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diff --git a/old/39523-8.txt b/old/39523-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c9943c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/39523-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12134 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Mohammad, by +Etienne Dinet and Sliman Ben Ibrahim + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Life of Mohammad + The Prophet of Allah + +Author: Etienne Dinet + Sliman Ben Ibrahim + +Illustrator: Etienne Dinet + +Release Date: April 23, 2012 [EBook #39523] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF MOHAMMAD *** + + + + +Produced by Andrea Ball, Christine Bell & Marc D'Hooghe +at http://www.freeliterature.org (From images generously +made available by Internet Archive.) + + + + + + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Upon him, Mohammad, Salvation._] + + + + +THE LIFE OF +MOHAMMAD + +THE PROPHET +OF ALLAH + + + _"The man's words were not false..._ + _a fiery mass of Life cast-up from_ + _the great bosom of Nature herself."_ + + ("_On Heroes_," by THOMAS CARLYLE, + London, 1841.) + + + + + THIS WORK IS ISSUED + IN A STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION + OF 125 COPIES + ON IMPERIAL JAPANESE VELLUM +WITH AN EXTRA SUITE OF THE PLATES + AND 875 COPIES + ON HAND-MADE PAPER. + + NO. 499 + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) Frontispiece] + + + + "_In the name_ + _of Allah!_ +_the Compassionate_ + _the Merciful_" + +HISTORY +OF THE +PROPHECY + + "_Upon His Hero_ + _(Mohammad),_ +_boundless veneration."_ + + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad +is the Prophet of Allah._] + + + +THE LIFE OF +MOHAMMAD +THE PROPHET OF ALLAH + +BY +E. DINET and SLIMAN BEN IBRAHIM + +ILLUSTRATED BY +E. DINET + +ORNAMENTAL PAGES BY MOHAMMAD RACIM + +PARIS +THE PARIS BOOK CLUB, 11, RUE DE CHATEAUDUN + + + + + THIS + WORK + IS DEDICATED + BY THE AUTHOR-PAINTER + AND HIS ARAB COLLABORATOR +TO THE MEMORY OF THE VALIANT MOSLEM SOLDIERS + PARTICULARLY THOSE OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND + WHO, IN THE SACRED CAUSE OF + RIGHT, JUSTICE AND HUMANITY + HAVE PIOUSLY SACRIFICED + THEIR LIVES IN + THE GREAT WAR + OF THE + NATIONS + + + + +PREFACE + + +_An existence, so full of stirring events as that of the Prophet +Mohammad, cannot be described by us in all its details. As there are +limits to all books, we have had to rest content with a selection of +the most important episodes, so that each might be developed as we +deemed necessary. Thus we present to the reader a series of pictures +and not a complete history._ + +_Our scaffolding and sketches are borrowed from very ancient authors +such as Ibn Hisham, Ibn Sad, etc., without forgetting a more modern +writer, Ali Borhan id-Din Al-Halabi who, in his book known by the +title of "Es Sirat'al Halabia," gathered together different versions +from all the best-known historians. An incontestable proof of their +veracity, in our opinion, is that these narratives, some dating as far +back as twelve centuries, fit in perfectly with the manners, customs, +hopes and language of the Moslems of the desert; those who at the +present day, by their mode of living, are more akin to the Arabs of +the Hijaz among whom Mohammad accomplished his Mission._ + +_These remarks will serve to warn the reader that in this work will be +found none of those learned paradoxes destined to destroy traditions, +such sophisms delighting modern Orientalists by reason of their love +of novelty._ + +_The study of innovations introduced in this way into the Prophet's +history has caused us to note that they were often prompted by +feelings inimical to Islam which were not only out of place in +scientific research, but were also unworthy of our epoch. As displayed +by their authors, they generally denoted strange ignorance of Arab +customs, notwithstanding that these commentaries were accompanied by +considerable erudition, although too bookish. In order to refute such +new-fangled assertions, it was enough to check each in turn. Being so +contradictory, one killed the other. Their extreme improbabilities, +from the standpoint of Oriental psychology, only served to enhance +with still greater clarity the perfect likelihood of those traditions +sanctioned in the world of Islam._ + +_We have been guided by them. We have been satisfied to choose those +that seemed most characteristic, setting each in its proper place, +thanks to information gleaned in long