Around
him a choir of lesser angels continually exclaimed, " O
Alia ! who hast united snow and fire, unite all thy faith-
ful servants in obedience to thy law."

i-24 MAHOMET AMD BIS 5

" This, said Gabriel, "is the guardian angel of heayen
and earth. It is he who despatches angels unto individ-
uals of thy nation, to incline them in favor of thy mission,
and call them to the service of God ; and he will continue
to do so until the day of resurrection."

Here was the prophet Musa 31 c aea , who, however,
instead of welcoming Mahomet with joy, as the other
prophets had done, shed tears at sight of him.

•' Wherefore dost thou weep?" inquired Mahomet
H Because I behold a successor, who is destined to con-
duct more of his nation into paradise than ever I could
of the backsliding children of Israel."'

Mounting hence to the seventh heaven, Mahomet was
received by the patriarch Abraham. This blissful abode
is formed of divine light, and of such transcendent glory
that the tongue of man cannot describe it. One of its
-:ial inhabitants will suffice to give an idea of the
- - He surpassed the whole earth in magnitude, and
had seventy thousand heads ; each head seventy thousand
mouths ; each mouth seventy thousand tongues ; each
. - ke seventy thousand different languages, and
all these were incessantly employed in chanting the
praises of the Most High.

While contemplating this wonderful being, Mahomet
was suddenly transported aloft to the lotus-tree, called
9 fa at, which flourishes on the right hand of the invisi-
ble throne of Allah. The branches of this tree extend
wider than the distance between the sun and the earth.

THE XOCTURXAL JOUUNBT. 125

Angels more numerous tliau the sands of the sea-shore,
or of the beds of all the streams and rivers, rejoice be-
neath its shade. The leaves resemble the ears of an
elephant ; thousands of immortal birds sport among its
branches, repeating the sublime verses of the Koran. Its
fruits are milder than milk and sweeter than honey. If
all the creatures of God were assembled, one of these
fruits would be sufficient for their sustenance. Each
seed incloses an houri, or celestial virgin, provided for
the felicity of true believers. From this tree issue four
rivers ; two flow into the interior of paradise, two issue
beyond it, and become the Xile and Euphrates.

Mahomet and his celestial guide now proceeded to Al
Mainour, or the House of Adoration ; formed of red ja-
cinths or rubies, and surrounded by innumerable lamps,
perpetually burning. As Mahomet entered the portal,
three vases were offered him, one containing wine,
another milk, and the third, honey. He took and drank
of the vase containing milk.

" "Well hast thou done ; auspicious is thy choice," ex-
claimed Gabriel. "Hadst thou drunk of the wine, thy
people had all gone astray."

The sacred house resembles in form the Caaba at
Mecca, and is perpendicularly above it in the seventh
heaven. It is visited every day by seventy thousand
angels of the highest order. They were at this very time
making their holy circuit, and Mahomet, joining with
them, walked round it seven times.

126 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Gabriel could go no further. Mahomet now traversed,
quicker than thought, an immense space ; passing
through two regions of dazzling light, and one of pro-
found darkness. Emerging from this utter gloom, he
was filled with awe and terror at finding himself in the
presence of Allah, and but two bow-shots from his
throne. The face of the Deity was covered with twenty
thousand veils, for it would have annihilated man to look
upon its glory. He put forth his hands, and placed one
upon the breast and the other upon the shoulder of
Mahomet, who felt a freezing chill penetrate to his heart
and to the very marrow of his bones. It was followed by
a feeling of ecstatic bliss, while a sweetness and fragrance
prevailed around, which none can understand, but those
who have been in the divine presence.

Mahomet now received from the Deity himself, many
of the doctrines contained in the Koran ; and fifty pray-
ers were prescribed as the daily duty of all true be-
lievers.

When he descended from the divine presence and
again met with Moses, the latter demanded what Allah
had required. " That I should make fifty prayers every
day."

"And thinkest thou to accomplish such a task? I
have made the experiment before thee. I tried it with
the children of Israel, but in vain ; return, then, and beg
a diminution of the task."

Mahomet returned accordingly, and obtained a diminu-

THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY. 127

tion of ten prayers ; but when he related his success to
Moses, the latter made the same objection to the daily
amount of forty. By his advice Mahomet returned re-
peatedly, until the number was reduced to five.

Moses still objected. "Thinkest thou to exact five
prayers daily from thy people ? By Allah ! I have had
experience with the children of Israel, and such a de-
mand is vain ; return, therefore, and entreat still further
mitigation of the task."

" No," replied Mahomet, " I have already asked indul-
gence until I am ashamed." With these words he saluted
Moses and departed.

By the ladder of light he descended to the temple of
Jerusalem, where he found Borak fastened as he had left
her, and mounting, was borne back in an instant to the
place whence he had first been taken.

This account of the vision, or nocturnal journey, is
chiefly according to the words of the historians Abulfeda,
Al Bokhari, and Abu Horeira, and is given more at large
in the "Life of Mahomet," by Gagnier. The journey
itself has given rise to endless commentaries and dis-
putes among the doctors. Some affirm that it was no
more than a dream or vision of the night ; and support
their assertion by a tradition derived from Ayesha, the
wife of Mahomet, who declared that, on the night in
question, his body remained perfectly still, and it was
only in spirit that he made his nocturnal journey. In
giving this tradition, however, they did not consider that

128 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

at the time the journey was said to have taken place,
Ayesha was still a child, and, though espoused, had not
become the wife of Mahomet.

Others insist that he made the celestial journey bodily,
and that the whole was miraculously effected in so short
a space of time, that, on his return, he was able to pre-
vent the complete overturn of a vase of water, which the
angel Gabriel had struck with his wing on his departure.

Others say that Mahomet only pretended to have made
the nocturnal journey to the temple of Jerusalem, and
that the subsequent ascent to heaven was a vision. Ac-
cording to Ahmed ben Joseph, the nocturnal visit to the
temple was testified by the patriarch of Jerusalem him-
self. " At the time," says he, " that Mahomet sent an
envoy to the Emperor Heraclius, at Constantinople, in-
viting him to embrace Islamism, the patriarch was in
the presence of the emperor. The envoy having related
the nocturnal journey of the prophet, the patriarch was
seized with astonishment, and informed the emperor of a
circumstance coinciding with the narrative of the envoy.
'It is my custom,' said he, 'never to retire to rest at
night until I have fastened every door of the temple. On
the night here mentioned, I closed them according to my
custom, but there was one which it was impossible to
move. Upon this, I sent for the carpenters, who, having
inspected the door, declared that the lintel over the por-
tal, and the edifice itself, had settled to such a degree,
that it was out of their power to close the door. I was

THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY. 129

obliged, therefore, to leave it open. Early in the morn-
ing, at the break of day, I repaired thither, and behold,
the stone placed at the corner of the temple was per-
forated, and there were vestiges of the place where Al
Borak had been fastened. Then, said I, to those present,
this portal would not have remained fixed unless some
prophet had been here to pray.' "

Traditions go on to say, that when Mahomet narrated
his nocturnal journey to a large assembly in Mecca, many
marveled yet believed, some were perplexed with doubt,
but the Koreishites laughed it to scorn. "Thou sayest
that thou hast been to the temple of Jerusalem," said
Abu Jahl ; " prove the truth of thy words, by giving a
description of it."

For a moment Mahomet was embarrassed by the de-
mand, for he had visited the temple in the night, when
its form was not discernible ; suddenly, however, the
angel Gabriel stood by his side, and placed before his
eyes an exact type of the sacred edifice, so that he was
enabled instantly to answer the most minute questions.

The story still transcended the belief even of some of
his disciples, until Abu Beker, seeing them wavering
in their faith, and in danger of backsliding, roundly
vouched for the truth of it; in reward for which support,
Mahomet gave him the title of Al Seddek, or the Testis
fier to the Truth, by which he was thenceforth distin-
guished.

As we have already observed, this nocturnal journey
vol. l— 9

130 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

rests almost entirely upon tradition, though some of its
circumstances are vaguely alluded to in the Koran. The
whole may be a fanciful superstructure of Moslem fa-
natics on one of these visions or ecstasies to which Ma-
homet was prone, and the relations of which caused him
to be stigmatized by the Koreishites as a madman.

CHAPTEK XIII.

MAHOMET MAKES CONVERTS OP PILGRIMS FROM MEDINA. — DETERMINES T©
FLY TO THAT CITY.— A PLOT TO SLAY HIM.— HIS MIRACULOUS ESCAPE. —
HIS HEGIRA, OR FLIGHT. — HIS RECEPTION AT MEDINA.

HE fortunes of Mahomet were becoming darker
and darker in his native place. Cadijah, his
original benefactress, the devoted companion
of his solitude and seclusion, the zealous believer in his
doctrines, was in her grave : so also was Abu Taleb, once
his faithful and efficient protector. Deprived of the shel-
tering influence of the latter, Mahomet had become, in a
manner, an outlaw in Mecca ; obliged to conceal himself,
and remain a burthen on the hospitality of those whom
his own doctrines had involved in persecution. If
worldly advantage had been his object, how had it been
attained ? Upwards of ten years had elapsed since first
he announced his prophetic mission ; ten long years of
enmity, trouble, and misfortune. Still he persevered,
and now, at a period of life when men seek to enjoy in
repose the fruition of the past, rather than risk all in
new schemes for the future, we find him, after having
sacrificed ease, fortune, and friends, prepared to give

131

132 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

up home and country also, rather than his religious
creed.

As soon as the privileged time of pilgrimage arrived,
he emerged once more from his concealment, and min-
gled with the multitude assembled from all parts of
Arabia. His earnest desire was to find some powerful
tribe, or the inhabitants of some important city, capable
and willing to receive him as a guest, and protect him in
the enjoyment and propagation of his faith.

His quest was for a time unsuccessful. Those who
had come to worship at the Caaba, drew back from a
man stigmatized as an apostate ; and the worldly-minded
were unwilling to befriend one proscribed by the power-
ful of his native place.

At length, as he was one day preaching on the hill
Al Akaba, a little to the north of Mecca, he drew the
attention of certain pilgrims from the city of Tathreb.
This city, since called Medina, was about two hundred
and seventy miles north of Mecca. Many of its inhab-
itants were Jews and heretical Christians. The pilgrims
in question were pure Arabs of the ancient and powerful
tribe of Khazradites, and in habits of friendly inter-
course with the Keneedites and Naderites, two Jewish
tribes inhabiting Mecca, who claimed to be of the sacer-
dotal line of Aaron. The pilgrims had often heard theii
Jewish friends explain the mysteries of their faith, and
talk of an expected Messiah. They were moved by the
eloquence of Mahomet, and struck with the resemblance

PROSELYTES FROM MEDINA. 133

of his doctrines to those of the Jewish law insomuch
that when they heard him proclaim himself a prophet,
sent by Heaven to restore the ancient faith, they said,
one to another, " Surely this must be the promised Mes-
siah of which we have been told." The more they lis-
tened, the stronger became their persuasion of the fact,
until in the end they avowed their conviction, and made
a final profession of the faith.

As the Khazradites belonged to one of the most pow-
erful tribes of Yathreb, Mahomet sought to secure their
protection, and proposed to accompany them on their
return ; but they informed him that they were at deadly
feud with the Awsites, another powerful tribe of that
city, and advised him to defer his coming until they
should be at peace. He consented ; but on the return
home of the pilgrims, he sent with them Musab Ibn
Omeir, one of the most learned and able of his disciples,
with instructions to strengthen them in the faith, and to
preach it to their townsmen. Thus were the seeds of
Islamism first sown in the city of Medina. For a time
they thrived but slowly. Musab was opposed by the
idolaters, and his life threatened ; but he persisted in his
exertions, and gradually made converts among the prin-
cipal inhabitants. Among these were Saad Ibn Maads,
0, prince or chief of the Awsites ; and Osaid Ibn Hodheir,
a man of great authority in the city. Numbers of the
Moslems of Mecca, also, driven away by persecution,
took refuge in Medina, and aided in propagating the new

134 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

faith among its inhabitants, until it found its way into
almost every household.

Feeling now assured of being able to give Mahomet an
asylum in the city, upwards of seventy of the converts of
Medina, led by Musab Ibn Omeir, repaired to Mecca
with the pilgrims in the holy month of the thirteenth
year of "the mission," to invite him to take up his abode
in their city. Mahomet gave them a midnight meeting
on the hill Al Akaba. His uncle Al Abbas, who, like
the deceased Abu Taleb, took an affectionate interest in
his welfare, though no convert to his doctrines, accom-
panied him to this secret conference, which he feared
might lead him into danger. He entreated the pilgrims
from Medina not to entice his nephew to their city until
more able to protect him : warning them that their open
adoption of the new faith would bring all Arabia in arms
against them. His warnings and entreaties were in vain :
a solemn compact was made between the parties. Ma-
homet demanded that they should abjure idolatry, and
worship the one true God openly and fearlessly. For
himself he exacted obedience in weal and woe ; and for
the disciples who might accompany him, protection ;
even such as they would render to their own wives and
children. On these terms he offered to bind himself to
remain among them, to be the friend of their friends, the
enemy of their enemies. " But, should we perish in
your cause," asked they, " what will be our reward ? "
" Paradise ! " replied the prophet.

COMPACT WITH THE EMISSARIES. 135

The terms were accepted ; the emissaries from Medina
placed their hands in the hands of Mahomet, and swore
to abide by the compact. The latter then singled out
twelve from among them, whom he designated as his
apostles ; in imitation, it is supposed, of the example of
our Saviour. Just then a voice was heard from the sum-
mit of the hill, denouncing them as apostates, and men-
acing them with punishment. The sound of this voice,
heard in the darkness of the night, inspired temporary
dismay. " It is the voice of the fiend Iblis," said Ma-
homet, scornfully ; "he is the foe of God : fear him not."
It was probably the voice of some spy or eavesdropper
of the Koreishites ; for the very next morning they mani-
fested a knowledge of what had taken place in the night ;
and treated the new confederates with great harshness as
they were departing from the city.

It was this early accession to the faith, and this timely
aid proffered and subsequently afforded to Mahomet and
his disciples, which procured for the Moslems of Medina
the appellation of Ansarians, or auxiliaries, by which
they were afterwards distinguished.

After the departure of the Ansarians, and the expira-
tion of the holy month, the persecutions of the Moslems
were resumed with increased virulence, insomuch that
Mahomet, seeing a crisis was at hand, and being resolved
to leave the city, advised his adherents generally to pro-
vide for their safety. For himself, he still lingered .in
Mecca with a few devoted followers.

136 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Abu Sofian, his implacable foe, was at this time gov-
ernor of the city. He was both incensed and alarmed at
the spreading growth of the new faith, and held a meet-
ing of the chief of the Koreishites to devise some means
of effectually putting a stop to it. Some advised that
Mahomet should be banished the city ; but it was ob-
jected that he might gain other tribes to his interest, or
perhaps the people of Medina, and return at their head
to take his revenge. Others proposed to wall him up in
a dungeon, and supply him with food until he died ; but
it was surmised that his friends might effect his escape.
All these objections were raised by a violent and prag-
matical old man, a stranger from the province of Nedja,
who, say the Moslem writers, was no other than the devil
in disguise, breathing his malignant spirit into those
present. At length it was declared by Abu JahL that
the only effectual check on the growing evil was to put
Mahomet to death. To this all agreed, and as a means
of sharing the odium of the deed, and withstanding the
vengeance it might awaken among the relatives of the
victim, it was arranged that a member of each family
should plunge his sword into the body of Mahomet.

It is to this conspiracy that allusion is made in the
eighth chapter of the Koran. " And call to mind how
the unbelievers plotted against thee, that they might
either detain thee in bonds, or put thee to death, or ex-
pel thee the city ; but God laid a plot against them ; and
God is the best layer of plots."

A PLOT FRUSTRATED. 137

In fact, by the time the murderers arrived before the
dwelling of Mahomet, he was apprised of the impending
danger. As usual, the warning is attributed to the angel
Gabriel, but it is probable it was given by some Koreish-
ite, less bloody-minded than his confederates. It came
just in time to save Mahomet from the hands of his ene-
mies. They paused at his door, but hesitated to enter.
Looking through a crevice they beheld, as they thought,
Mahomet wrapped in his green mantle, and lying asleep
on his couch. They waited for a while, consulting
whether to fall on him while sleeping, or wait until he
should go forth. At length they burst open the door and
rushed toward the couch. The sleeper started up ; but,
instead of Mahomet, Ali stood before them. Amazed
and confounded, they demanded, " Where is Mahomet ? "
" I know not," replied Ali, sternly, and walked forth ; nor
did any one venture to molest him. Enraged at the es-
cape of their victim, however, the Koreishites proclaimed
a reward of a hundred camels to any one who should
bring them Mahomet alive or dead.

Divers accounts are given of the mode in which Ma-
homet made his escape from the house after the faithful
Ali had wrapped himself in his mantle and taken his
place upon the couch. The most miraculous account is,
that he opened the door silently, as the Koreishites stood
before it, and, scattering a handful of dust in the air,
cast such blindness upon them, that he walked through
the midst of them without being perceived. This, it is

138 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

added, is confirmed by the verse of the 30th chapter of
the Koran : " We have thrown blindness upon them, that
they shall not see."

The most probable account is, that he clambered over
the wall in the rear of the house, by the help of a ser-
vant, who bent his back for him to step upon it.

He repaired immediately to the house of Abu Beker,
and they arranged for instant flight. It was agreed that
they should take refuge in a cave in Mount Thor, about
an hour's distance from Mecca, and wait there until they
could proceed safely to Medina : and in the meantime the
children of Abu Beker should secretly bring them food.
They left Mecca while it was yet dark, making their way
on foot by the light of the stars, and the day dawned as
they found themselves at the foot of Mount Thor. Scarce
were they within the cave, when they heard the sound of
pursuit. Abu Beker, though a brave man, quaked with
fear. " Our pursuers," said he, " are many, and we are
but two." "Nay," replied Mahomet, " there is a third;
God is with us ! " And here the Moslem writers relate a
miracle, dear to the minds of all true believers. By the
time, say they, that the Koreishites reached the mouth
of the cavern, an acacia-tree had sprung up before it, in
the spreading branches of which a pigeon had made its
nest, and laid its eggs, and over the whole a spider had
woven its web. When the Koreishites beheld these
signs of undisturbed quiet, they concluded that no
one could recently have entered the cavern; so thejr

THE HEGIBA. 139

Surned away, and pursued their search in another direc-
tion.

Whether protected by miracle or not, the fugitives re-
mained for three days undiscovered in the cave, and
Asama, the daughter of Abu Beker, brought them food in
the dusk of the evenings.

On the fourth day, when they presumed the ardor of
pursuit had abated, the fugitives ventured forth, and set
out for Medina, on camels which a servant of Abu Beker
had brought in the night for them. Avoiding the main
road usually taken by the caravans, they bent their course
nearer to the coast of the Bed Sea. They had not pro-
ceeded far, however, before they were overtaken by a
troop of horse, headed by Soraka Ibn Malec. Abu
Beker was again dismayed by the number of their pur-
suers; but Mahomet repeated the assurance, "Be not
troubled ; Allah is with us." Soraka was a grim warrior,
with shagged iron-gray locks, and naked sinewy arms
rough with hair. As he overtook Mahomet, his horse
reared and fell with him. His superstitious mind was
struck with it as an evil sign. Mahomet perceived the
state of his feelings, and by an eloquent appeal wrought
upon him to such a degree, that Soraka, filled with awe,
entreated his forgiveness; and turning back with his
troop, suffered him to proceed on his way unmolested.

The fugitives continued their journey without furthei
interruption, until they arrived at Koba, a hill about two
miles from Medina. It was a favorite resort of the in-

140 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

habitants of the city, and a place to which they sent their
sick and infirm, for the air was pure and salubrious.
Hence, too, the city was supplied with fruit ; the hill and
its environs being covered with vineyards, and with
groves of the date and lotus; with gardens producing
citrons, oranges, pomegranates, figs, peaches, and apri-
cots ; and being irrigated with limpid streams.

On arriving at this fruitful spot, Al Kaswa, the camel
of Mahomet, crouched on her knees, and would go no fur-
ther. The prophet interpreted it as a favorable sign,
and determined to remain at Koba, and prepare for en-
tering the city. The place where his camel knelt is
still pointed out by pious Moslems, a mosque named
Al Takwa having been built there to commemorate the
circumstance. Some affirm that it was actually founded
by the prophet. A deep well is also shown in the vicin-
ity, beside which Mahomet reposed under the shade of
the trees, and into which he dropped his seal ring. It is
believed still to remain there, and has given sanctity to
the well ; the waters of which are conducted by subter-
raneous conduits to Medina. At Koba he remained four
days, residing in the house of an Awsite named Colthum
Ibn Hadem. While at this village he was joined by a
distinguished chief, Boreida Ibn Hoseib, with seventy
followers, all of the tribe of Saham. These made pro-
fession of faith between the hands of Mahomet.

Another renowned proselyte who repaired to the
prophet at this village, was Salman al Parsi (or the Per-

SALMAN THE PERSIAN. 141

sian). He is said to have been a native of a small place
near Ispahan, and that, on passing one day by a Chris-
tian church, he was so much struck by the devotion of
the people, and the solemnity of the worship, that he
became disgusted with the idolatrous faith in which he
had been brought up. He afterwards wandered about
the East, from city to city, and convent to convent, in
quest of a religion, until an ancient monk, full of years
and infirmities, told him of a prophet who had arisen in
Arabia to restore the pure faith of Abraham.

This Salman rose to power in after years, and was
reputed by the unbelievers of Mecca to have assisted
Mahomet in compiling his doctrine. This is alluded to
in the sixteenth chapter of the Koran. " Verily, the idol-
aters say, that a certain man assisted to compose the
Koran ; but the language of this man is Ajami (or Per-
sian), and the Koran is indited in the pure Arabian
tongue." *

The Moslems of Mecca, who had taken refuge some
time before in Medina, hearing that Mahomet was at
hand, came forth to meet him at Koba ; among these was
the early convert Talha, and Zobeir, the nephew of Cadi-
jah. These, seeing the travel-stained garments of Ma-

* The renowned and learned Humphrey Prideaux, Doctor of Divinity
and Dean of Norwich, in his Life of Mahomet, confounds this Salman the
Persian with Abdallah Ibn Salam, a learned Jew ; by some called Abdias
Ben Salan in the Hebrew dialect, and by others Abdallah Salen ; who is
accused by Christian writers of assisting Mahomet in fabricating hi«
revelations,

142 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

hornet and Abu Beker, gave them white mantles, with
which to make their entrance into Medina. Numbers of
the Ansarians, or auxiliaries, of Medina, who had made
their compact with Mahomet in the preceding year, now
hastened to renew their vow of fidelity.

Learning from them that the number of proselytes in
the city was rapidly augmenting, and that there was a
general disposition to receive him favorably, he appointed
Friday, the Moslem sabbath, the sixteenth day of the
month Eabi, for his public entrance.

Accordingly, on the morning of that day he assembled
all his followers to prayer; and after a sermon, in
which he expounded the main principles of his faith, he
mounted his camel Al Kaswa, and set forth for that city
which was to become renowned in after ages as his city
of refuge.

Boreida Ibn al Hoseib, with his seventy horsemen of
the tribe of Saham, accompanied him as a guard. Some
of the disciples took turns to hold a canopy of palm-
leaves over his head, and by his side rode Abu Beker.
" O apostle of God ! " cried Boreida, " thou shalt not
enter Medina without a standard ; " so saying, he un-
folded his turban, and tying one end of it to the point of
his lance, bore it aloft before the prophet.

The city of Medina was fair to approach, being extolled
for beauty of situation, salubrity of climate, and fertility
of soil; for the luxuriance of its palm-trees, and the
fragrance of its shrubs and flowers. At a short distance

ENTRANCE INTO MEDINA. 143

from the city a crowd of new proselytes to the faith,
came forth in sun and dust to meet the cavalcade. Most
of them had never seen Mahomet, and paid reverence to
Abu Beker through mistake ; but the latter put aside the
screen of palm-leaves, and pointed out the real object of
homage, who was greeted with loud acclamations.

In this way did Mahomet, so recently a fugitive from
his native city, with a price upon his head, enter Medina,
more as a conqueror in triumph than an exile seeking an
asylum. He alighted at the house of a Khazradite,
named Abu Ayub, a devout Moslem, to whom moreover
he was distantly related; here he was hospitably re-
ceived, and took up his abode in the basement story.

Shortly after his arrival he was joined by the faithful
Ali, who had fled from Mecca, and journeyed on foot,
hiding himself in the day and travelling only at night,
lest he should fall into the hands of the Koreishites. He
arrived weary and wayworn, his feet bleeding with the
roughness of the journey.

Within a few days more came Ayesha, and the rest of
Abu Beker's household, together with the family of
Mahomet, conducted by his faithful freedman Zeid, and
by Abu Beker's servant Abdallah.

Such is the story of the memorable Hegira, or " Flight
of the Prophet ; " — the era of the Arabian calendar from
which time is calculated by all true Moslems : it corre-
sponds to the 622d year of the Christian era.

CHAPTEE XIV.

MOSLEMS IN MEDINA, MOHADJERINS AND ANSARIANS.— THE PARTY OP AB-
DALLAH IBN OBBA AND THE HYPOCRITES.— MAHOMET BUILDS A MOSQUE;
preaches; MAKES CONVERTS AMONG THE CHRISTIANS.— THE JEWS SLOW
TO BELIEVE.— BROTHERHOOD ESTABLISHED BETWEEN FUGITIVES AND AL-
LIES.

5AHOMET soon found himself at the head of a
numerous and powerful sect in Medina ; partly-
made up of those of his disciples who had fled
from Mecca, and were thence called Mohadjerins or
Fugitives, and partly of inhabitants of the place, who on
joining the faith were called Ansarians or Auxiliaries.
Most of these latter were of the powerful tribes of the
Awsites and Khazradites, which, though descended from
two brothers, Al Aws and Al Khazraj, had for a hundred
and twenty years distracted Medina by their inveterate
and mortal feuds, but had now become united in the
bonds of faith. With such of these tribes as did not im-
mediately adopt his doctrines he made a covenant.

The Khazradites were very much under the sway of a
prince or chief named Abdallah Ibn Obba; who, it is
said, was on the point of being made king, when the
arrival of Mahomet and the excitement caused by his

144

ERECTS A MOSQUE. 145

doctrines, gave the popular feeling a new direction. Ab-
dallah was stately in person, of a graceful demeanor, and
ready and eloquent tongue ; he professed great friendship
for Mahomet, and with several companions of his own
type and character, used to attend the meetings of the
Moslems. Mahomet was captivated at first by their per-
sonal appearance, their plausible conversation, and their
apparent deference ; but he found in the end that Abdallah
was jealous of his popularity and cherished secret ani-
mosity against him, and that his companions were
equally false in their pretended friendship; hence, he
stamped them with the name of " The Hypocrites." Ab-
dallah Ibn Obba long continued his political rival in
Medina.

Being now enabled publicly to exercise his faith and
preach his doctrines, Mahomet proceeded to erect a
mosque. The place chosen was a grave-yard or burying-
ground, shaded by date-trees. He is said to have been
guided in his choice by what he considered a favorable
omen ; his camel having knelt opposite to this place on
his public entry into the city. The dead were removed,
and the frees cut down to make way for the intended
edifice. It was simple in form and structure, suited to
the unostentatious religion which he professed and to
the scanty and precarious means of its votaries. The
walls were of earth and brick ; the trunks of the palm-
trees recently felled, served as pillars to support the
roof, which was framed of their banches and thatched
vol, l— 10

146 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

with their leaves. It was about a hundred ells square,
and had three doors ; one to the south, where the Kebla
was afterwards established, another called the gate of
Gabriel, and the third the gate of Mercy. A part of the
edifice, called Soffat, was assigned as a habitation to such
of the believers as were without a home.

Mahomet assisted with his own hands in the construc-
tion of this mosque. With all his foreknowledge, he
little thought that he was building his own tomb and
monument ; for in that edifice his remains are deposited.
It has in after times been repeatedly enlarged and beau-
tified, but still bears the name Mesjed al Nebi (the
Mosque of the Prophet), from having been founded by
his hands. He was for some time at a loss in what man-
ner his followers should be summoned to their devo-
tions ; whether with the sound of trumpets, as among
the Jews, or by lighting fires on high places, or by the
striking of timbrels. While in this perplexity, a form of
words to be cried aloud, was suggested by Abdallah, the
son of Zeid, who declared that it was revealed to him in
a vision. It was instantly adopted by Mahomet, and
such is given as the origin of the following summons,
which is to this day heard from the lofty minarets
throughout the East, calling the Moslems to the place of
worship : " God is great ! God is great ! There is no God
but God. Mahomet is the apostle of God. Come to
prayers ! come to prayers ! God is great ! God is great !
There is no God but God." To which at dawn of day is

INCULCATES BENIGNANT PRECEPTS. 147

added the exhortation, " Prayer is better than sleep !
Prayer is better than sleep ! "

Everything in this humble mosque was at first con-
ducted with great simplicity. At night it was lighted up
by splinters of the date-tree : and it was some time
before lamps and oil were introduced. The prophet
stood on the ground and preached, leaning with his back
against the trunk of one of the date-trees, which served
as pillars. He afterwards had a pulpit or tribune
erected, to which he ascended by three steps, so as to be
elevated above the congregation. Tradition asserts, that
when he first ascended this pulpit, the deserted date-tree
uttered a groan ; whereupon, as a consolation, he gave it
the choice either to be transplanted to a garden again to
flourish, or to be transferred to paradise, there to yield
fruit, in after life, to true believers. The date-tree wisely
chose the latter, and was subsequently buried beneath
the pulpit, there to await its blissful resurrection.

Mahomet preached and prayed in the pulpit, some-
times sitting, sometimes standing and leaning on a staff.
His precepts as yet were all peaceful and benignant, in-
culcating devotion to God and humanity to man. He
seems to have emulated for a time the benignity of the
Christian faith. " He who is not affectionate to God's
creatures, and to his own children," would he say, " God
will not be affectionate to him. Every Moslem who
clothes the naked of his faith, will be clothed by Allah
in the green robes of paradise."

148 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

In one of his traditional sermons transmitted by his
disciples, is the following apologue on the subject of
charity : " When God created the earth it shook and
trembled, until he put mountains upon it, to make it
firm. Then the angels asked, ' O God, is there anything
of thy creation stronger than these mountains ? ' And
God replied, ' Iron is stronger than the mountains ; for it
breaks them.' 'And is there anything of thy creation
stronger than iron ? ' ' Yes ; fire is stronger than iron,
for it melts it.' 'Is there anything of thy creation
stronger than fire?' 'Yes; water, for it quenches fire.'
' O Lord, is there anything of thy creation stronger than
water ? ' ' Yes, wind ; for it overcomes water and puts it
in motion.' 'O, our Sustainer ! is there anything of thy
creation stronger than wind ? ' ' Yes, a good man giving
alms ; if he give with his right hand and conceal it from
his left, he overcomes all things.' "

His definition of charity embraced the wide circle of
kindness. Every good act, he would say, is charity.
Your smiling in your brother's face is charity ; an exhor-
tation of your fellow man to virtuous deeds is equal to
alms-giving ; your putting a wanderer in the right road
is charity ; your assisting the blind is charity ; your re-
moving stones and thorns and other obstructions from the
road is charity ; your giving water to the thirsty is charity.
" A man's true wealth hereafter is the good he does in
this world to his fellow man. When he dies, people will
say, What property has he left behind him ? But the

DEFINITION OF CHARITY. 149

angels, who examine him in the grave, will ask, 'What
good deeds hast thou sent before thee ? ' "

" O prophet ! " said one of his disciples, " my mother
Omm-Sad, is dead ; what is the best alms I can send for
the good of her soul?" "Water!" replied Mahomet,
bethinking himself of the panting heats of the desert.
" Dig a well for her, and give water to the thirsty." The
man digged a well in his mother's name, and said " This
well is for my mother, that its rewards may reach her soul."

Charity of the tongue, also, that most important and
least cultivated of charities, was likewise earnestly incul-
cated by Mahomet. Abu Jaraiya, an inhabitant of Bas-
rah, coming to Medina, and being persuaded of the apos-
tolical office of Mahomet, entreated of him some great
rule of conduct. " Speak evil of no one," answered the
prophet. " From that time," says Abu Jaraiya, " I never
did abuse any one, whether freeman or slave."

The rules of Islamism extended to the courtesies of
life. Make a salam (or salutation) to a house on enter-
ing and leaving it. Eeturn the salute of friends and ac-
quaintances, and wayfarers on the road. He who rides
must be the first to make the salute to him who walks ;
he who walks to him who is sitting ; a small party to a
large party, and the young to the old.

On the arrival of Mahomet at Medina, some of the
Christians of the city promptly enrolled themselves
among his followers; they were probably of those sec-
tarians who held to the human nature of Christ, and

150 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

found nothing repugnant in Islamism ; which venerated
Christ as the greatest among the prophets. The rest of
the Christians resident there showed but little hostility
to the new faith, considering it far better than the old
idolatry. Indeed, the schisms and bitter dissensions
among the Christians of the East had impaired their
orthodoxy, weakened their zeal, and disposed them easily
to be led away by new doctrines.

The Jews, of which there were rich and powerful fami-
lies in Medina and its vicinity, showed a less favorable
disposition. With some of them Mahomet made cove-
nants of peace, and trusted to gain them in time to accept
him as their promised Messiah or prophet. Biased, per-
haps unconsciously, by such views, he had modeled many
of his doctrines on the dogmas of their religion, and ob-
served certain of their fasts and ordinances. He allowed
such as embraced Islamism, to continue in the observ-
ance of their Sabbath, and of several of the Mosaic laws
and ceremonies. It was the custom of the different relig-
ions of the East, to have each a Kebla or sacred point
towards which they turned their faces in the act of ado-
ration ; the Sabeans toward the North Star ; the Persian
fire-worshipper towards the east, the place of the rising
sun; the Jews toward their holy city of Jerusalem.
Hitherto Mahomet had prescribed nothing of the kind ;
but now, out of deference to the Jews, he made Jerusa-
lem the Kebla, toward which all Moslems were to turn
their faces when in prayer,

CONDUCT TOWARDS THE JEWS. 151

While new converts were daily made among the in-
habitants of Medina, sickness and discontent began to
prevail among the fugitives from Mecca. They were not
accustomed to the climate; many suffered from fevers,
and in their sickness and debility languished after the
home whence they were exiled.

To give them a new home, and link them closely with
their new friends and allies, Mahomet established a
brotherhood between fifty-four of them and as many of
the inhabitants of Medina. Two persons thus linked to-
gether, were pledged to stand by each other in weal and
woe ; it was a tie which knit their interests more closely
even than that of kindred, for they were to be heirs to
each other in preference to blood relations.

This institution was one of expediency, and lasted only
until the new comers had taken firm root in Medina ; ex-
tended merely to those of the people of Mecca who had
fled from persecution ; and is alluded to in the following
verse of the eighth chapter of the Koran: "They who
have believed and have fled their country, and employed
their substance and their persons in fighting for the faith,
and they who have given the prophet a refuge among
them, and have assisted him, these shall be deemed the
one nearest of kin to the other."

In this shrewd, but simple way, were laid the founda-
tions of that power which was soon to attain stupendous
strength, and to shake the mightiest empires of the
world.

CHAPTEK XV.

MARRIAGE OF MAHOMET WITH ATESHA. — OF HIS DAUGHTER FATIMA WITH
ALL— THEIR HOUSEHOLD ARRANGEMENTS.

jjpjaiHE family relations of Mahomet had been
|J§}gjfe much broken up by the hostility brought upon
SSIIij him by his religious zeal. His daughter Eo-
kaia was still an exile with her husband, Othman Ibn
Alian, in Abyssinia ; his daughter Zeinab had remained
in Mecca with her husband, Abul Aass, who was a stub-
born opposer of the new faith. The family with Mahomet
in Medina consisted of his recently wedded wife Sawda,
and Fatima and Um Colthum, daughters of his late wife
Cadijah. He had a heart prone to affection, and subject
to female influence, but he had never entertained much
love for Sawda ; and though he always treated her with
kindness, he felt the want of some one to supply the
place of his deceased wife Cadijah.

"O Omar," said he one day, "the best of man's treas-
ures is a virtuous woman, who acts by God's orders, and
is obedient and pleasing to her husband : he regards
her personal and mental beauties with delight ; when
he orders her to do anything she obeys him ; and

153

MARRIES AYESHA. 153

when he is absent she guards his right in property and
honor."

He now turned his eyes upon his betrothed spouse
Ayesha, the beautiful daughter of Abu Beker. Two
years had elapsed since they were betrothed, and she
had now attained her ninth year; an infantine age it
would seem, though the female form is wonderfully pre-
cocious in the quickening climates of the East. Their
nuptials took place a few months after their arrival in
Medina, and were celebrated with great simplicity ; the
wedding supper was of milk, and the dowry of the bride
was twelve okk of silver.

The betrothing of Fatima, his youngest daughter,
with his loyal disciple Ali, followed shortly after, and
their marriage at a somewhat later period. Fatima
was between fifteen and sixteen years of age, of great
beauty, and extolled by Arabian writers as one of the
four perfect women with whom Allah has deigned
to bless the earth. The age of Ali was about twenty-
two.

Heaven and earth, say the Moslem writers, joined in
paying honor to these happy espousals. Medina re-
sounded with festivity, and blazed with illuminations,
and the atmosphere was laden with aromatic odors. As
Mahomet, on the nuptial night, conducted his daughter
to her bridegroom, heaven sent down a celestial pomp to
attend her ; on her right hand was the archangel Gabriel ;
on her left was Michael, and she was followed by a train

154 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

of seventy thousand angels, who all night kept watch
round the mansion of the youthful pair.

Such are the vaunting exaggerations with which Mos-
lem writers are prone to overlay every event in the his-
tory of the prophet, and destroy the real grandeur of his
career, which consists in its simplicity. A more reliable
account states that the wedding feast was of dates and
olives; that the nuptial couch was a sheep-skin; that
the portion of the bride consisted of two skirts, one
head-tire, two silver armlets, one leathern pillow stuffed
with palm-leaves, one beaker or drinking cup, one
handmill, two large jars for water, and one pitcher. All
this was in unison with the simplicity of Arab house-
keeping, and with the circumstances of the married
couple ; and to raise the dowry required of him, Ali, it
is said, had to sell several camels and some shirts of
mail.