interviews with pilgrims +visiting the Holy Cities of the Hijaz, while reviewing these episodes +in the light of our experience of Moslem life, in the Great Desert of +Sahara, where one of us two had lived from birth and the other for the +last thirty years and more._ + +_In strict agreement with the Qur'an, the only indisputable book +according to the Moslem Doctors of the earliest times and those imbued +with the modern liberal spirit, such as the celebrated Shaikh Abdu, we +have put aside all the posthumous miracles attributed to the Arab +Prophet and which only serve to blur his true physiognomy._ + +_Among all the Prophets founders of religions, Mohammad is the only +one who, relying solely on the evidence shown by his Mission and the +divine eloquence of the Qur'an, was able to do without the assistance +of miracles, thus performing the greatest of all--the one which Ernest +Renan, forgetting his example, declared to be utterly impossible. "The +greatest miracle," said he, speaking of Jesus Christ, "would have been +if he had wrought not any. Never would the laws of history and popular +psychology have been more violently infringed."_ + +_On the other hand, we have taken care not to turn a deaf ear to tales +in legendary shape. A legend, and above all, an Oriental legend, is an +incomparable means of expression. It serves to paint mere facts in +lasting colours and make them stand out in bold relief, far removed +from the icy and so-called impartial account of an up-to-date +reporter._ + +_Our readers, enlightened by the foregoing warning, must therefore not +let themselves be the victims of the numerous errors committed by +Hellenism, Latinism and Scholasticism, when interpreting "literally" +the sacred books of the East, while beneath seeming magic allegories +scattered here and there in this narrative, will easily be discerned +realities, poetically transposed, but not at all disfigured by the +imagination of the Arabs._ + +_With still more reason, the Qur'an should be read in the same way, +for is it not written:_ "God setteth forth these similitudes to men +that haply they may be admonished." (THE QUR'AN, XIV, 30.) + +_It may also seem strange that in the illustrations accompanying the +text, no portrait of the Prophet will be found, nor any picturing of +events in which he figured as the hero._ + +_And this is why: being sincere Moslems, we do not want to run counter +to the true principles of Islam, far less hostile than is supposed to +the portrayal of mortals' faces, but strictly forbidding the image of +the Divinity, considered to be rank blasphemy leading to idolatry more +or less disguised. To represent the likenesses of the Prophets is to +belittle them inevitably and sacrilegiously._ + +_And after all, in the eyes of the Believer, what does the prim effigy +of one of God's messengers on earth, however marvellously painted, +look like in comparison with the sublime idea that the mind of the +Faithful creates, under the influence of fervid faith? This has been +so well understood by certain Persian painters of miniatures, that, +having to sketch Mohammad in the varied phases of his nocturnal +ascension, they veiled his face entirely, because they found +themselves powerless to picture it, and feared also to impair features +so revered. There is no greater proof of their intention than the +meticulous care with which in the same pictures all other faces are +treated, including that of Buraq, the winged steed with the head of a +human being; and also the lineaments of the angels in the celestial +procession._ + +_In place, therefore, of an imaginary portrait and necessarily +falsified drawings, we have adopted a more indirect style of +illustration, but by its means we hope to have succeeded in evoking a +few lights and shadows, undoubtedly emanating from the superman who +came into the world at Makkah (Mecca)._ + +_His features, solely known by the descriptions of those who penned +his history, appear to us dimly through a gauzy veil of dreamland that +we shall not try to rend asunder, for behind this mysterious filmy +mask, the sacred lineaments will enjoy the rare and precious advantage +of not having been spoilt, like so many others, by impossible attempts +of pictorial reconstitution. On the other hand, his ways and doings +have been brought down to our own times, with religious fidelity, by +three hundred millions of disciples, scattered all over the earth's +surface._ + +_The constant thought of all Moslems, of whatever race, is to imitate +in