The style of living of the prophet himself was not
superior to that of his disciple. Ayesha, speaking of it in
after years, observed : " For a whole month together we
did not light a fire to dress victuals ; our food was nothing
but dates and water, unless any one sent us meat. The
people of the prophet's household never got wheat-
bread two successive days."

His food, in general, was dates and barley-bread, with
milk and honey. He swept his chamber, lit his fire,
mended his clothes, and was in fact his own servant.
For each of his two wives he provided a separate house

DEVOTION TO OADIJAH. 155

adjoining the mosque. He resided with them by turns,
but Ayesha ever remained his favorite.

Mahomet has been extolled by Moslem writers for the
chastity of his early life ; and it is remarkable that, with
all the plurality of wives indulged in by the Arabs, and
which he permitted himself in subsequent years, and
with all that constitutional fondness which he evinced for
the sex, he remained single in his devotion to Cadijah to
her dying day, never giving her a rival in his house, nor
in his heart. Even the fresh and budding charms of
Ayesha, which soon assumed such empire over him,
could not obliterate the deep and mingled feeling of ten-
derness and gratitude for his early benefactress. Ayesha
was piqued one day at hearing him indulge in these fond
recollections : " O, apostle of God, " demanded the youth-
ful beauty, "was not Cadijah stricken in years? Has
not Allah given thee a better wife in her stead?"

" Never ! " exclaimed Mahomet, with an honest burst
of feeling — " never did God give me a better ! When I
was poor, she enriched me ; when I was pronounced a
liar, she believed in me ; when I was opposed by all the
world, she remained true tome!"

CHAPTEK XVI.

THE SWORD ANNOUNCED AS THE INSTRUMENT OP FAITH. — FIRST FORAY
AGAINST THE KOREISHITES. — SURPRISAL OF A CARAVAN.

E come now to an important era in the career
of Mahomet. Hitherto he had relied on argu-
ment and persuasion to make proselytes; en-

joining the same on his disciples. His exhortations to
them to bear with patience and long-suffering the vio-
lence of their enemies, almost emulated the meek precept
of our Saviour, " if they smite thee on the one cheek,
turn to them the other also." He now arrived at a point
where he completely diverged from the celestial spirit of
the Christian doctrines, and stamped his religion with
the alloy of fallible mortality. His human nature was
not capable of maintaining the sublime forbearance he
had hitherto inculcated. Thirteen years of meek endur-
ance had been rewarded by nothing but aggravated in-
jury and insult. His greatest persecutors had been those
of his own tribe, the Koreishites, especially those of the
rival line of Abd Schems ; whose vindictive chief, Abu
Sofian, had now the sway at Mecca. By their virulent
hostility his fortunes had been blasted ; his family de-

156

RELIGION OF THE SWORD. 157

graded, impoverished, and dispersed, and he himself
driven into exile. All this he might have continued to
bear with involuntary meekness, had not the means of
retaliation unexpectedly sprung up within his reach. He
had come to Medina a fugitive seeking an asylum, and
craving merely a quiet home. In a little while, and
probably to his own surprise, he found an army at his
command : for among the many converts daily made in
Medina, the fugitives flocking to him from Mecca, and
proselytes from the tribes of the desert, were men of res-
olute spirit, skilled in the use of arms, and fond of par-
tisan warfare. Human passions and mortal resentments
were awakened by this sudden accession of power. They
mingled with that zeal for religious reform, which was
still his predominant motive. In the exaltations of his
enthusiastic spirit he endeavored to persuade himself,
and perhaps did so effectually, that the power thus
placed within his reach was intended as a means of ef-
fecting his great purpose, and that he was called upon by
divine command to use it. Such, at least, is the purport
of the memorable manifesto which he issued at this
epoch, and which changed the whole tone and fortunes
of his faith.

"Different prophets," said he, "have been sent by
God to illustrate his different attributes : Moses his
clemency and providence ; Solomon his wisdom, majesty,
and glory ; Jesus Christ his righteousness, omniscience,
and power ; — his righteousness by purity of conduct ; his

158 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

omniscience by the knowledge lie displayed of the secrets
of all hearts; his power by the miracles he wrought.
None of these attributes, however, have been sufficient
to enforce conviction, and even the miracles of Moses
and Jesus have been treated with unbelief. I, therefore,
the last of the prophets, am sent with the sword ! Let
those who promulgate my faith enter into no argument
nor discussion ; but slay all who refuse obedience to the
law. Whoever fights for the true faith, whether he fall
or conquer, will assuredly receive a glorious reward."

"The sword," added he, "is the key of heaven and
hell ; all who draw it in the cause of the faith will be
rewarded with temporal advantages ; every drop shed of
their blood, every peril and hardship endured by them,
will be registered on high as more meritorious than even
fasting and praying. If they fall in battle, their sins will
at once be blotted out, and they will be transported to
paradise, there to revel in eternal pleasures in the arms
of black-eyed houris."

Predestination was brought to aid these belligerent
doctrines. Every event, according to the Koran, was
predestined from eternity, and could not be avoided.
No man could die sooner or later than his allotted hour,
and when it arrived, it would be the same, whether the
angel of death should find him in the quiet of his bed, or
amid the storm of battle.

Such were the doctrines and revelations which con-
verted Islamism of a sudden from a religion of meekness

RELIGION OF TEE SWORD. I59

and philanthropy, to one of violence and the sword.
They were peculiarly acceptable to the Arabs, harmoniz-
ing with their habits, and encouraging their predatory
propensities. Virtually pirates of the desert, it is not to
be wondered at that, after this open promulgation of the
Keligion of the Sword, they should flock in crowds to the
standard of the prophet. Still no violence was authorized
by Mahomet against those who should persist in unbelief,
provided they should readily submit to his temporal
sway, and agree to pay tribute ; and here we see the first
indication of worldly ambition and a desire for temporal
dominion dawning upon his mind. Still it will be found,
that the tribute thus exacted was subsidiary to his ruling
passion, and mainly expended by him in the extension of
the faith.

The first warlike enterprises of Mahomet betray the
lurking resentment we have noted. They were directed
against the caravans of Mecca, belonging to his implaca-
ble enemies the Koreishites. The three first were headed
by Mahomet in person, but without any material result.
The fourth was confided to a Moslem, named Abdallah
Ibn Jasch ; who was sent out with eight or ten resolute
followers on the road toward South Arabia. As it was
now the holy month of Kacljab, sacred from violence and
rapine, Abdallah had sealed orders, not to be opened
until the third day. These orders were vaguely yet
significantly worded. Abdallah was to repair to the
valley of Naklah, between Mecca and Tayef (the same in

160 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

which Mahomet had the re velation of the Genii), where
he was to watch for an expected caravan of the Kore-
ishites. "Perhaps," added the letter of instructions
shrewdly, — "perhaps thou mayest be able to bring us
some tidings of it."

Abdallah understood the true meaning of the letter,
and acted up to it. Arriving in the valley of Naklah, he
descried the caravan, consisting of several camels laden
with merchandise, and conducted by four men. Follow-
ing it at a distance, he sent one of his men, disguised as
a pilgrim, to overtake it. From the words of the latter
the Koreishites supposed his companions to be like him-
self, pilgrims bound to Mecca. Besides, it was the month
of Eadjab, when the desert might be travelled in security.
Scarce had they come to a halt, however, when Abdallah
and his comrades fell on them ; killed one and took two
prisoners ; the fourth escaped. The victors then returned
to Medina with their prisoners and booty.

All Medina was scandalized at this breach of the holy
month. Mahomet, rinding that he had ventured too far,
pretended to be angry with Abdallah, and refused to take
the share of the booty offered to him. Confiding in the
vagueness of his instructions, he insisted that he had not
commanded Abdallah to shed blood, or commit any vio-
lence during the holy month.

The clamor still continuing, and being echoed by the
Koreishites of Mecca, produced the following passage of
the Koran : —

ABSOLVING REVELATION. 161

"They will ask thee concerning the sacred month,
whether they may make war therein. Answer : To war
therein is grievous ; but to deny God, to bar the path of
God against his people, to drive true believers from his
holy temple, and to worship idols, are sins far more
grievous than to kill in the holy months."

Having thus proclaimed divine sanction for the deed,
Mahomet no longer hesitated to take his share of the
booty. He delivered one of the prisoners on ransom;
the other embraced Islamism.

The above passage of the Koran, however satisfactory
it may have been to devout Moslems, will scarcely serve
to exculpate their prophet in the eyes of the profane.
The expedition of Abdallah Ibn Jasch was a sad practi-
cal illustration of the new religion of the sword. It con-
templated not merely an act of plunder and revenge, a
venial act in the eyes of Arabs, and justified by the new
doctrines by being exercised against the enemies of the
faith, but an outrage also on the holy month, that period
sacred from time immemorial against violence and blood-
shed, and which Mahomet himself professed to hold in
reverence. The craft and secrecy also with which the
whole was devised and conducted, the sealed letter of in-
structions to Abdallah, to be opened only at the end of
three days, at the scene of projected outrage, and couched
in language vague, equivocal, yet sufficiently significant
to the agent ; all were in direct opposition to the conduct
of Mahomet in the earlier part of his career, when h©

VOL. i. — 11

162 MAHOMET AND BIS SUCCESSORS.

dared openly to pursue the path of duty, " though the
sun should be arrayed against him on the right hand,
and the moon on the left ; " all showed that he was con-
scious of the turpitude of the act he was authorizing.
His disavowal of the violence committed by Abdallah,
yet his bringing the Koran to his aid to enable him to
profit by it with impunity, give still darker shades to this
transaction; which altogether shows how immediately
and widely he went wrong the moment he departed from
the benevolent spirit of Christianity, which he at first
endeavored to emulate. "Worldly passions and worldly
interests were fast getting the ascendency over that relig-
ious enthusiasm which first inspired him. As has well
been observed, the " first drop of blood shed in his name
in the Holy Week, displayed him a man, in whom the
slime of earth had quenched the holy flame of prophecy."

CHAPTEK XVH.

THE BATTLE OF BEDER.

N the second year of the Hegira, Mahomet re-
ceived intelligence that his arch foe, Abu
Sofian, with a troop of thirty horsemen, was
conducting back to Mecca a caravan of a thousand
camels, laden with the merchandise of Syria. Their
route lay through the country of Medina, between the
range of mountains and the sea. Mahomet determined
to intercept them. About the middle of the month
Ramadhan, therefore, he sallied forth with three hun-
dred and fourteen men, of whom eighty-three were Mo-
hadjerins, or exiles from Mecca ; sixty-one Awsites, and
a hundred and seventy Khazradites. Each troop had its
own banner. There were but two horses in this little
army, * but there were seventy fleet camels, which the

* " The Arabs of the desert," says Burckhardt, " are not rich in horses.
Among the great tribes on the Red Sea, between Akaba and Mecca, and
to the south and southeast of Mecca, as far as Yemen, horses are very
scarce, especially among those of the mountainous districts. The settled
inhabitants of Hedjaz and Yemen are not much in the habit of keeping
horses. The tribes most rich in horses are those who dwell in the com-
paratively fertile plains of Mesopotamia, on the banks of the river
Euphrates, and on the Syrian plains." — Burckhardt, ii. 50.

163

164 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

troop mounted by turns, so as to make a rapid march
without much fatigue.

Othman Ibn Affan, the son-in-law of Mahomet, was
now returned with his wife Rokaia from their exile in
Abyssinia, and would have joined the enterprise, but his
wife was ill almost unto death, so that he was obliged re-
luctantly to remain in Medina.

Mahomet for a while took the main road to Mecca,
then leaving it to the left, turned toward the Red Sea
and entered a fertile valley, watered by the brook Beder.
Here he laid in wait near a ford, over which the caravans
were accustomed to pass. He caused his men to dig a
deep trench, and to divert the water therein, so that they
might resort thither to slake their thirst, out of reach of
the enemy.

In the meantime, Abu Sofian having received early in-
telligence that Mahomet had sallied forth to waylay him
with a superior force, despatched a messenger named
Omair, on a fleet dromedary, to summon instant relief
from Mecca. The messenger arrived at the Caaba hag-
gard and breathless. Abu Jahl mounted the roof and
sounded the alarm. All Mecca was in confusion and
consternation. Henda the wife of Abu Sofian, a woman
of a fierce and intrepid nature, called upon her father
Otha, her brother Al Walid, her uncle Shaiba, and all the
warriors of her kindred, to arm and hasten to the relief
of her husband. The brothers, too, of the Koreishite
slain by Abdallah Ibn Jasch, in the valley of Naklah,

THE BATTLE OF BEBER. 165

seized their weapons to avenge his death. Motives of in-
terest were mingled with eagerness for vengeance, for most
of the Koreishites had property embarked in the caravan.
In a little while a force of one hundred horse and seven
hundred camels hurried forward on the road toward
Syria. It was led by Abu Jahl, now threescore and ten
years of age, a veteran warrior of the desert, who still re-
tained the fire, and almost the vigor and activity of youth,
combined with the rancor of old age.

While Abu Jahl, with his forces, was hurrying on in
one direction, Abu Sofian was approaching in another.
On arriving at the region of danger, he preceded his car-
avan a considerable distance, carefully regarding every
track and footprint. At length he came upon the track
of the little army of Mahomet. He knew it from the size
of the kernels of the dates, which the troops had thrown
by the wayside as they marched — those of Medina being
remarkable for their smallness. On such minute signs
do the Arabs depend in tracking their foes through the
deserts.

Observing the course Mahomet had taken, Abu Sofian
changed his route, and passed along the coast of the Ked
Sea until he considered himself out of danger. He then
sent another messenger to meet any Koreishites that
might have sallied forth, and to let them know that the
caravan was safe, and they might return to Mecca.

The messenger met the Koreishites when in full march.
On hearing that the caravan was safe, they came to a

166 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

halt and held council. Some were for pushing forward
and inflicting a signal punishment on Mahomet and his
followers; others were for turning back. In this di-
lemma, they sent a scout to reconnoitre the enemy. He
brought back word that they were about three hundred
strong ; this increased the desire of those who were for
battle. Others remonstrated. " Consider," said they,
" these are men who have nothing to lose ; they have
nothing but their swords ; not one of them will fall with-
out slaying his man. Beside, we have relatives among
them ; if we conquer, we will not be able to look each
other in the face, in having slain each other's relatives."
These words were producing their effect, but the brothers
of the Koreishite who had been slain in the valley of
Naklah, were instigated by Abu Jahl to cry for revenge.
That fiery old Arab seconded their appeal. " Forward ! "
cried he ; " let us get water from the brook Beder for the
feast with which we shall make merry over the escape of
our caravan." The main body of the troops, there-
fore, elevated their standards and resumed their march,
though a considerable number turned back to Mecca.

The scouts of Mahomet brought him notice of the ap-
proach of this force. The hearts of some of his followers
failed them ; they had come forth in the expectation of
little fighting and much plunder, and were dismayed at
the thoughts of such an overwhelming host; but Ma-
homet bade them be of good cheer, for Allah had prom-
ised him an easy victory.

THE BATTLE OF BEDEB. 167

The Moslems posted themselves on a rising ground,
with water at the foot of it. A hut, or shelter of the
branches of trees, had been hastily erected on the sum-
mit for Mahomet, and a dromedary stood before it, on
which he might fly to Medina in case of defeat.

The vanguard of the enemy entered the valley panting
with thirst, and hastened to the stream to drink; but
Hamza, the uncle of Mahomet, set upon them with a
number of his men, and slew the leader with his own
hand. Only one of the vanguard escaped, who was after-
wards converted to the faith.

The main body of the enemy now approached with
sound of trumpet. Three Koreishite warriors advancing
in front, defied the bravest of the Moslems to equal com-
bat. Two of these challengers were Otha, the father-in-
law of Abu Sofian, and Al Walid, his brother-in-law.
The third challenger was Shaiba, the brother of Otha.
These it will be recollected had been instigated to sally
forth from Mecca, by Henda, the wife of Abu Sofian.
They were all men of rank in their tribe.

Three warriors of Medina stepped forward and ac-
cepted their challenge ; but they cried, " No ! Let the
renegades of our own city of Mecca, advance, if they
dare." Upon this Hamza and Ali, the uncle and cousin
of Mahomet, and Obeidah Ibn al Hareth, undertook the
fight. After a fierce and obstinate contest, Hamza and
Ali each slew his antagonist. They then went to the aid
of Obeidah, who was severely wounded and nearly over-

168 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSOMS.

come by Otha. They slew the Koreishite and bore away
their associate, but he presently died of his wounds.

The battle now became general. The Moslems, aware
of the inferiority of their number, at first merely stood
on the defensive, maintaining their position on the rising
ground, and galling the enemy with flights of arrows
whenever they sought to slake their intolerable thirst at
the stream below. Mahomet remained in his hut on the
hill, accompanied by Abu Beker, and earnestly engaged in
prayer. In the course of the battle he had a paroxysm,
or fell into a kind of trance. Coming to himself, he de-
clared that God in a vision had promised him the victory.
Rushing out of the hut, he caught up a handful of dust
and cast it into the air toward the Koreishites, exclaim-
ing, "May confusion light upon their faces." Then
ordering his followers to charge down upon the enemy :
" Fight, and fear not," cried he ; " the gates of paradise
are under the shade of swords. He will assuredly find
instant admission, who falls fighting for the faith."

In the shock of battle which ensued, Abu Jahl, who
was urging his horse into the thickest of the conflict, re-
ceived a blow of a scimetar in the thigh, which brought
him to the ground. Abdallah Ibn Masoud put his foot
upon his breast, and while the fiery veteran was still
uttering imprecations and curses on Mahomet, severed
his head from his body.

The Koreishites now gave way and fled. Seventy re-
mained dead on the field, and nearly the same num«

THE BATTLE OF BEDEB. 169

ber were taken prisoners. Fourteen Moslems were
slain, whose names remain on record as martyrs to the
faith.

This signal victory was easily to be accounted for on
natural principles ; the Moslems being fresh and un-
wearied, and having the advantage of a rising ground,
and a supply of water; while the Koreishites were
fatigued by a hasty march, parched with thirst, and
diminished in force, by the loss of numbers who had
turned back to Mecca. Moslem writers, however, at-
tribute this early triumph of the faith to supernatural
agency. When Mahomet scattered dust in the air, say
they, three thousand angelic warriors in white and yellow
turbans, and long dazzling robes, and mounted on black
and white steeds, came rushing like a blast, and swept
the Koreishites before them. Nor is this affirmed on
Moslem testimony alone, but given on the word of an
idolater, a peasant who was attending sheep on an adja-
cent hill. "I was with a companion, my cousin," said
the peasant, " upon the fold of the mountain watching the
conflict, and waiting to join with the conquerors and
share the spoil. Suddenly, we beheld a great cloud sail-
ing toward us, and within it were the neighing of steeds
and the braying of trumpets. As it approached, squad-
rons of angels sallied forth, and we heard the terrific
voice of the archangel as he urged his mare Haizum,
'Speed! speed! O Haizum!' At which awful sound
the heart of my companion burst with terror, and

170 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

he died on the spot ; and I had well nigh shared his
fate." *

When the conflict was over, Abdallah Ibn Masoud
brought the head of Abu Jahl to Mahomet, who eyed the
grisly trophy with exultation, exclaiming, " This man was
the Pharaoh of our nation." The true name of this vet-
eran warrior was Amru Ibn Hasham. The Koreishites
had given him the surname of Abu 'lhoem, or Father of
Wisdom, on account of his sagacity. The Moslems had
changed it to Abu Jahl, Father of Folly. The latter
appellation has adhered to him in history, and he is
never mentioned by true believers without the ejacula-
tion, " May he be accursed of God."

The Moslems who had fallen in battle were honorably
interred ; as to the bodies of the Koreishites, they were
contemptuously thrown into a pit which had been digged
for them. The question was how to dispose of the pris-
oners. Omar was for striking off their heads ; but Abu
Beker advised that they should be given up on ransom.

* This miraculous aid is repeatedly mentioned in the Koran, e. g. : —
" God had already given you the victory at Beder, when ye were infe-
rior in number. When thou saidst unto the faithful, Is it not enough for
you that your Lord should assist you with three thousand angels, sent
down from heaven ? Verily, if ye persevere, and fear God, and your
enemies come upon you suddenly, your Lord will assist you with five
thousand angels, distinguished by their horses and attire —

*******

" O true believers, ye slew not those who were slain at Beder yourselves,
but God slew them. Neither didst thou, O Mahomet, cast the gravel
into their eyes, when thou didst seem to cast it; but God cast it."—
Sale's Koran, chap. iii.

TEE BATTLE OF BEDER. 171

Mahomet observed that Omar was like Noah, who prayed
for the destruction of the guilty by the deluge ; but Abu
Beker was like Abraham, who interceded for the guilty.
He decided on the side of mercy. But two of the pris-
oners were put to death ; one, named Nadhar, for having
ridiculed the Koran as a collection of Persian tales and
fables ; the other, named Okba, for the attempt upon
the life of Mahomet when he first preached in the Caaba,
and when he was rescued by Abu Beker. Several of the
prisoners who were poor, were liberated on merely mak-
ing oath never again to take up arms against Mahomet
or his followers. The rest were detained until ransoms
should be sent by their friends.

Among the most important of the prisoners, was Al
Abbas, the uncle of Mahomet. He had been captured
by Abu Yaser, a man of small stature. As the bystand-
ers scoffed at the disparity of size, Al Abbas pretended
that he really had surrendered to a horseman of gigantic
size, mounted on a steed the like of which he had never
seen before. Abu Yaser would have steadily maintained
the truth of his capture, but Mahomet, willing to spare
the humiliation of his uncle, intimated that the captor
had been aided by the angel Gabriel.

Al Abbas would have excused himself from paying
ransom, alleging that he was a Moslem in heart, and had
only taken part in the battle on compulsion ; but his ex-
cuse did not avail. It is thought by many that he really
had a secret understanding with his nephew, and was

172 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

employed by him as a spy in Mecca, both before and
after the battle of Beder.

Another prisoner of great importance to Mahomet was
Abul Aass, the husband of his daughter Zeinab. The
prophet would fain have drawn his son-in-law to him
and enrolled him among his disciples, but Abul Aass
remained stubborn in unbelief. Mahomet then offered
to set him at liberty on condition of his returning to him
his daughter. To this the infidel agreed ; and Zeid, the
faithful freedman of the prophet, was sent with several
companions to Mecca, to bring Zeinab to Medina ; in the
meantime, her husband Abul Aass, remained a hostage
for the fulfillment of the compact.

Before the army returned to Medina there was a divis-
ion of the spoil ; for, though the caravan of Abu Sofian
had escaped, yet considerable booty of weapons and
camels had been taken in the battle, and a large sum of
money would accrue from the ransom of the prisoners.
On this occasion Mahomet ordered that the whole
should be equally divided among all the Moslems en-
gaged in the enterprise ; and though it was a long-estab-
lished custom among the Arabs to give a fourth part
of the booty to the chief, yet he contented himself with
the same share as the rest. Among the spoil which fell
to his lot was a famous sword of admirable temper,
called Dhul Fakar, or the Piercer. He ever afterwards
bore it when in battle ; and his son-in-law Ali inherited
it at his death.

THE BATTLE OF BED EM. 173

This equal distribution of the booty caused great mur-
murs among the troops. Those who had borne the brunt
of the fight, and had been most active in taking the spoil,
complained that they had to share alike with those who
had stood aloof from the affray, and with the old men
who had remained to guard the camp. The dispute, ob-
serves Sale, resembles that of the soldiers of David in
relation to spoils taken from the Amalekites ; those who
had been in the action insisting that they who tarried by
the stuff should have no share of the spoil. The decision
was the same — that they should share alike. (1 Samuel
xxx. 21-25.) Mahomet, from his knowledge of Bible
history, may have been guided by this decision. The
division of the spoils was an important point to settle,
for a leader about to enter on a career of predatory war-
fare. Fortunately, he had a timely revelation shortly
after his return to Mecca, regulating for the future the
division of all booty gained in fighting for the faith.

Such are the particulars of the famous battle of Beder,
the first victory of the Saracens under the standard of
Mahomet ; inconsiderable, perhaps in itself, but stupen-
dous in its results ; being the commencement of a career
of victories which changed the destinies of the world.

CHAPTEK XV1H.

DEATH OF THE PROPHET'S DAUGHTER ROKAI A.— RESTORATION OF HIS DAUGH-
TER ZEINAB. — EFFECT OF THE PROPHET'S MALEDICTION ON ABrT LAHAB
AND HIS FAMILY. — FRANTIC RAGE OF HENDA, THE WIFE OF ABU SOFIAN.—-
MAHOMET NARROWLY ESCAPES ASSASSINATION.— EMBASSY OF THE KOBE-
ISHITES. — THE KING OF ABYSSINIA.

AHOMET returned in triumph to Medina with
the spoils and prisoners taken in his first bat-
tle. His exultation, however, was checked by
domestic grief. Kokaia, his beloved daughter, so recently
restored from exile, was no more. The messenger who
preceded Mahomet with tidings of his victory, met the
funeral train at the gate of the city, bearing her body to
the tomb.

The affliction of the prophet was soothed shortly after-
ward by the arrival from Mecca of his daughter Zeinab,
conducted by the faithful Zeid. The mission of Zeid had
been attended with difficulties. The people of Mecca
were exasperated by the late defeat, and the necessity of
ransoming the prisoners. Zeid remained, therefore, with-
out the walls, and sent in a message to Kenanah, the
brother of Abul Aass, informing him of the compact, and
appointing a place where Zeinab should be delivered into

174

RESTORATION OF HIS DAUGHTER ZEINAB. 175

his hands. Kenanah set out to conduct her thither in a
litter. On the way he was beset by a throng of Koreish-
ites, determined to prevent the daughter of Mahomet
from being restored to him. In the confusion one Hab-
bar Ibn Aswad made a thrust at the litter with a lance,
which, had not Kenanah parried it with his bow, might
have proved fatal to Zeinab. Abu Sofian was attracted
to the place by the noise and tumult, and rebuked Ke-
nanah for restoring Mahomet's daughter thus publicly,
as it might be construed into a weak concession ; Zeinab
was taken back, therefore, to her home, and Kenanah
delivered her up secretly to Zeid in the course of the
following night.

Mahomet was so exasperated at hearing of the attack
on his daughter, that he ordered whoever should take
Habbar, to burn him alive. When his rage had subsided
he modified this command. "It is for God alone," said
he, " to punish man with fire. If taken, let Habbar be
put to death with the sword."

The recent triumph of the Moslems at Beder struck
the Koreishites of Mecca with astonishment and mortifi-
cation. The man so recently driven a fugitive from their
walls, had suddenly started up a powerful foe. Several
of their bravest and most important men had fallen be-
neath his sword ; others were his captives, and awaited a
humiliating ransom. Abu Lahab, the uncle of Mahomet,
and always his vehement opposer, had been unable, from
illness, to take the field. He died a few days after hear-

176 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

ing of the victory, his death being hastened by the exas-
peration of his spirits. Pious Moslems, however, attrib-
ute it to the curse pronounced by Mahomet aforetime on
him and his family, when he raised his hand to hurl a
stone at the prophet on the hill of Safa. That curse, say
they, fell heavily also on his son Otho, who had repu-
diated the prophet's daughter Eokaia; he was torn to
pieces by a lion, in the presence of a whole caravan, when
on a journey to Syria.

By no one was the recent defeat at Beder felt so se-
verely as by Abu Sofian, He reached Mecca in safety
with his caravan, it is true ; but it was to hear of the tri-
umph of the man he detested, and to find his home deso-
late. His wife Henda met him with frantic lamentations
for the death of her father, her uncle, and her brother.
Bage mingled with her grief, and she cried night and day
for vengeance on Hamza and Ali, by whose hands they
had fallen.*

* It is a received law among all the Arabs, that whoever sheds the
blood of a man, owes blood on that account to the family of the slain per-
son. This ancient law is sanctioned by the Koran. " 0 true believers,
the law of retaliation is ordained to you for the slain ; the free shall die
for the free." The Blood-revenge, or Thar, as it is termed in Arabic, is
claimed by the relatives of all who have been killed in open war, and not
merely of the actual homicide, but of all his relations. For those killed
in wars between two tribes, the price of blood is required from the per-
sons who were known to have actually killed them.

The Arab regards this Blood-revenge as one of his most sacred rights,
j»s well as duties ; no earthly consideration could induce him to give it up.
He has a proverbial saying, " Were hell-fire to be my lot, I would not r&>
linquish the Thar." — See Burckhwrdt, v. i. 314, Notes.

NARRO WL Y ESCAPES ASSASSIN A TION. 177

Abu Sofian summoned two hundred fleet horsemen,
each with a sack of meal at his saddle-bow, the scanty
provisions of an Arab for a foray ; as he sallied forth he
vowed neither to anoint his head, perfume his beard, nor
approach a female, until he had met Mahomet face to
face. Scouring the country to within three miles of the
gates of Medina, he slew two of the prophet's followers,
ravaged the fields, and burnt the date-trees.

Mahomet sallied forth to meet him at the head of a
superior force. Abu Sofian, regardless of his vow, did
not wait his approach, but turned bridle and fled. His
troop clattered after him, throwing off their sacks of
meal in the hurry of their flight ; whence this scamper-
ing affair was derisively called " The war of the meal
sacks."

Moslem writers record an imminent risk of the prophet,
while yet in the field on this occasion. He was one day
sleeping alone at the foot of a tree, at a distance from his
camp, when he was awakened by a noise, and beheld
Durthur, a hostile warrior, standing over him with a
drawn sword. "O Mahomet," cried he, "who is there
now to save thee ? " " God ! " replied the prophet. Struck
with conviction, Durthur let fall his sword, which was
instantly seized upon by Mahomet. Brandishing the
weapon, he exclaimed in turn, " Who is there now to
save thee, O Durthur ? " " Alas, no one ! " replied the
soldier. " Then learn from me to be merciful." So say-
ing, he returned the sword. The heart of the warrior
VOL. 1.— 12

178 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

was overcome ; lie acknowledged Mahomet as the prophet
of God, and embraced the faith.

As if the anecdote were not sufficiently marvelous,
other devout Moslems affirm that the deliverance of Ma-
homet was through the intervention of the angel Gabriel,
who, at the moment Durthur was about to strike, gave
him a blow on the breast with his invisible hand, which
caused him to let fall his sword.

About this time the Koreishites of Mecca bethought
themselves of the relatives and disciples of Mahomet
who had taken refuge from their persecutions in Abys-
sinia ; most of whom still remained there under the pro-
tection of the Najashee or Abyssinian king. To this po-
tentate the Koreishites sent an embassy to obtain the
persons of the fugitives. One of the ambassadors was
Abdallah Ibn Kabia ; another was Amru Ibn Al Aass, the
distinguished poet who had assailed Mahomet at the out-
set of his mission with lampoons and madrigals. He was
now more matured in years, and as remarkable for his
acute sagacity as for his poetic talents. He was still
a redoubtable opponent of the faith of Islam, of which in
after years he was to prove one of the bravest and most
distinguished champions.

Amru and Abdallah opened their embassy in the ori-
ental style by the parade of rich presents, and then
requested, in the name of the Koreish authorities of
Mecca, that the fugitives might be delivered up to them.
The king was a just man, and summoned the Moslems

MISSION TO ABYSSINIA. 179

before him to explain this new and dangerous heresy of
which they were accused. Among their number was
Giafar, or Jaafar, the son of Abu Taleb, and brother of
Ali, consequently the cousin of Mahomet. He was a
man of persuasive eloquence and a most prepossessing
appearance. He stood forth on this occasion, and ex-
pounded the doctrines of Islam with zeal and power.
The king, who, as has been observed, was a Nestorian
Christian, found these doctrines so similar in many re-
spects to those of his sect, and so opposed to the gross
idolatry of the Koreishites, that, so far from giving up the
fugitives, he took them more especially into favor and
protection, and returning to Amru and Abdallah the
presents they had brought, dismissed them from his
court.

CHAPTEK XIX.

GROWING POWER OF MAHOMET.— HIS RESENTMENT AGAINST THE JEWS.— INSTIL*
TO AN ARAB DAMSEL BY THE JEWISH TRIBES OF KAINOKA.— A TUMULT.— THE
BENI KAINOKA TAKE REFUGE IN THEIR CASTLE.— SUBDUED AND PUNISHED
BY CONFISCATION AND BANISHMENT. — MARRIAGE OF OTHMAN TO THE
PROPHET'S DAUGHTER OMM KOLTHUM, AND OF THE PROPHET TO HAFZA.

HE battle of Beder had completely changed the
position of Mahomet ; he was now a triumph-
ant chief of a growing power. The idolatrous
tribes of Arabia were easily converted to a faith which
flattered their predatory inclinations with the hope of
spoil, and which, after all, professed but to bring them
back to the primitive religion of their ancestors ; the first
cavalcade, therefore, which entered the gates of Medina
with the plunder of a camp, made converts of almost all
its heathen inhabitants, and gave Mahomet the control
of the city. His own tone now became altered, and he
spoke as a lawgiver and a sovereign. The first evidence
of this change of feeling was in his treatment of the Jews,
of whom there were three principal and powerful fami-
lies in Medina.

All the concessions made by him to that stiff-necked

race had proved fruitless ; they not only remained stub-

180

INSULT TO AN ARAB DAMSEL. 181

born in unbelief, but treated him and his doctrines with
ridicule. Assma, the daughter of Merwan, a Jewish
poetess, wrote satires against him. She was put to death
by one of his fanatic disciples. Abu Afak, an Israelite,
one hundred and twenty years of age, was likewise slain
for indulging in satire against the prophet. Kaab Ibn
Aschraf, another Jewish poet, repaired to Mecca after
the battle of Beder, and endeavored to stir up the Kore-
ishites to vengeance, reciting verses in which he extolled
the virtues and bewailed the death of those of their tribe
who had fallen in the battle. Such was his infatuation,
that he recited these verses in public, on his return to
Medina, and in the presence of some of the prophet's
adherents who were related to the slain. Stung by this
invidious hostility, Mahomet one day exclaimed in his
anger, "Who will rid me of this son of Aschraf? " With-
in a few days afterwards, Kaab paid for his poetry with
his life ; being slain by a zealous Ansarian of the Awsite
tribe.

An event at length occurred which caused the anger of
Mahomet against the Jews to break out in open hostil-
ity. A damsel of one of the pastoral tribes of Arabs who
brought milk to the city, was one day in the quarter in-
habited by the Beni Kainoka, or children of Kainoka,
one of the three principal Jewish families. Here she
was accosted by a number of young Israelites, who hav-
ing heard her beauty extolled, besought her to uncover
her face. The damsel refused an act contrary to the

182 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

laws of propriety among her people. A young gold-
smith, whose shop was hard by, secretly fastened the
end of her veil to the bench on which she was sitting, so
that when she rose to depart, the garment remained, and
her face was exposed to view. Upon this there was
laughter and scoffing among the young Israelites, and the
damsel stood in the midst confounded and abashed. A
Moslem present, resenting the shame put upon her, drew
his sword, and thrust it through the body of the gold-
smith ; he in his turn was instantly slain by the Israel-
ites. The Moslems from a neighboring quarter flew to
arms, the Beni Kainoka did the same, but being inferior
in numbers, took refuge in a stronghold. Mahomet in-
terfered to quell the tumult ; but, being generally exas-
perated against the Israelites, insisted that the offending
tribe should forthwith embrace the faith. They pleaded
the treaty which he had made with them on his coming
to Medina, by which they were allowed the enjoyment of
their religion ; but he was not to be moved. For some
time the Beni Kainoka refused to yield, and remained
obstinately shut up in their stronghold ; but famine com-
pelled them to surrender. Abdallah Ibn Obba Solul, the
leader of the Khazradites, who was a protector of this
Jewish tribe, interfered in their favor, and prevented
their being put to the sword ; but their wealth and effects
were confiscated, and they were banished to Syria, to the
number of seven hundred men.

The arms and riches accruing to the prophet and his

MARRIAGE WITH HAFZA. 183

followers from this confiscation, were of great avail in the
ensuing wars of the faith. Among the weapons which
fell to the share of Mahomet are enumerated three
swords : Medham, the Keen ; al Battar, the Trenchant ;
and Hatef, the Deadly. Two lances : al Monthari, the
Disperser ; and al Monthawi, the Destroyer. A cuirass
of silver, named al Fadha, and another named al Saadia,
said to have been given by Saul to David, when about to
encounter Goliath. There was a bow, too, called al Ca-
tum, or the Strong ; but it did not answer to its name, for
in the first battle in which the prophet used it, he drew
it with such force that he broke it in pieces. In general,
he used the Arabian kind of bow, with appropriate ar-
rows and lances, and forbade his followers to use those
of Persia.

Mahomet now sought no longer to conciliate the Jews ;
on the contrary, they became objects of his religious hos-
tility. He revoked the regulation by which he had made
Jerusalem the Kebla or point of prayer, and established
Mecca in its place ; towards which, ever since, the Ma-
hometans turn their faces when performing their devo-
tions.

The death of the prophet's daughter Rokaia had been
properly deplored by her husband Othman. To console
the latter for his loss, Omar, his brother in arms, offered
him, in the course of the year, his daughter Hafza for
wife. She was the widow of Hobash, a Suhamite, eigh-
teen years of age, and of tempting beauty, yet Othman

184 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

declined the match. Omar was indignant at what he
conceived a slight to his daughter and to himself, and
complained of it to Mahomet. " Be not grieved, Omar,"
replied the prophet, " a better wife is destined for Oth-
man, and a better husband for thy daughter." He in
effect gave his own daughter Omm Kolthum to Othman ;
and took the fair Hafza to wife himself. By these politic
alliances he grappled both Othman and Omar more
strongly to his side, while he gratified his own inclina-
tions for female beauty. Hafza, next to Ayesha, was the
most favored of his wives ; and was intrusted with the
coffer containing the chapters and verses of the Koran as
they were revealed.

CHAPTEK XX.

•TENDA INCITES ABU SOPIAN AND THE KOREISHITES TO REVENGE THE DEATH
OF HER RELATIONS SLAIN IN THE BATTLE OF BEDER. — THE KOREISHITES
SALLY FORTH, FOLLOWED BY HENDA AND HER FEMALE COMPANIONS.— BAT-
TLE OF OHOD.— FEROCIOUS TRIUMPH OF HEND A. — MAHOMET CONSOLES
HIMSELF BY MARRYING HEND, THE DAUGHTER OF OMEYA.