everything, in the most humble as well as in the highest, of life's +functions, the habits of the Prophet whose image is engraved in their +hearts. And this is so true, that simply by the way in which he washes +his hands, the difference can be seen between an Arab Moslem and an +Arab Christian._ + +_Looking upon true Believers going to and fro, we consequently view +the movements of Mohammad. It is but a pale reflection, but +nevertheless incontestably authentic; whereas, despite the perfection +of their statues, the Roman Emperors can only offer to us their limbs +and faces, stiffened in attitudes of awkward pride; remaining as +corpses that our imagination is powerless to resuscitate._ + +_Impressed by these facts, we had the idea of illustrating this +history of Mohammad by picturing the religious doings of his +disciples; a few scenes of Arab life, and views of the Hijaz, his +native land._ + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE FIRST ] + +[Illustration: _Praying round the Sacred Temple of the Ka'bah of +Mekka._] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, +the Merciful._ ] + + +CHAPTER THE FIRST + + +[Sidenote: THE MOSLEM PRAYER] + +A rosy ray lit up the horizon; the stars paled, and a voice cried out +in cadence, in the silence of dawn: + +"_Allah is the greatest! There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is +the Prophet of Allah! Come and pray! Come to Salvation!_" + +High up above the flat housetops and the palm-trees of the oasis, the +last notes of the Muazzin's call, wafted from the balcony of the +slender minaret, died away in the infinite space of the Desert.... + +Mohammedans who were still slumbering, enwrapped in the white folds of +their shroud-like mantles, sprung to their feet with a start, like +dead men coming to life. They hurried to fountains where they +performed their ablutions; and then, with clean skins and pure +thoughts, they gathered together in long processions, elbow to elbow, +all turned in one direction: that of the Holy Ka'bah of Makkah +(Mecca). + +Standing erect, heads slightly bent, eyes downcast, perfectly still in +the long folds of their garments, they seemed as if metamorphosed into +a crowd of statues. Following the example of the Imam, in front of +them, but in the same direction, and announcing each phase of the +prayer by the Takbir: "_Allah is the greatest!_" they all lifted their +open hands on a level with their foreheads, to bear witness to their +ecstasy in the presence of the Almighty power of the Master of the +Worlds. Then, every man made the same movement, bending their backs +and bowing low before the throne of His Supreme Majesty. + +But this did not suffice to express all the humility of their souls, +so they dropped to the ground and prostrated themselves, piously +pressing their faces against the earth. For a few moments they +remained in this supplicating posture, as if crushed by the weight of +the entire firmament which might have been prostrated with them. + +They held up their heads at last and rose to a sitting posture, both +knees on the ground, their heads bowed under the burden of their +fervour. The prayer terminated by salutation, accompanied by the face +being turned first to the right, then to the left, addressed to the +two recording angels who unceasingly attend every true Believer. + +Generally, however, the Faithful who ask nothing from Allah, not even +their daily bread, remain a little longer on their knees, and placing, +breast-high, their open palms under their eyes, as if reading a book, +they implore Divine Mercy for the salvation of their souls, for their +relatives, and for Islam. + +Only a few parts of the Prayer: the Takbir, the Fatihah and the final +salutation are loudly intoned by the Imam. The congregation pray +inwardly; the Takbir alone is murmured in whispers that are barely +audible. + +Such half-silence enhances the grandeur of their gestures, so +expressive and simple, in which dignity is closely allied to humility; +and being totally devoid of affectation, constitutes the most poignant +display of adoration imaginable. + +Every day, each time the rays of the sun change colour: at rosy dawn; +flaming noon; during gilded sunset, when it descends below the horizon +in all the yellow sadness of its disappearance; and at the moment it +is enshrouded in the blue veiling of night, not only in the Mosques, +but also in the houses and streets, in _cafés_ and market-places, in +the country or the desert, all Moslems, alone or grouped