S the power of Mahomet increased in Medina,
the hostility of the Koreishites in Mecca aug-
mented in virulence. Abu Sofian held com-
mand in the sacred city, and was incessantly urged to
warfare by his wife Henda, whose fierce spirit could take
no rest, until " blood revenge " had been wreaked on
those by whom her father and brother had been slain.
Akrema, also, a son of Abu Jahl, and who inherited his
father's hatred of the prophet, clamored for vengeance.
In the third year of the Hegira, therefore, the year after
the battle of Beder, Abu Sofian took the field at the head
of three thousand men, most of them Koreishites, though
there were also Arabs of the tribes of Kanana and Te-
hama. Seven hundred were armed with corselets and
two hundred were horsemen. Akrema was one of the
captains, as was also Khaled Ibn al Waled, a warrior of

indomitable valor, who afterwards rose to great renown.

185

186 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

The banners were borne in front by the race of Abd al
Dar, a branch of the tribe of Koreish, who had a heredi-
tary right to the foremost place in council, the foremost
rank in battle, and to bear the standard in the advance of
the army.

In the rear of the host followed the vindictive Henda,
with fifteen principal women of Mecca, relatives of those
slain in the battle of Beder ; sometimes filling the air
with wailings and lamentations for the dead ; at other
times animating the troops with the sound of timbrels
and warlike chants. As they passed through the village
of Abwa, where Amina the mother of Mahomet was in-
terred, Henda was with difficulty prevented from tearing
the mouldering bones out of the grave.

Al Abbas, the uncle of Mahomet, who still resided in
Mecca, and was considered hostile to the new faith, see-
ing that destruction threatened his nephew should that
army come upon him by surprise, sent secretly a swift
messenger to inform him of his danger. Mahomet was
at the village of Koba, when the message reached him.
He immediately hastened back to Medina, and called a
council of his principal adherents. [Representing the
insufficiency of their force to take to the field, he gave it
as his opinion that they should await an attack on
Medina, where the very women and children could aid
them by hurling stones from the house-tops. The elder
among his followers joined in his opinion ; but the young
men, of heady valor at all times, and elated by the late

BATTLE OF OHOD. 187

victory at Beder, cried out for a fair fight in the open
field.

Mahomet yielded to their clamors, but his forces, when
mustered, were scarce a thousand men; one hundred
only had cuirasses, and but two were horsemen. The
hearts of those recently so clamorous to sally forth, now
misgave them, and they would fain await the encounter
within the walls. "No," replied Mahomet, " it becomes
not a prophet when once he has drawn the sword to
sheathe it ; nor when once he has advanced, to turn back,
until God has decided between him and the foe." So
saying, he led forth his army. Part of it was composed
of Jews and Khazradites, led by Abdallah Ibn Obba
Solul. Mahomet declined the assistance of the Jews,
unless they embraced the faith of Islam, and as they
refused, he ordered them back to Medina ; upon which
their protector, Abdallah, turned back also with his
Khazradites ; thus reducing the army to about seven
hundred men.

With this small force Mahomet posted himself upon
the hill of Ohod, about six miles from Medina. His
position was partly defended by rocks and the asperities
of the hill, and archers were stationed to protect him in
flank and rear from the attacks of cavalry. He was
armed with a helmet and two shirts of mail. On his
sword was engraved, " Fear brings disgrace ; forward lies
honor. Cowardice saves no man from his fate." As he
was not prone to take an active part in battle, he con-

188 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

fided his sword to a brave warrior, Abu Dudjana, whv
swore to wield it as long as it had edge and temper. For
himself, he, as usual, took a commanding stand whence
he might overlook the field.

The Koreishites, confident in their numbers, came
marching to the foot of the hill with banners flying. Abu
Sofian led the centre ; there were a hundred horsemen
on each wing ; the left commanded by Akrema, the son
of Abu Jahl, the right by Khaled Ibn al Waled. As
they advanced Henda and her companions struck their
timbrels and chanted their war song ; shrieking out at
intervals the names of those who had been slain in the
battle of Beder. " Courage, sons of Abd al Dar ! " cried
they to the standard-bearers, "forward to the fight!
close with the foe ! strike home and spare not. Sharp
be your swords and pitiless your hearts ! "

Mahomet restrained the impatience of his troops ; or-
dering them not to commence the fight, but to stand
firm and maintain their advantage of the rising ground.
Above all, the archers were to keep their post, let the
battle go as it might, lest the cavalry should fall upon
his rear.

The horsemen of the left wing, led by Akrema, now at-
tempted to take the Moslems in flank, but were repulsed
by the archers, and retreated in confusion. Fpor this
Hamza set up the Moslem war-cry, Amit ! amit ! (Death I
death !) and rushed down with his forces upon the
centre. Abu Dudjana was at his right hand, armed with

BATTLE OF OHOD. 189

the sword of Mahomet, and having a red band round his
head, on which was written, " Help comes from God !
victory is ours ! "

The enemy were staggered by the shock. Abu Dud-
jana dashed into the midst of them, dealing deadly blows
on every side, and exclaiming, " The sword of God and
his prophet ! " Seven standard-bearers, of the race
of Abd al Dar, were, one after the other, struck
down, and the centre began to yield. The Moslem
archers, thinking the victory secure, forgot the com-
mands of Mahomet, and leaving their post, dispersed in
quest of spoil, crying " Booty ! booty ! " Upon this
Khaled, rallying the horse, got possession of the ground
abandoned by the archers, attacked the Moslems in rear,
put some to flight, and threw the rest in confusion. In
the midst of the confusion a horseman, Obbij Ibn Chalaf
by name, pressed through the throng, crying, " Where is
Mahomet? There is no safety while he lives." But
Mahomet, seizing a lance from an attendant, thrust it
through the throat of the idolater, who fell dead from his
horse. " Thus," says the pious Al Jannabi, " died this
enemy of God, who, some years before, had menaced the
prophet, saying, ' I shall find a day to slay thee.' ' Have
care,' was the reply; 'if it please Allah, thou thyself
shall fall beneath my hand.' "

In the midst of the melee a stone from a sling struck
Mahomet on the mouth, cutting his lip and knocking
ouf one of his front teeth ; he was wounded in the face

190 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

also by an arrow, the iron head of which remained in the
wound. Hamza, too, while slaying a Koreishite, was
transfixed by the lance of Waksa, an Ethiopian slave,
who had been promised his freedom if he should revenge
the death of his master, slain by Hamza in the battle of
Beder. Mosaab Ibn Omair, also, who bore the standard
of Mahomet, was laid low, but Ali seized the sacred ban-
ner and bore it aloft amidst the storm of battle.

As Mosaab resembled the prophet in person, a shout
was put up by the enemy that Mahomet was slain. The
Koreishites were inspired with redoubled ardor at the
sound ; the Moslems fled in despair, bearing with them
Abu Beker and Omar, who were wounded. Baab, the
son of Malek, however, beheld Mahomet lying among the
wounded in a ditch, and knew him by his armor. " Oh
believers ! " cried he, " the prophet of God yet lives. To
the rescue ! to the rescue ! " Mahomet was drawn forth
and borne up the hill to the summit of a rock, where the
Moslems prepared for a desperate defense. The Kore-
ishites, however, thinking Mahomet slain, forbore to pur-
sue them, contenting themselves with plundering and
mutilating the dead. Henda and her female companions
were foremost in the savage work of vengeance ; and the
ferocious heroine sought to tear out and devour the
heart of Hamza. Abu Sofian bore a part of the mangled
body upon his lance, and descending the hill in triumph,
exclaimed, exultingly, "War has its vicissitudes. The
battle of Ohod succeeds to the battle of Beder."

GRIEF FOB HAMZA. 191

The Koreishites having withdrawn, Mahomet de-
scended from the rock and visited the field of battle. At
sight of the body of his uncle Hamza so brutally mangled
and mutilated, he vowed to inflict like outrage on seventy
of the enemy when in his power. His grief, we are told,
was soothed by the angel Gabriel, who assured him that
Hamza was enregistered an inhabitant of the seventh
heaven, by the title of " The lion of God and of his
prophet."

The bodies of the slain were interred two and two, ana
three and three, in the places where they had fallen.
Mahomet forbade his followers to mourn for the dead by
cutting off their hair, rending their garments, and the
other modes of lamentation usual among the Arabs ; but
he consented that they should weep for the dead, as
tears relieve the overladen heart.

The night succeeding the battle was one of great dis-
quietude, lest the Koreishites should make another at-
tack ; or should surprise Medina. On the following day
he marched in the direction of that city, hovering near
the enemy, and on the return of night lighting numerous
watch-fires. Abu Sofian, however, had received intelli-
gence that Mahomet was still alive. He felt himself too
weak to attack the city, therefore, while Mahomet was in
the field, and might come to its assistance ; and he
feared that the latter might be reinforced by its inhabi-
tants, and seek him with superior numbers. Contenting
himself, therefore, with the recent victory, he made a

192 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

truce with the Moslems for a year, and returned in tri-
umph to Mecca.

Mahomet sought consolation for this mortifying defeat
by taking to himself another wife, Hend, the daughter of
Omeya, a man of great influence. She was a widow, and
had, with her husband, been among the number of the
fugitives in Abyssinia. She was now twenty-eight years of
age, and had a son named Salma, whence she was com-
monly called Omm Salma, or the Mother of Salma. Being
distinguished for grace and beauty, she had been sought
by Abu Beker and Omar, but without success. Even
Mahomet at first met with difficulty. " Alas ! " said she,
" what happiness can the prophet of God expect with
me ? I am no longer young ; I have a son, and I am of a
jealous disposition." " As to thy age," replied Mahomet,
" thou art much younger than I. As to thy son, I will be
a father to him ; as to thy jealous disposition, I will
pray Allah to root it from thy heart."

A separate dwelling was prepared for the bride, adja-
cent to the mosque. The household goods, as stated by
a Moslem writer, consisted of a sack of barley, a hand-
mill, a pan, and a pot of lard or butter. Such were as
yet the narrow means of the prophet ; or rather, such the
frugality of his habits and the simplicity of Arab life.

CHAPTEK XXI.

TREACHERY OF CERTAIN JEWISH TRIBES ; THEIR PUNISHMENT.— DEVOTION OF
THE PROPHET'S FREEDMAN ZEID ; DIVORCES HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE ZEINAB,
THAT SHE MAY BECOME THE WIFE OF THE PROPHET.

HE defeat of Mahomet at the battle of Ohod,
acted for a time unfavorably to his cause
among some of the Arab and Jewish tribes,
as was evinced by certain acts of perfidy. The inhabi-
tants of two towns, Adhal and Kara, sent a deputation to
him, professing an inclination to embrace the faith, and
requesting missionaries to teach them its doctrines. He
accordingly sent six disciples to accompany the deputa-
tion ; but on the journey, while reposing by the brook
Eadje within the boundaries of the Hodseitites, the
deputies fell upon the unsuspecting Moslems, slew four
of them, and carried the other two to Mecca, where they
gave them up to the Koreishites, who put them to death.
A similar act of treachery was practiced by the people
of the province of Nadjed. Pretending to be Moslems,
they sought succor from Mahomet against their enemies.
He sent a number of his followers to their aid, who were
attacked by the Beni Suleim or Suleimites, near the
vol. i.— 13 193

194 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

brook Manna, about four days' journey from Medina,
and slain almost to a man. One of the Moslems, Ainru
Ibn Omeya, escaped the carnage and made for Medina.
On the way he met two unarmed Jews of the Beni Amir ;
either mistaking these for enemies, or provoked to
wanton rage by the death of his comrades, he fell upon
them and slew them. The tribe, who were at peace with
Mahomet, called upon him for redress. He referred the
matter to the mediation of another Jewish tribe, the
Beni Nadher, who had rich possessions and a castle,
called Zohra, within three miles of Medina. This tribe
had engaged by a treaty, when he came a fugitive from
Mecca, to maintain a neutrality between him and his
opponents. The chief of this tribe being now applied to
as a mediator, invited Mahomet to an interview. He
went, accompanied by Abu Beker, Omar, Ali, and a few
others. A repast was spread in the open air before the
mansion of the chief. Mahomet, however, received pri-
vate information that he had been treacherously decoyed
hither, and was to be slain as he sat at the repast : it is
said that he was to be crushed by a mill-stone, flung
from the terraced roof of the house. "Without intimating
his knowledge of the treason, he left the company ab-
ruptly, and hastened back to Medina.

His rage was now kindled against the whole race of
Nadher, and he ordered them to leave the country within
ten days on pain of death. They would have departed,
but Abdallah the Khazradite secretly persuaded them to

BANISHMENT OF THE JEWS. 195

stay by promising them aid. He failed in his promise.
The Beni Nadher, thus disappointed by the " Chief of
the Hypocrites," shut themselves up in their castle of
Zohra, where they were besieged by Mahomet, who cut
dovni and burnt the date-trees, on which they depended
for supplies. At the end of six days they capitulated,
and were permitted to depart, each with a camel load of
effects, arms excepted. Some were banished to Syria,
others to Khaibar, a strong Jewish city and fortress, dis-
tant several days' journey from Medina. As the tribe
was wealthy, there was great spoil, which Mahomet took
entirely to himself. His followers demurred that this was
contrary to the law of partition revealed in the Koran ;
but he let them know that according to another revela-
tion, all booty gained, like the present, without striking
a blow, was not won by man, but was a gift from God,
and must be delivered over to the prophet to be ex-
pended by him in good works, and the relief of orphans,
of the poor, and the traveller. Mahomet, in effect, did
not appropriate it to his own benefit, but shared it
among the Mohadjerins, or exiles from Mecca ; two Nad-
herite Jews who had embraced Islamism, and two or
three Ansarians or Auxiliaries of Medina, who had
proved themselves worthy, and were poor.

We forbear to enter into details of various petty expe-
ditions of Mahomet about this time, one of which ex-
tended to the neighborhood of Tabuk, on the Syrian
frontier, to punish a horde which had plundered the

196 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

caravans of Medina. These expeditions were checkered
in their results, though mostly productive of booty;
which now began to occupy the minds of the Moslems,
almost as much as the propagation of the faith. The
spoils thus suddenly gained may have led to riot and
debauchery, as we find a revelation of the passage of the
Koran, forbidding wine and games of hazard, those fruit-
ful causes of strife and insubordination in predatory
camps.

During this period of his career, Mahomet in more
than one instance narrowly escaped falling by the hand
of an assassin. He himself is charged with the use of
insidious means to rid himself of an enemy ; for it is said
that he sent Amru Ibn Omeya on a secret errand to
Mecca, to assassinate Abu Sofian, but that the plot was
discovered, and the assassin only escaped by rapid flight.
The charge, however, is not well substantiated, and is
contrary to his general character and conduct.

If Mahomet had relentless enemies, he had devoted
friends, an instance of which we have in the case of his
freedman and adopted son Zeid Ibn Horeth. He had
been one of the first converts to the faith, and one of its
most valiant champions. Mahomet consulted him on all
occasions, and employed him in his domestic concerns.
One day he entered his house with the freedom with
which a father enters the dwelling of a son. Zeid was
absent, but Zeinab his wife, whom he had recently mar-
ried, was at home. She was the daughter of Djasch, of

ZEINAB. 197

the country of Kaiba, and considered the fairest of her
tribe. In the privacy of home she had laid aside her veil
and part of her attire, so that her beauty stood revealed
to the gaze of Mahomet on his sudden entrance. He
could not refrain from expressions of wonder and ad-
miration, to which she made no reply, but repeated them
all to her husband on his return. Zeid knew the amor-
ous susceptibility of Mahomet, and saw that he had been
captivated by the beauty of Zeinab. Hastening after
him, he offered to repudiate his wife ; but the prophet
forbade it as contrary to the law. The zeal of Zeid was
not to be checked ; he loved his beautiful wife, but he
venerated the prophet, and he divorced himself without
delay. When the requisite term of separation had
elapsed, Mahomet accepted with gratitude his pious sac-
rifice. His nuptials with Zeinab surpassed in splendor
all his other marriages. His doors were open to all
comers ; they were feasted with the flesh of sheep and
lambs, with cakes of barley, with honey, and fruits, and
favorite beverages ; so they ate and drank their fill and
then departed — railing against the divorce as shameful,
and the marriage as incestuous.

At this critical juncture was revealed that part of the
thirty-third chapter of the Koran, distinguishing rela-
tives by adoption from relatives by blood, according to
which there was no sin in marrying one who had been
the wife of an adopted son. This timely revelation paci-
fied the faithful ; but, to destroy all shadow of a scruple,

198 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Mahomet revoked his adoption, and directed Zeid to
resume his original appellation of Ibn Hareth, after his
natural father. The beautiful Zeinab, however, boasted
thenceforth a superiority over the other wives of the
prophet on the score of the revelation, alleging that her
marriage was ordained by heaven.*

* This was Mahomet's second wife of the name of Zeinab ; the first,
who had died some time previous, was the daughter of Chuzeima.

CHAPTER XXII.

EXPEDITION OP MAHOMET AGAINST THE BENI MOSTALEK.— HE ESPOUSES BASRA,
A CAPTIVE. — TREACHERY OP ABDALLAH IBN OBBA. — AYESHA SLANDERED.—.
HER VINDICATION. — HER INNOCENCE PROVED BY A REVELATION.

pplllPpMONG the Arab tribes which ventured to take
^^Eg' up arms against Mahomet after his defeat at
fpljgllfj Ohod, were the Beni Mostalek, a powerful race
of Koreishite origin. Mahomet received intelligence of
their being assembled in warlike guise under their prince
Al Hareth, near the wells of Moraisi, in the territory of
Kedaid, and within five miles of the Red Sea. He im-
mediately took the field at the head of a chosen band of
the faithful, accompanied by numbers of the Khazradites,
led by their chief Abdallah Ibn Obba. By a rapid move-
ment he surprised the enemy ; Al Hareth was killed at
the onset by the flight shot of an arrow ; his troops fled
in confusion after a brief resistance, in which a few were
slain. Two hundred prisoners, five thousand sheep, and
one thousand camels, were the fruits of this easy victory.
Among the captives was Barra, the daughter of Al
Hareth, and wife to a young Arab of her kin. In the
division of the spoil she fell to the lot of Thabet Ibn
Reis, who demanded a high ransom. The captive ap-

199

200 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

pealed to Mahomet against this extortion, and prayed
that the ransom might be mitigated. The prophet re-
garded her with eyes of desire, for she was fair to look
upon. "I can serve thee better," said he, " than by abat-
ing thy ransom : be my wife." The beautiful Barra gave
ready consent ; her ransom was paid by the prophet to
Thabet ; her kindred were liberated by the Moslems, to
whose lot they had fallen ; most of them embraced the
faith, and Barra became the wife of Mahomet after his
return to Medina.

After the battle, the troops crowded round the wells of
Moraisi to assuage their thirst. In the press a quarrel
rose between some of the Mohajerins, or exiles of Mecca,
and the Khazradites, in which one of the latter received
a blow. His comrades rushed to revenge the insult, and
blood would have been shed but for the interference of
Mahomet. The Khazradites remained incensed, and
other of the people of Medina made common cause with
them. Abdallah Ibn Obba, eager to take advantage of
every circumstance adverse to the rising power of Ma-
homet, drew his kindred and townsfolk apart. " Behold,"
said he, " the insults you have brought upon yourselves
by harboring these fugitive Koreishites. You have
taken them to your houses, and given them your goods,
and now they turn upon and maltreat you. They would
make themselves your masters even in your own house ;
but by Allah, when we return to Medina, we will see
which of us is strongest."

TREACHERY OF ABD ALLAH IBN OBBA. 201

Secret word was brought to Mahomet of this seditious
speech. Omar counselled him at once to make way with
Abdallah ; but the prophet feared to excite the ven-
geance of the kindred and adherents of the powerful
Khazradite. To leave no time for mutiny, he set off im-
mediately on the homeward march, although it was in
the heat of the day, and continued on throughout the
night, nor halted until the following noon, when the
wearied soldiery cared for nothing but repose.

On arriving at Medina, he called Abdallah to account
for his seditious expressions. He flatly denied them,
pronouncing the one who had accused him a liar. A
revelation from heaven, however, established the charge
against him and his adherents. " These are the men,"
says the Koran, "who say to the inhabitants of Me^
dina, do not bestow anything on the refugees who are
with the apostle of God, that they may be compelled to
separate from him. They say, verily, if we return to
Medina, the worthier will expel thence the meaner. God
curse them ! how are they turned aside from the truth."

Some of the friends of Abdallah, convinced by this
revelation, advised him to ask pardon of the prophet ;
but he spurned their counsel. " You have already," said
he, " persuaded me to give this man my countenance and
friendship, and now you would have me put myself be-
neath his very feet."

Nothing could persuade him that Mahomet was not an
idolater at heart, and his revelations all imposture and

202 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

deceit. He considered him, however, a formidable rival,
and sought in every way to injure and annoy him. To
this implacable hostility is attributed a scandalous story
which he propagated about Ayesha, the favorite wife of
the prophet.

It was the custom with Mahomet always to have one
of his wives with him, on his military expeditions, as
companion and solace ; she was taken by lot, and on the
recent occasion the lot had fallen on Ayesha. She trav-
elled in a litter, inclosed by curtains, and borne on the
back of a camel, which was led by an attendant. On the
return homeward the army, on one occasion, coming to a
halt, the attendants of Ayesha were astonished to find
the litter empty. Before they had recovered from their
surprise, she arrived on a camel, led by a youthful Arab
named Safwan Ibn al Moattel. This circumstance hav-
ing come to the knowledge of Abdallah, he proclaimed it
to the world after his return to Medina, affirming that
Ayesha had been guilty of wantonness with the youthful
Safwan.

The story was eagerly caught up and circulated by
Hamna, the sister of the beautiful Zeinab, whom Ma-
homet had recently espoused, and who hoped to benefit
her sister by the downfall of her deadly rival Ayesha ; it
was echoed also by Mistah, a kinsman of Abu Beker, and
was celebrated in satirical verses by a poet named Hasan.

It was some time before Ayesha knew of the scandal
thus circulating at her expense. Sickness had confined

SCANDAL AGAINST AYESHA. 203

her to the house on her return to Medina, and no one
ventured to tell her of what she was accused. She re-
marked, however, that the prophet was stern and silent,
and no longer treated her with his usual tenderness. On
her recovery, she heard with consternation the crime
alleged against her, and protested her innocence. The
following is her version of the story.

The army, on its homeward march, had encamped not
far from Medina, when orders were given in the night to
march. The attendants, as usual, brought a camel be-
fore the tent of Ayesha, and placing the litter on the
ground, retired until she could take her seat within it.
As she was about to enter, she missed her necklace, and
returned into the tent to seek it. In the meantime the
attendants lifted the litter upon the camel and strapped
it fast, not perceiving that it was empty ; she being slen-
der and of light weight. When she returned from seek-
ing the necklace, the camel was gone, and the army was
on the march ; whereupon she wrapped herself in her
mantle and sat down, trusting that, when her absence
should be discovered, some persons would be sent back
in quest of her.

While thus seated, Safwan Ibn al Moattel, the young
Arab, being one of the rear-guard, came up, and, recog-
nizing her, accosted her with the usual Moslem saluta-
tion. " To God we belong, and to God we must return !
Wife of the prophet, why dost thou remain behind?"

Ayesha made no reply, but drew her veil closer over

204 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

her face. Safwan then alighted, aided her to mount the
camel, and, taking the bridle, hastened to rejoin the
army. The sun had risen, however, before he overtook
it, just without the walls of Medina.

This account, given by Ayesha, and attested by Safwan
Ibn al Moattel, was satisfactory to her parents and par-
ticular friends, but was scoffed at by Abdallah and his
adherents, "the Hypocrites." Two parties thus arose
on the subject, and great strife ensued. As to Ayesha,
she shut herself up within her dwelling, refusing all food,
and weeping day and night in the bitterness of her soul.

Mahomet was sorely troubled in mind, and asked coun-
sel of Ali in his perplexity. The latter made light of
the affair, observing that his misfortune was the frequent
lot of man. The prophet was but little consoled by this
suggestion. He remained separated from Ayesha for a
month ; but his heart yearned toward her ; not merely on
account of her beauty, but because he loved her society.
In a paroxysm of grief, he fell into one of those trances,
which unbelievers have attributed to epilepsy; in the
course of which he received a seasonable revelation,
which will be found in a chapter of the Koran. It was to
this effect : —

They who accuse a reputable female of adultery, and
produce not four witnesses of the fact, shall be scourged
with fourscore stripes, and their testimony rejected. As
to those who have made the charge against Ayesha, have
they produced four witnesses thereof ? If they have not,

SLANDERERS PUNISHED. 205

they are liars in the sight of God. Let them receive,
therefore, the punishment of their crime.

The innocence of the beautiful Ayesha being thus mi-
raculously made manifest, the prophet took her to his
bosom with augmented affection. Nor was he slow in
dealing the prescribed castigation. It is true, Abdallah
Ibn Obba was too powerful a personage to be subjected
to the scourge, but it fell the heavier on the shoulders of
his fellow calumniators. The poet Hasan was cured for
some time of his propensity to make satirical verses, nor
could Hamna, though a female, and of great personal
charms, escape the infliction of stripes ; for Mahomet ob-
served that such beauty should have been accompanied
by a gentler nature.

The revelation at once convinced the pious Ali of the
purity of Ayesha ; but she never forgot nor forgave that
he had doubted ; and the hatred thus implanted in her
bosom was manifested to his great detriment in many of
the most important concerns of his after life.

CHAPTEE XXHI.

THE BATTLE OF THE MOAT. — BRAVERY OF SAAD IBN MOAD. — DEFEAT OF THE
KOREISHITES.— CAPTURE OF THE JEWISH CASTLE OF KORAIDA.— SAAD DE-
CIDES AS TO THE PUNISHMENT OF THE JEWS.— MAHOMET ESPOUSES RI-
HANA, A JEWISH CAPTIVE.— HIS LIFE ENDANGERED BY SORCERY; SAVED
BY A REVELATION OF THE ANGEL GABRIEL.

UEING the year of truce which succeeded the
battle of Ohod, Abu Sofian, the restless chief
of the Koreishites, formed a confederacy with
the Arab tribe of Ghatafan and other tribes of the desert,
as well as with many of the Jews of the race of Nadher,
whom Mahomet had driven from their homes. The truce
being ended, he prepared to march upon Medina, with
these confederates, their combined forces amounting to
ten thousand men.

Mahomet had early intelligence of the meditated at-
tack, but his late reverse at Ohod made him wary of
taking the field against such numbers; especially as he
feared the enemy might have secret allies in Medina ;
where he distrusted the Jewish inhabitants and the
Hypocrites, the partisans of Abdallah Ibn Obba, who
were numerous and powerful.

Great exertions were now made to put the city in a

206

DIGGING A MOAT. 207

state of defense. Salman the Persian, who had embraced
the faith, advised that a deep moat should be digged at
some distance beyond the wall, on the side on which the
enemy would approach. This mode of defense, hitherto
unused in Arabia, was eagerly adopted by Mahomet ; who
set a great number of men to dig the moat, and even as-
sisted personally in the labor. Many miracles are re-
corded of him during the progress of this work. At one
time, it is said, he fed a great multitude from a single
basket of dates ; which remained full after all were satis-
fied. At another time he feasted a thousand men upon a
roasted lamb and a loaf of barley bread ; yet enough re-
mained for all his fellow-laborers in the moat. Nor must
we omit to note the wonderful blows which he gave to a
rock, with an iron mallet ; striking off sparks which in
one direction lighted up all Yemen, or Arabia the Happy;
in another, revealed the imperial palace of Constanti-
nople ; and in a third, illumined the towers of the royal
residents of Persia ; all signs and portents of the future
conquests of Islam.

Scarcely was the moat completed when the enemy ap-
peared in great force on the neighboring hills. Leaving
Ibn Omm Mactum, a trusty officer, to command in the
city, and keep a vigilant eye on the disaffected, Mahomet
sallied forth with three thousand men, whom he formed
in battle array, having the deep moat in front. Abu
Sofian advanced confidently with his combined force of
Koreishites and Ghatafanites, but was unexpectedly

208 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

checked by the moat, and by a galling fire from the Mos-
lems drawn up beyond it. The enemy now encamped;
the Koreishites in the lower part of the valley, and the
Ghatafanites in the upper ; and for some days the armies
remained on each side of the moat, keeping up a distant
combat with slings and stones, and flights of arrows.

In the meantime, spies brought word to Mahomet that
a Jewish tribe, the Beni Koraicla, who had a strong castle
near the city, and had made a covenant of peace with
him, were in secret league with the enemy. He now saw
the difficulty, with his scanty forces, to man the whole
extent of the moat ; to guard against a perfidious attack
from the Koraidites ; and to maintain quiet in the city,
where the Jews must have secret confederates. Summon-
ing a council of war, he consulted with his captains on
the policy of bribing the Ghatafanites to a separate
peace, by offering them a third of the date-harvest of
Medina. Upon this, Saad Ibn Moad, a stout leader of
the Awsites of Medina, demanded : " Do you propose this
by the command of Allah, or is it an idea of your own? "
" If it had been a command of Allah," replied Mahomet,
"I should never have asked your advice. I see you
pressed by enemies on every side, and I seek to break
their confederacy." " O prophet of God ! " rejoined Saad,
"when we were fellow-idolaters with these people of
Ghatafan, they got none of our dates without paying for
them ; and shall we give them up gratuitously now that
we are of the true faith, and led by thee ? No, by Allah !

BATTLE OF THE MOAT. 209

ff they want our dates they must win them with their
swords."

The stout Saad had his courage soon put to the proof.
A prowling party of Koreishite horsemen, among whom
was Akrema, the son of Abu Jahl, and Amru, uncle of
Mahomet's first wife Cadijah, discovered a place where
the moat was narrow, and putting spurs to their steeds
succeeded in leaping over, followed by some of their
comrades. They then challenged the bravest of the
Moslems to equal combat. The challenge was accepted
by Saad Ibn Moad, by Ali, and several of their compan-
ions. Ali had a close combat with Amru ; they fought on
horseback and on foot, until, grappling with each other,
they rolled in the dust. In the end, Ali was victorious
and slew his foe. The general conflict was maintained
with great obstinacy; several were slain on both sides,
and Saad Ibn Moad was severely wounded. At length
the Koreishites gave way, and spurred their horses to
recross the moat. The steed of one of them, Nawfal Ibn
Abdallah, leaped short; his rider was assailed with
stones while in the moat, and defied the Moslems to
attack him with nobler weapons. In an instant Ali
sprang down into the moat, and Nawfal soon fell beneath
his sword. Ali then joined his companions in pursuit of
the retreating foe, and wounded Akrema with a javelin.
The skirmish was dignified with the name of the Battle
of the Moat.

Mahomet, still unwilling to venture a pitched battle,
VOL. i.— 14 •

210 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

sent Kueim, a secretly converted Arab of the tribe of
Ghatafan, to visit the camps of the confederates, and
artfully to sow dissensions among them. Kueim first
repaired to the Koraidites, with whom he was in old
habits of friendship. "What folly is this," said he, "to
suffer yourselves to be drawn by the Koreishites of
Mecca into their quarrel ! Bethink you how different is
your situation from theirs ! If defeated, they have only
to retreat to Mecca, and be secure. Their allies from the
desert will also retire to their distant homes, and you
will be left to bear the whole brunt of the vengeance of
Mahomet and the people of Medina. Before you make
common cause with them, therefore, let them pledge
themselves and give hostages, never to draw back until
they have broken the power of Mahomet."

He then went to the Koreishites and the tribe of
Ghatafan, and warned them against confiding in the Jews
of Koraida, who intended to get hostages from them, and
deliver them up into the hands of Mahomet.

The distrust thus artfully sown among the confeder-
ates soon produced its effects. Abu Sofian sent word on
Friday evening, to the Koraidites, to be ready to join next
morning in a general assault. The Jews replied, that the
following day was their Sabbath, on which they could not
engage in battle ; at the same time they declined to join
in any hostile act, unless their allies should give hostages
to stand by them to the end.

The Koreishites and Ghatafanites were now convinced

VENGEANCE ON THE BENI KORAIDA. 211

of the perfidy of the Koraidites, and dared not venture
upon the meditated attack, lest these should fall upon
them in the rear. While they lay idly in their camp a
cold storm came on, with drenching rain, and sweeping
blasts from the desert. Their tents were blown down ;
their camp-fires were extinguished ; in the midst of the
uproar the alarm was given that Mahomet had raised the
storm by enchantment, and was coming upon them with
his forces. All now was panic and confusion. Abu
Sofian, finding all efforts vain to produce order, mounted
his camel in despair, and gave the word to retreat. The
confederates hurried off from the scene of tumult and
terror, the Koreishites towards Mecca, the others to their
homes in the desert.

Abu Sofian, in rage and mortification, wrote a letter to
Mahomet, upbraiding him with his cowardice in lurking
behind a ditch, a thing unknown in Arabian warfare ; and
threatening to take his revenge on some future day, when
they might meet in open fight, as in the field of Ohod.
Mahomet hurled back a defiance, and predicted that the
day was approaching when he would break in pieces the
idols of the Koreishites.

The invaders having disappeared, Mahomet turned to
take vengeance on the Beni Koraida; who shut them-
selves up in their castle, and withstood a siege of many
days. At length, pinched by famine, they implored the
intercession of their ancient friends and protectors, the
Awsites. The latter entreated the prophet to grant these

212 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Hebrews the same terms he had formerly granted to the
Beni Kainoka, at the prayer of Abdallah the Khazradite.
Mahomet reflected a moment, and offered to leave their
fate to the decision of Saad Ibn Moad, the Awsite chief.
The Koraidites gladly agreed, knowing him to have been
formerly their friend. They accordingly surrendered
themselves, to the number of seven hundred, and were
conducted in chains to Medina. Unfortunately for them,
Saad considered their perfidious league with the enemy
as one cause of the recent hostility. He was still smart-
ing with the wound received in the battle of the Moat,
and in his moments of pain and anger had repeatedly
prayed that his life might be spared to see vengeance
wreaked on the Koraidites. Such was the state of his
feelings when summoned to decide upon their fate.

Being a gross, full-blooded man, he was with difficulty
helped upon an ass, propped up by a leather cushion,
and supported in his seat until he arrived at the tribunal
of justice. Before ascending it, he exacted an oath from
all present to abide by his decision. The Jews readily
took it, anticipating a favorable sentence. No sooner
was he helped into the tribunal, than, extending his hand,
he condemned the men to death, the women and children
to slavery, and their effects to be shared among the
victors.

The wretched Jews looked aghast, but there was no
appeal. They were conducted to a public place since
called the Market of the Koraidites, where great graves

ESPOUSES RIHANA. 213

had been digged. Into these they were compelled to
descend, one by one, their prince Hoya Ibn Ahktab among
the number, and were successively put to death. Thus
the prayer of Saad Ibn Moad for vengeance on the
Koraidites was fully gratified. He witnessed the execu-
tion of the men he had condemned, but such was his ex-
citement that his wound broke out afresh, and he died
shortly afterwards.

In the castle of Koraida was found a great quantity of
pikes, lances, cuirasses, and other armor ; and its lands
were covered with flocks and herds and camels. In divid-
ing the spoil each foot-soldier had one lot, each horseman
three ; two for his horse, and one for himself. A fifth
part of the whole was set apart for the prophet.

The most precious prize in the eyes of Mahomet was
Rihana, daughter of Simeon, a wealthy and powerful
Jew ; and the most beautiful female of her tribe. He
took her to himself, and, having converted her to the
faith, added her to the number of his wives.

But, though thus susceptible of the charms of the
Israelitish women, Mahomet became more and more vin-
dictive in his hatred of the men ; no longer putting faith
in their covenants, and suspecting them of the most in-
sidious attempts upon his life. Moslem writers attribute
to the spells of Jewish sorcerers a long and languishing
illness, with which he was afflicted about this time, and
which seemed to defy all remedy. They describe the
very charm by which it was produced. It was prepared,

214 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

say they, by a Jewish necromancer from the mountains,
aided by his daughters, who were equally skilled in
the diabolic art. They formed a small waxen effigy of
Mahomet ; wound round it some of his hair, and thrust
through it eleven needles. They then made eleven knots
in a bowstring, blowing with their breaths on each ; and,
winding the string round the effigy, threw the whole into
a well.

Under the influence of this potent spell Mahomet
wasted away, until his friend, the angel Gabriel, revealed
the secret to him in a vision. On awaking, he sent Ali to
the well, where the image was discovered. When it was
brought to Mahomet, continues the legend, he repeated
over it the two last chapters of the Koran, which had
been communicated to him in the recent vision. They
consist of eleven verses, and are to the following purport :

In the name of the all merciful God ! I will fly for
refuge to the Lord of the light of day.

That he may deliver me from the danger of beings and
things created by himself.

From the dangers of the darksome night, and of the
moon when in eclipse.

From the danger of sorcerers, who tie knots and blow
on them with their breath.

From the danger of the envious, who devise deadly
harm.

I will fly for refuge to Allah, the Lord of men.

To Allah, the King of men.

THE AMULETS, 215

To Allah, the God of men.

That he may deliver me from the evil spirit who flies
at the mention of his holy name.

Who suggests evil thoughts into the hearts of the
children of men.

And from the evil Genii, and men who deal in magic.

At the repetition of each one of tliose verses, says the
legend, a knot of the bowstring came loose, a needle fell
from the effigy, and Mahomet gained strength. At the
end of the eleventh verse he rose, renovated in health
and vigor, as one restored to freedom after having been
bound with cords.

The two final chapters of the Koran, which comprise
these verses, are entitled the amulets, and considered by
the superstitious Moslems effectual talismans against
sorcery and magic charms.

The conduct of Mahomet in the affair narrated in
this chapter, has been censured as weak and vacillating,
and deficient in military decision, and his measures as
wanting in true greatness of mind, and the following
circumstances are adduced to support these charges.
"When threatened with violence from without, and perfidy
from within, he is for bribing a part of his confederate
foes to a separate peace ; but suffers himself to be, in a
manner, hectored out of this crafty policy by Saad Ibn
Moad ; yet, subsequently, he resorts to a scheme still
more subtle and crafty, by which he sows dissension
among his enemies. Above all, his conduct towards the

216 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Jews has been strongly reprobated. His referring the
appeal of the Beni Koraida for mercy, to the decision of
one whom he knew to be bent on their destruction, has
been stigmatized as cruel mockery ; and the massacre of
those unfortunate men in the market-place of Medina, is
pronounced one of the darkest pages of his history. In
fact, his conduct towards this race from the time that he
had power in his hands forms an exception to the general
tenor of his disposition, which was forgiving and humane.
He may have been especially provoked against them by
proofs of treachery and deadly rancor on their part ; but
we see in this, as in other parts of his policy in this part
of his career, instances of that worldly alloy which at
times was debasing his spirit, now that he had become
the Apostle of the Sword.

CHAPTEK XXIV.

MAHOMET UNDERTAKES A PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA.— EVADES KHALED AKD A
TROOP OP HORSE SENT AGAINST HIM.— ENCAMPS NEAR MECCA.— NEGO-
TIATES WITH THE KOREISHITES FOR PERMISSION TO ENTER AND COMPLETE
HIS PILGRIMAGE. — TREATY FOR TEN YEARS, BY WHICH HE IS PERMITTED
TO MAKE A YEARLY VISIT OF THREE DAYS.— HE RETURNS TO MEDINA.

IX years had now elapsed since the flight of
Mahomet from Mecca. As that city was sacred
| in the eyes of the Arabs and their great point
of pilgrimage, his long exile from it, and his open war-
fare with the Koreishites, who had charge of the Caaba,
prejudiced him in the opinion of many of the tribes, and
retarded the spread of his doctrines. His followers, too,
who had accompanied him in his flight, languished once
more to see their native home, and there was danger of
their faith becoming enfeebled under a protracted exile.

Mahomet felt more and more the importance of linking
the sacred city with his religion, and maintaining the
ancient usages of his race. Besides, he claimed but to
be a reformer, anxious to restore the simplicity and puri-
ty of the patriarchal faith. The month Doul Kaada was
at hand, the month of pilgrimage, when there was a truce
to warfare, and enemies might meet in peace within the

217

218 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

holy boundaries. A timely vision assured Mahomet that
he and his followers might safely avail themselves of the
protection of this venerable custom to revisit the ancient
shrines of Arabian worship. The revelation was joyfully
received by his followers, and in the holy month he set
forth from Medina on his pilgrimage, at the head of four-
teen hundred men ; partly Mohadjerins or Fugitives, and
partly Ansarians or Auxiliaries. They took with them
seventy camels to be slain in sacrifice at the Caaba. To
manifest publicly that they came in peace and not in
war, they halted at Dsu Huleifa, a village about a day's
journey from Medina, where they laid aside all their
weapons, excepting their sheathed swords, and thence
continued on in pilgrim garb.

In the meantime a confused rumor of this movement
had reached Mecca. The Koreishites, suspecting hostil-
ities, sent forth Khaled Ibn Waled with a powerful troop
of horse, to take post in a valley about two days' journey
from Mecca, and check the advance of the Moslems.

Mahomet, hearing that the main road was thus barred
against him, took a rugged and difficult route through
the defiles of the mountains, and, avoiding Khaled and
his forces descended into the plain near Mecca ; where
he encamped at Hodeiba, within the sacred boundaries,
Hence he sent assurances to the Koreishites of his
peaceable intentions, and claimed the immunities and
rights of pilgrimage.

Envoys from the Koreishites visited his camp to make

THE SPONTANEO US IN A UG URA TION. 219

observations. They were struck with the reverence with
which he was regarded by his followers. The water with
which he performed his ablutions became sanctified ; a
hair falling from his head, or the paring of a nail, was
caught up as a precious relic. One of the envoys, in the
course of conversation, unconsciously touched the flow-
ing beard of the prophet; he was thrust back by the
disciples, and warned of the impiety of the act. In mak-
ing his report to the Koreishites on his return, " I have
seen the king of Persia, and the emperor of Constanti-
nople, surrounded by their courts," said he, "but never
did I behold a sovereign so revered by his subjects as is
Mahomet by his followers."

The Koreishites were the more loth to admit into their
city an adversary to their sect, so formidable in his in-
fluence over the minds and affections of his fellow-men.
Mahomet sent repeated missions to treat for a safe
access to the sacred shrines, but in vain. Othman Ibn
Affan, his son-in-law, was his last envoy. Several days
elapsed without his return, and it was rumored that he
was slain. Mahomet determined to revenge his fall.
Standing under a tree, and summoning his people around
him, he exacted an oath to defend him even to the death,
and never to desert the standard of the faith. This cere-
mony is known among Mahometans by the name of the
Spontaneous Inauguration.

The reappearance of Othman in the camp restored
tranquillity. He was accompanied by Solhail, an ambas-

220 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

sador from the Koreishites, to arrange a treaty of peace.
They perceived the impolicy of warring with a man
whose power was incessantly increasing, and who was
obeyed with such fanatic devotion. The treaty proposed
was for ten years ; during which time Mahomet and his
adherents were to have free access to Mecca as pilgrims,
there to remain, three days at a time, in the exercise of
their religious rites. The terms were readily accepted,
and Ali was employed to draw up the treaty. Mahomet
dictated the words. " Write," said he, " these are the
conditions of peace made by Mahomet the apostle of
God." "Hold!" cried Solhail, the ambassador, "had I
believed thee to be the apostle of God, I should never
have taken up arms against thee. Write, therefore, sim-
ply thy name, and the name of thy father." Mahomet
was fain to comply, for he felt he was not sufficiently in
force at this moment to contend about forms ; so he
merely denominated himself in the treaty, Mahomet Ibn
Abdallah (Mahomet the son of Abdallah), an abnegation
which gave some little scandal to his followers. Their
discontent was increased when he ordered them to shave
their heads, and to sacrifice on the spot the camels
brought to be offered up at the Caaba, as it showed he
had not the intention of entering Mecca ; these rites
being properly done at the conclusion of the ceremonials
of pilgrimage. They reminded him of his vision which
promised a safe entrance of the sacred city ; he replied,
that the present treaty was an earnest of its fulfillment,

TREATY OF PEACE. 221

which would assuredly take place on the following year.
With this explanation they had to content themselves ,
and having performed the ceremony, and made the
sacrifice prescribed, the camp was broken up, and the
pilgrim host returned, somewhat disappointed and do-
Jected, to Medina.

CHAPTEK XXV.

3XPEDITION AGAINST THE CITY OF KHAIBAR J SIEGE.— EXPLOITS OF MAHOM
ET'S CAPTAINS.— BATTLE OF ALI AND MARHAB.— STORMING OF THE CITA
DEL.— ALI MAKES A BUCKLER OF THE GATE.— CAPTURE OF THE PLACE.—
MAHOMET POISONED ; HE MARRIES SAFIYA, A CAPTIVE ; ALSO OMM HABD3A,
A WIDOW.

O console his followers for the check their relig-
ious devotion had experienced at Mecca, Ma-
homet now set on foot an expedition calculated
to gratify that love of plunder, which began to rival
fanaticism in attaching them to his standard.

About five days' journey to the northeast of Medina,
was situated the city of Khaibar, and its dependent terri-
tory. It was inhabited by Jews, who had grown wealthy
by commerce, as well as agriculture. Their rich domain
was partly cultivated with grain, and planted with groves
of palm-trees ; partly devoted to pasturage and covered
with flocks and herds; and it was fortified by several
castles. So venerable was its antiquity, that Abulfeda,
the Arabian historian, assures us that Moses, after the
passage of the Eed Sea, sent an army against the Amale-
kites, inhabiting Gothreb (Medina), and the strong city
of Khaibar.

EXPEDITION AGAIN 8T KHAIBAR. 223

This region had become a place of refuge for the hos-
tile Jews, driven by Mahomet from Medina and its envi-
rons, and for all those who had made themselves obnox-
ious to his vengeance. These circumstances, together
with its teeming wealth, pointed it out as a fit and ripe
object for that warfare which he had declared against all
enemies of the faith.

In the beginning of the seventh year of the Hegira, he
departed on an expedition against Khaibar, at the head
of twelve hundred foot and two hundred horse, accom-
panied by Abu Beker, by Ali, by Omar, and other of his
principal officers. He had two standards ; one represent-
ing the sun, the other a black eagle ; which last became
famous in after years as the standard of Khaled.

Entering the fertile territory of Khaibar, he began his
warfare by assailing the inferior castles with which it was
studded. Some of these capitulated without making
resistance ; in which cases, being considered " gifts from
God," the spoils went to the prophet, to be disposed of
by him the way before mentioned. Others of more
strength and garrisoned by stouter hearts, had to be
taken by storm.

After the capture of these minor fortresses, Mahomet
advanced against the city of Khaibar. It was strongly
defended by outworks, and its citadel, Al Kamus, built
on a steep rock, was deemed impregnable, insomuch that
Kenana Ibn al Rabi, the chief or king of the nation, had
made it the depository of ail his treasures.

224 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

The siege of this city was the most important enter-
prise the Moslems had yet undertaken. "When Mahomet
first came in sight of its strong and frowning walls, and
its rock-built citadel, he is said to have put up the fol-
lowing prayer :

" O Allah ! Lord of the seven heavens, and of all
things which they cover ! Lord of the seven earths, and
all which they sustain ! Lord of the evil spirits, and of
all whom they lead astray ! Lord of the winds, and of
all whom they scatter and disperse ! We supplicate
thee to deliver into our hands this city, and all that it
contains, and the riches of all its lands. To thee we look
for aid against this people, and against all the perils by
which we are environed."

To give more solemnity to his prayers, he chose as his
place of worship a great rock, in a stony place called
Mansela, and, during all the time that he remained en-
camped before Khaibar, made daily seven circuits round
it, as are made round the Caaba. A mosque was erected
on this rock in after times in memorial of this devout
ceremonial, and it became an object of veneration to all
pious Moslems.

The siege of the citadel lasted for some time, and
tasked the skill and patience of Mahomet and his troops,
as yet but little practiced in the attack of fortified places.
They suffered too from want of provisions, for the Arabs
in their hasty expeditions seldom burden themselves
with supplies, and the Jews on their approach had laid

SIEGE OF KHAIBAR. 225

waste the level country, and destroyed the palm-trees
round their capital.

Mahomet directed the attacks in person ; the besiegers
protected themselves by trenches, and brought battering-
rams to play upon the walls ; a breach was at length
effected, but for several days every attempt to enter was
vigorously repelled. Abu Beker at one time led the
assault, bearing the standard of the prophet ; but, after
fighting with great bravery, was compelled to retreat.
The next attack was headed by Omar Ibn Khattab, who
fought until the close of day with no better success. A
third attack was led by Ali, whom Mahomet armed with
his own scimetar, called Dhu'l Fakar, or the Trenchant.
On confiding to his hands the sacred banner, he pro-
nounced him " a man who loved God and his prophet ;
and whom God and his prophet loved. A man who knew
not fear, nor ever turned his back upon a foe."

And here it may be well to give a traditional account
of the person and character of Ali. He was of the mid-
dle height, but robust and square, and of prodigious
strength. He had a smiling countenance, exceedingly
florid, with a bushy beard. He was distinguished for
an amiable disposition, sagacious intellect, and religious
zeal, and, from his undaunted courage, was surnamed the
Lion of God.

Arabian writers dwell with fond exaggeration on the

exploits, at Khaibar, of this their favorite hero. He was

clad, they say, in a scarlet vest, over which was buckled
VOL. i.— 15

226 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCSESSOR.

a cuirass of steel. Scrambling with his followers up the
great heap of stones and rubbish in front of the breach,
he planted his standard on the top, determined never to
recede until the citadel was taken. The Jews sallied
forth to drive down the assailants. In the conflict which
ensued, Ali fought hand to hand with the Jewish com-
mander, Al Hareth, whom he slew. The brother of the
slain advanced to revenge his death. He was of gigantic
stature ; with a double cuirass, a double turban, wound
round a helmet of proof, in front of which sparkled an
immense diamond. He had a sword girt to each side,
and brandished a three-pronged spear, like a trident.
The warriors measured each other with the eye, and ac-
costed each other in boasting oriental style.

" I," said the Jew, " am Marhab ; armed at all points,
and terrible in battle."

" And I am Ali, whom his mother, at his birth, sur-
named Al Haklara (the rugged lion)."

The Moslem writers make short work of the Jewish
champion. He made a thrust at Ali with his three-
pronged lance, but it was dexterously parried ; and before
he could recover himself, a blow from the scimetar Dhu'l
Fakar divided his buckler, passed through the helm of
proof, through doubled turban and stubborn skull, cleav-
ing his head even to his teeth. His gigantic form fell
lifeless to the earth.

The Jews now retreated into the citadel, and a general
assault took place. In the heat of the action the shield

SIEGE OF KHAIBAR. 227

of Ali was severed from his arm, leaving his body ex-
posed : wrenching a gate, however, from its hinges, he
used it as a buckler through the remainder of the fight.
Abu Rafe, a servant of Mahomet, testifies to the fact. " I
afterwards," says he, "examined this gate in company
with seven m^n a.nd all eight of us attempted in vain to
wield it."*

The citadel being captured, every vault and dungeon
was ransacked for the wealth said to be deposited there
by Kenana, the Jewish prince. None being discovered,
Mahomet demanded of him where he had concealed his
treasure. He declared that it had all been expended in
the subsistence of his troops, and in preparations for de-
fense. One of his faithless subjects, however, revealed
the place where a great amount had been hidden. It did
not equal the expectations of the victors, and Kenana
was put to the torture to reveal the rest of his supposed
wealth. He either could not or would not make further
discoveries, so he was delivered up to the vengeance of a
Moslem, whose brother he had crushed to death by a
piece of millstone hurled from the wall, and who struck
off his head with a single blow of his sabre.f

While in the citadel of Khaibar, Mahomet came near

* This stupendous feat is recorded by the historian Abulfeda, c. 24.
"Abu Rafe," observes Gibbon, "was an eye-witness ; but who will be
witness for Abu Rafe?" We join with the distinguished historian in his
doubt ; yet if we scrupulously question the testimony of an eye-witness,
what will become of history

f The Jews inhabiting the tract of country called Khaibar, are stiU

228 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

falling a victim to Jewish vengeance. Demanding som©»
thing to eat, a shoulder of lamb was set before him. At
the first mouthful he perceived something unusual in the
taste, and spat it forth, but instantly felt acute internal
pain. One of his followers, named Baschar, who had
eaten more freely, fell down and expired in convulsions.
All now was confusion and consternation ; on diligent in-
quiry, it was found that the lamb had been cooked by
Zainab, a female captive, niece to Marhab, the gigantic
warrior slain by Ali. Being brought before Mahomet,
and charged with having infused poison into the viand,
she boldly avowed it, vindicating it as a justifiable re-
venge for the ills he had brought upon her tribe and
her family. "I thought," said she, "if thou wert in-
deed a prophet, thou wouldst discover thy danger ; if but
a chieftain, thou wouldst fall, and we should be delivered
from a tyrant."

Arabian writers are divided as to the fate of this
heroine. According to some, she was delivered up to the
vengeance of the relatives of Baschar, who had died of
the poison. According to others, her beauty pleaded in
her behalf, and Mahomet restored her unharmed to her
family.

I The same writers seldom permit any remarkable event
of Mahomet's life to pass without a miracle. In the

known in Arabia by the name of Beni Kheibar. They are divided into
three tribes, under independent sheikhs, the Beni Messiad, Beni Schahan,
and Beni Anaesse. They are accused of pillaging the caravans. — Ni&
foihr, v. ii. p. 43.

THE FEMALE CAPTIVE 8AFITA. 229

present instance, they assure us that the poisoned shoul-
der of lamb became miraculously gifted with speech,
and warned Mahomet of his danger. If so, it was rather
slow of speech, for he had imbibed sufficient poison to
injure his constitution throughout the remainder of his
life ; affecting him often with paroxysms of pain ; and in
his last moments he complained that the veins of his
heart throbbed with the poison of Khaibar. He expe-
rienced kinder treatment at the hands of Safiya (or
Sophia), another female captive, who had still greater
motives for vengeance than Zainab ; for she was the
recently espoused wife of Kenana, who had just been
sacrificed for his wealth, and she was the daughter of
Hoya Ibn Akhtab, prince of the Beni Koraida, who, with
seven hundred of his people, had been put to death in
the square of Medina, as has been related.

This Safiya was of great beauty ; it is not surprising,
therefore, that she should find instant favor in the eyes
of Mahomet, and that he should seek, as usual, to add
her to his harem ; but it may occasion surprise that she
should contemplate such a lot with complacency. Mos-
lem writers, however, explain this by assuring us that
she was supernaturally prepared for the event.

While Mahomet was yet encamped before the city, and
carrying on the siege, she had a vision of the night, in
which the sun descended from the firmament and nestled
in her bosom. On recounting her dream to her husband
Kenana in the morning, he smote her on the face, ex-

230 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

claiming, " Woman, you speak in parables of this Arab
chief who has come against us."

The vision of Safiya was made true, for having con-
verted her with all decent haste to the faith of Islam,
Mahomet took her to wife before he left Khaibar. Their
nuptials took place on the homeward march, at Al Sahba,
where the army halted for three days. Abu Ayub, one
of the prophet's most ardent disciples and marshal of his
household, patrolled around the nuptial tent throughout
the night, sword in hand. Safiya was one of the most
favored wives of Mahomet, whom she survived for forty
years of widowhood.

Besides the marriages of affection which we have re-
corded, the prophet, about this time, made another of
policy. Shortly after his return to Medina, he was glad-
dened by the arrival, from Abyssinia, of the residue of
the fugitives. Among these was a comely widow, thirty
years of age, whose husband, Abdallah, had died while
in exile. She was generally known by the name of Omm
Habiba, the mother of Habiba, from a daughter to whom
she had given birth. This widow was the daughter of
Mahomet's arch enemy, Abu Sofian ; and the prophet
conceived that a marriage with the daughter might soften
the hostility of the father ; a politic consideration, which
is said to have been either suggested or sanctioned by a
revelation of a chapter of the Koran.

When Abu Sofian heard of the espousals, " By heaven,"
exclaimed he, " this camel is so rampant that no muzzle
can restrain him."

CHAPTEE XXVI.

MISSIONS TO VARIOUS PRINCES; TO HERACLIUS ; TO KHOSRU II.; TO THE PRB*
FECT OF EGYPT. — THEIR RESULT.

TJEING tlie residue of the year, Mahomet re-

mained at Medina, sending forth his trusty
disciples, by this time experienced captains, on
various military expeditions ; by which refractory tribes
were rapidly brought into subjection. His views as a
statesman widened as his territories increased. Though
he professed, in cases of necessity, to propagate his re-
ligion by the sword, he was not neglectful of the peace-
ful measures of diplomacy, and sent envoys to various
princes and potentates, whose dominions bordered on his
political horizon, urging them to embrace the faith of
Islam ; which was, in effect, to acknowledge him, through
his apostolic office, their superior.

Two of the most noted of these missions were to
Khosru II., King of Persia, and Heraclius, the Koman
Emperor, at Constantinople. The wars between the
Eomans and the Persians, for the dominion of the East,
which had prevailed from time to time through several
centuries, had been revived by these two potentates with

231

232 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS*

varying fortunes, and for several years past had dis-
tracted the eastern world. Countries had been overrun
by either power; states and kingdoms had changed
hands under alternate invasions, and according to the
conquests and defeats of the warring parties. At one
time, Khosru with three armies, one vauntingly called
the Fifty Thousand Golden Spears, had wrested Pales-
tine, Cappadocia, Armenia, and several other great and
wealthy provinces from the Roman emperor ; had made
himself master of Jerusalem, and carried off the Holy
Cross to Persia ; had invaded Africa, conquered Libya
and Egypt, and extended his victories even to Carthage.

In the midst of his triumphant career, a Moslem envoy
arrived bearing him a letter from Mahomet. Khosru
sent for his secretary or interpreter, and ordered him to
read it. The letter began as follows :

" In the name of the most merciful God ! Mahomet,
son of Abdallah, and apostle of God, to Khosru, King of
Persia."

"What! " cried Khosru, starting up in haughty indig-
nation, " does one who is my slave dare to put his name
first in writing to me ? " So saying, he seized the letter
and tore it in pieces, without seeking to know its con-
tents. He then wrote to his viceroy in Yemen, saying,
" I am told there is in Medina a madman, of the tribe of
Koreish, who pretends to be a prophet. Restore him to
his senses ; or if you cannot, send me his head."

When Mahomet was told how Khosru had torn his let-

LETTER TO HERACLIUS. 233

ter, " Even so," said he, " shall Allah rend his empire in
pieces."

The letter from the prophet to Heraclius was more
favorably received, reaching him probably during his re-
verses. It was signed in characters of silver, Mahomet
Azzarel, Mahomet the messenger of God, and invited the
emperor to renounce Christianity, and embrace the faith
of Islam. Heraclius, we are told, deposited the epistle
respectfully upon his pillow, treated the envoy with dis-
tinction, and dismissed him with magnificent presents.
Engrossed, however, by his Persian wars, he paid no
further attention to this mission, from one whom he prob-
ably considered a mere Arab fanatic ; nor attached suf-
ficient importance to his military operations, which may
have appeared mere predatory forays of the wild tribes
of the desert.

Another mission of Mahomet was to the Mukowkis, or
governor of Egypt, who had originally been sent there
by Heraclius to collect tribute ; but who, availing him-
self of the confusion produced by the wars between the
Eomans and Persians, had assumed sovereign power, and
nearly thrown off all allegiance to the emperor. He re-
ceived the envoy with signal honor, but evaded a direct
reply to the invitation to embrace the faith, observing
that it was a grave matter requiring much consideration.
In the meantime, he sent presents to Mahomet of pre-
cious jewels; garments of Egyptian linen; exquisite
honey and butter ; a white she-ass, called Yafur, a white

234 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

mule, called Daldal, and a fleet horse called Lazlos, or
the Prancer. The most acceptable of his presents, how-
ever, were two Coptic damsels, sisters, called Mariyah
(or Mary), and Shiren.

The beauty of Mariyah caused great perturbation in
the mind of the prophet. He would fain have made her
his concubine, but was impeded by his own law in the
seventeenth chapter of the Koran, ordaining that fornica-
tion should be punished with stripes.

He was relieved from his dilemma by another revela-
tion, revoking the law in regard to himself alone, allow-
ing him intercourse with his handmaid. It remained in
full force, however, against all other Moslems. Still, to
avoid scandal, and above all, not to excite the jealousy of
his wives, he carried on his intercourse with the beauti-
ful Mariyah in secret ; which may be one reason why she
remained long a favorite.

CHAPTEK XXVn.

MAHOMET'S PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA ; HIS MARRIAGE WITH MAIMUNA.— KHALED
IBN AL WALED AND AMRU IBN AL AASS BECOME PROSELYTES.

HE time had now arrived when, by treaty with
the Koreishites, Mahomet and his followers
were permitted to make a pilgrimage to Mecca,
and pass three days unmolested at the sacred shrines.
He departed accordingly with a numerous and well-armed
host, and seventy camels for sacrifices. His old adversa-
ries would fain have impeded his progress, but they were
overawed, and on his approach withdrew silently to the
neighboring hills. On entering the bounds of Mecca, the
pilgrims, according to compact and usage, laid aside all
their warlike accoutrements excepting their swords, which
they carried sheathed.

Great was their joy on beholding once more the walls
and towers of the sacred city. They entered the gates
in pilgrim garb, with devout and thankful hearts, and
Mahomet performed all the ancient and customary rites,
with a zeal and devotion which gratified beholders, and
drew to him many converts. When he had complied
with all the ceremonials he threw aside the Iram or pil-

235

236 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

grim's garb, and withdrew to Sarif, a hamlet two leagues
distant, and without the sacred boundaries. Here he
had a ceremonial of a different kind to perform, but one
in which he was prone to act with unfeigned devotion.
It was to complete his marriage with Maimuna, the
daughter of Al Hareth, the Helalite. He had become
betrothed to her on his arrival at Mecca, but had post-
poned the nuptials until after he had concluded the rites
of pilgrimage. This was doubtless another marriage of
policy, for Maimuna was fifty-one years of age, and a
widow, but the connection gained him two powerful pros-
elytes. One was Khaled Ibn al Waled, a nephew of the
widow, an intrepid warrior who had come near destroy-
ing Mahomet at the battle of Ohod. He now became
one of the most victorious champions of Islamism, and
by his prowess obtained the appellation of " The Sword
of God."

The other proselyte was Khaled's friend, Amru Ibn
al Aass ; the same who assailed Mahomet with poetry
and satire at the commencement of his prophetic career ;
who had been an ambassador from the Koreishites to the
king of Abyssinia, to obtain the surrender of the fugitive
Moslems, and who was henceforth destined with his
sword to carry victoriously into foreign lands the faith
he had once so strenuously opposed.

Note.— Maimuna was the last spouse of the prophet, and, old as she
was at her marriage, survived all his other wives. She died many years
after him, in a pavilion at Serif, under the same tree in the shade of

THE TOMB OF MAIMUNA. 237

which her nuptial tent had been pitched, and was there interred. The
pious historian, Al Jannabi, who styles himself "a poor servant of Allah,
hoping for the pardon of his sins through the mercy of God," visited her
tomb on returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, in the year of the Hegira
963, a.d. 1555. "I saw there," said he, "a dome of black marble erected
in memory of Maimuna, on the very spot on which the apostle of God had
reposed with her. God knows the truth ! and also the reason of the black
color of the stone. There is a place of ablution, and an oratory ; but the
building has fallen to decay."

CHAPTEE XXVIII.

A MOSLEM ENVOY SLAIN IN SYRIA. — EXPEDITION TO AVENGE HIS DEATM.—
BATTLE OF MUTA. — ITS RESULTS.

mHH! MONG the different missions which had been
l^^^: sent by Mahomet beyond the bounds of Arabia
|^^ffl^;| to invite neighboring princes to embrace his
religion, was one to the governor of Bosra, the great
mart on the confines of Syria, to which he had made his
first caravan journey in the days of his youth. Syria had
been alternately under Eoman and Persian domination,
but was at that time subject to the emperor, though
probably in a great state of confusion. The envoy of
Mahomet was slain at Muta, a town about three days'
journey eastward from Jerusalem. The one who slew
him was an Arab of the Christian tribe of Gassan, and son
to Shorhail, an emir, who governed Muta in the name of
Heraclius.

To revenge the death of his legate, and to insure re-
spect to his envoys in future, Mahomet prepared to send
an army of three thousand men against the offending
city. It was a momentous expedition, as it might, for

the first time, bring the arms of Islam in collision with

238

MAHOMET'S REVENGE. 239

those of the Roman Empire; but Mahomet presumed
upon his growing power, the energy of his troops, and
the disordered state of Syrian affairs. The command
was intrusted to his freedman Zeid, who had given such
signal proof of devotion in surrendering to him his beau-
tiful wife Zeinab. Several chosen officers were associated
with him. One was Mahomet's cousin Jaafar, son of Abu
Taleb, and brother of Ali ; the same who, by his elo-
quence, had vindicated the doctrines of Islam before the
king of Abyssinia, and defeated the Koreishite embassy.
He was now in the prime of life, and noted for great
courage and manly beauty. Another of the associate
officers was Abdallah Ibn Kawaha, the poet, but who had
signalized himself in arms as well as poetry. A third
was the new proselyte Khaled, who joined the expedition
as a volunteer, being eager to prove by his sword the
sincerity of his conversion.

The orders to Zeid were to march rapidly, so as to
come upon Muta by surprise, to summon the inhabitants
to embrace the faith, and to treat them with lenity.
Women, children, monks, and the blind, were to be
spared at all events ; nor were any houses to be de-
stroyed, nor trees cut down.

The little army sallied from Medina in the full con-
fidence of coming upon the enemy unawares. On their
march, however, they learned that a greatly superior
force of Romans, or rather Greeks and Arabs, was ad-
vancing to meet them. A council of war was called.

240 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Some were for pausing, and awaiting further orders from
Mahomet : but Abdallah, the poet, was for pushing fear-
lessly forward without regard to numbers. " We fight
for the faith ! " cried he ; "if we fall, paradise is our
reward. On, then, to victory or martyrdom ! "

All caught a spark of the poet's fire, or rather, fanati-
cism. They met the enemy near Muta, and encountered
them with fury rather than valor. In the heat of the
conflict Zeid received a mortal wound. The sacred ban-
ner was falling from his grasp, but was seized and borne
aloft by Jaafar. The battle thickened round him, for the
banner was the object of fierce contention. He defended
it with desperate valor. The hand by which he held it
was struck off ; he grasped it with the other. That, too,
was severed ; he embraced it with his bleeding arms. A
blow from a scimetar cleft his skull ; he sank dead upon
the field, still clinging to the standard of the faith. Ab-
dallah the poet next reared the banner ; but he too fell
beneath the sword. Khaled, the new convert, seeing the
three Moslem leaders slain, now grasped the fatal stand-
ard, but in his hand it remained aloft. His voice rallied
the wavering Moslems : his powerful arm cut its way
through the thickest of the enemy. If his own account
may be credited, and he was one whose deeds needed no
exaggeration, nine scimetars were broken in his hand by
the fury of the blows given by him in this deadly con-
flict.

Night separated the combatants. In the morning

MOURNING FOR JAAFAR. 241

Khaled, whom the army acknowledged as their com-
mander, proved himself as wary as he was valiant. By
dint of marches and countermarches, he presented his
forces in so many points of view, that the enemy were
deceived as to his number, and supposed he had received
a strong reinforcement. At his first charge, therefore,
they retreated : their retreat soon became a flight ; in
which they were pursued with great slaughter. Khaled
then plundered their camp, in which was found great
booty. Among the slain in the field of battle was found
the body of Jaafar, covered with wounds, but all in front.
Out of respect to his valor, and to his relationship with
the prophet, Khaled ordered that his corpse should not
be buried on the spot, but borne back for honorable in-
terment at Medina.

The army, on its return, though laden with spoil, en-
tered the city more like a funeral train than a triumphant
pageant, and was received with mingled shouts and lam-
entations. While the people rejoiced in the success of
their arms, they mourned the loss of three of their favor-
ite generals. All bewailed the fate of Jaafar, brought
home a ghastly corpse to that city whence they had so
recently seen him sally forth in all the pride of valiant
manhood, the admiration of every beholder. He had left
behind him a beautiful wife and infant son. The heart
of Mahomet was touches vy her affliction. He took the
orphan child in his arms and bathed it with his tears.

But most he was affected when he beheld the young
vol. i.— 16

242 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

daughter of his faithful Zeid approaching him. He fell
on her neck and wept in speechless emotion. A by-
stander expressed surprise that he should give way to
tears for a death which, according to Moslem doctrine,
was but a passport to paradise. " Alas ! " replied the
prophet, " these are the tears of friendship for the loss
of a friend!"

The obsequies of Jaafar were performed on the third
day after the arrival of the army. By that time Mahomet
had recovered his self-possession, and was again the
prophet. He gently rebuked the passionate lamentations
of the multitude, taking occasion to inculcate one of the
most politic and consolatory doctrines of his creed.
" Weep no more," said he, " over the death of this my
brother. In place of the two hands lost in defending the
standard of the faith, two wings have been given him to
bear him to paradise ; there to enjoy the endless delights
insured to all believers who fall in battle."

It was in consequence of the prowess and generalship
displayed by Khaled in this perilous fight, that he was
honored by Mahomet with the appellation of " The Sword
of God," by which he was afterwards renowned.

CHAPTEE XXIX.

DESIGKS UPON MECCA.— MISSION OF ABU SOFIAN.— ITS RESULT.

AHOMET, by force either of arms or eloquence,
had now acquired dominion over a great num-
ber of the Arabian tribes. He had many thou-
sand warriors under his command — sons of the desert
inured to hunger, thirst, and the scorching rays of the
sun, and to whom war was a sport rather than a toil.
He had corrected their intemperance, disciplined their
valor, and subjected them to rule. Kepeated victories
had given them confidence in themselves and in their
leader ; whose standard they followed with the implicit
obedience of soldiers, and the blind fanaticism of dis-
ciples.

The views of Mahomet expanded with his means, and
a grand enterprise now opened upon his mind. Mecca,
his native city, the abode of his family for generations,
the scene of his happiest years, was still in the hands of
his implacable foes. The Caaba, the object of devotion
and pilgrimage to all the children of Ishmael, the shrine
of his earliest worship, was still profaned by the emblems
and rites of idolatry. To plant the standard of the faith

24*

244 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

on the walls of his native city ; to rescue the holy house
from profanation ; restore it to the spiritual worship of
the one true God, and make it the rallying point of
Islamism, formed now the leading object of his ambi-
tion.

The treaty of peace existing with the Koreishites was
an impediment to any military enterprise ; but some cas-
ual feuds and skirmishings soon gave a pretext for charg-
ing them with having violated the treaty stipulations.
The Koreishites had by this time learned to appreciate
and dread the rapidly increasing power of the Moslems,
and were eager to explain away, or atone for, the quar-
rels and misdeeds of a few heedless individuals. They
even prevailed on their leader, Abu Sofian, to repair to
Medina as ambassador of peace, trusting that he might
have some influence with the prophet through his daugh-
ter, Omm Habiba.

It was a sore trial to this haughty chief to come
almost a suppliant to the man whom he had scoffed at as
an impostor, and treated with inveterate hostility ; and
his proud spirit was doomed to still further mortifica-
tion, for Mahomet, judging from his errand of the weak-
ness of his party, and being secretly bent on war, vouch-
safed him no reply.

[Repressing his rage, Abu Sofian sought the intermedia-
tion of Abu Beker, of Omar, and Ali ; but they all re-
buked and repulsed him, for they knew the secret wishes
of Mahomet. He next endeavored to secure the favor of

HUMILIATION OF ABU 80FIAN. 245

Fatima, the daughter of Mahomet and wife of Ali, by flat-
tering a mother's pride, entreating her to let her son
Hasan, a child but six years old, be his protector ; but
Fatima answered haughtily, " My son is too young to be
a protector ; and no protection can avail against the will
of the prophet of God." Even his daughter, Omm Ha-
biba, the wife of Mahomet, on whom Abu Sofian had cal-
culated for influence, added to his mortification, for on
his offering to seat himself on a mat in her dwelling,
she hastily folded it up, exclaiming, " It is the bed of the
prophet of God, and too sacred to be made the resting-
place of an idolater."

The cup of humiliation was full to overflowing, and in
the bitterness of his heart Abu Sofian cursed his daugh-
ter. He now turned again to Ali, beseeching his advice
in the desperate state of his embassy.

" I can advise nothing better," replied Ali, " than for
thee to promise, as the head of the Koreishites, a con-
tinuance of thy protection; and then to return to thy
home."

"But thinkest thou that promise will be of any
avail?"

" I think not," replied Ali, dryly ; " but I know not to
the contrary."

In pursuance of this advice, Abu Sofian repaired to
the mosque, and made public declaration, in behalf of
the Koreishites, that on their part the treaty of peace
should be faithfully maintained; after which he re-

0

246 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

turned to Mecca, deeply humiliated by the imperfect
result of his mission. He was received with scoffs by
the Koreishites, who observed that his declaration of
peace availed nothing without the concurrence of Ma-
homet

CHAPTEK XXX.

SURPRISE AND CAPTURH OF MECCA.

AHOMET now prepared for a secret expedition
to take Mecca by surprise. His allies were
summoned from all quarters to Medina ; but no
intimation was given of the object he had in view. All
the roads leading to Mecca were barred to prevent any
intelligence of his movements being carried to the Ko-
reishites. With all his precautions the secret came near
being discovered. Among his followers, fugitives from
Mecca, was one named Hateb, whose family had re-
mained behind, and were without connections or friends
to take an interest in their welfare. Hateb now thought
to gain favor for them among the Koreishites, by betray-
ing the plans of Mahomet. He accordingly wrote a letter
revealing the intended enterprise, and gave it in charge
to a singing woman, named Sara, a Haschemite slave,
who undertook to carry it to Mecca.

She was already on the road when Mahomet was
apprised of the treachery. Ali and five others, well
mounted, were sent in pursuit of the messenger. They

soon overtook her, but searched her person in vain.

247

MAHOMET AXD Hl< SUCCESSORS.

Most of thein would have given up the search and turned
back, but Ali was confident that the prophet of God
could not be mistaken nor misinformed. Drawing his
scimetar he swore to strike off the head of the mes-
senger, unless the letter were produced. The threat was
effectual. She drew forth the letter from among her hair.

Hateb, on being taxed with his perfidy, acknowledged
it ; but pleaded his anxiety to secure favor for his desti-
tute family, and his certainty that the letter would be
harmless, and of no avail against the purposes of the
apostle of God. Omar spurned at his excuses and would
have struck off his head ; but Mahomet, calling to mind
that Hateb had fought bravely in support of the faith in
the battle of Beder, admitted his excuses and forgave
him.

The prophet departed with ten thousand men on this
momentous enterprise. Omar, who had charge of regu-
lating the march, and appointing the encampments, led
the army by lonely passes of the mountains ; prohibiting
the sound of attabal or trumpet, or anything else that
could betray their movements. While on the march,
Mahomet was joined by his uncle Al Abbas, who had
come forth with his family from Mecca, to rally under
the standard of the faith. Mahomet received him gra-
ciously, yet with a hint at his tardiness. "Thou art
the last of the emigrants," said he, " as I am the last of
the prophets." Al Abbas sent his family forward to
Medina, while he turned and accompanied the expedi-

CAPTURE OF ABU SOFIAX. 049

tion. The army reached the valley of Marr Azzahran,
near to the sacred city, without being discovered. It
was nightfall when they silently pitched their tents, and
now Omar for the first time permitted them to light their
watch-fires.

In the meantime, though Al Abbas had joined the
standard of the faith in all sincerity, yet he was sorely
disquieted at seeing his nephew advancing against
Mecca, with such a powerful force and such hostile
intent ; and feared the entire destruction of the Kore-
ishites, unless they could be persuaded in time to capitu-
late. In the dead of the night, he mounted Mahomet's
white mule Fadda, and rode forth to reconnoitre. In
skirting the camp, he heard the tramp of men and
sound of voices. A scouting party were bringing in two
prisoners captured near the city. Al Abbas approached,
and found the captives to be Abu Sofian, and one of his
captains. They were conducted to the watch-fire of
Omar, who recognized Abu Sofian by the light. u God
be praised," cried he, "that I have such an enemy in
my hands, and without conditions." His ready scimetar
might have given fatal significance to his words, had not
Al Abbas stepped forward and taken Abu Sofian under
his protection, until the will of the prophet should be
known. Omar rushed forth to ascertain that will, or
rather to demand the life of the prisoner ; but Al Abbas,
taking the latter up behind him, put spurs to his mule,
and was the first to reach the tent of the prophet,

250 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

followed hard by Omar, clamoring for the head of Abu
Sofian.

Mahomet thus beheld in his power his inveterate
enemy who had driven him from his home and country,
and persecuted his family and friends ; but he beheld in
him the father of his wife Omm Habiba, and felt inclined
to clemency. He postponed all decision in the matter
until morning ; giving Abu Sofian in charge of Al Abbas.