together, +wherever they may be, without needing to be called by the Muazzin or +led by the Imam, are bound to stop short in their work and even +interrupt their trend of thought, for a few minutes, thus glorifying +the Benefactor. + +For more than thirteen centuries, from the Atlantic's African shore as +far as the Chinese coast-line of the Pacific, more than two hundred +millions of the Faithful turn five times daily in the direction of the +Holy Ka'bah of Makkah; their millions of prayers being garnered there +to be offered up to the Most High, bearing witness to the undying +gratitude of the souls of Islam. + +[Sidenote: DESCRIPTION OF MAKKAH (_Mecca_)] + +This mysterious town, upon which the aspirations of so many human +beings close in, was almost unknown in ancient times. What is it like? + +Is it one of those cities, picturesquely situated, where ostentatious +kings built splendid palaces, accumulating therein all the treasures +of creation? Is it one of those vast commercial boroughs dominating +land and sea routes to which the riches and produce of the universe +came in abundance? Or was it an extensive imperial capital whose +valiant warriors bent neighbouring peoples beneath their yoke? + +Makkah has nothing in common with all this, being established in one +of the most arid and forsaken spots on earth; and in olden times its +only commerce consisted in desert caravan traffic, so that it was +neither rich nor powerful. Nevertheless, many opulent towns are +jealous of its glory, for it shelters in its midst the Holy Temple of +the Ka'bah, besides being the birthplace of Our Lord Mohammad, the +Prince of Prophets! + +In our own times, despite gifts brought from the furthermost corners +of the world by the hundred thousand pilgrims who come each year to +prostrate themselves in its temple, Makkah, "The Mother of Cities," by +the splendour of its palaces and mosques, cannot vie with any great +capital. In the eyes of the True Believers, its treasures are radiant +with incomparable brilliancy, but which is not terrestrial. + +As a matter of fact, the aspect of Makkah--"Allah's Delight"--is no +different from other Arab desert centres. There are more numerous and +loftier dwellings, better decorated than in general, but its +characteristics, on the whole, are unchanged. + +From the top of the Jabal Abi-Kubeis which dominates it on the eastern +side, it can be viewed stretching from north to south in a narrow +valley. At first, it seems to form part of the earth on which it +stands, because the bare and rocky mountains surrounding it are not +separated from these heights by any oasis or verdant strip, and the +terrace-roofs of the houses do not stand out from the heaps of stony +fragments that have rolled down from the crags. The spectator's eyes +gradually get used to the landscape and pick out architectural lines; +mysterious entrances to dwellings; lace-work of tall, straight +minarets; and then, astonished at the sudden apparition of a big town +that he never thought was there, he sees it, as in a kind of mirage, +increasing excessively. Now it is the turn of the rocks to look as if +changed into houses; hills becoming immense suburbs extending +boundlessly. + +If, in this chaos of sharply-outlined shapes, it is difficult for the +eye to distinguish dwellings from steep rocks; one cannot fail to be +startled at once by the strange aspect of a great cube of masonry, +built up in the middle of a spacious quadrangular courtyard and veiled +by black silk, shining in violent contrast to the dull tints of the +entire sun-scorched landscape. + +This black cube is the Holy Ka'bah, the veritable heart of Islam, and +like so many veins bringing blood to the heart to vivify the body, all +the prayers of Islam flow towards this Temple to vivify souls. It is +the only spot on earth where Moslems, when adoring the Eternal, can +meet face to face. + +[Sidenote: THE TEMPLE OF THE KA'BAH AND THE BLACK STONE] + +The Ka'bah is not the tomb of the Prophet, nor an object to be +worshipped, as many Europeans imagine. It is a temple called "Beit +Allah al Haram" (the Holy House of Allah), and its origin can be +traced to the most distant days of antiquity. + +According to the Arab tradition, it was built by Adam, the father of +the human race. Destroyed by the Flood, it was rebuilt on the same +foundations, by the Prophet Abraham, with the help of his son, +Ishmael, the ancestor of the Arabs. Since then, often repaired, but +retaining the same lines and proportions, the Ka'bah became