When the captain was brought before him on the
following day : " Well, Abu Sofian," cried he, " is it not at
length time to know that there is no other God but God ? "

" That I already knew," replied Abu Sofian.

" Good ! and is it not time for thee to acknowledge me
as the apostle of God ? "

"Dearer art thou to me than my father and my
mother," replied Abu Sofian, using an oriental phrase
of compliment ; " but I am not yet prepared to acknowl-
edge thee a prophet."

" Out upon thee ! " cried Omar, " testify instantly to
the truth, or thy head shall be severed from thy body."

To these threats were added the counsels and en-
treaties of Al Abbas, who showed himself a real friend in
need. The rancor of Abu Sofian had already been partly
subdued by the unexpected mildness of Mahomet; so,
making a merit of necessity, he acknowledged the divin-
ity of his mission ; furnishing an illustration of the Mos-
lem maxim, " To convince stubborn unbelievers, there is
no argument like the sword."

REVIEW OF THE ARMT. 251

Having now embraced the faith, Abu Sofian obtained
favorable terms for the people of Mecca, in case of their
submission. None were to be harmed who should re-
main quietly in their houses ; or should take refuge in the
houses of Abu Sofian and Hakim ; or under the banner of
Abu Rawaiha.

That Abu Sofian might take back to the city a proper
idea of the force brought against it, he was stationed
with Al Abbas at a narrow defile where the whole army
passed in review. As the various Arab tribes marched
by with their different arms and ensigns, Al Abbas ex-
plained the name and country of each. Abu Sofian was
surprised at the number, discipline, and equipment of the
troops ; for the Moslems had been rapidly improving in
the means and art of war ; but when Mahomet approach^
ed, in the midst of a chosen guard, armed at all points
and glittering with steel, his astonishment passed all
bounds. " There is no withstanding this ! " cried he to
Al Abbas, with an oath — " truly thy nephew wields a
mighty power."

"Even so," replied the other; "return then to thy
people ; provide for their safety, and warn them not to
oppose the apostle of God."

Abu Sofian hastened back to Mecca, and assembling
the inhabitants, told them of the mighty host at hand,
led on by Mahomet ; of the favorable terms offered in
case of their submission, and cf the vanity of all resist-
ance. As Abu Sofian had been the soul of the opposition

252 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

to Mahomet and his doctrines, his words had instant
effect in producing acquiescence in an event which
seemed to leave no alternative. The greater part of the
inhabitants, therefore, prepared to witness, without re-
sistance, the entry of the prophet.

Mahomet, in the meantime, who knew not what resist-
ance he might meet with, made a careful distribution of
his forces as he approached the city. While the main
body marched directly forward, strong detachments ad-
vanced over the hills on each side. To Ali, who com-
manded a large body of cavalry, was confided the sacred
banner, which he was to plant on Mount Hadjun, and
maintain it there until joined by the prophet. Express
orders were given to all the generals to practice forbear-
ance, and in no instance to make the first attack ; for it
was the earnest desire of Mahomet to win Mecca by
moderation and clemency, rather than subdue it by vio-
lence. It is true, all who offered armed resistance were
to be cut down, but none were to be harmed who submit-
ted quietly. Overhea ring one of his captains exclaim, in
the heat of his zeal, that " no place was sacred on the
day of battle," he instantly appointed a cooler-headed
commander in his place.

The main body of the army advanced without moles-
tation. Mahomet brought up the rear guard, clad in a
scarlet vest, and mounted on his favorite camel Al
Kaswa. He proceeded but slowly, however ; his move-
ments being impeded by the immense multitude which

ENTRY INTO MECCA. 253

thronged around him. Arrived on Mount Hadjun, where
Ali had planted the standard of the faith, a tent was
pitched for him. Here he alighted, put off his scarlet
garment, and assumed the black turban and the pilgrim
garb. Casting a look down into the plain, however, he
beheld, with grief and indignation, the gleam of swords
and lances, and Khaled, who commanded the left wing,
in a full career of carnage. His troops, composed of
Arab tribes converted to the faith, had been galled by a
flight of arrows from a body of Koreishites ; whereupon
the fiery warrior charged into the thickest of them with
sword and lance ; his troops pressed after him ; put the
enemy to flight, entered the gates of Mecca pell-mell with
them, and nothing but the swift commands of Mahomet
preserved the city from a general massacre.

The carnage being stopped, and no further opposition
manifested, the prophet descended from the mount and
approached the gates, seated on his camel, accompanied
by Abu Beker on his right hand, and followed by Osama,
the son of Zeid. The sun was just rising as he entered
the gates of his native city, with the glory of a conqueror,
but the garb and humility of a pilgrim. He entered, re-
peating verses of the Koran, which he said had been
revealed to him at Medina, and were prophetic of the
event. He triumphed in the spirit of a religious zealot,
not of a warrior. "Unto God," said he, "belong the
hosts of heaven and earth, and God is mighty and wise.
Now hath God verified unto his apostle the vision,

254 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

wherein he said, ye shall surely enter the holy temple of
Mecca in full security."

Without dismounting, Mahomet repaired directly to
the Caaba, the scene of his early devotions, the sacred
shrine of worship since the days of the patriarchs, and
which he regarded as the primitive temple of the one
true God. Here he made the seven circuits round the
sacred edifice, a reverential rite from the days of relig-
ious purity ; with the same devout feeling he each time
touched the black stone with his staff ; regarding it as a
holy relic. He would have entered the Caaba, but Oth-
man Ibn Talha, the ancient custodian, locked the door.
Ali snatched the keys, but Mahomet caused them to be
returned to the venerable officer, and so won him by his
kindness, that he not merely threw open the doors, but
subsequently embraced the faith of Islam ; whereupon
he was continued in his office.

Mahomet now proceeded to execute the great object
of his religious aspirations, the purifying of the sacred
edifice from the symbols of idolatry, with which it was
crowded. All the idols in and about it, to the number
of three hundred and sixty, were thrown down and de-
stroyed. Among these, the most renowned was Hobal,
an idol brought from Balka, in Syria, and fabled to have
the power of granting rain. It was, of course, a great
object of worship among the inhabitants of the thirsty
desert. There were statues of Abraham and Ishmael
also, represented with divining arrows in their hands ;

RELIGIOUS RITES. 255

"an outrage on their memories," said Mahomet, "being
symbols of a diabolical art which they had never prac-
ticed." In reverence of their memories, therefore, these
statues were demolished. There were paintings, also,
depicting angels in the guise of beautiful women. " The
angels," said Mahomet, indignantly, " are no such beings.
There are celestial houris provided in paradise for the
solace of true believers ; but angels are ministering spir-
its of the Most High, and of too pure a nature to admit
of sex." The paintings were accordingly obliterated.

Even a dove, curiously carved of wood, he broke with
his own hands, and cast upon the ground, as savoring of
idolatry.

From the Caaba he proceeded to the well of Zem Zem.
It was sacred in his eyes, from his belief that it was the
identical well revealed by the angel to Hagar and Ish-
mael, in their extremity; he considered the rite con-
nected with it as pure and holy, and continued it in his
faith. As he approached the well, his uncle Al Abbas
presented him a cruse of the water, that he might drink,
and make the customary ablution. In commemoration
of this pious act, he appointed his uncle guardian of the
cup of the well ; an office of sacred dignity, which his
descendants retain to this day.

At noon one of his followers, at his command, sum-
moned the people to prayer from the top of the Caaba,
a custom continued ever since throughout Mahometan
countries, from minarets or towers provided in every

256 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

mosque. He also established the Kebla, toward which
the faithful in every part of the world should turn their
faces in prayer.

He afterwards addressed the people in a kind of ser-
mon, setting forth his principal doctrines, and announcing
the triumph of the faith as a fulfillment of prophetic
promise. Shouts burst from the multitude in reply,
" Allah Achbar, God is great ! " cried they. " There is
no God but God, and Mahomet is his prophet."

The religious ceremonials being ended, Mahomet took
his station on the hill Al Safa, and the people of Mecca,
male and female, passed before him, taking the oath of
fidelity to him as the prophet of God, and renouncing
idolatry. This was in compliance with a revelation in
the Koran : *" God hath sent his apostle with the direc-
tion and the religion of truth, that he may exalt the same
over every religion. Yerily, they who swear fealty to
him, swear fealty unto God; the hand of God is over
their hands." In the midst of his triumph, however, he
rejected all homage paid exclusively to himself ; and all
regal authority. " Why dost thou tremble ? " said he, to
a man who approached with timid and faltering steps.
" Of what dost thou stand in awe ? I am no king, but the
son of a Koreishite woman, who ate flesh dried in the sun."

His lenity was equally conspicuous. The once haughty
chiefs of the Koreishites appeared with abject counte-
nances before the man they had persecuted, for their
lives were in his power.

TREATMENT OF OFFENDERS. 257

"What can you expect at my hands?" demanded he
sternly.

" Mercy, O generous brother ! Mercy, O son of a gen-
erous line ! "

" Be it so ! " cried he, with a mixture of scorn and pity
"Away ! begone ! ye are free ! "

Some of his followers who had shared his persecutions,
were disappointed in their anticipations of a bloody re-
venge and murmured at his clemency ; but he persisted
in it, and established Mecca as an inviolable sanctuary,
or place of refuge, so to continue until the final resurrec-
tion. He reserved to himself, however, the right on the
present occasion, and during that special day, to punish
a few of the people of the city, who had grievously of-
fended, and been expressly proscribed; yet even these,
for the most part, were ultimately forgiven.

Among the Koreishite women who advanced to take
the oath, he descried Henda, the wife of Abu Sofian ;
the savage woman who had animated the infidels at the
battle of Ohod, and had gnawed the heart of Hamza, in
revenge for the death of her father. On the present occa-
sion she had disguised herself to escape detection ; but
seeing the eyes of the prophet fixed on her, she threw
herself at his feet, exclaiming, " I am Henda : pardon !
pardon ! " Mahomet pardoned her — and was requited for
his clemency by her making his doctrines the subject of
contemptuous sarcasms.

Among those destined to punishment was Wacksa, the

VOL. I.— 17

258 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Ethiopian, who had slain Hamza ; but he had fled from
Mecca on the entrance of the army. At a subsequent
period he presented himself before the prophet, and
made the profession of faith before he was recognized.
He was forgiven, and made to relate the particulars of
the death of Hamza; after which Mahomet dismissed
him with an injunction, never again to come into his
presence. He survived until the time of the Caliphat of
Omar, during whose reign he was repeatedly scourged
for drunkenness.

Another of the proscribed was Abdallah Ibn Saad, a
young Koreishite, distinguished for wit and humor, as
well as for warlike accomplishments. As he held the
pen of a ready writer, Mahomet had employed him to
reduce the revelations of the Koran to writing. In so
doing, he had often altered and amended the text ; nay,
it was discovered that, through carelessness or design,
he had occasionally falsified it, and rendered it absurd.
He had even made his alterations and amendments mat-
ters of scoff and jest among his companions, observing
that if the Koran proved Mahomet to be a prophet, he
himself must be half a prophet. His interpolations be-
ing detected, he had fled from the wrath of the prophet,
and returned to Mecca, where he relapsed into idolatry.
On the capture of the city his foster-brother concealed
him in his house, until the tumult had subsided, when
he led him into the presence of the prophet, and sup-
plicated for his pardon. This was the severest trial of

CLEMENCY OF THE PROPHET. 259

the lenity of Mahomet. The offender had betrayed his
confidence ; held him up to ridicule ; questioned his
apostolic mission, and struck at the very foundation of
his faith. For some time he maintained a stern silence ;
hoping, as he afterwards declared, some zealous disciple
might strike off the offender's head. No one, however,
stirred ; so, yielding to the entreaties of Othman, he
granted a pardon. Abdallah instantly renewed his pro-
fession of faith, and continued a good Mussulman. His
name will be found in the wars of the Caliphs. He was
one of the most dexterous horsemen of his tribe, and
evinced his ruling passion to the last, for he died repeat-
ing the hundredth chapter of the Koran, entitled " The
War Steeds." Perhaps it was one which had experienced
his interpolations.

Another of the proscribed was Akrema Ibn Abu Jahl,
who on many occasions had manifested a deadly hostility
to the prophet, inherited from his father. On the en-
trance of Mahomet into Mecca, Akrema threw himself
upon a fleet horse, and escaped by an opposite gate, leav-
ing behind him a beautiful wife, Omm Hakem, to whom
he was recently married. She embraced the faith of
Islam, but soon after learned that her husband, in at-
tempting to escape by sea to Yemen, had been driven
back to port. Hastening to the presence of the prophet,
she threw herself on her knees before him, loose, di-
shevelled, and unveiled, and implored grace for her hus-
band. The prophet, probably more moved by her beauty

260 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

than her grief, raised her gently from the earth, and told
her her prayer was granted. Hurrying to the sea-port,
she arrived just as the vessel in which her husband had
embarked was about to sail. She returned, mounted be-
hind him, to Mecca, and brought him, a true believer,
into the presence of the prophet. On this occasion, how-
ever, she was so closely veiled that her dark eyes alone
were visible. Mahomet received Akrema's profession of
faith ; made him commander of a battalion of Hawazen-
ites, as the dower of his beautiful and devoted wife, and
bestowed liberal donations on the youthful couple. Like
many other converted enemies, Akrema proved a valiant
soldier in the wars of the faith, and after signalizing
himself on various occasions, fell in battle, hacked and
pierced by swords and lances.

The whole conduct of Mahomet on gaining possession
of Mecca, showed that it was a religious, more than a
military triumph. His heart, too, softened toward his
native place, now that it was in his power ; his resent-
ments were extinguished by success, and his inclinations
were all toward forgiveness.

The Ansarians, or Auxiliaries of Medina, who had aided
him in his campaign, began to fear that its success might
prove fatal to their own interests. They watched him
anxiously, as one day, after praying on the hill Al Safa,
he sat gazing down wistfully upon Mecca, the scene of
his early struggles and recent glory : " Verily, " said he,
" thou art the best of cities, and the most beloved of

ZEAL OF KHALED. 261

Allah ! Had I not been driven out from thee by my own
tribe, never would I have left thee ! " On hearing this,
the Ansarians said, one to another, " Behold ! Mahomet
is conqueror and master of his native city ; he will, doubt-
less, establish himself here, and forsake Medina ! " Their
words reached his ear, and he turned to them with re-
proachful warmth : " No ! " cried he, " when you plighted
to me your allegiance, I swore to live and die with you.
I should not act as the servant of God, nor as his ambas-
sador, were I to leave you."

He acted according to his words, and Medina, which
had been his city of refuge, continued to be his residence
to his dying day.

Mahomet did not content himself with purifying the
Caaba, and abolishing idolatry from his native city ; he
sent forth his captains at the head of armed bands, to
cast down the idols of different tribes set up in the neigh-
boring towns and villages, and to convert their worship-
pers to his faith.

Of all these military apostles, none was so zealous as
Khaled ; whose spirit was still fermenting with recent
conversion. Arriving at Naklah, the resort of the idola-
trous Koreishites to worship at the shrine of Uzza, he
penetrated the sacred grove, laid waste the temple, and
cast the idol to the ground. A horrible hag, black and
naked, with dishevelled hair, rushed forth, shrieking
and wringing her hands ; but Khaled severed her through
the middle with one blow of his scimetar. He reported

262 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

the deed to Mahomet, expressing a doubt whether she
were priestess or evil spirit. " Of a truth," replied the
prophet, " it was Uzza herself whom thou hast destroyed."

On a similar errand into the neighboring province of
Tehama, Khaled had with him three hundred and fifty
men, some of them of the tribe of Suleim, and was ac-
companied by Abda'lrahman, one of the earliest prose-
lytes of the faith. His instructions from the prophet
were to preach peace and good will, to inculcate the
faith, and to abstain from violence, unless assailed.
"When about two days' journey on his way to Tehama, he
had to pass through the country of the tribe of Jadsima.
Most of the inhabitants had embraced the faith, but
some were still of the Sabean religion. On a former
occasion this tribe had plundered and slain an uncle of
Khaled, also the father of Abda'lrahman, and several
Suleimites, as they were returning from Arabia Felix.
Dreading that Khaled and his host might take ven-
geance for these misdeeds, they armed themselves on
their approach.

Khaled was secretly rejoiced at seeing them ride forth
to meet him in this military array. Hailing them with
an imperious tone, he demanded whether they were
Moslems or infidels. They replied, in faltering accents,
" Moslems." " Why then come ye forth to meet us with
weapons in your hands ? " " Because we have enemies
among some of the tribes who may attack us unawares."

Khaled sternly ordered them to dismount and lay by

KIND MISSION OF ALL 263

their weapons. Some complied, and were instantly
seized and bound ; the rest fled. Taking their flight as a
confession of guilt, he pursued them with great slaugh-
ter ; laid waste the country, and in the effervescence of
his zeal even slew some of the prisoners.

Mahomet, when he heard of this unprovoked outrage,
raised his hands to heaven, and called God to witness
that he was innocent of it. Khaled, when upbraided
with it on his return, would fain have shifted the blame
on Abda'lrahman, but Mahomet rejected indignantly an
imputation against one of the earliest and worthiest of
his followers. The generous Ali was sent forthwith to
restore to the people of Jadsima what Khaled had
wrested from them, and to make pecuniary compensation
to the relatives of the slain. It was a mission congenial
with his nature, and he executed it faithfully. Inquiring
into the losses and sufferings of each individual, he paid
him to his full content. When every loss was made
good, and all blood atoned for, he distributed the re-
maining money among the people, gladdening every
heart by his bounty. So Ali received the thanks and
praises of the prophet, but the vindictive Khaled was
rebuked even by those whom he had thought to please.

"Behold! " said he, to Abda'lrahman, "I have avenged
the death of thy father." " Bather say," replied the other,
indignantly, " thou hast avenged the death of thine uncle.
Thou hast disgraced the faith by an act worthy of an
idolater."

CHAPTEK XXXI.

HOSTILITIES IN THE MOUNTAINS.— ENEMY'S CAMP IN THE VALLEY OF ATJTAft
— BATTLE OP THE PASS OF HONEIN.— CAPTURE OF THE ENEMY'S CAMP.— •
INTERVIEW OF MAHOMET WITH THE NURSE OF HIS CHILDHOOD. — DIVISION
OF SPOIL.— MAHOMET AT HIS MOTHER'S GRAVE.

HILE the military apostles of Mahomet were
spreading his doctrines at the point of the
sword in the plains, a hostile storm was gather-
ing in the mountains. A league was formed among the
Thakefites, the Hawazins, the Joshmites, the Saadites,
and several of the hardy mountain tribes of Bedouins, to
check a power which threatened to subjugate all Arabia.
The Saadites, or Beni Sad, here mentioned, are the same
pastoral Arabs among whom Mahomet had been nur-
tured in his childhood ; and in whose valley, according to
tradition, his heart had been plucked forth and purified
by an angel. The Thakefites, who were foremost in the
league, were a powerful tribe, possessing the strong
mountain town of Tayef and its productive territory.
They were bigoted idolaters ; maintaining at their capital
the far-famed shrine of the female idol Al Lat. The

reader will remember the ignominious treatment of Ma-

264

ENEMY'S CAMP. 265

hornet, when he attempted to preach his doctrines at
Tayef ; being stoned in the public square, and ultimately
driven with insult from the gates. It was probably a
dread of vengeance at his hands, which now made the
Thakefites so active in forming a league against him.

Malec Ibn Auf, the chief of the Thakefites, had the
general command of the confederacy. He appointed the
valley of Autas, between Honein and Tayef, as the place
of assemblage and encampment ; and as he knew the
fickle nature of the Arabs, and their proneness to return
home on the least caprice, he ordered them to bring with
them their families and effects. They assembled, accord-
ingly, from various parts, to the number of four thousand
fighting men ; but the camp was crowded with women
and children, and encumbered with flocks and herds.

The expedient of Malec Ibn Auf to secure the adhesion
of the warriors, was strongly disapproved by Dor aid, the
chief of the Joshmites. This was an ancient warrior,
upwards of a hundred years old ; meagre as a skeleton,
almost blind, and so feeble that he had to be borne in
a litter on the back of a camel. Still, though unable to
mingle in the battle, he was potent in council from his
military experience. This veteran of the desert advised
that the women and children should be sent home forth-
with, and the army relieved from all unnecessary incum-
brances. His advice was not taken, and the valley of
Autas continued to present rather the pastoral encamp-
ment of a tribe, than the hasty levy of an army.

MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS

In the meantime Mahomet, hearing of the gathering
storm, had sallied forth to anticipate it, at the head
of about twelve thousand troops, partly fugitives from
Mecca, and auxiliaries from Medina, partly Arabs of the
desert, some of whom had not yet embraced the faith.

In taking the field he wore a polished cuirass and
helmet and rode his favorite white mule Daldal, seldom
mounting a charger, as he rarely mingled in actual fight.
His recent successes and his superiority in numbers,
making him confident of an easy victory, he entered the
mountains without precaution, and pushing forward for
the enemy's camp at Mutas, came to a deep, gloomy valley
on the confines of Honein. The troops marched without
order through the rugged defile, each one choosing his
own path. Suddenly they were assailed by showers of
darts, stones and arrows, which lay two or three of Ma-
homet's soldiers dead at his feet, and wounded several
others. Malec, in fact, had taken post with his ablest
warriors about the heights commanding this narrow
gorge. Every cliff and cavern was garrisoned with arch-
ers and slingers, and some rushed down to contend at
close quarters.

Struck with a sudden panic, the Moslems turned and
fled. In vain did Mahomet call upon them as their gen-
eral, or appeal to them as the prophet of God. Each
man sought but his own safety, and an escape from that
horrible valley.

For a moment all seemed lost, and some recent but

THE PASS OF HONEm. 267

unwilling converts betrayed an exultation in the sup-
posed reverse of fortune of the prophet.

" By heavens ! " cried Abu Sofian, as he looked aftei
the flying Moslems, " nothing will stop them until thej
reach the sea."

"Ay," exclaimed another, "the magic power of Mahom«
et is at an end ! "

A third, who cherished a lurking revenge for the death
of his father, slain by the Moslems in the battle of Ohod,
would kave killed the prophet in the confusion, had he
not been surrounded and protected by a few devoted fol-
lowers. Mahomet himself, in an impulse of desperation,
spurred his mule upon the enemy ; but Al Abbas seized
the bridle, stayed him from rushing to certain death, and
at the same time put up a shout that echoed through the
narrow valley. Al Abbas was renowned for strength of
lungs, and at this critical moment it was the salvation of
the army. The Moslems rallied when they heard his
well-known voice, and finding they were not pursued, re-
turned to the combat. The enemy had descended from
the heights, and now a bloody conflict ensued in the
defile. " The furnace is kindling," cried Mahomet exult-
ingly, as he saw the glitter of arms and flash of weapons.
Stooping from his saddle, and grasping a handful of dust,
he scattered it in the air toward the enemy. " Confusion
on their faces ! " cried he, " may this dust blind them ! "
They were blinded accordingly, and fled in confusion, say
the Moslem writers ; though their defeat may rather be

268 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

attributed to the Moslem superiority of force, and the
zeal inspired by the exclamations of the prophet. Malec
and the Thakefites took refuge in the distant city of
Tayef, the rest retreated to the camp in the Valley of
Autas.

While Mahomet remained in the Valley of Honein, he
sent Abu Amir with a strong force to attack the camp.
The Hawazins made a brave defense. Abu Amir was
slain ; but his nephew, Abu Musa, took the command,
and obtained a complete victory, killing many of the
enemy. The camp afforded great booty and many cap-
tives, from the unwise expedient of Malec Ibn Auf, in
encumbering it with the families and effects, the flocks
and herds of the confederates ; and from his disregard of
the sage advice of the veteran Doraid. The fate of that
ancient warrior of the desert is worthy of mention.
While the Moslem troops, scattered through the camp,
were intent on booty, Eabia Ibn Kafi, a young Suleimite,
observed a litter borne off on the back of a camel, and
pursued it, supposing it to contain some beautiful fe-
male. On overtaking it and drawing the curtain, he
beheld the skeleton form of the ancient Doraid. Vexed
and disappointed, he struck at him with his sword, but
the weapon broke in his hand. " Thy mother," said the
old man sneeringly, " has furnished thee with wretched
weapons ; thou wilt find a better one hanging behind my
saddle."

The youth seized it, but as he drew it from the scab-

THE FOSTER-SISTER OF THE PROPHET. 269

bard, Dor aid perceiving that lie was a Suleimite, ex-
claimed, " Tell thy mother thou hast slain Dor aid Ibn
Simma, who has protected many women of her tribe in
the day of battle." The words were ineffectual ; the
skull of the veteran was cloven with his own scimetar.
When Eabia, on his return to Mecca, told his mother ot
the deed, " Thou hast indeed slain a benefactor of thy
race," said she reproachfully. " Three women of thy
family has Doraid Ibn Simma freed from captivity."

Abu Musa returned in triumph to Mahomet, making a
great display of the spoils of the camp of Autas, and the
women and children whom he had captured. One of the
female captives threw herself at the feet of the prophet,
and implored his mercy as his foster-sister Al Shima,
the daughter of his nurse Halema, who had nurtured him
in the Saadite valley. Mahomet sought in vain to recog-
nize in her withered features the bright playmate of his
infancy, but she laid bare her back, and showed a scar
where he had bitten her in their childish gambols. He
no longer doubted ; but treated her with kindness, giving
her the choice either to remain with him and under his
protection, or to return to her home and kindred.

A scruple rose among the Moslems with respect to
their female captives. Could they take to themselves
such as were married, without committing the sin of
adultery ? The revelation of a text of the Koran put an
end to the difficulty. " Ye shall not take to wife free
women who are married, unless your right hand shall

270 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

have made them slaves." According to this all women
taken in war may be made the wives of the captors,
though their former husbands be living. The victors of
Honein failed not to take immediate advantage of this
law.

Leaving the captives and the booty in a secure place,
and properly guarded, Mahomet now proceeded in pur-
suit of the Thakefites who had taken refuge in Tayef. A
sentiment of vengeance mingled with his pious ardor as
he approached this idolatrous place, the scene of former
injury and insult, and beheld the gate whence he had
once been ignominiously driven forth. The walls were
too strong, however, to be stormed, and there was a
protecting castle ; for the first time, therefore, he had
recourse to catapults, battering-rams, and other engines
used in sieges, but unknown in Arabian warfare. These
were prepared under the direction of Salman al Farsi,
the converted Persian.

The besieged, however, repulsed every attack, galling
the assailants with darts and arrows, and pouring down
melted iron upon the shields of bull-hides, under covert
of which they approached the walls. Mahomet now laid
waste the fields, the orchards, and vineyards, and pro-
claimed freedom to all slaves who should desert from the
city. For twenty days he carried on an ineffectual siege
— daily offering up prayers midway between the tents of
his wives Omm Salama and Zeinab, to whom it had fallen
by lot to accompany him in this campaign. His hopes of

THE NURSE OF THE PROPHET. 271

success began to fail, and he was further discouraged
"by a dream, which was unfavorably interpreted by Abu
Beker, renowned for his skill in expounding visions. He
would have raised the siege, but his troops murmured ;
whereupon he ordered an assault upon one of the gates.
As usual, it was obstinately defended; numbers were
slain on both sides : Abu Sofian, who fought valiantly on
the occasion, lost an eye, and the Moslems were finally
repulsed.

Mahomet now broke up his camp, promising his troops
to renew the siege at a future day, and proceeded to the
place where were collected the spoils of his expedition.
These, say Arabian writers, amounted to twenty-four
thousand camels, forty thousand sheep, four thousand
ounces of silver, and six thousand captives.

In a little while appeared a deputation from the Hawa-
zins, declaring the submission of their tribe, and begging
the restoration of their families and effects. With them
came Halema, Mahomet's foster-nurse, now well stricken
in years. The recollections of his childhood again
pleaded with his heart. " Which is dearest to you," said
he to the Hawazins, " your families or your goods ? "
They replied, " Our families."

" Enough," rejoined he, "as far as it concerns Al
Abbas and myself, we are ready to give up our share of
the prisoners ; but there are others to be moved. Come
to me after noontide prayer, and say, ' we implore the
ambassador of God that he counsel his followers to re-

272 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

turn us our wives and children ; and we implore his fol-
lowers that they intercede with him in our favor.' "

The envoys did as he advised. Mahomet and Al
Abbas immediately renounced their share of the cap-
tives ; their example was followed by all excepting the
tribes of Tamim and Fazara, but Mahomet brought them
to consent by promising them a sixfold share of the pris-
oners taken in the next expedition. Thus the interces-
sion of Halema procured the deliverance of all the cap-
tives of her tribe. A traditional anecdote shows the
deference with which Mahomet treated this humble pro-
tector of his infancy. " I was sitting with the prophet,"
said one of his disciples, " when all of a sudden a woman
presented herself, and he rose and spread his cloth for
her to sit down upon. When she went away, it was ob-
served, ' that woman suckled the prophet.' "

Mahomet now sent an envoy to Malec, who remained
shut up in Tayef, offering the restitution of all the spoils
taken from him at Honein, and a present of one hun-
dred camels, if he would submit and embrace the faith.
Malec was conquered and converted by this liberal offer,
and brought several of his confederate tribes with him to
the standard of the prophet. He was immediately made
their chief, and proved, subsequently, a severe scourge
in the cause of the faith to his late associates the Thake-
fites.

The Moslems now began to fear that Mahomet, in
these magnanimous impulses, might squander away al?

SEARING THE SPOILS. 273

the gains of their recent battles ; thronging around him,
therefore, they clamored for a division of the spoils and
captives. Kegarding them, indignantly, "Have you
ever," said he, "found me avaricious, or false, or dis-
loyal ? " Then plucking a hair from the back of a camel,
and raising his voice, " By Allah ! " cried he, " I have
never taken from the common spoil the value of that
camel's hair more than my fifth; and that fifth has
always been expended for your good."

He then shared the booty as usual ; four-fifths among
the troops ; but his own fifth he distributed among those
whose fidelity he wished to insure. The Koreishites he
considered dubious allies ; perhaps he had overheard the
exultation of some of them in anticipation of his defeat ;
he now sought to rivet them to him by gifts. To Abu
Sofian he gave one hundred camels and forty okks of sil-
ver, in compensation for the eye lost in the attack on the
gate of Tayef. To Akrema Ibn Abu Jahl, and others of
like note, he gave in due proportions, and all from his
own share.

Among the lukewarm converts thus propitiated, was
Abbas Ibn Mardas, a poet. He was dissatisfied with his
share, and vented his discontent in satirical verses. Ma-
homet overheard him. " Take that man hence," said he,
" and cut out his tongue." Omar, ever ready for rigor-
ous measures, would have executed the sentence literally,
and on the spot ; but others, better instructed in the
prophet's meaning, led Abbas, all trembling, to the pub-
vol. i.— 18

274 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

lie square where the captured cattle were collected, and
bade him choose what he liked from among them.

" What ! " cried the poet, joyously, relieved from the
horrors of mutilation, " is this the way the prophet
would silence my tongue ? By Allah ! I will take noth-
ing." Mahomet, however, persisted in his politic gener-
osity, and sent him sixty camels. From that time for-
ward the poet was never weary of chanting the liberality
of the prophet.

While thus stimulating the good-will of lukewarm pros-
elytes of Mecca, Mahomet excited the murmurs of his
auxiliaries of Medina. " See," said they, " how he lav-
ishes gifts upon the treacherous Koreishites, while we,
who have been loyal to him through all dangers, receive
nothing but our naked share. What have we done that
we should be thus thrown into the background ? "

Mahomet was told of their murmurs, and summoned
their leaders to his tent. " Hearken, ye men of Medina,"
said he ; " were ye not in discord among yourselves, and
have I not brought you into harmony ? Were ye not in
error, and have I not brought you into the path of truth ?
Were ye not poor, and have I not made you rich ? "

They acknowledged the truth of his words. "Look
ye ! " continued he, " I came among you stigmatized as
a liar, yet you believed in me ; persecuted, yet you pro-
tected me ; a fugitive, yet you sheltered me ; helpless,
yet you aided me. Think you I do not feel all this?
Think you I can be ungrateful? You complain that I

TEE PROPHET'S APPEAL. 275

bestow gifts upon these people, and give none to you. It
is true, I give them worldly gear, but it is to win their
worldly hearts. To you, who have been true, I give —
myself ! They return home with sheep and camels ; ye
return with the prophet of God among you. For by him
in whose hands is the soul of Mahomet, though the whole
world should go one way and ye another, I would remain
with you ! Which of you, then, have I most rewarded ? "

The auxiliaries were moved even to tears by this ap-
peal. " O prophet of God," exclaimed they, " we are con-
tent with our lot ! "

The booty being divided, Mahomet returned to Mecca,
not with the parade and exultation of a conqueror, but in
pilgrim garb, to complete the rites of his pilgrimage. All
these being scrupulously performed, he appointed Moad
Ibn Jabal as iman, or pontiff, to instruct the people in the
doctrines of Islam, and gave the government of the city
into the hands of Otab, a youth but eighteen years of
age; after which he bade farewell to his native place,
and set out with his troops on the return to Medina.

Arriving at the village of Al Abwa, where his mother
was buried, his heart yearned to pay a filial tribute to
her memory, but his own revealed law forbade any
respect to the grave of one who had died in unbelief. In
the strong agitation of his feelings he implored from
heaven a relaxation of this law. If there was any decep-
tion on an occasion of this kind, one would imagine it
must have been self-deception, and that he really believed

276 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

in a fancied intimation from heaven relaxing the law, in
part, in the present instance, and permitting him to visit
the grave. He burst into tears on arriving at this trying
place of the tenderest affections ; but tears were all the
filial tribute he was permitted to offer. " I asked leave
of God," said he, mournfully, "to visit my mother's
grave, and it was granted; but when I asked leave tc
pray for her, it was denied me ! "

CHAPTEB XXXII.

DBATH OP THE PROPHET'S DAUGHTER ZEINAB — BIRTH OP HIS SON IBRAHIM.
— DEPUTATIONS FROM DISTANT TRIBES. — POETICAL CONTEST IK PRESENCE
OP THE PROPHET. — HIS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO THE CHARMS OF POETRY. —
REDUCTION OF THE CITY OF TAYEF ; DESTRUCTION OF ITS IDOLS. — NEGO-
TIATION WITH AMIR IBN TAFIEL, A PROUD BEDOUIN CHIEF ; INDEPENDENT
SPIRIT OF THE LATTER. — INTERVIEW OF ADI, ANOTHER CHIEF, WITH MA-
HOMET.

HOKTLY after his return to Medina, Mahomet
was afflicted by the death of his daughter Zei-
nab, the same who had been given up to him
in exchange for her husband Abul Aass, the unbeliever,
captured at the battle of Beder. The domestic affec-
tions of the prophet were strong, and he felt deeply this
bereavement ; he was consoled, however, by the birth of
a son, by his favorite concubine Mariyah. He called the
child Ibrahim, and rejoiced in the hope, that this son of
his old age, his only male issue living, would continue
his name to after generations.

His fame, either as a prophet or a conqueror, was now
spreading to the uttermost parts of Arabia, and depu-
tations from distant tribes were continually arriving at
Medina, some acknowledging him as a prophet and em-

277

278 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

bracing Islamism, others submitting to him as a temporal
sovereign, and agreeing to pay tribute. The talents of
Mahomet rose to the exigency of the moment ; his views
expanded with his fortunes, and he now proceeded with
statesmanlike skill to regulate the fiscal concerns of his
rapidly growing empire. Under the specious appella-
tion of alms, a contribution was levied on true believers,
amounting to a tithe of the productions of the earth,
where it was fertilized by brooks and rain ; and a twen-
tieth part where its fertility was the result of irrigation.
For every ten camels, two sheep were required ; for forty
head of cattle, one cow ; for thirty head, a two years'
calf; for every forty sheep, one; whoever contributed
more than at this rate, would be considered so much the
more devout, and would gain a proportionate favor in the
eyes of God.

The tribute exacted from those who submitted to tem-
poral sway, but continued in unbelief, was at the rate of
one dinar in money or goods, for each adult person, bond
or free.

Some difficulty occurred in collecting the charitable
contributions ; the proud tribe of Tamim openly resisted
them, and drove away the collector. A troop of Arab
horse was sent against them, and brought away a number
of men, women and children, captives. A deputation of
the Tamimites came to reclaim the prisoners. Four of
the deputies were renowned as orators and poets, and in-
stead of humbling themselves before Mahomet, proceeded

POETICAL CONTEST. 279

to declaim in prose and verse, defying the Moslems to a
poetical contest.

" I am not sent by God as a poet," replied Mahomet,
" neither do I seek fame as an orator."

Some of his followers, however, accepted the challenge,
and a war of ink ensued, in which the Tamimites ac-
knowledged themselves vanquished. So well pleased was
Mahomet with the spirit of their defiance, with their
poetry, and with their frank acknowledgment of defeat,
that he not merely gave them up the prisoners, but dis-
missed them with presents.

Another instance of his susceptibility to the charms
of poetry is recorded in the case of Caab Ibn Zohair, a
celebrated poet of Mecca, who had made him the subject
of satirical verses, and had consequently been one of the
proscribed ; but had fled on the capture of the sacred
city. Caab now came to Medina to make his peace, and
approaching Mahomet when in the mosque, began chant-
ing his praises in a poem afterwards renowned among
the Arabs as a masterpiece. He concluded by especially
extolling his clemency, " for with the prophet of God the
pardon of injuries is, of all his virtues, that on which one
£an rely with the greatest certainty."

Captivated with the verse, and soothed by the flattery,
Mahomet made good the poet's words, for he not merely
forgave him, but taking off his own mantle, threw it upon
his shoulders. The poet preserved the sacred garment
to the day of his death, refusing golden offers for it. The

280 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSOMS.

Caliph Moawyah purchased it of his heirs for ten thou-
sand drachmas, and it continued to be worn by the
Caliphs in processions and solemn ceremonials, until the
thirty-sixth Caliphat, when it was torn from the back of
the Caliph Al-Most'-asem Billah, by Holagu, the Tartar
conqueror, and burnt to ashes.

While town after town, and castle after castle of the
Arab tribes were embracing the faith, and professing
allegiance to Mahomet, Tayef, the stronghold of the
Thakefites, remained obstinate in the worship of its
boasted idol Al Lat. The inhabitants confided in their
mountain position, and in the strength of their walls and
castle. But, though safe from assault, they found them-
selves gradually hemmed in and isolated by the Mos-
lems, so that at length they could not stir beyond their
walls without being attacked. Thus threatened and har-
assed, they sent ambassadors to Mahomet to treat for
peace.

The prophet oherished a deep resentment against this
stiff-necked and most idolatrous city, which had at one
time ejected him from its gates, and at another time re-
pulsed him from its walls. His terms were conversion
and unqualified submission. The ambassadors readily
consented to embrace Islamism themselves, but pleaded
the danger of suddenly shocking the people of Tayef, by
a demand to renounce their ancient faith. In their name,
therefore, they entreated permission for three years
longer, to worship their ancient idol Al Lat. The re-

DESTRUCTION OF THE IDOL AL LAT. 281

quest was peremptorily denied. They then asked at
least one month's delay, to prepare the public mind.
This likewise was refused, all idolatry being incompati-
ble with the worship of God. They then entreated to be
excused from the observance of the daily prayers.

" There can be no true religion without prayer," re-
plied Mahomet. In fine, they were compelled to make
an unconditional submission.

Abu Sofian, Ibn Harb, and Al Mogheira, were sent to
Tayef, to destroy the idol Al Lat, which was of stone.
Abu Sofian struck at it with a pick-axe, but missing his
blow fell prostrate on his face. The populace set up a
shout, considering it a good augury ; but Al Mogheira
demolished their hopes, and the statue, at one blow of a
sledge-hammer. He then stripped it of the costly robes,
the bracelets, the necklace, the ear-rings, and other orna-
ments of gold and precious stones wherewith it had been
decked by its worshippers, and left it in fragments on
the ground, with the women of Tayef weeping and la-
menting over it.*

Among those who still defied the power of Mahomet,
was the Bedouin chief Amir Ibn Tufiel, head of the
powerful tribe of Amir. He was renowned for personal

* The Thakefites continue a powerful tribe to this day ; possessing the
same fertile region on the eastern declivity of the Hedjas chain of moun-
tains. Some inhabit the ancient town of Tayef, others dwell in tents and
have flocks of goats and sheep. They can raise two thousand matchlocks,
and defended their stronghold of Tayef in the wars with the Wahabys.—
BurcTchardfs Notes, v. 2.

282 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

beauty and princely magnificence ; but was of a haughty
spirit, and his magnificence partook of ostentation. At
the great fair of Okaz, between Tayef and Naklah, where
merchants, pilgrims, and poets, were accustomed to as-
semble from all parts of Arabia, a herald would pro-
claim : " Whoso wants a beast of burden, let him come to
Amir ; is any one hungry, let him come to Amir, and he
will be fed ; is he persecuted, let him fly to Amir, and he
will be protected."

Amir had dazzled every one by his generosity, and
his ambition had kept pace with his popularity. The
rising power of Mahomet inspired him with jealousy.
When advised to make terms with him ; "I have sworn,"
replied he haughtily, " never to rest until I had won all
Arabia ; and shall I do homage to this Koreishite ? "

The recent conquests of the Moslems, however, brought
him to listen to the counsels of his friends. He repaired
to Medina, and coming into the presence of Mahomet,
demanded frankly, " Wilt thou be my friend ? "

" Never, by Allah ! " was the reply, " unless thou dost
embrace the faith of Islam ? "

" And if I do, wilt thou content thyself with the sway
over the Arabs of the cities, and leave to me the Be-
douins of the deserts ? "

Mahomet replied in the negative.

" What then will I gain by embracing thy faith ? "

" The fellowship of all true believers."

"I covet no such fellowship!" replied the proud

FLIGHT OF ADI. 283

Amir ; and with a warlike menace he returned to his
tribe.

A Bedouin chieftain of a different character was Adi,
a prince of the tribe of Tai. His father Hatim had been
famous, not merely for warlike deeds, but for boundless
generosity, insomuch that the Arabs were accustomed to
say, "as generous as Hatim." Adi the son was a Chris-
tian ; and however he might have inherited his father's
generosity, was deficient in his valor. Alarmed at the
ravaging expeditions of the Moslems, he ordered a young
Arab, who tended his camels in the desert, to have sev-
eral of the strongest and fleetest at hand, and to give
instant notice of the approach of an enemy.

It happened that Ali, who was scouring that part of
the country with a band of horsemen, came in sight,
bearing with him two banners, one white, the other
black. The young Bedouin beheld them from afar, and
ran to Adi, exclaiming, " the Moslems are at hand. I see
their banners at a distance ! " Adi instantly placed his
wife and children on the camels, and fled to Syria. His
sister, surnamed Saffana, or the Pearl, fell into the hands
of the Moslems, and was carried with other captives to
Medina. Seeing Mahomet pass near to the place of her
confinement, she cried to him :

"Have pity upon me, O ambassador of God! My
father is dead, and he who should have protected has
abandoned me. Have pity upon me, O ambassador of
God, as God may have pity upon thee ! "

284 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

" Who is thy protector ? " asked Mahomet.

" Adi, the son of Hatim."

"He is a fugitive from God and his prophet," replied
Mahomet, and passed on.

On the following day, as Mahomet was passing by, Ali,
who had been touched by the woman's beauty and her
grief, whispered to her to arise and entreat the prophet
once more. She accordingly repeated her prayer. " O
prophet of God ! my father is dead ; my brother, who
should have been my protector, has abandoned me.
Have mercy upon me, as God will have mercy upon thee."

Mahomet turned to her benignantly. " Be it so," said
he ; and he not only set her free, but gave her raiment
and a camel, and sent her by the first caravan bound to
Syria.

Arriving in the presence of her brother, she upbraided
him with his desertion. He acknowledged his fault and
was forgiven. She then urged him to make his peace
with Mahomet ; " he is truly a prophet," said she, " and
will soon have universal sway ; hasten, therefore, in time
to win his favor."

The politic Adi listened to her counsel, and hastening
to Medina, greeted the prophet, who was in the mosque.
His own account of the interview presents a striking pic-
ture of the simple manners and mode of life of Mahomet,
now in the full exercise of sovereign power, and the
career of rapid conquest. " He asked me," says Adi, " my
name, and when I gave it, invited me to accompany him

ADI'S INTERVIEW WITH THE PROPHET, 285

to his home. On the way a weak emaciated woman ac-
costed him. He stopped and talked to her of her affairs.
This, thought I to myself, is not very kingly. When we
arrived at his house, he gave me a leathern cushion
stuffed with palm-leaves to sit upon, while he sat upon
the bare ground. This, thought I, is not very princely !

" He then asked me three times to embrace Islamism.
I replied, 'I have a faith of my own.' 'I know thy
faith,' said he, ' better than thou dost thyself. As prince,
thou takest one fourth of the booty from thy people. Is
this Christian doctrine?' By these words I perceived
him to be a prophet, who knew more than other men.

" ' Thou dost not incline to Islamism,' continued he,
' because thou seest we are poor. The time is at hand
when true believers will have more wealth than they will
know how to manage. Perhaps thou art deterred by
seeing the small number of the Moslems in comparison
with the hosts of their enemies. By Allah ! in a little
while a Moslem woman will be able to make a pilgrimage
on her camel, alone and fearless, from Kadesia to God's
temple at Mecca. Thou thinkest, probably, that the
might is in the hands of the unbelievers ; know that the
time is not far off when we will plant our standards on
the white castles of Babylon.' "*

The politic Adi believed in the prophecy, an,d forth*
with embraced the faith.

* Weil's Mohammed, p. 247.

CHAPTEE XXXin.

PREPARATIONS FOR AN EXPEDITION AGAINST STRIA. — INTRIGUES OF ABDALLAH
IBN OBBA.— CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE FAITHFUL. — MARCH OF THE ARMY.—
THE ACCURSED REGION OF HAJAR. — ENCAMPMENT AT TABUC— SUBJUGA-
TION OF THE NEIGHBORING PROVINCES. — KHALED SURPRISES OKAIDER AND
HIS CASTLE.— RETURN OF THE ARMY TO MEDINA.

AHOMET had now, either by conversion or
conquest, made himself sovereign of almost all
Arabia. The scattered tribes, heretofore dan-

gerous to each other, but by their disunion powerless
against the rest of the world, he had united into one
nation, and thus fitted for external conquest. His pro-
phetic character gave him absolute control of the formi-
dable power thus conjured up in the desert, and he was
now prepared to lead it forth for the propagation of the
faith, and the extension of the Moslem power in foreign
lands.

His numerous victories, and the recent affair at Muta.
had at length, it is said, roused the attention of the
Emperor Heraclius, who was assembling an army on the
confines of Arabia to crush this new enemy. Mahomet
determined to anticipate his hostilities, and to carry the
standard of the faith into the very heart of Syria.

286

SYRIAN CAMPAIGN. 287

Hitherto he had undertaken his expeditions with se-
crecy ; imparting his plans and intentions to none but
his most confidential officers, and beguiling his followers
into enterprises of danger. The present campaign, how-
ever, so different from the brief predatory excursions of
the Arabs, would require great preparations ; an unusual
force was to be assembled, and all kinds of provision
made for distant marches, and a long absence. He pro-
claimed openly, therefore, the object and nature of the
enterprise.

There was not the usual readiness to flock to his
standard. Many remembered the disastrous affair at
Muta, and dreaded to come again in conflict with disci-
plined Koman troops. The time of year also was unpro-
pitious for such a distant and prolonged expedition. It
was the season of summer heat ; the earth was parched,
and the springs and brooks were dried up. The date-
harvest too was approaching, when the men should be at
home to gather the fruit, rather than abroad on preda-
tory enterprises.

All these things were artfully urged upon the people
by Abdallah Ibn Obba, the Khazradite, who continued to
be the covert enemy of Mahomet, and seized every occa-
sion to counteract his plans. " A fine season this," would
he cry, " to undertake such a distant march in defiance of
dearth and drought, and the fervid heat of the desert !
Mahomet seems to think a war with Greeks quite a mat-
ter of sport ; trust me, you will find it very different from

288 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

a war of Arab against Arab. By Allah ! methinks I al*
ready see you all in chains."

By these and similar scoffs and suggestions, he
wrought upon the fears and feelings of the Khazradites,
his partisans, and rendered the enterprise generally un-
popular. Mahomet, as usual, had resort to revelation.
" Those who would remain behind, and refuse to devote
themselves to the service of God," said a timely chapter
of the Koran, " allege the summer heat as an excuse.
Tell them the fire of hell is hotter ! They may hug
themselves in the enjoyment of present safety, but end-
less tears will be their punishment hereafter."

Some of his devoted adherents manifested their zeal at
this lukewarm moment. Omar, Al Abbas, and Abda'l-
rahman, gave large sums of money ; several female dev-
otees brought their ornaments and jewels. Othman
delivered one thousand, some say ten thousand, dinars to
Mahomet, and was absolved from his sins, past, present,
or to come. Abu Beker gave four thousand drachmas ;
Mahomet hesitated to accept the offer knowing it to be
all that he possessed. " What will remain," said he, " for
thee and thy family ? " " God and his prophet," was the
reply.

These devout examples had a powerful effect ; yet it
was with much difficulty that an army of ten thousand
horse and twenty thousand foot was assembled. Ma-
homet now appointed Ali governor of Medina during his
absence, and guardian of both their families. He ac-

PERFIDY OF ABB ALLAH. 289

cepted the trust with great reluctance, having been
accustomed always to accompany the prophet, and share
all his perils. All arrangements being completed, Ma-
homet marched forth from Medina on this momentous
expedition. A part of his army was composed of Khaz-
radites and their confederates, led by Abdallah Ibn
Obba. This man, whom Mahomet had well denominated
the Chief of the Hypocrites, encamped separately with
his adherents at night, at some distance in the rear of
the main army ; and when the latter marched forward in
the morning, lagged behind and led his troops back to
Medina. Repairing to Ali, whose dominion in the city
was irksome to him and his adherents, he endeavored to
make him discontented with his position, alleging that
Mahomet had left him in charge of Medina solely to rid
himself of an incumbrance. Stung by the suggestion,
Ali hastened after Mahomet, and demanded if what Ab-
dallah and his followers said were true.

" These men," replied Mahomet, " are liars. They are
the party of Hypocrites and Doubters, who would breed
sedition in Medina. I left thee behind to keep watch
over them, and to be a guardian to both our families. I
would have thee to be to me what Aaron was to Moses ;
excepting that thou canst not be, like him, a prophet ; I
being the last of the prophets." With this explanation
Ali returned contented to Medina.

Many have inferred from the foregoing, that Mahomet
intended Ali for his Caliph or successor ; that being the
vol. i. — 19

290 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

signification of the Arabic word used to denote the rela-
tion of Aaron to Moses.

The troops who had continued on with Mahomet soon
began to experience the difficulties of braving the desert
in this sultry season. Many turned back on the second
day; and others on the third and fourth. Whenever
word was brought to the prophet of their desertion,
" Let them go," would be the reply ; " if they are good
for anything God will bring them back to us ; if they are
not, we are relieved from so many incumbrances."

While some thus lost heart upon the march, others
who had remained at Medina repented of their faint-
heartedness. One, named Abu Khaithama, entering his
garden during the sultry heat of the day, beheld a repast
of viands and fresh water spread for him by his two
wives in the cool shade of a tent. Pausing at the thresh-
old, " At this moment," exclaimed he, " the prophet of
God is exposed to the winds and heats of the desert, and
shall Khaithama sit here in the shade beside his beauti-
ful wives ? By Allah ! I will not enter the tent ! " He
immediately armed himself with sword and lance, and
mounting his camel, hastened off to join the standard of
the faith.

In the meantime the army, after a weary march of
seven days, entered the mountainous district of Hajar,
inhabited in days of old by the Thamudites, one of the
lost tribes of Arabia. It was the accursed region, the
tradition concerning which has already been related.

THE ACCURSED REGION. 291

The advance of the army, knowing nothing of this tradi-
tion, and being heated and fatigued, beheld, with delight,
a brook running through a verdant valley, and cool caves
cut in the sides of the neighboring hills, once the abodes
of the heaven-smitten Thamudites. Halting along the
brook, some prepared to bathe, others began to cook and
make bread, while all promised themselves cool quarters
for the night in the caves.

Mahomet, in marching, had kept, as was his wont, in
the rear of the army to assist the weak ; occasionally
taking up a wayworn laggard behind him. Arriving at
the place where the troops had halted, he recollected it
of old, and the traditions concerning it, which had been
told to him when he passed here in the days of his boy-
hood. Fearful of incurring the ban which hung over the
neighborhood, he ordered his troops to throw away the
meat cooked with the water of the brook, to give the
bread kneaded with it to the camels, and to hurry away
from the heaven-accursed place. Then wrapping his face
in the folds of his mantle, and setting spurs to his mule,
he hastened through that sinful region ; the army follow-
ing him as if flying from an enemy.

The succeeding night was one of great suffering ; the
army had to encamp without water ; the weather was in-
tensely hot, with a parching wind from the desert ; and
intolerable thirst prevailed throughout the camp, as
though the Thamudite ban still hung over it. The next
day, however, an abundant rain refreshed and invigorated

292 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

both man and beast. The march was resumed wit.a new
ardor, and the army arrived, without further hards lip, at
Tabuc, a small town on the confines of the Bonis n em-
pire, about half way between Medina and Damascxrs, and
about ten days' journey from either city.

Here Mahomet pitched his camp in the neighborhood
of a fountain, and in the midst of groves and pasturage.
Arabian traditions affirm that the fountain was nearly
dry ; insomuch that, when a small vase was filled for the
prophet, not a drop was left : having assuaged hb thirst,
however, and made his ablutions, Mahomet thr-^w what
remained in the vase back into the fountain ; wl.ereupon
a stream gushed forth sufficient for the troops ar>-l all the
cattle.

From this encampment Mahomet sent out his captains
to proclaim and enforce the faith, or to exact tribute.
Some of the neighboring princes sent embassies, either
acknowledging the divinity of his mission, or submitting
to his temporal sway. One of these was Johanna Ibn
Kuba, prince of Eyla, a Christian city, near the Bed Sea.
This was the same city about which the tradition is told,
that in days of old, when its inhabitants were Jews, the
old men were turned into swine, and the young men into
monkeys, for fishing on the Sabbath, a judgment solemn-
ly recorded in the Koran.

The prince of Eyla made a covenant of peace with
Mahomet, agreeing to pay an annual tribute of three
thousand dinars or crowns of gold. The form of the

CAPTURE OF OKALDER. 293

covenant became a precedent in treating with other
powers.

Among the Arab princes who professed the Christian
faith, and refused to pay homage to Mahomet, was
Okaider Ibn Malec, of the tribe of Kenda. He resided in
a castle at the foot of a mountain, in the midst of his
domain. Khaled was sent with a troop of horse to bring
him to terms. Seeing the castle was too strong to be
carried by assault, he had recourse to stratagem. One
moonlight night, as Okaider and his wife were enjoying
the fresh air on the terraced roof of the castle, they be-
held an animal grazing, which they supposed to be a wild
ass from the neighboring mountains. Okaider, who was
a keen huntsman, ordered horse and lance, and sallied
forth to the chase, accompanied by his brother Hassan
and several of his people. The wild ass proved to be a
decoy. They had not ridden far before Khaled and his
men rushed from ambush and attacked them. They were
too lightly armed to make much resistance. Hassan was
killed on the spot, and Okaider taken prisoner ; the rest
fled back to the castle ; which, however, was soon sur-
rendered. The prince was ultimately set at liberty on
paying a heavy ransom and becoming a tributary.

As a trophy of the victory, Khaled sent to Mahomet
the vest stripped from the body of Hassan. It was of
silk, richly embroidered with gold. The Moslems gath-
ered round, and examined it with admiration. " Do you
admire this vest ? " said the prophet. " I swear by him

294 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

in whose hands is the soul of Mahomet, the vest which
Saad, the son of Maadi, wears at this moment in para-
dise, is far more precious." This Saad was the judge
who passed sentence of death on seven hundred Jewish
captives at Medina, at the conclusion of a former cam-
paign.

His troops being now refreshed by the sojourn at
Tabuc, and the neighboring country being brought into
subjection, Mahomet was bent upon prosecuting the
object of his campaign, and pushing forward into the
heart of Syria. His ardor, however, was not shared by
his followers. Intelligence of immense bodies of hostile
troops, assembled on the Syrian borders, had damped
the spirits of the army. Mahomet remarked the general
discouragement, yet was loth to abandon the campaign
when but half completed. Calling a council of war, he
propounded the question whether or not to continue for-
ward. To this Omar replied dryly, " If thou hast the
command of God to proceed further, do so." "If I had
the command of God to proceed further," observed Ma-
homet, "I should not have asked thy counsel."

Omar felt the rebuke. He then, in a respectful tone,
represented the impolicy of advancing in the face of the
overwhelming force said to be collected on the Syrian
frontier ; he represented, also, how much Mahomet had
already effected in this campaign. He had checked the
threatened invasion of the imperial arms, and had re-
ceived the homage and submission of various tribes and

RETURN TO MEDINA. 295

people, from the head of the Ked Sea to the Euphrates :
he advised him, therefore, to be content for the present
year with what he had achieved, and to defer the com-
pletion of the enterprise to a future campaign.

His counsel was adopted : for, whenever Mahomet was
not under strong excitement, or fancied inspiration, he
was rather prone to yield up his opinion in military mat-
ters to that of his generals. After a sojourn of about
twenty days, therefore, at Tabuc, he broke up his camp,
and conducted his army back to Medina.

CHAPTEE XXXIV.

TMUMPHAL ENTRY INTO MEDINA. — PUNISHMENT OF THOSE WHO HAD REFUSED
TO JOIN THE CAMPAIGN. — EFFECTS OF EXCOMMUNICATION. — DEATH OF AB-
DALLAH D3N OBBA. — DISSENSIONS IN THE PROPHET'S HAREM.

HE entries of Mahomet into Medina on return-
ing from his warlike triumphs, partook of the
simplicity and absence of parade, which char-
acterized all his actions. On approaching the city, when
his household came forth with the multitude to meet him,
he would stop to greet them, and take up the children of
the house behind him on his horse. It was in this sim-
ple way he entered Medina, on returning from the cam-
paign against Tabuc.

The arrival of an army laden with spoil, gathered in the
most distant expedition ever undertaken by the soldiers
of Islam, was an event of too great moment, not to be
hailed with triumphant exultation by the community.
Those alone were cast down in spirit who had refused to
march forth with the army, or had deserted it when on
the inarch. All these were at first placed under an inter-
dict ; Mahomet forbidding his faithful followers to hold
any intercourse with them. Mollified, however, by their

296

EFFECTS OF EXCOMMUNICATION. 297

contrition or excuses, he gradually forgave the greater
part of them. Seven of those who continued under inter-
dict, finding themselves cut off from communion with
their acquaintance, and marked with opprobrium amid an
exulting community, became desperate, and chained them-
selves to the walls of the mosque ; swearing to remain
there until pardoned. Mahomet, on the other hand, swore
he would leave them there unless otherwise commanded
by God. Fortunately he received the command in aie.
vealed verse of the Koran ; but, in freeing them from
their self-imposed fetters, he exacted one third of their
possessions, to be expended in the service of the faith.

Among those still under interdict were Kaab Ibij
Malec, Murara Ibn Eabia, and Hilal Ibn Omeya. These
had once been among the most zealous of professing
Moslems ; their defection was, therefore, ten times more
heinous in the eyes of the prophet than that of their
neighbors, whose faith had been lukewarm and dubious.
Toward them, therefore, he continued implacable. Forty
days they remained interdicted, and the interdict extend-
ed to communication with their wives.

The account given by Kaab Ibn Malec of his situation,
while thus excommunicated, presents a vivid picture oi
the power of Mahomet over the minds of his adherents.
Kaab declared that everybody shunned him, or regarded
him with an altered mien. His two companions in dis-
grace did not leave their home ; he, however, went about
from place to place, but no one spake to him. He

298 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

sought the mosque, sat down near the prophet, and sa-
luted him, but his salutation was not returned. On the
forty-first day came a command, that he should separate
from his wife. He now left the city, and pitched a tent
on the hill of Sala, determined there to undergo in its
severest rigor the punishment meted out to him. His
heart, however, was dying away ; the wide world, he said,
appeared to grow narrow to him. On the fifty-first day
came a messenger holding out the hope of pardon. He
hastened to Medina, and sought the prophet at the
mosque, who received him with a radiant countenance,
and said that God had forgiven him. The soul of Kaab
was lifted up from the depths of despondency, and in the
transports of his gratitude, he gave a portion of his
wealth in atonement of his error.

Not long after the return of the army to Medina, Ab-
dallah Ibn Obba, the Khazradite, " the chief of the Hypo-
crites," fell ill, so that his life was despaired of. Although
Mahomet was well aware of the perfidy of this man,
and the secret arts he had constantly practiced against
him, he visited him repeatedly during his illness ; was
with him at his dying hour, and followed his body to the
grave. There, at the urgent entreaty of the son of the
deceased, he put up prayers that his sins might be for-
given.

Omar privately remonstrated with Mahomet for pray-
ing for a hypocrite ; reminding him how often he had
been slandered by Abdallah ; but he was shrewdly an-

DISSENSIONS IN THE HAREM. 299

swered by a text of the Koran : " Thou mayst pray for
the ' Hypocrites ' or not, as thou wilt ; but though thou
shouldst pray seventy times, yet will they not be for-
given."

The prayers at Abdallah's grave, therefore, were put
up out of policy, to win favor with the Khazradites, and
the powerful friends of the deceased ; and in this respect
the prayers were successful, for most of the adherents of
the deceased became devoted to the prophet, whose sway
was thenceforth undisputed in Medina. Subsequently he
announced another revelation, which forbade him to pray
by the death-bed or stand by the grave of any one who
died in unbelief.

But though Mahomet exercised such dominion over his
disciples, and the community at large, he had great din*
culty in governing his wives, and maintaining tranquillity
in his harem. He appears to have acted with tolerable
equity in his connubial concerns, assigning to each of his
wives a separate habitation, of which she was sole mis-
tress, and passing the twenty-four hours with them by
turns. It so happened, that on one occasion, when he
was sojourning with Hafsa, the latter left her dwelling to
visit her father. Returning unexpectedly, she surprised
the prophet with his favorite and fortunate slave
Mariyah, the mother of his son Ibrahim. The jealousy
of Hafsa was vociferous. Mahomet endeavored to pacify
her, dreading lest her outcries should rouse his whole
harem to rebellion ; but she was only to be appeased by

300 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSOBS.

an oath on his part never more to cohabit with Mariyah.
On these terms she forgave the past, and promised
secrecy.

She broke her promise, however, and revealed to
Ayesha the infidelity of the prophet ; and in a little while
it was known throughout the harem. His wives now
united in a storm of reproaches ; until, his patience being
exhausted, he repudiated Hafsa, and renounced all inter-
course with the rest. For a month he lay alone on a mat
in a separate apartment ; but Allah, at length, in con-
sideration of his lonely state, sent down the first and
sixth chapters of the Koran, absolving him from the oath
respecting Mariyah, who forthwith became the com-
panion of his solitary chamber.

The refractory wives were now brought to a sense of
their error, and apprised by the same revelation that the
restrictions imposed on ordinary men did not apply to
the prophet. In the end he took back Hafsa, who was
penitent ; and he was reconciled to Ayesha, whom he
tenderly loved, and all the rest were in due time received
into favor ; but he continued to cherish Mariyah, for she
was fair to look upon, and was the mother of his only

SOIL

CHAPTER XXXY.

1BTT BEKER CONDUCTS THE YEARLY PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA.— MISSION OF ALI
TO ANNOUNCE A REVELATION.

HE sacred month of yearly pilgrimage was now
at hand, but Mahomet was too much occupied
with public and domestic concerns to absent
himself from Medina ; he deputed Abu Beker, therefore,
to act in his place as emir or commander of the pilgrims,
who were to resort from Medina to the holy city. Abu
Beker accordingly departed at the head of three hundred
pilgrims, with twenty camels for sacrifice.

Not long afterwards Mahomet summoned his son-in-
law and devoted disciple Ali, and, mounting him on Al
Adha, or the slit-eared, the swiftest of his camels, urged
him to hasten with all speed to Mecca, there to promul-
gate before the multitude of pilgrims assembled from
all parts, an important sura, or chapter of the Koran, just
received from heaven.

Ali executed his mission with his accustomed zeal and
fidelity. He reached the sacred city in the height of the
great religious festival. On the day of sacrifice, when the
ceremonies of pilgrimage were completed by the slaying

301

302 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

of the victims in the Yalley of Mina, and when Abu
Beker had preached and instructed the people in the doc-
trines and rites of Islamism, Ali rose before an immense
multitude assembled at the hill Al Akaba, and announced
himself a messenger from the prophet, bearing an impor-
tant revelation. He then read the sura, or chapter of the
Koran, of which he was the bearer ; in which the religion
of the sword was declared in all its rigor. It absolved
Mahomet from all truce or league with idolatrous and
other unbelievers, should they in anywise have been
false to their stipulations, or given aid to his enemies. It
allowed unbelievers four months of toleration from the
time of this announcement, during which months they
might " go to and fro about the earth securely, " but at
the expiration of that time all indulgence would cease ;
war would then be made in every way, at every time and
in every place, by open force or by stratagem, against
those who persisted in unbelief : no alternative would be
left them but to embrace the faith, or pay tribute. The
holy months and the holy places would no longer afford
them protection. " When the months wherein ye are not
allowed to attack them shall be passed," said the revela-
tion, " kill the idolatrous wherever ye shall find them, or
take them prisoners ; besiege them, or lay in wait for
them." The ties of blood and friendship were to be alike
disregarded; the faithful were to hold no communion
with their nearest relatives and dearest friends, should
they persist in idolatry. After the expiration of the cur-

IMPORTANT REVELATION, 303

rent year, no unbeliever was to be permitted to tread the
sacred bounds of Mecca, nor to enter the temple of Allah,
a prohibition which continues to the present day.

This stringent chapter of the Koran is thought to have
been provoked, in a great measure, by the conduct of some
of the Jewish and idolatrous Arabs, with whom Mahomet
had made covenants, but who had repeatedly played him
false, and even made treacherous attempts upon his life.
It evinces, however, the increased confidence he felt in
consequence of the death of his insidious and powerful
foe, Abdallah Ibn Obba, and the rapid conversion or sub-
jugation of the Arab tribes. It was, in fact, a decisive
blow for the exclusive domination of his faith.

When Abu Beker and Ali returned to Mecca, the former
expressed surprise and dissatisfaction that he had not
been made the promulgator of so important a revelation,
as it seemed to be connected with his recent mission, but
he was pacified by the assurance that all new revelations
must be announced by the prophet himself, or by soma
one of his immediate family.

CHAPTEE XXXVL

MAHOMET SENDS HIS CAPTAINS ON DISTANT ENTERPRISES.— APPOINTS LIEUTEN-
ANTS TO GOVERN IN ARABIA FELIX.— SENDS ALI TO SUPPRESS AN INSURREC-
TION IN THAT PROVINCE.— DEATH OF THE PROPHET'S ONLY SON IBRAHIM.—
HIS CONDUCT AT THE DEATH-BED AND THE GRAVE. — HIS GROWING INFIRMI-
TIES.— HIS VALEDICTORY PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA, AND HIS CONDUCT AND
PREACHING WHILE THERE.

HE promulgation of the last-mentioned chapter
of the Koran, with the accompanying denun-
ciation of exterminating war against all who
should refuse to believe or submit, produced hosts of
converts and tributaries ; so that, towards the close of
the month, and in the beginning of the tenth year of the
Hegira, the gates of Medina were thronged with envoys
from distant tribes and princes. Among those who
bowed to the temporal power of the prophet was Farwa,
lieutenant of Heraclius, in Syria, and governor of Amon,
the ancient capital of the Ammonites. His act of sub-
mission, however, was disavowed by the emperor, and
punished with imprisonment.

Mahomet felt and acted more and more as a sovereign,
but his grandest schemes as a conqueror were always
sanctified by his zeal as an apostle. His captains were

304

MISSION OF ALI TO YEMEN. 305

sent on more distant expeditions than formerly, but it was
always with a view to destroy idols, and bring idolatrous
tribes to subjection ; so that his temporal power but kept
pace with the propagation of his faith. He appointed
two lieutenants to govern in his name in Arabia Felix ;
but a portion of that rich and important country having
shown itself refractory, Ali was ordered to repair thither
at the head of three hundred horsemen, and bring the in-
habitants to reason.

The youthful disciple expressed a becoming diffidence
to undertake a mission where he would have to treat
with men far older and wiser than himself; but Ma-
homet laid one hand upon his lips, and the other upon
his breast, and raising his eyes to heaven, exclaimed, " O,
Allah ! loosen his tongue and guide his heart ! " He gave
him one rule for his conduct as a judge. "When two
parties come before thee, never pronounce in favor of one
until thou hast heard the other." Then, giving into his
hands the standard of the faith, and placing the turban
on his head, he bade him farewell.

When the military missionary arrived in the heretical
region of Yemen, his men, indulging their ancient Arab
propensities, began to sack, to plunder, and destroy. Ali
checked their excesses, and arresting the fugitive in-
habitants, began to expound to them the doctrines of Is-
lam. His tongue, though so recently consecrated by the
prophet, failed to carry conviction, for he was answered
by darts and arrows ; whereupon he returned to the old
vol. i.— 20

306 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

argument of the sword, which he urged with such effi-
cacy, that, after twenty unbelievers had been slain, the
rest avowed themselves thoroughly convinced. This
zealous achievement was followed by others of a sim-
ilar kind, after each of which he despatched messen-
gers to the prophet announcing a new triumph of the
faith.

While Mahomet was exulting in the tidings of success
from every quarter, he was stricken to the heart by one
of the severest domestic bereavements. Ibrahim, his son
by his favorite concubine Mariyah, a child but fifteen
months old, his only male issue, on whom reposed his
hope of transmitting his name to posterity, was seized
with a mortal malady, and expired before his eyes. Ma-
homet could not control a father's feelings as he bent in
agony over this blighted blossom of his hopes. Yet even
in this trying hour he showed that submission to the will
of God which formed the foundation of his faith. " My
heart is sad," murmured he, " and mine eyes overflow
with tears at parting with thee, O my son! And still
greater would be my grief, did I not know that I must
soon follow thee ; for we are of God, from him we came,
and to him we must return."

Abd'lrahman seeing him in tears, demanded, "Hast
thou not forbidden us to weep for the dead?" "No,"
replied the prophet. "I have forbidden ye to utter
shrieks and outcries, to beat your faces, and rend your
garments ; these are suggestions of the evil one : but

MAHOMET AT HIS SON'S GRAVE. 307

tears shed for a calamity are as balm to the heart, and are
sent in mercy."

He followed his child to the grave, where, amidst the
agonies of separation, he gave another proof that the ele-
ments of his religion were ever present to his mind. "My
son! my son! " exclaimed he, as the body was committed
to the tomb, "say God is my Lord! the prophet of God
was my father, and Islamism is my faith ! " This was to
prepare his child for the questioning by examining angels
as to religious belief, which, according to Moslem creed,
the deceased would undergo while in the grave.*

An eclipse of the sun which happened about that time,
was interpreted by some of his zealous followers as a
celestial sign of mourning for the death of Ibrahim ; but
the afflicted father rejected such obsequious flattery.
" The sun and moon," said he, " are among the wonders

* One of the funeral rites of the Moslems is for the Mulakken or priest
to address the deceased, when in the grave, in the following words : " 0
servant of God ! 0 son of a handmaid of God ! know that, at this time,
there will come down to thee two angels commissioned respecting thee
and the like of thee ; when they say to thee, ' Who is thy Lord ? ' answer
shem, 'God is my Lord,' in truth ; and when they ask thee concerning
thy prophet, or the man who hath been sent unto you, say to them, ' Ma-
homet is the apostle of God,' with veracity; and when they ask thee con-
cerning thy religion, say to them, ' Islamism is my religion.' And when
they ask thee concerning thy book of direction, say to them, ' The Koran
is my book of direction, and the Moslems are my brothers ; ' and when
they ask thee concerning thy Kebla, say to them, 'The Caaba is my
Kebla, and I have lived and died in the assertion that there is no deity
but God, and Mahomet is God's apostle ; ' and they will say, ' Sleep, 0
servant of God, in the protection of God ! ' "—See Lane's Modern Egyp-
tians, vol. ii. p. 338.

308 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

of God, through which at times he signifies his will to hia
servants ; but their eclipse has nothing to do either with
the birth or death of any mortal."

The death of Ibrahim was a blow which bowed him
toward the grave. His constitution was already impaired
by the extraordinary excitements and paroxysms of his
mind, and the physical trials to which he had been ex-
posed ; the poison, too, administered to him at Khaibar,
had tainted the springs of life, subjected him to excruciat-
ing pains, and brought on a premature old age. His re-
ligious zeal took the alarm from the increase of bodily
infirmities, and he resolved to expend his remaining
strength in a final pilgrimage to Mecca ; intended to serve
as a model for all future observances of the kind.

The announcement of his pious intention brought de-
votees from all parts of Arabia, to follow the pilgrim-'
prophet. The streets of Medina were crowded with the
various tribes from the towns and cities, from the fast-
nesses of the mountains, and the remote parts of the
desert, and the surrounding valleys were studded with
their tents. It was a striking picture of the triumph of
a faith — these recently disunited, barbarous, and warring
tribes, brought together as brethren, and inspired by one
sentiment of religious zeal.

Mahomet was accompanied on this occasion by his nine
wives, who were transported on litters. He departed at
the head of an immense train, some sa}^ of fifty-five, others
ninet}r, and others a hundred and fourteen thousand pil-

THE VALEDICTORY PILGRIMAGE. 309

grims. There was a large number of camels also, decora-
ted with garlands of flowers and fluttering streamers, in-
tended to be offered up in sacrifice.

The first night's halt was a few miles from Medina, at
the village of Dhu'l Holai'fa, where, on former occasion,
he and his followers had laid aside their weapons, and
assumed the pilgrim garb. Early on the following morn-
ing, after praying in the mosque, he mounted his camel
Al Aswa, and entering the plain of Baida, uttered the
prayer or invocation called in Arabic Talbijah, in which
he was joined by all his followers. The following is the
import of this solemn invocation : " Here am I in thy
service, O God ! Here am I in thy service ! Thou hast
no companion. To thee alone belongeth worship. From
thee cometh all good. Thine alone is the kingdom.
There is none to share it with thee."

This prayer, according to Moslem tradition, was ut-
tered by the patriarch Abraham, when, from the top of
the hill of Kubeis, near Mecca, he preached the true faith
to the whole human race, and so wonderful was the
power of his voice, that it was heard by every living
being throughout the world ; insomuch, that the very
child in the womb responded, " Here am I in thy service,
O God ! "

In this way the pilgrim host pursued its course, wind-
ing in a lengthened train of miles, over mountain and
valley, and making the deserts vocal at times with united
prayers and ejaculations. There were no longer any

310 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

hostile armies to impede or molest it, for by this time
the Islam faith reigned serenely over all Arabia. Ma-
homet approached the sacred city over the same heights
which he had traversed in capturing it, and he entered
through the gate Beni Scheiba, which still bears the
name of The Holy.

A few days after his arrival, he was joined by Ali, who
had hastened back from Yemen ; and who brought with
him a number of camels to be slain in sacrifice.

As this was to be a model pilgrimage, Mahomet rigor-
ously observed all the rites which he had continued in
compliance with patriarchal usage, or introduced in com-
pliance with revelation. Being too weak and infirm to
go on foot, he mounted his camel, and thus performed
the circuits round the Caaba, and the journeyings to and
fro between the hills of Safa and Merwa.

When the camels were to be offered up in sacrifice, he
slew sixty-three with his own hand, one for each year of
his age, and Ali, at the same time, slew thirty-seven on
his own account.

Mahomet then shaved his head, beginning on the right
side, and ending on the left. The locks thus shorn away
were equally divided among his disciples, and treasured
up as sacred relics. Khaled ever afterwards wore one in
his turban, and affirmed that it gave him supernatural
strength in battle.

Conscious that life was waning away within him, Ma-
homet, during this last sojourn in the sacred city of his

THE VALEDICTORY PILGRIMAGE. 311

faith, sought to engrave his doctrines deeply in the
minds and hearts of his followers. For this purpose he
preached frequently in the Caaba from the pulpit, or in
the open air from the back of his camel. " Listen to my
words," would he say, "for I know not whether, after
this year, we shall ever meet here again. O, my hearers,
I am but a man like yourselves : the angel of death may
at any time appear, and I must obey his summons."

He would then proceed to inculcate not merely relig-
ious doctrines and ceremonies, but rules for conduct in
all the concerns of life, public and domestic ; and the
precepts laid down and enforced on this occasion have
had a vast and durable influence on the morals, manners,
and habitudes of the whole Moslem world.

It was doubtless in view of his approaching end, and
in solicitude for the welfare of his relatives and friends
after his death, and especially of his favorite Ali, who, he
perceived, had given dissatisfaction in the conduct of his
recent campaign in Yemen, that he took occasion, during
a moment of strong excitement and enthusiasm among
his hearers, to address to them a solemn adjuration.

" Ye believe," said he, "that there is but one God; that
Mahomet is his prophet and apostle ; that paradise and
hell are truths ; that death and the resurrection are
certain ; and that there is an appointed time when
all who rise from the grave must be brought to judg-
ment."

They all answered, " We believe these things." He

312 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

then adjured them solemnly by these dogmas of their
faith ever to hold his family, and especially Ali, in
love and reverence. "Whoever loves me," said he,
"let him receive Ali as his friend. May God uphold
those who befriend him, and may he turn from his ene-
mies."

It was at the conclusion of one of his discourses in
the open air, from the back of his camel, that the fa-
mous verse of the Koran is said to have come down from
heaven in the very voice of the Deity. " Evil to those,
this day, who have denied your religion. Fear them not,
fear me. This day I have perfected your religion, and
accomplished in you my grace. It is my good pleasure
that Islamism be your faith."

On hearing these words, say the Arabian historians,
the camel, El Karwa, on which the prophet was seated,
fell on its knees in adoration. These words, add they,
were the seal and conclusion of the law, for after them
there were no further revelations.

Having thus fulfilled all the rites and ceremonies of
pilgrimage, and made a full exposition of his faith, Ma-
homet bade a last farewell to his native city, and, putting
himself at the head of his pilgrim army, set out on his
return to Medina.

As he came in sight of it, he lifted up his voice and
exclaimed, " God is great ; God is great ! There is but
one God ; he has no companion. His is the kingdom.
To him alone belongeth praise. He is almighty. He

THE VALEDICTORY PILGRIMAGE. 313

liath fulfilled his promise. He has stood by his servant,
and alone dispersed his enemies. Let us return to our
homes, and worship and praise him ! "

Thus ended what has been termed the valedictory pil«
grimage, being the last made by the prophet.

CHAPTEE XXXVIL

GF THE TWO FALSE PROPHETS, AL ASWAD AND MOSEILMA.

HE health of Mahomet continued to decline
after his return to Medina ; nevertheless his
ardor to extend his religious empire was una-
oated, and he prepared, on a great scale, for the invasion
of Syria and Palestine. While he was meditating foreign
conquest, however, two rival prophets arose to dispute
his sway in Arabia. One was named Al Aswad, the
other Moseilma ; they received from the faithful the
well-merited appellation of "The Two Liars."

Al Aswad, a quick-witted man, and gifted with per-
suasive eloquence, was originally an idolater, then a con-
vert to Islamism, from which he apostatized to set up
for a prophet, and establish a religion of his own. His
fickleness in matters of faith gained him the appellation
of Ailhala, or " The Weathercock." In emulation of Ma-
homet he pretended to receive revelations from heaven
through the medium of two angels. Being versed in jug-
gling arts and natural magic, he astonished and con-
founded the multitude with spectral illusions, which he
passed off as miracles, insomuch that certain Moslem

314

FALSE PROPHETS. 315

writers believe he was really assisted by two evil genii
or demons. His schemes, for a time, were crowned with
great success, which shows how unsettled the Arabs
were in those days in matters of religion, and how ready
to adopt any new faith.

Budhan, the Persian whom Mahomet had continued as
viceroy of Arabia Felix, died in this year ; whereupon Al
Aswad, now at the head of a powerful sect, slew his son
and successor, espoused his widow after putting her
father to death, and seized upon the reins of government.
The people of Najran invited him to their city ; the gates
of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, were likewise thrown
open to him, so that, in a little while, all Arabia Felix
submitted to his sway.

The news of this usurpation found Mahomet suffering
in the first stages of a dangerous malady, and engrossed
by preparations for the Syrian invasion. Impatient of
any interruption to his plans, and reflecting that the
whole danger and difficulty in question depended upon
the life of an individual, he sent orders to certain of his
adherents, who were about Al Aswad, to make way with
him openly or by stratagem, either way being justifiable
against enemies of the faith, according to the recent reve-
lation promulgated by Ali. Two persons undertook the
task, less, however, through motives of religion than re-
venge. One, named Rais, had received a mortal offense
from the usurper ; the other, named Firuz the Dailemite,
was cousin to Al Aswad's newly espoused wife, and

316 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

nephew of her murdered father. They repaired to the
woman, whose marriage with the usurper had pzobably
been compulsory, and urged upon her the duty, according
to the Arab law of blood, of avenging the deaths of her
father and her former husband. With much difficulty
they prevailed upon her to facilitate their entrance at
the dead of night in the chamber of Al Aswad, who was
asleep. Firuz stabbed him in the throat with a poniard.
The blow was not effectual. Al Aswad started up, and
his cries alarmed the guard. His wife, however, went
forth and quieted them. " The prophet," said she, " is
under the influence of divine inspiration." By this time
the cries had ceased, for the assassins had stricken off
the head of their victim. "When the day dawned the
standard of Mahomet floated once more on the walls of
the city, and a herald proclaimed, by sound of trumpet,
the death of Al Aswad, otherwise called the Liar and
Impostor. His career of power began, and was termi-
nated, within the space of four months. The people,
easy of faith, resumed Islamism with as much facility as
they had abandoned it.

Moseilma, the other impostor, was an Arab of the tribe
of Honeifa, and ruled over the city and province of Ya-
mama, situated between the Red Sea and the Gulf oi
Persia. In the ninth year of the Hegira he had come to
Mecca at the head of an embassy from his tribe, and had
made profession of faith between the hands of Mahomet ;
but, on returning to his own country, had proclaimed

FALSE PROPHETS. 317

that God had gifted him likewise with prophecy, and ap-
pointed him to aid Mahomet in converting the human
race. To this effect he likewise wrote a Koran, which he
gave forth as a volume of inspired truth. His creed was
noted for giving the soul a humiliating residence in the
region of the abdomen.

Being a man of influence and address, he soon made
hosts of converts among his credulous countrymen.
Eendered confident by success, he addressed an epistle
to Mahomet, beginning as follows :

"From Moseilma the prophet of Allah, to Mahomet
the prophet of Allah ! Come, now, and let us make a
partition of the world, and let half be thine and half be
mine."

This letter came also to the hands of Mahomet, while
bowed down by infirmities and engrossed by military
preparations. He contented himself for the present with
the following reply :

" From Mahomet the prophet of God, to Moseilma the
Liar ! The earth is the Lord's, and he giveth it as an
inheritance to such of his servants as find favor in his
sight. Happy shall those be who live in his fear."

In the urgency of other affairs, the usurpation of
Moseilma remained unchecked. His punishment was
reserved for a future day.

CHAPTEE XXXVin.

&* ARMY PREPARED TO MARCH AGAINST SYRIA.— COMMAND GIVEN TO OSAMA.
— THE PROPHET'S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE TROOPS.— HIS LAST ILL-
NESS.—HIS SERMONS IN THE MOSQUE.— HIS DEATH AND THE ATTENDING
CIRCUMSTANCES.

I|B||ppT was early in the eleventh year of the Hegira
^jpPf that, after unusual preparations, a powerful
[jjliSLW army was ready to march for the invasion of
Syria. It would almost seem a proof of the failing pow-
ers of Mahomet's mind, that he gave the command of
such an army, on such an expedition, to Osama, a youth
but twenty years of age, instead of some one of his vet-
eran and well-tried generals. It seems to have been a
matter of favor, dictated by tender and grateful recollec-
tions. Osama was the son of Zeid, Mahomet's devoted
freedman, who had given the prophet such a signal and
acceptable proof of devotion in relinquishing to him his
beautiful wife Zeinab. Zeid had continued to the last
the same zealous and self-sacrificing disciple, and had
fallen bravely fighting for the faith in the battle of
Muta.

Mahomet was aware of the hazard of the choice he had
made, and feared the troops might be insubordinate under

318

LAST ILLNE8S OF THE PROPHET 319

so young a commander. In a general review, therefore,
lie exhorted them to obedience, reminding them that Osa-
ma's father, Zeid, had commanded an expedition of this
very kind, against the very same people, and had fallen
by their hands ; it was but a just tribute to his memory,
therefore, to give his son an opportunity of avenging his
death. Then placing his banner in the hands of the
youthful general, he called upon him to fight valiantly
the fight of the faith against all who should deny the
unity of God. The army marched forth that very day,
and encamped at Djorf, a few miles from Medina ; but
circumstances occurred to prevent its further progress.

That very night Mahomet had a severe access of the
malady which for some time past had affected him, and
which was ascribed by some to the lurking effects of the
poison given to him at Khaibar. It commenced with a
violent pain in the head, accompanied by vertigo, and the
delirium which seems to have mingled with all his par-
oxysms of illness. Starting up in the mid-watches of the
night from a troubled dream, he called upon an attendant
slave to accompany him ; saying he was summoned by
the dead who lay interred in the public burying-place of
Medina to come and pray for them. Followed by the
slave, he passed through the dark and silent city, where
all were sunk in sleep, to the great burying-ground, out-
side of the walls.

Arrived in the midst of the tombs, he lifted up his
voice and made a solemn apostrophe to their tenants.

320 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

" Kejoice, ye dwellers in the grave ! " exclaimed he.
" More peaceful is the morning to which ye shall awaken,
than that which attends the living. Happier is your
condition than theirs. God has delivered you from the
storms with which they are threatened, and which shall
follow one another like the watches of a stormy night,
each darker than that which went before."

After praying for the dead, he turned and addressed
his slave. " The choice is given me," said he, " either
to remain in this world to the end of time, in the enjoy-
ment of all its delights, or to return sooner to the pres-
ence of God ; and I have chosen the latter."

From this time his illness rapidly increased, though he
endeavored to go about as usual, and shifted his resi-
dence from day to day, with his different wives, as he
had been accustomed to do. He was in the dwelling of
Maimona, when the violence of his malady became so
great, that he saw it must soon prove fatal. His heart
now yearned to be with his favorite wife Ayesha, and
pass with her the fleeting residue of life. With his head
bound up, and his tottering frame supported by Ali, and
Fadhl the son of Al Abbas, he repaired to her abode.
She, likewise, was suffering with a violent pain in the
head, and entreated of him a remedy.

" Wherefore a remedy ? " said he. " Better that thou
shouldst die before me. I could then close thine eyes ;
wrap thee in thy funeral garb ; lay thee in the tomb, and
pray for thee."

THE VISIT OF FATIMA. 321

"Yes," replied she, " and then return to my house and
dwell with one of thy other wives, who would profit by
my death."

Mahomet smiled at this expression of jealous fondness,
and resigned himself into her care. His only remaining
child, Fatima, the wife of Ali, came presently to see him
Ayesha used to say that she never saw any one resemble
the prophet more in sweetness of temper, than this his
daughter. He treated her always with respectful ten-
derness. When she came to him, he used to rise up,
go towards her, take her by the hand, and kiss it, and
would seat her in his own place. Their meeting on
this occasion is thus related by Ayesha, in the traditions
preserved by Abulfeda.

" ' Welcome, my child,' said the prophet, and made her
sit beside him ! He then whispered something in her
ear, at which she wept. Perceiving her affliction, he
whispered something more, and her countenance bright-
ened with joy.

"'What is the meaning of this?' said I to Fatima.
' The prophet honors thee with a mark of confidence nev-
er bestowed on any of his wives.' ' I cannot disclose the
secret of the prophet of God,' replied Fatima. Never-
theless, after his death, she declared that at first he an-
nounced to her his impending death ; but seeing her
weep, consoled her with the assurance that she would
shortly follow him, and become a princess in heaven,
among the faithful of her sex."
vol. i. — 21

322 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

In the second day of his illness Mahomet was tor-
mented by a burning fever, and caused vessels of water
to be emptied on his head and over his body ; exclaiming
amidst his paroxysms, " Now I feel the poison of Khaibar
rending my entrails."

When somewhat relieved, he was aided in repairing to
the mosque, which was adjacent to his residence. Here,
seated in his chair, or pulpit, he prayed devoutly ; after
which, addressing the congregation, which was numerous,
"If any of you," said he, "have aught upon his conscience,
let him speak out, that I may ask God's pardon for him."

Upon this a man, who had passed for a devout Mos-
lem, stood forth and confessed himself a hypocrite, a liar,
and a weak disciple. "Out upon thee!" cried Omar,
" why dost thou make known what God had suffered to
remain concealed ? " But Mahomet turned rebukingly
to Omar. " O son of Khattab," said he, " better is it to
blush in this world than suffer in the next." Then lift-
ing his eyes to heaven, and praying for the self-accused,
" O God," exclaimed he, " give him rectitude and faith,
and take from him all weakness in fulfilling such of thy
commands as his conscience dictates."

Again addressing the congregation, " Is there any one
among you," said he, "whom I have stricken; here is my
back, let him strike me in return. Is there any one whose
character I have aspersed; let him now cast reproach
upon me. Is there any one from whom I have taken aught
unjustly; let him now come forward and be indemnified."

SERVICES IN THE MOSQUE. 323

Upon this, a man among the throng reminded Ma-
homet of a debt of three dinars of silver, and was in-
stantly repaid with interest. " Much easier is it," said
the prophet, "to bear punishment in this world than
throughout eternity. ' '

He now prayed fervently for the faithful, who had
fallen by his side in the battle of Ohod, and for those
who had suffered for the faith in other battles ; interced-
ing with them in virtue of the pact which exists between
the living and the dead.

After this he addressed the Mohajerins or Exiles, who
had accompanied him from Mecca, exhorting them to
hold in honor the Ansarians, or allies of Medina. " The
number of believers," said he, " will increase, but that of
the allies never can. They were my family with whom
I found a home. Do good to those who do good to
them, and break friendship with those who are hostile
to them."

He then gave three parting commands :

First. — Expel all idolaters from Arabia.

Second. — Allow all proselytes equal privileges with
yourselves.

Third. — Devote yourselves incessantly to prayer.

His sermon and exhortation being finished, he was
affectionately supported back to the mansion of Ayesha,
but was so exhausted on arriving there that he fainted.

His malady increased from day to day, apparently with
intervals of delirium, for he spoke of receiving visits

324 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

from tlie angel Gabriel, who came from God to inquire
after the state of his health ; and told him that it rested
with himself to fix his dying moment ; the angel of death
being forbidden by Allah to enter his presence without
his permission.

In one of his paroxysms he called for writing imple-
ments, that he might leave some rules of conduct for
his followers. His attendants were troubled, fearing he
might do something to impair the authority of the Koran.
Hearing them debate among themselves, whether to
comply with his request, he ordered them to leave the
room, and when they returned said nothing more on the
subject.

On Friday, the day of religious assemblage, he pre-
pared, notwithstanding his illness, to officiate in the
mosque, and had water again poured over him to refresh
and strengthen him, but on making an effort to go forth,
fainted. On recovering, he requested Abu Beker to per-
form the public prayers ; observing, " Allah has given
his servant the right to appoint whom he pleases in his
place." It was afterwards maintained by some that he
thus intended to designate this long tried friend and ad-
herent as his successor in office ; but Abu Beker shrank
from construing the words too closely.

"Word was soon brought to Mahomet, that the appear-
ance of Abu Beker in the pulpit had caused great agita-
tion, a rumor being circulated that the prophet was
dead. Exerting his remaining strength, therefore, and

LAST APPEARANCE IN PUBLIC. 325

leaning on the shoulders of Ali and Al Abbas, he made
his way into the mosque, where his appearance spread
joy throughout the congregation. Abu Beker ceased to
pray, but Mahomet bade him proceed, and taking his
seat behind him in the pulpit, repeated the prayers after
him. Then addressing the congregation, " I have heard,"
said he, " that a rumor of the death of your prophet filled
you with alarm ; but has any prophet before me lived
for ever, that ye think I would never leave you ? Every-
thing happens according to the will of God, and has its
appointed time, which is not to be hastened nor avoided.
I return to him who sent me ; and my last command to
you is, that ye remain united ; that ye love, honor, and
uphold each other; that ye exhort each other to faith
and constancy in belief, and to the performance of pious
deeds ; by these alone men prosper ; all else leads to
destruction."

In concluding his exhortation, he added, " I do but go
before you ; you will soon follow me. Death awaits us
all ; let no one then seek to turn it aside from me. My
life has been for your good ; so will be my death."

These were the last words he spake in public ; he was
again conducted back by Ali and Abbas to the dwelling
of Ayesha.

On a succeeding day there was an interval during
which he appeared so well that Ali, Abu Beker, Omar,
and the rest of those who had been constantly about
him, absented themselves for a time, to attend to their

326 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

affairs. Ayesha alone remained with him. The interval
was but illusive. His pains returned with redoubled vio-
lence. Finding death approaching, he gave orders that
all his slaves should be restored to freedom, and all the
money in the house distributed among the poor ; then
raising his eyes to heaven, "God be with me in the death
struggle," exclaimed he.

Ayesha now sent in haste for her father and Hafza.
Left alone with Mahomet, she sustained his head on her
lap, watching over him with tender assiduity, and en-
deavoring to soothe his dying agonies. From time to
time he would dip his hand in a vase of water, and with
it feebly sprinkle his face. At length raising his eyes
and gazing upward for a time with unmoving eyelids, " O
Allah!" ejaculated he, in broken accents, "be it so! —
among the glorious associates in paradise ! "

" I knew by this," said Ayesha, who related the dying
scene, "that his last moment had arrived, and that he
had made choice of supernal existence."

In a few moments his hands were cold, and life was
extinct. Ayesha laid his head upon the pillow, and
beating her head and breast, gave way to loud lamenta-
tions. Her outcries brought the other wives of Ma-
homet, and their clamorous grief soon made the event
known throughout the city. Consternation seized upon
the people, as if some prodigy had happened. All busi-
ness was suspended. The army which had struck its
tents was ordered to halt, and Osama, whose foot was in

DEATH. 327

the stirrup for the march, turned his steed to the gates
of Medina, and planted his standard at the prophet's
door.

The multitude crowded to contemplate the corpse, and
agitation and dispute prevailed even in the chamber of
death. Some discredited the evidence of their senses.
"How can he be dead?" cried they. "Is he not our
mediator with God ? How then can he be dead ? Im-
possible ! He is but in a trance, and carried up to heaven
like Isa (Jesus) and the other prophets."

The throng augmented about the house, declaring with
clamor that the body should not be interred ; when Omar,
who had just heard the tidings, arrived. He drew his
scimetar, and passing through the crowd, threatened ta
strike off the hands and feet of any one who should
affirm that the prophet was dead. " He has but departed
for a time," said he, " as Musa (Moses) the son of Imram
went up forty days into the mountain ; and like him he
will return again."

Abu Beker, who had been in a distant part of the city,
arrived in time to soothe the despair of the people and
calm the transports of Omar. Passing into the chamber
he raised the cloth which covered the corpse, and kissing
the pale face of Mahomet, " O thou ! " exclaimed he,
" who wert to me as my father and my mother ; sweet art
thou even in death, and living odors dost thou exhale !
Now livest thou in everlasting bliss, for never will Allah
subject thee to a second death."

328 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

Then covering the corpse he went forth, and endeav-
ored to silence Omar, bnt finding it impossible, he ad-
dressed the multitude. "Truly if Mahomet is the sole
object of your adoration, he is dead ; but if it be God you
worship, he cannot die. Mahomet was but the prophet
of God, and has shared the fate of the apostles and holy
men who have gone before him. Allah, himself, has said
in his Koran that Mahomet was but his ambassador, and
was subject to death. What then ! will you turn the heel
upon him, and abandon his doctrine because he is dead ?
Eemember your apostasy harms not God, but insures
your own condemnation ; while the blessings of God will
be poured out upon those who continue faithful to him."

The people listened to Abu Beker with tears and sob-
bings, and as they listened their despair subsided. Even
Omar was convinced but not consoled, throwing himself
on the earth and bewailing the death of Mahomet, whoci
he remembered as his commander and his friend.

The death of the prophet, according to the Moslem his-
torians Abulfeda and Al Jannabi, took place on his birth
day, when he had completed his sixty-third year. It wa^
in the eleventh year of the Hegira, and the 632d year of
the Christian era.

The body was prepared for sepulture by several of the
dearest relatives and disciples. They affirmed that a
marvelous fragrance which, according to the evidence of
his wives and daughters, emanated from his person dur-
ing life, still continued ; so that, to use the words of Ali,

PREPARATIONS FOR BURIAL. 329

"it seemed as if he were, at the same time, dead and
living."

The body having been washed and perfumed, was
wrapped in three coverings ; two white, and the third of
the striped cloth of Yemen. The whole was then per-
fumed with amber, musk, aloes, and odoriferous herbs.
After this it was exposed in public, and seventy-twr
prayers were offered up.

The body remained three days unburied, in compliance
with oriental custom, and to satisfy those who still be-
lieved in the possibility of a trance. When the evidences
of mortality could no longer be mistaken, preparations
were made for interment. A dispute now arose as to the
place of sepulture. The Mohadjerins or disciples from
Mecca contended for that city, as being the place of his
nativity ; the Ansarians claimed for Medina, as his asylum
and the place of his residence during the last ten years of
his life. A third party advised that his remains should
be transported to Jerusalem, as the place of sepulture of
the prophets. Abu Beker, whose word had always the
greatest weight, declared it to have been the expressed
opinion of Mahomet that a prophet should be buried in
the place where he died. This in the present instance
was complied with to the very letter, for a grave was
digged in the house of Ayesha, beneath the very bed on
which Mahomet had expired.

Note. — The house of Ayesha was immediately adjacent to the mosque,
which was at that time a humble edifice with clay walls, and a rooi

330 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

thatched with palm leaves, and supported by the trunks of trees. It hag
since been included in a spacious temple, on the plan of a colonnade, in-
closing an oblong square, 165 paces by 130, open to the heavens, with four
gates of entrance. The colonnade, of several rows of pillars of various
sizes covered with stucco and gayly painted, supports a succession of small
white cupolas on the four sides of the square. At the four corners are
lofty and tapering minarets.

Near the southeast corner of the square is an inclosure, surrounded by
an iron railing, painted green, wrought with filigree work and interwoven
with brass and gilded wire admitting no view of the interior excepting
through small windows, about six inches square. This inclosure, the great
resort of pilgrims, is called the Hadgira, and contains the tombs of Ma-
homet, and his two friends and early successors, Abu Beker and Omar.
Above this sacred inclosure rises a lofty dome surmounted with a gilded
globe and crescent, at the first sight of which, pilgrims, as they approach
Medina, salute the tomb of the prophet with profound inclinations of the
body and appropriate prayers. The marvelous tale, so long considered
veritable, that the coffin of Mahomet remained suspended in the air with-
out any support, and which Christian writers accounted for by supposing
that it was of iron, and dexterously placed midway between two magnets,
is proved to be an idle fiction.

The mosque has undergone changes. It was at one time partially
thrown down and destroyed in an awful tempest, but was rebuilt by the
Soldan of Egypt. It has been enlarged and embellished by various
Caliphs, and in particular by Waled I., under whom Spain was invaded
and conquered. It was plundered of its immense votive treasures by the
Wahabees when they took and pillaged Medina. It is now maintained,
though with diminished splendor, under the care of about thirty Agas,
whose chief is called Sheikh Al Haram, or Chief of the Holy House. He
is the principal personage in Medina. Pilgrimage to Medina, though
considered a most devout and meritorious act, is not imposed on Mahom-
etans, like pilgrimage to Mecca, as a religious duty, and has much de-
clined in modern days.

The foregoing particulars are from Burckhardt, who gained admission
into Medina, as well as into Mecca, in disguise and at great peril ; admit*
taace into those cities being prohibited to all but Moslems.

CHAPTEB XXXIX.

PERSON AND CHARACTER OF MAHOMET, AND SPECULATIONS ON HIS PROPHETIC

CAREER.

SAHOMET, according to accounts handed down
by tradition from his contemporaries, was of
the middle stature, square built and sinewy,
with large hands and feet. In his youth he was uncom-
monly strong and vigorous ; in the latter part of his life
he inclined to corpulency. His head was capacious, well
shaped, and well set on a neck which rose like a pillar
from his ample chest. His forehead was high, broad at
the temples, and crossed by veins extending down to
the eyebrows, which swelled whenever he was angry or
excited. He had an oval face, marked and expressive
features, an aquiline nose, black eyes, arched eyebrows
which nearly met, a mouth large and inflexible, indica-
tive of eloquence ; very white teeth, somewhat parted
and irregular ; black hair which waved without a curl on
his shoulders, and a long and very full beard.

His deportment, in general, was calm and equable ; he
sometimes indulged in pleasantry, but more commonly
was grave and dignified ; though he is said to have pos-

331

332 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

sessed a smile of captivating sweetness. His complexion
was more ruddy than is usual with Arabs, and in his ex-
cited and enthusiastic moments there was a glow and
radiance in his countenance, which his disciples magni-
fied into the supernatural light of prophecy.

His intellectual qualities were undoubtedly of an ex-
traordinary kind. He had a quick apprehension, a re-
tentive memory, a vivid imagination, and an inventive
genius. Owing but little to education, he had quickened
and informed his mind by close observation, and stored
it with a great variety of knowledge concerning the sys-
tems of religion current in his day, or handed down by
tradition from antiquity. His ordinary discourse was
grave and sententious, abounding with those aphorisms
and apologues so popular among the Arabs ; at times he
was excited and eloquent, and his eloquence was aided
by a voice musical and sonorous.

He was sober and abstemious in his diet, and a rigor-
ous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of
apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind ; neither was his
simplicity in dress affected ; but the result of a real dis-
regard to distinction from so trivial a source. His gar-
ments were sometimes of wool ; sometimes of the striped
cotton of Yemen, and were often patched. He wore a
turban, for he said turbans were worn by the angels ; and
in arranging it he let one end hang down between his
shoulders, which he said was the way they wore it. He
forbade the wearing of clothes entirely of silk ; but per-

CHARACTERISTICS. 333

mitted a mixture of thread and silk. He forbade also
red clothes and the use of gold rings. He wore a seal
ring of silver, the engraved part under his finger close to
the palm of his hand, bearing the inscription, " Mahomet
the messenger of God." He was scrupulous as to per-
sonal cleanliness, and observed frequent ablutions. In
some respects he was a voluptuary. " There are two
ihings in this world," would he say, " which delight me,
women and perfumes. These two things rejoice my eyes
and render me more fervent in devotion." From his ex-
treme cleanliness, and the use of perfumes and sweet-
scented oil for his hair, probably arose that sweetness
and fragrance of person, which his disciples considered
innate and miraculous. His passion for the sex had an
influence over all his affairs. It is said that when in
the presence of a beautiful female, he was continually
■smoothing his brow and adjusting his hair, as if anxious
io appear to advantage.

The number of his wives is uncertain. Abulfeda, who
writes with more caution than other of the Arabian his-
torians, limits it to fifteen, though some make it as much
as twenty-five. At the time of his death he had nine,
each in her separate dwelling, and all in the vicinity of
the mosque at Medina. The plea alleged for his indulg-
ing in a greater number of wives than he permitted to
his followers, was a desire to beget a race of prophets for
his people. If such indeed were his desire, it was disap-
pointed. Of all his children, Fatima the wife of Ali

334: MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

alone survived him, and she died within a short time
after his death. Of her descendants, none excepting her
eldest son Hassan ever sat on the throne of the Caliphs.

In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends
and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and the
weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common
people for the affability with which he received them,
and listened to their complaints.

He was naturally irritable, but had brought his temper
under great control, so that even in the self-indulgent
intercourse of domestic life he was kind and tolerant.
" I served him from the time I was eight years old," said
his servant Anas, " and he never scolded me for any-
thing, though things were spoiled by me."

The question now occurs, was he the unprincipled im-
postor that he has been represented? Were all his vi-
sions and revelations deliberate falsehoods, and was his
whole system a tissue of deceit? In considering this'
question we must bear in mind, that he is not charge-
able with many extravagances which exist in his name.
Many of the visions and revelations handed down as
having been given by him are spurious. The miracles
ascribed to him are all fabrications of Moslem zealots.
He expressly and repeatedly disclaimed all miracles
excepting the Koran ; which, considering its incompara-
ble merit, and the way in which it had come down to him
from heaven, he pronounced the greatest of miracles. And
here we must indulge a few observations on this famous

NOTICE OF THE KORAN 335

document. While zealous Moslems and some of the
most learned doctors of the faith draw proofs of its di-
vine origin from the inimitable excellence of its style and
composition, and the avowed illiteracy of Mahomet, less
devout critics have pronounced it a chaos of beauties
and defects ; without method or arrangement ; full of
obscurities, incoherencies, repetitions, false versions of
Scriptural stories, and direct contradictions. The truth
is that the Koran as it now exists is not the same Koran
delivered by Mahomet to his disciples, but has under-
gone many corruptions and interpolations. The revela-
tions contained in it were given at various times, in
various places, and before various persons ; sometimes
they were taken down by his secretaries or disciples or
parchment, on palm-leaves, or the shoulder blades of
sheep, and thrown together in a chest, of which one of
his wives had charge ; sometimes they were merely treas-
ured up in the memories of those who heard them. No
care appears to have been taken to systematize and ar-
range them during his life ; and at his death they re-
mained in scattered fragments, many of them at the mer-
cy of fallacious memories. It was not until some time
after his death that Abu Beker undertook to have them
gathered together and transcribed. Zeid Ibn Thabet5
who had been one of the secretaries of Mahomet, was em-
ployed for the purpose. He professed to know many
parts of the Koran by heart, having written them down
under the dictation of the prophet ; other parts he col-

336 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSOKS.

lected piecemeal from various hands, written down in
the rude way we have mentioned, and many parts he
took down as repeated to him by various disciples who
professed to have heard them uttered by the prophet
himself. The heterogeneous fragments thus collected
were thrown together without selection ; without chro-
nological order, and without system of any kind. The
volume thus formed during the Caliphat of Abu Beker
was transcribed by different hands, and many professed
copies put in circulation and dispersed throughout the
Moslem cities. So many errors, interpolations, and con-
tradictory readings, soon crept into these copies, that
Othman, the third Caliph, called in the various manu-
scripts, and forming what he pronounced the genuine
Koran, caused all the others to be destroyed.

This simple statement may account for many of the in-
coherencies, repetitions, and other discrepancies charged
upon this singular document. Mahomet, as has justly
been observed, may have given the same precepts, or re-
lated the same apologue at different times, to different
persons in different words ; or various persons may have
been present at one time, and given various versions of
his words ; and reported his apologues and scriptural
stories in different ways, according to their imperfect
memoranda or fallible recollections. Many revelations
given by him as having been made in foregone times to
the prophets, his predecessors, may have been reported
as having b^en given as relations made to himself. It

QUESTIONS OF IMPOSTURE. 337

has been intimated that Abu Beker, in the early days of
his Caliphat, may have found it politic to interpolate
many things in the Koran, calculated to aid him in emer-'
gencies, and confirm the empire of Islamism. What cor-
ruptions and interpolations may have been made by
other and less scrupulous hands, after the prophet's
death, we may judge by the daring liberties of the kind
taken by Abdallah Ibn Saad, one of his secretaries, dur-
ing his life-time.

From all these circumstance it will appear, that even
the documentary memorials concerning Mahomet abound
with vitiations, while the traditional are full of fable.
These increase the difficulty of solving the enigma of his
character and conduct. His history appears to resolve
itself into two grand divisions. During the first part, up
to the period of middle life, we cannot perceive what ade-
quate object he had to gain by the impious and stupen-
dous imposture with which he stands charged. "Was it
riches ? His marriage with Cadijah had already made
him wealthy, and for years preceding his pretended vi-
sion he had manifested no desire to increase his store.
Was it distinction ? He already stood high in his native
place, as a man of intelligence and probity. He was of
the illustrious tribe of Koreish, and of the most honored
branch of that tribe. Was it power ? The guardianship
of the Caaba, and with it the command of the sacred city,
had been for generations in his immediate family, and his
situation and circumstances entitled him to look forward
vol. 1.— 22

338 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

with confidence to that exalted trust. In attempting to
subvert the faith in which he had been brought up, he
struck at the root of all these advantages. On that faith
were founded the fortunes and dignities of his family.
To assail it must draw on himself the hostility of his
kindred, the indignation of his fellow- citizens, and the
horror and odium of all his countrymen, who were wor-
shippers at the Caaba.

Was there anything brilliant in the outset of his
prophetic career to repay him for these sacrifices, and to
lure him on ? On the contrary, it was begun in doubt
and secrecy. For years it was not attended by any ma-
terial success. In proportion as he made known his
doctrines and proclaimed his revelations, they subjected
him to ridicule, scorn, obloquy, and finally to an invet-
erate persecution ; which ruined the fortunes of himself
and his friends ; compelled some of his family and fol-
lowers to take refuge in a foreign land ; obliged him to
hide from sight in his native city, and finally drove him
forth a fugitive to seek an uncertain home elsewhere.
Why should he persist for years in a course of imposture
which was thus prostrating all his worldly fortunes, at a
time of life when it was too late to build them up anew ?

In the absence of sufficient worldly motives, we are
compelled to seek some other explanation of his conduct
in this stage of his most enigmatical history ; and this
we have endeavored to set forth in the early part of this
Work; where we have shown his enthusiastic and vision-

QUESTIONS OF IMPOSTURE. 339

ary spirit gradually wrought up by solitude, fasting,
prayer, and meditation, and irritated by bodily disease
into a state of temporary delirium, in which he fancies
he receives a revelation from heaven, and is declared a
prophet of the Most High. We cannot but think there
was self-deception in this instance ; and that he believed
in the reality of the dream or vision ; especially after his
doubts had been combated by the zealous and confiding
Cadijah, and the learned and crafty Waraka.

Once persuaded of his divine mission to go forth antf
preach the faith, all subsequent dreams and impulses
might be construed to the same purport ; all might be
considered intimations of the divine will, imparted m
their several ways to him as a prophet. We find him
repeatedly subject to trances and ecstasies in times of
peculiar agitation and excitement, when he may have
fancied himself again in communication with the Deity,
and these were almost always followed by revelations.

The general tenor of his conduct up to the time of his
flight from Mecca, is that of an enthusiast acting under a
species of mental delusion ; deeply imbued with a con-
viction of his being a divine agent for religious reform :
and there is something striking and sublime in the lumi-
nous path which his enthusiastic spirit struck out for
itself through the bewildering maze of adverse faiths and
wild traditions; the pure and spiritual worship of the
one true God, which he sought to substitute for the
blind idolatry of his childhood.

■340 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

All the parts of the Koran supposed to have been pro-
mulgated by him at this time, incoherently as they have
come down to us, and marred as their pristine beauty
must be in passing through various hands, are of a pure
and elevated character, and breathe poetical, if not re-
ligious, inspiration. They show that he had drunk deep
of the living waters of Christianity, and if he had failed
to imbibe them in their crystal purity, it might be be-
cause he had to drink from broken cisterns, and streams
troubled and perverted by those who should have been
their guardians. The faith he had hitherto inculcated
was purer than that held forth by some of the pseudo-
Christians of Arabia, and his life, so far, had been regu-
lated according to its tenets.

Such is our view of Mahomet and his conduct during
the early part of his career, while he was a persecuted
and ruined man in Mecca. A signal change, however,
took place, as we have shown in the foregoing chapters,
after his flight to Medina, when, in place of the mere
shelter and protection which he sought, he finds himself
revered as a prophet, implicitly obeyed as a chief, and at
the head of a powerful, growing, and warlike host of
votaries. From this time worldly passions and worldly
schemes too often give the impulse to his actions, instead
of that visionary enthusiasm which, even if mistaken,
threw a glow of piety on his earlier deeds. The old doc-
trines of forbearance, long-suffering, and resignation, are
suddenly dashed aside ; he becomes vindictive towards

QUESTIONS OF IMPOSTURE. 341

those who have hitherto oppressed him, and ambitious
of extended rule. His doctrines, precepts, and conduct,
become marked by contradictions, and his whole course
is irregular and unsteady. His revelations, henceforth,
are so often opportune, and fitted to particular emergen-
cies, that we are led to doubt his sincerity, and that he
is any longer under the same delusion concerning them.
Still, it must be remembered, as we have shown, that the
records of these revelations are not always to be de-
pended upon. What he may have uttered as from his
own will, may have been reported as if given by the will
of God. Often, too, as we have already suggested, he
may have considered his own impulses as divine intima-
tions ; and that, being an agent ordained to propagate
the faith, all impulses and conceptions toward that end
might be part of a continued and divine inspiration.

If we are far from considering Mahomet the gross and
impious impostor that some have represented him, so
also are we indisposed to give him credit for vast fore-
cast, and for that deeply concerted scheme of universal
conquest which has been ascribed to him. He was, un-
doubtedly, a man of great genius and a suggestive imagi-
nation, but it appears to us that he was, in a great de-
gree, the creature of impulse and excitement, and very
much at the mercy of circumstances. His schemes grew
out of his fortunes, and not his fortunes out of his
schemes. He was forty years of age before he first
broached his doctrines. He suffered year after year to

342 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS.

steal away before lie promulgated them out of his own
family. When he fled from Mecca thirteen years had
elapsed from the announcement of his mission, and from
being a wealthy merchant he had sunk to be a ruined
fugitive. When he reached Medina he had no idea of the
worldly power that awaited him ; his only thought was
to build a humble mosque where he might preach ; and
his only hope that he might be suffered to preach with
impunity. When power suddenly broke upon him, he
used it for a time in petty forays and local feuds. His
military plans expanded with his resources, but were by
no means masterly, and were sometimes unsuccessful.
They were not struck out with boldness, nor executed
with decision ; but were often changed in deference to
the opinions of warlike men about him, and sometimes
at the suggestion of inferior minds, who occasionally led
him wrong. Had he, indeed, conceived from the outset
the idea of binding up the scattered and conflicting
tribes of Arabia into one nation by a brotherJiood offaitli^
for the purpose of carrying out a scheme of external con-
quest, he would have been one of the first of military
projectors ; but the idea of extended conquest seems to
have been an afterthought, produced by success. The
moment he proclaimed the religion of the sword, and
gave the predatory Arabs a taste of foreign plunder, that
moment he was launched in a career of conquest, which
carried him forward with its own irresistible impetus.
The fanatic zeal with which he had inspired his followers

MILITARY CHARACTER. 343

did more for his success than his military science ; their
belief in his doctrine of predestination produced vic-
tories which no military calculation could have antici-
pated. In his dubious outset as a prophet, he had been
encouraged by the crafty counsels of his scriptural oracle
Waraka ; in his career as a conqueror, he had Omar,
Khaled, and other fiery spirits by his side to urge him
on, and to aid him in managing the tremendous power
which he had evoked into action. Even with all their
aid, he had occasionally to avail, himself of his super-
natural machinery as a prophet, and in so doing may
have reconciled himself to the fraud by considering the
pious end to be obtained.

His military triumphs awakened no pride, no vain-
glory, as they would have done had they been effected
for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power,
he maintained the same simplicity of manners and ap-
pearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from
affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a
room, any unusual testimonial of respect were shown
him. If he aimed at universal dominion, it was the do-
minion of the faith : as to the temporal rule which grew
up in his hands, as he used it without ostentation, so he
took no step to perpetuate it in his family.

The riches which poured in upon him from tribute and
the spoils of war, were expended in promoting the vic-
tories of the faith, and in relieving the poor among its
votaries ; insomuch that his treasury was often drained

344 MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS

of its last coin. Omar Ibn Al Hareth declares that Ma-
homet, at his death, did not leave a golden dinar nor a
silver dirhem, a slave nor a slave girl, nor anything but
his gray mule Daldal, his arms, and the ground which he
bestowed upon his wives, his children, and the poor.
" Allah," says an Arabian writer, " offered him the keys
of all the treasures of the earth, but he refused to accept
them."

It is this perfect abnegation of self, connected with
this apparently heartfelt piety, running throughout the
various phases of his fortune, which perplex one in form-
ing a just estimate of Mahomet's character. However he
betrayed the alloy of earth after he had worldly power
at his command, the early aspirations of his spirit con-
tinually returned and bore him above all earthly things.
Prayer, that vital duty of Islamism, and that infallible
purifier of the soul, was his constant practice. " Trust in
God," was his comfort and support in times of trial and
despondency. On the clemency of God, we are told, he
reposed all his hopes of supernal happiness. Ayesha
relates that on one occasion she inquired of him, " O
prophet, do none enter paradise but through God's
mercy ? " " None — none — ! " replied he, with earnest and
emphatic repetition. " But you, O prophet, will not you
enter excepting through his compassion ? " Then Ma-
homet put his hand upon his head, and replied three
times, with great solemnity, " Neither shall I enter para-
dise unless God cover me with his mercy ! "

CONCLUSION. 345

When he hung over the death-bed of his infant son
Ibrahim, resignation to the will of God was exhibited in
his conduct under this keenest of afflictions ; and the
hope of soon rejoining his child in paradise was his con-
solation. When he followed him to the grave, he invoked
his spirit, in the awful examination of the tomb, to hold
fast to the foundations of the faith, the unity of God, and
his own mission as a prophet. Even in his own dying
hour, when there could be no longer a worldly motive foi
deceit, he still breathed the same religious devotion, and
the same belief in his apostolic mission. The last words
that trembled on his lips ejaculated a trust of soon
entering into blissful companionship with the prophets
who had gone before him.

It is difficult to reconcile such ardent, persevering
piety with an incessant system of blasphemous impos-
ture ; nor such pure and elevated and benignant precepts
as are contained in the Koran, with a mind haunted by
ignoble passions, and devoted to the grovelling interests
of mere mortality; and we find no other satisfactory
mode of solving the enigma of his character and conduct,
than by supposing that the ray of mental hallucination
which flashed upon his enthusiastic spirit during his
religious ecstasies in the midnight cavern of Mount
Hara, continued more or less to bewilder him with a
species of monomania to the end of his career, and that
he died in the delusive belief of his mission as a prophet.

APPENDIX.

Appendix.

OF THE ISLAM FAITH.

In wrt >arly chapter of this work we have given such particulars of the
faith inculcated by Mahomet as we deemed important to the understand-
ing of the succeeding narrative : we now, though at the expense of some
repetition, subjoin a more complete summary, accompanied by a few ob-
servations.

The religion of Islam, as we observed on the before-mentioned occasion,
is divided into two parts ; Faith and Practice : — and first of Faith.
This is distributed under six different heads, or articles, viz. : 1st, faith in
God ; 2d, in his angels ; 3d, in his Scriptures or Koran ; 4th, in his
prophets ; 5th, in the resurrection and final judgment ; 6th, in predesti-
nation. Of these we will briefly treat in the order we have enumerated
them.

Faith in God.— Mahomet inculcated the belief that there is, was, and
ever will be, one only God, the creator of all things ; who is single, im-
mutable, omniscient, omnipotent, all-merciful, and eternal. The unity
of God was specifically and strongly urged, in contradistinction to the
Trinity of the Christians. It was designated, in the profession of faith,
by raising one finger, and exclaiming, " La illaha il Allah ! " There is no
God but God ; to which was added, " Mohamed Resoul Allah !" Ma-
homet is the prophet of God.

Faith in Angels. — The beautiful doctrine of angels, or ministering
spirits, which was one of the most ancient and universal of oriental

349

350 APPENDIX.

creeds, is interwoven throughout the Islam system. They are represented
as ethereal beings, created from fire, the purest of elements, perfect in
form and radiant in beauty, but without sex ; free from all gross or
sensual passion, and all the appetites and infirmities of frail humanity ;
and existing in perpetual and unfading youth. They are various in theii
degrees and duties, and in their favor with the Deity. Some worship
around the celestial throne ; others perpetually hymn the praises of Allah;
some are winged messengers to execute his orders, and others intercede
for the children of men.

The most distinguished of this heavenly host are four Archangels.
Gabriel, the angel of revelations, who writes down the divine decrees ;
Michael, the champion, who fights the battles of the faith ; Azrail, the
angel of death ; and Izrafil, who holds the awful commission to sound the
trumpet on the day of resurrection. There was another angel named
Azazil, the same as Lucifer, once the most glorious of the celestial band ;
but he became proud and rebellious. When God commanded his angels
to worship Adam, Azazil refused, saying, " Why should I, whom thou
hast created of fire, bow down to one whom thou hast formed of clay?"
For this offense he was accursed and cast forth from paradise, and hi>
name changed to Eblis, which signifies despair. In rovenge of his abase-
ment, he works all kinds of mischief against the children of men, and
inspires them with disobedience and impiety.

Among the angels of inferior rank is a class called Moakkibat ; two of
whom keep watch upon each mortal, one on the right hand, the other on
the left, taking note of every word and action. At the close of each
day they fly up to heaven with a written report, and are replaced by two
similar angels on the following day. According to Mahometan tradition,
every good action is recorded ten times by the angoi on the right ; and if
the mortal commit a sin, the same benevolent spi/H says to the angel on
the left, " Forbear for seven hours to record it; per&d venture he may re-
pent and pray and obtain forgiveness."

Beside the angelic orders Mahomet inculcates a belief in spiritual be-
ings called Gins or Genii, who, though likewise created of fire, partake of
the appetites and frailties of the children of the dust, and like them are

FAITH 01 ISLAM. 351

ultimately liable to death. By beings of this nature, which haunt the
solitudes of the desert, Mahomet, as we have shown, professed to have
been visited after his evening orisons in the solitary valley of Al Naklah.

When the angel Azazil rebelled and fell, and became Satan or Eblis,
he still maintained sovereignty over these inferior spirits ; who are
divided by Orientalists into Dives and Peri : the former ferocious and
gigantic ; the latter delicate and gentle, subsisting on perfumes. It
would seem as if the Peri were all of the female sex, though on this point
there rests obscurity. From these imaginary beings it is supposed the
European fairies are derived.

Besides these there are other demi-spirits called Tacwins or Fates ;
being winged females of beautiful forms, who utter oracles, and defend
mortals from the assaults and machinations of evil demons.

There is vagueness and uncertainty about all the attributes given by
Mahomet to these half-celestial beings ; his ideas on the subject having
been acquired from various sources. His whole system of intermediate
spirits has a strong, though indistinct infusion of the creeds and super-
stitions of the Hebrews, the Magians, and the Pagans or Sabeans.

TJie third article of faith is a belief in the Koran, as a book of divine
revelation. According to the Moslem creed, a book was treasured up in
the seventh heaven, and had existed there from all eternity, in which
were written down all the decrees of God, and all events, past, present, or
to come. Transcripts from these tablets of the divine will were brought
down to the lowest heaven by the angel Gabriel, and by him revealed to
Mahomet from time to time, in portions adapted to some event or emer-
gency. Being the direct words of God, they were all spoken in the first
person.

Of the way in which these revelations were taken down or treasured up
by secretaries and disciples, and gathered together by Abu Beker after
the death of Mahomet, we have made sufficient mention. The compila-
tion, for such in fact it is, forms the Moslem code of civil and penal, as
well as religious law, and is treated with the utmost reverence by all true
believers. A zealous pride is shown in having copies of it splendidly
bound and ornamented. An inscription on the cover forbids any one to

352 APPENDIX.

touch it who is unclean, and it is considered irreverent, in reading it,
to hold it below the girdle. Moslems swear by it, and take omens from
its pages, by opening it and reading the first text that meets the eye.
With all its errors and discrepancies, if we consider it mainly as the work
of one man, and that an unlettered man, it remains a stupendous monu-
ment of solitary legislation.

Beside the Koran or written law, a number of precepts and apologues
which casually fell from the lips of Mahomet were collected after his
death from ear-witnesses, and transcribed into a book called the Sonna 01
Oral Law. This is held equally sacred with the Koran by a sect of Ma-
hometans thence called Sonnites ; others reject it as apocryphal ; these
last are termed Schiites. Hostilities and persecutions have occasionally
taken place between these sects almost as virulent as those which, between
Catholics and Protestants, have disgraced Christianity. The Sonnites are
distinguished by white, the Schiites by red turbans; hence the latter have
received from their antagonists the appellation of Kussilbachi, or Red
Heads.

It is remarkable that circumcision, which is invariably practiced by thb
Mahometans, and forms a distinguishing rite of their faith, to which all
proselytes must conform, is neither mentioned in the Koran nor the
Sonna. It seems to have been a general usage in Arabia, tacitly adopted
from the Jews, and is even said to have been prevalent throughout the
East before the time of Moses.

It is said that the Koran forbids the making likenesses of any living
thing, which has prevented the introduction of portrait-painting among
Mahometans. The passage of the Koran, however, which is thought to
contain the prohibition, seems merely an echo of the second command-
ment, held sacred by Jews and Christians, not to form images or pictures
for worship. One of Mahomet's standards was a black eagle. Among
the most distinguished Moslem ornaments of the Alhambra at Granada is
a fountain supported by lions carved of stone, and some Moslem monarchs
have had their effigies stamped on their coins.

Another and an important mistake with regard to the system of Ma-
homet, is the idea that it denies souls to the female sex, and excludes them

FAITH OF ISLAM. 353

from paradise. This error arises from his omitting to mention their en-
joyments in a future state, while he details those of his own sex with the
minuteness of a voluptuary. The beatification of virtuous females is al-
luded to in the 56th Sura of the Koran, and also in other places, although
from the vagueness of the language a cursory reader might suppose the
houris of paradise to be intended.

The fourth article of faith relates to the prophets. Their number
amounts to two hundred thousand, but only six are super-eminent, as
having brought new laws and dispensations upon earth, each abrogating
those previously received wherever they varied or were contradictory.
These six distinguished prophets were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses,
Jesus, and Mahomet.

The fifth article of Islam faith is on the resurrection and the final
judgment. On this awful subject Mahomet blended some of the Chris-
tian belief with certain notions current among the Arabian Jews. One
of the latter is the fearful tribunal of the Sepulchre. When Azrail, the
angel of death, has performed his office, and the corpse has been consigned
to the tomb, two black angels, Munkar and Nakeer, of dismal and ap-
palling aspect, present themselves as inquisitors ; during whose scrutiny
the soul is reunited to the body. The defunct, being commanded to sit
up, is interrogated as to the two great points of faith, the unity of God
and the divine mission of Mahomet, and likewise as to the deeds done by
him during life ; and his replies are recorded in books against the day
of judgment. Should they be satisfactory, Ms soul is gently drawn
forth from his lips, and his body left to its repose ; should they be other-
wise, he is beaten, about the brows with iron clubs, and his soul wrenched
forth with racking tortures. For the convenience of this awful inquisi-
tion, the Mahometans generally deposit their dead in hollow or vaulted
sepulchres ; merely wrapped in funeral clothes, but not placed in coffins.

The space of time between death and resurrection is called Berzak,
or the Interval. During this period the body rests in the grave, but the
soul has a foretaste, in dreams or visions, of its future doom.

The souls of prophets are admitted at once into the full fruition of par*
adise. Those of martyrs, including all who die in battle, enter into the
vol. i.— 23

354 APPENDIX.

bodies or crops of green bhds, who feed on the fruits and drink of the
streams of paradise. Those of the great mass of true believers are vari-
ously disposed of, but, according to the most received opinion, they
hover, in a state of seraphic tranquillity, near the tombs. Hence the
Moslem usage of visiting the graves of their departed friends and rela-
tives, in the idea that their souls are the gratified witnesses of these tes-
timonials of affection.

Many Moslems believe that the souls of the truly faithful assume the
forms of snow-white birds, and nestle beneath the throne of Allah ; a
belief in accordance with an ancient superstition of the Hebrews that the
souls of the just will have a place in heaven under the throne of glory.

With regard to the souls of infidels, the most orthodox opinion is that
they will be repulsed by angels both from heaven and earth, and cast
into the cavernous bowels of the earth, there to await in tribulation the
day of judgment.

The day of resurrection will be preceded by signs and portents in
heaven and earth. A total eclipse of the moon ; a change in the course
of the sun, rising in the west instead of the east ; wars and tumults ; a
universal decay of faith; the advent of Antichrist; the issuing forth of
Gog and Magog to desolate the world ; a great smoke, covering the whole
earth : these and many more prodigies and omens affrighting and har-
assing the souls of men, and producing a wretchedness of spirit and a
weariness of life ; insomuch that a man passing by a grave shall envy
the quiet dead, and say, " Would to God I were in thy place ! "

The last dread signal of the awful day will be the blast of a trumpet by
the archangel Izrafil. At the sound thereof the earth will tremble ; cas-
tles and towers will be shaken to the ground, and mountains leveled with
the plains. The face of heaven will be darkened ; the firmament will
melt away, and the sun, the moon, and stars will fall into the sea. The
ocean will be either dried up, or will boil and roll in fiery billows.

At the sound of that dreadful trump a panic will fall on the human
race ; men will fly from their brothers, their parents, and their wives ;
and mothers, in frantic terror abandon the infant at the breast. The
savage beasts of the forests, and the tame animals of the pasture, wil/

FAITH OF ISLAM. 355

forget their fierceness and their antipathies, and herd together in
affright.

The second blast of the trumpet is the blast of extermination. At that
sound, all creatures in heaven and on earth and in the waters under the
earth, angels and genii, and men and animals, all will die; excepting the
chosen few especially reserved by Allah. The last to die will be Azrail
the angel of death !

Forty days, or, according to explanations, forty years of continued
rain will follow this blast of extermination ; then will be sounded for the
third time the trumpet of the archangel Izrafil; it is the call of judg-
ment! At the sound of this blast, the whole space between heaven and
earth will be filled with the souls of the dead flying in quest of their re-
spective bodies. Then the earth will open ; and there will be a rattling
of dry bones, and a gathering together of scattered limbs ; the very hairs
will congregate together, and the whole body be reunited, and the soul
will reenter it, and the dead will rise from mutilation, perfect in every
part, and naked as when born. The infidels will grovel with their faces
on the earth, but the faithful will walk erect ; as to the truly pious, they
will be borne aloft on winged camels, white as milk, with saddles of fine
gold.

Every human being will then be put upon his trial as to the manner in
which he has employed his faculties, and the good and evil actions of his
life. A mighty balance will be poised by the angel Gabriel : in one of
these scales, termed Light, will be placed his good actions ; in the other,
termed Darkness, his evil deeds. An atom or a grain of mustard-seed
will suffice to turn this balance, and the nature of the sentence will de-
pend on the preponderance of either scale. At that moment retribution
will be exacted for every wrong and injury. He who has wronged a fel-
low-mortal will have to repay him with a portion of his own good deeds,
or, if he have none to boast of, will have to take upon himself a propor-
tionate weight of the other's sins.

The trial of the balance will be succeeded by the ordeal of the bridge.
The whole assembled multitude will have to follow Mahomet across the
bridge Al Serat, as fine as the edge of a scimetar, which crosses the guli

356 APPENDIX.

of Jehennam or Hell. Infidels and sinful Moslems will grope along it
darkling and fall into the abyss ; but the faithful, aided by a beaming
light, will cross with the swiftness of birds and enter the realms of paradise.
The idea of this bridge, and of the dreary realm of Jehennam, is supposed
to have been derived partly from the Jews, but chiefly from the Magians.

Jehennam is a region fraught with all kinds of horrors. The verj
trees have writhing serpents for branches, bearing for fruit the heads of
demons. We forbear to dwell upon the particulars of this dismal abode,
which are given with painful and often disgusting minuteness. It is
described as consisting of seven stages, one below the other, and varying
in the nature and intensity of torment. The first stage is allotted to
Atheists, who deny creator and creation, and believe the world to be
eternal. The second for Manicheans and others that admit two divin*
principles ; and for the Arabian idolaters of the era of Mahomet. The
third is for the Brahmins of India ; the fourth for the Jews ; the fifth
for Christians ; the sixth for the Magians or Ghebers of Persia ; the
seventh for hypocrites, who profess without believing in religion.

The fierce angel Thabeck, that is to say, the Executioner, presides over
this region of terror.

We must observe that the general nature of Jehennam, and the dis-
tribution of its punishments, have given rise to various commentaries and
expositions among the Moslem doctors. It is maintained by some, and it
is a popular doctrine, that none of the believers in Allah and his prophets
will be condemned to eternal punishment. Their sins will be expiated
by proportionate periods of suffering, varying from nine hundred to nine
thousand years.

Some of the most humane among the doctors contend against eternity
of punishment to any class of sinners, saying that, as God is all merciful,
even infidels will eventually be pardoned. Those who have an inter-
cessor, as the Christians have in Jesus Christ, will be first redeemed. The
liberality of these worthy commentators, however, does not extend so fai
as to admit them into paradise among true believers ; but concludes that,
after long punishment, they will be relieved from their torments by an«
nihilation.

FAITH OF ISLAM. 357

Between Jehennam and paradise is Al Araf or the Partition, a region
destitute of peace or pleasure, destined for the reception of infants, luna-
tics, idiots, and such other beings as have done neither good nor evil.
For such, too, whose good and evil deeds balance each other ; though
these may be admitted to paradise through the intercession of Mahomet,
on performing an act of adoration, to turn the scales in their favor. It
is said that the tenants of this region can converse with their neighbors
on either hand, the blessed and the condemned: and that Al Araf ap-
pears a paradise to those in hell, and a hell to those in paradise.

Al Jannat, or the Garden. — When the true believer has passed
through all his trials, and expiated all his sins, he refreshes himself at the
pool of the Prophet. This is a lake of fragrant water, a month's journey
in circuit, fed by the river Al Cauther, which flows from paradise. The
water of this lake is sweet as honey, cold as snow, and clear as crystal ; he
who once tastes of it will never more be tormented by thirst ; a blessing
dwelt upon with peculiar zest by Arabian writers, accustomed to the
parching thirst of the desert.

After the true believer has drunk of this water of life, the gate of par-
adise is open to him by the angel Rush van. The same prolixity and
minuteness which occur in the description of Jehennam, are lavished on
the delights of paradise, until the imagination is dazzled and confused by
the details. The soil is of the finest wheaten flour, fragrant with per-
fumes, and strewed with pearls and hyacinths instead of sands and peb-
bles.

Some of the streams are of crystal purity, running between green banks
enamelled with flowers ; others are of milk, of wine and honey ; flowing
over beds of musk, between margins of camphire, covered with moss and
saffron ! The air is sweeter than the spicy gales of Sabea, and cooled by
sparkling fountains. Here, too, is Taba, the wonderful tree of life, so
large that a fleet horse would need a hundred years to cross its shade.
The boughs are laden with every variety of delicious fruit, and bend to
the hand of those who seek to gather.

Tne inhabitants of this blissful garden are clothed in raiment sparkling
with jewels; they wear crowns of gold enriched with pearls and diamonds.

358 APPENDIX.

and dwell in sumptuous palaces or silken pavilions, reclining on voluptu-
ous couches. Here every believer will have hundreds of attendants,
bearing dishes and goblets of gold, to serve him with every variety of ex-
quisite viand and beverage. He will eat without satiety, and drink with-
out inebriation ; the last morsel and the last drop will be equally relished
with the first ; he will feel no repletion, and need no evacuation.

The air will resound with the melodious voice of Izrafil, and the songs
of the daughters of paradise ; the very rustling of the trees will produce
ravishing harmony, while myriads of bells, hanging among their branches,
will be put in dulcet motion by airs from the throne of Allah.

Above all, the faithful will be blessed with female society to the full
extent even of oriental imaginings. Beside the wives he had on earth,
who will rejoin him in all their pristine charms, he will be attended by
the Hur al Oyun or Houris, so called from their large black eyes ; re-
splendent beings, free from every human defect or frailty; perpetually
retaining their youth and beauty, and renewing their virginity. Seventy-
two of these are allotted to every believer. The intercourse with them
will be fruitful or not according to their wish, and the offspring will
grow within an hour to the same stature with the parents.

That the true believer will be fully competent to the enjoyments of this
blissful region, he will rise from the grave in the prime of manhood, at
the age of thirty, oj. the stature of Adam, which was thirty cubits ; with
all his faculties improved to a state of preternatural perfection, with the
abilities of a hundred men, and with desires and appetites quickened
rather than sated by enjoyment.

These and similar delights are promised to the meanest of the faithful ;
there are gradations of enjoyment, however, as of merit ; but, as to those
prepared for the most deserving, Mahomet found the powers of descrip-
tion exhausted, and was fain to make use of the text from Scripture,
that they should be such things "as eye hath not seen, ear hath not
heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive."

The expounders of the Mahometan law differ in their opinions as to
the whole meaning of this system of rewards and punishments. One set
understanding everything in a figurative, the other in a literal

FAITH OF ISLAM. 359

The former insist that the prophet spake in parable, in a manner suited
to the coarse perceptions and sensual natures of his hearers ; and main-
tain that the joys of heaven will be mental as well as corporeal; the
resurrection being of both soul and body. The soul will revel in a super-
natural development and employment of all its faculties ; in a knowledge
of all the arcana of nature ; the full revelation of everything past, pres*
ent, and to come. The enjoyments of the body will be equally suited to
its various senses, and perfected to a supernatural degree.

The same expounders regard the description of Jehennam as equally
figurative ; the torments of the soul consisting in the anguish of perpet-
ual remorse for past crimes, and deep and ever-increasing despair for the
loss of heaven ; those of the body in excruciating and never-ending pain.

The other doctors, who construe everything in a literal sense, are con-
sidered the most orthodox, and their sect is beyond measure the most
numerous. Most of the particulars in the system of rewards and punish-
ments, as has been already observed, have close affinity to the super-
stitions of the Magians and the Jewish Rabbins. The Houri, or black-
eyed nymphs, who figure so conspicuously in the Moslem's paradise, are
said to be the same as the Huram Behest of the Persian Magi, and Ma-
homet is accused by Christian investigators of having purloined much of
his description of heaven from the account of the New Jerusalem in the
Apocalypse ; with such variation as is used by knavish jewellers, when
they appropriate stolen jewels to their own use.

The sixth and last article of the Islam faith is Predestination, and on
this Mahomet evidently reposed his chief dependence for the success of
his military enterprises. He inculcated that every event had been pre-
determined by God, and written down in the eternal tablet previous to
the creation of the world. That the destiny of every individual, and the
hour of his death, were irrevocably fixed, and could neither be varied nor
evaded by any effort of human sagacity or foresight. Under this per-
suasion, the Moslems engaged in battle without risk ; and, as death in
battle was equivalent to martyrdom, and entitled them to an iff 'uediata
admission into paradise, they had in either alternative, death or f *toryf
a certainty of gain.

360 APPENDIX.

This doctrine, according to which men by their own free will can
neither avoid sin nor avert punishment, is considered by many Mussul-
men as derogatory to the justice and clemency of God ; and several sect*
have sprung up, who endeavor to soften and explain away this perplex-
ing dogma ; but the number of these doubters is small, and they are not
considered orthodox.

The doctrine of Predestination was one of those timely revelations to
Mahomet, that were almost miraculous from their seasonable occurrence.
It took place immediately after the disastrous battle of Ohod, in which
many of his followers, and among them his uncle Hamza, were slain.
Then it was, in a moment of gloom and despondency, when his followers
around him were disheartened, that he promulgated this law, telling
them that every man must die at the appointed hour, whether in bed or
in the field of battle. He declared, moreover, that the angel Gabriel had
announced to him the reception of Hamza into the seventh heaven, with
the title of Lion of God and of the prophet. He added, as he contem-
plated the dead bodies, "I am witness for these, and for all who have
been slain for the cause of God, and they shall appear in glory at the
resurrection, with their wounds brilliant as vermilion and odoriferous as
musk."

What doctrine could have been devised more calculated to hurry for-
ward, in a wild career of conquest, a set of ignorant and predatory soldiers,
than this assurance of booty if they survived, and paradise if they fell ?*
It rendered almost irresistible the Moslem arms ; but it likewise con-
tained the poison that was to destroy their dominion. From the moment
the successors of the Prophet ceased to be aggressors and conquerors, and
sheathed the sword definitely, the doctrine of predestination began its
baneful work. Enervated by peace, and the sensuality permitted by the
Koran, — which so distinctly separates its doctrines from the pure and
self-denying religion of the Messiah,— the Moslem regarded every reverse
as preordained by Allah, and inevitable ; to be borne stoically, since hu-
man exertion and foresight were vain. " Help thyself and God will help

* The reader may recollect that a belief in predestination or destiny was encourage4
by Napoleon, and had much influence on his troops.

FAITH OF ISLAM. 361

thee, " was a precept never in force with the followers of Mahomet, and
its reverse has been their fate. The crescent has waned before the cross,
and exists in Europe, where it was once so mighty, only by the suffrage,
or rather the jealousy of the great Christian powers, probably ere long
to furnish another illustration, that " they that take the sword shall per-
ish with the sword."

RELIGIOUS PRACTICE.

The articles of religious practice are fourfold : Prayer, including ablu.
tion, Alms, Fasting, Pilgrimage.

Ablution is enjoined as preparative to prayer, purity of body being
considered emblematical of purity of soul. It is prescribed in the Koran
with curious precision. The face, arms, elbows, feet, and a fourth part
of the head, to be washed once ; the hands, mouth, and nostrils, three
times ; the ears to be moistened with the residue of the water used for the
head, and the teeth to be cleaned with a brush. The ablution to com-
mence on the right and terminate on the left; in washing the hands and
feet to begin with the fingers and toes ; where water is not to be had, fine
sand may be used.

Prayer is to be performed five times every day, namely, the first in the
morning before sunrise ; the second at noon ; the third in the afternoon
before sunset ; the fourth in the evening between sunset and dark ; the
fifth between twilight and the first watch, being the vesper prayer. A
sixth prayer is volunteered by many between the first watch of the night
and the dawn of day. These prayers are but repetitions of the same
laudatory ejaculation, " God is great ! God is powerful ! God is all power-
ful ! " and are counted by the scrupulous upon a string of beads. They
may be performed at the mosque, or in any clean place. During prayer
the eyes are turned to the Kebla, or point of the heaven in the direction
of Mecca ; which is indicated in every mosque by a niche called Al
Mehrab, and externally by the position of the minarets and doors. Even
the postures to be observed in prayer are prescribed, and the most solemn
act of adoration is by bowing the forehead to the ground. Females in
prayer are not to stretch forth their arms, but to fold them on their

362 APPENDIX.

Dosoms. They are not to make as profound inflections as the men. They
are to pray in a low and gentle tone of voice. They are not permitted to
accompany the men to the mosque, lest the minds of the worshippers
should be drawn from their devotions. In addressing themselves to God,
the faithful are enjoined to do so with humility ; putting aside costly
ornaments and sumptuous apparel.

Many of the Mahometan observances with respect to prayer were similar
to those previously maintained by the Sabeans ; others agreed with the
ceremonials prescribed by the Jewish Rabbins. Such were the postures,
inflections and prostrations and the turning of the face towards the
Kebla, which, however, with the Jews was in the direction of the temple
at Jerusalem.

Prayer, with the Moslem, is a daily exercise ; but on Friday there is a
sermon in the mosque. This day was generally held sacred among
oriental nations as the day on which man was created. The Sabean
idolaters consecrated it to Astarte, or Venus, the most beautiful of the
planets and brightest of the stars. Mahomet adopted it as his Sabbath,
partly perhaps from early habitude, but chiefly to vary from the Saturday
of the Jews and Sunday of the Christians.

The second article of religious practice is Charity, or the giving ot
alms. There are two kinds of alms, namely, those prescribed by law,
called Zacat, like tithes in the Christian church, to be made in specified
proportions, whether in money, wares, cattle, corn, or fruit ; and volun-
tary gifts termed Sadakat, made at the discretion of the giver. Every
Moslem is enjoined, in one way or the other, to dispense a tenth of his
revenue in relief of the indigent and distressed.

The third article of practice is Fasting, also supposed to have been
derived from the Jews. In each year for thirty days, during the month
Rhamadan, the true believer is to abstain rigorously from the rising to
the setting of the sun, from meat and drink, baths, perfumes, the inter-
course of the sexes, and all other gratifications and delights of the senses.
This is considered a great triumph of self-denial, mortifying and sub-
duing the several appetites, and purifying both body and soul. Of these
three articles of practice the Prince Abdalasis used to say, "Prayer leads

FAITH OF ISLAM. 363

us half-way to God, fasting conveys us to his threshold, but alms conducts
us into his presence."

Pilgrimage is the fourth grand practical duty enjoined upon Moslems.
Every true believer is bound to make one pilgrimage to Mecca in the
course of his life, either personally or by proxy. In the latter case, his
name must be mentioned in every prayer offered up by his substitute.

Pilgrimage is incumbent only on free persons of mature age, sound
intellect, and who have health and wealth enough to bear the fatigue and
expenses of the journey. The pilgrim, before his departure from home,
arranges all his affairs, public and domestic, as if preparing for his death.

On the appointed day, which is either Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday,
as being propitious for the purpose, he assembles his wives, children, and
all his household, and devoutly commends them and all his concerns to
the care of God during his holy enterprise. Then passing one end of his
turban beneath his chin to the opposite side of his head, like the attire of
a nun, and grasping a stout staff of bitter almonds, he takes leave of his
household, and sallies from the apartment, exclaiming, "In the name of
God I undertake this holy work, confiding in his protection. I behave in
him, and place in his hands my actions and my life."

On leaving the portal he turns his face toward the Kebla, repeats cer-
tain passages of the Koran, and adds, " I turn my face to the Holy Caaba,
the throne of God, to accomplish the pilgrimage commanded by his law,
and which shall draw me near to him."

He finally puts his foot in the stirrup, mounts into the saddle, com-
mends himself again to God, almighty, all wise, all merciful, and sets
forth on his pilgrimage. The time of departure is always calculated so
as to insure an arrival at Mecca at the beginning of the pilgrim month
Dhu'l-hajji.

Three laws are to be observed throughout this pious journey :—

1. To commence no quarrel.

2. To bear meekly all harshness and reviling.

3. To promote peace and good-will among his companions in the caravan.
He is, moreover, to be liberal in his donations and charities throughout

his pilgrimage.

364 APPENDIX.

When arrived at some place in the vicinity of Mecca, he allocs his hail
and nails to grow, strips himself to the skin, and assumes the Ihram or
pilgrim garb, consisting of two scarfs, without seams or decorations, and
of any stuff excepting silk. One of these is folded round the loins, the
other thrown over the neck and shoulders, leaving the right arm free.
The head is uncovered, but the aged and infirm are permitted to fold
something round it in consideration of alms given to the poor. Umbrel-
las are allowed as a protection against the sun, and indigent pilgrims sup-
ply their place by a rag on the end of a staff.

The instep must be bare ; and peculiar sandals are provided for the
purpose, or a piece of the upper leather of the shoe is cut out. The pil-
grim, when thus attired, is termed Al Mohrem.

The Ihram of females is an ample cloak and veil, enveloping the whole
person, so that, in strictness, the wrists, the ankles, and even the eyes
should be concealed.

When once assumed, the Ihram must be worn until the pilgrimage is
completed, however unsuited it may be to the season or the weather.
While wearing it, the pilgrim must abstain from all licentiousness of lan-
guage ; all sensual intercourse ; all quarrels and acts of violence ; he
must not even take the life of an insect that infests him ; though an ex-
ception is made in regard to biting dogs, to scorpions, and birds of prey.

On arriving at Mecca, he leaves his baggage in some shop, and, with-
out attention to any worldly concern, repairs straightway to the Caaba,
conducted by one of the Metowefs or guides, who are always at hand to
offer their services to pilgrims.

Entering the mosque by the Bab el Salam, or Gate of Salutation, he
makes four prostrations, and repeats certain prayers as he passes under
the arch. Approaching the Caaba, he makes four prostrations, opposite
the Black Stone, which he then kisses ; or, if prevented by the throng, he
touches it with his right hand, and kisses that. Departing from the
Black Stone, and keeping the building on his left hand, he makes the
seven circuits, the three first quickly, the latter four with slow and solemn
pace. Certain prayers are repeated in a low voice, and the Black Ston*
kissed, or touched, at the end of every circuit.

FAITH OF ISLAM. 365

The Towaf, or procesrion round the Caaba, was an ancient ceremony,
observed long before the time of Mahomet, and performed by both sexes
entirely naked. Mahomet prohibited this exposure, and prescribed the
Ihram or pilgrim dress. The female Hajji walk the Towaf generally
during the night ; though occasionally they perform i mingled with the
men in the daytime.*

The seven circuits being completed, the pilgrim presses his breast
against the wall between the Black Stone and the door of the Caaba, and
with outstretched arms, prays for pardon of his siDS.

He then repairs to the Makam, or station of Abraham, makes four
prostrations, prays for the intermediation of the Patriarch, and thence to
the well Zem Zem, and drinks as much of the water as he can swallow.

During all this ceremonial, the uninstructed Hajji has his guide or Me-
towef close at his heels, muttering prayers for him to repeat. He is
)iow conducted out of the mosque by the gate Bab el Zafa, to a slight as-
cent about fifty paces distant, called the Hill of Zafa, when, after utter-
ing a prayer with uplifted hands, he commences the holy promenade,
called the Saa or Say. This lies through a straight and level street
called Al Messa, six hundred paces in length, lined with shops like a
bazaar, and terminating at a place Called Merowa. The walk of the
Say is in commemoration of the wandering of Hagar over the same
ground, in search of water for her child Ishmael. The pilgrim, there-
fore, walks at times slowly, with an inquisitive air, then runs in a cer-
tain place, and again walks gravely, stopping at times and looking anx-
iously back.

Having repeated the walk up and down this street seven times, the
Hajji enters a barber's shop at Merowa ; his head is shaved, his nails
pared, the barber muttering prayers and the pilgrim repeating them all
the time. The paring and shearing are then buried in consecrated
ground, and the most essential duties of the pilgrimage are considered as
fulfilled.!

* Bnrckhardt's Travels in Arabia, vol. i. p. 260, Lond. ed. 1829.

t The greater part of the particulars concerning Mecca and Medina, and tn«ir respeo
tire pilgrimages, are gathered from the writings of that accurate and indefatigable trav-

366 APPENDIX.

On the ninth of the month Al Dhu'l-hajji, the pilgrims make a hurried
and tumultuous visit to Arafat, where they remain until sunset ; then
pass the night in prayer at an Oratory, called Mozdalifa, and before sun-
rise next morning repair to the valley of Mena, where they throw seven
stones at each of three pillars, in imitation of Abraham, and some say
also of Adam, who drove away the devil from this spot with stones, when
disturbed by him in his devotions.

Such are the main ceremonies which form this great Moslem rite of
pilgrimage ; but before concluding this sketch of Islam faith, and dosing
this legendary memoir of its founder, we cannot forbear to notice one of
his innovations, which has entailed perplexity on all his followers, and
particular inconvenience on pious pilgrims.

The Arabian year consists of twelve lunar months, containing alter-
nately thirty and twenty-nine days, and making three hundred and fifty-
four in the whole, so that eleven days were lost in every solar year. To
make up the deficiency, a thirteenth or wandering month was added to
every third year, previous to the era of Mahomet, to the same effect as one
day is added in the Christian calendar to every leap-year. Mahomet, who
was uneducated and ignorant of astronomy, retrenched this thirteenth or
intercalary month, as contrary to the divine order of revolutions of the
moon, and reformed the calendar by a divine revelation during his last
pilgrimage. This is recorded in the ninth sura or chapter of the Koran
to the following effect : —

"For the number of months is twelve, as was ordained by Allah, and
recorded on the eternal tables * on the day wherein he created the heaven
and the earth.

" Transfer not a sacred month unto another month, for verily it is an
innovation of the infidels."

eller, Burckhardt ; who, in the disguise of a pilgrim, visited these shrines, and complied
with all the forms and ceremonials. His work throws great light upon the manners and
customs of the East, and practice of the Mahometan faith.

The facts related by Burckhardt nave been collated with those of other travellers and
writers, and many particulars have been interwoven with them from other sources.

* The eternal tables or tablet was of white pearl, extended from east to west and from
earth to heaven. All the decrees of God were recorded on it, and all events past, pres
ent, and to come, to all eternity. It was guarded by angels.

FAITH OF ISLAM. 367

The number of days thus lost amount in 33 years to 363. It becomes
necessary, therefore, to add an intercalary year at the end of each thirty-
third year to reduce the Mahometan into the Christian era.

One great inconvenience arising from this revelation of the prophet
is, that the Moslem months do not indicate the season ; as they com-
mence earlier by eleven days every year. This at certain epochs is a sore
grievance to the votaries to Mecca, as the great pilgrim month Dhu'l
Hajji, during which they are compelled to wear the Ihram, or half-naked
pilgrim garb, runs the round of the seasons, occurring at one time in the
depth of winter, at another in the fervid heat of summer.

Thus Mahomet, though according to legendary history he could order
the moon from the firmament and make her revolve about the sacred
house, could not control her monthly revolutions ; and found that the
science of numbers is superior even to the gift of prophecy, and sets mir-
acles at defiant*.

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