the goal +of Arab pilgrims flocking to adore Allah, the Only One, and perform +seven ritual circuits instituted by their forefathers under the title +of "Tawaf." + +Little by little, the worship of Allah, the Only One, having +degenerated in the memory of the pilgrims who added the practice of +idolatry, Mohammad was sent to destroy the three hundred and sixty +images they adored. + +In the east angle of the monument is incrusted the famous black stone +"Hajaru'l-Aswad", framed in a silver circle. + +This stone, which came down from Paradise, was brought by the angel +Jibra'il (Gabriel) to Abraham and his son, during the rebuilding of +the Temple, and they placed it where it is still to be seen this day, +in order to serve pilgrims as a starting-point for their ritual +circuits. Primitively as white as milk, its present characteristic +ebony tint is due to the pollution of the sins of the pilgrims who +came to touch and kiss it, while imploring the Merciful to pardon +them. + +Close to the Ka'bah is the well of Zamzam. Its miraculous water gushed +forth from the earth to save Ishmael from the tortures of thirst when +lost in the desert with his mother, Hajar (Hagar). Neglected by the +Arab tribes, in the dark Days of Ignorance, it became choked up by +sand and was dug anew by Abdul Muttalib, a few years before the birth +of Mohammad. The water, ever since, is revered by pilgrims who use it +for drinking purposes and for their ablutions, thereby sanctifying +themselves by the remembrance of their ancestors. + +The two functions of "Siqayah," (Management of Water Supply), and of +"Hajaba," (Superintendence of the Ka'bah) were posts greatly sought +after on account of their prerogatives. At the epoch at which our +story begins, they were both united in the hands of Abdul Muttalib bin +Hashem, of the Quraish tribe, the grandfather of the future Prophet. + +[Sidenote: THE MARRIAGE OF ABDULLAH, FATHER OF THE PROPHET] + +One day, Abdul Muttalib, custodian of the Ka'bah, set forth from the +Sanctuary, his favourite son, Abdullah, holding his hand. + +On the threshold of the temple was seated Quotila, a woman of the Bani +Asad tribe. On catching sight of the lad, she started to her feet, +evincing sudden surprise. She stared at him with strange persistence, +because she was fascinated by a supernatural light that radiated from +his brow. 'Whither art thou going?' she called to him.--'To where my +father leadeth me.'--'Stop and listen to me. I offer thee a hundred +camels, being as many as thy father was bound to sacrifice to save thy +life, if thou wilt consent to throw thyself upon me, now at once.'--'I +am in my father's company and cannot disobey him, nor leave him,' +replied Abdullah, petrified at such shamelessness, especially in the +presence of such a respectable person as Abdul Muttalib. + +The young man turned away, filled with confusion, and rejoined Abdul +Muttalib who took him to the house of Wahb ibn Abdi Manaf, whose +daughter the Superintendent of the Well thought would make a good wife +for his boy. + +Wahb was one of the chieftains of the Bani Zahrah tribe and Abdul +Muttalib being numbered among the princes of the Quraish, a most noble +tribe, an alliance between two such authentically aristocratic +families would be easily brought about and so the marriage of +Abdullah, with Aminah, daughter of Wahb, took place without further +loss of time. + +Abdullah went off with his bride to the dwelling of Abu Talib, his +uncle. There the marriage was consummated during the young couple's +sojourn of three days and three nights. When the newly-married young +man went out of the house, he came face to face again with Quotila, +the woman who had previously hailed him with such lack of decency and +he was surprised at her complete indifference as she saw him pass by. +Abdullah was considered to be the handsomest youth in Makkah. His +manly bearing had aroused the sensual passions of most of the women of +the city to such an extent that, when his marriage was announced, they +fell ill by dint of jealousy and disappointment. Quotila, however, was +not a victim to vulgar lust, being the sister of Waraqah ibn Taufal, +the learned man renowned throughout Arabia for his knowledge of the +Sacred Books. From him she had learnt how, in that part of the +country, a Prophet was about to come into the world, whose father +would be known by rays of light illuminating his face with a pearly or +starry sheen. This sign she had detected on the brow of Abdullah, and +was haunted by the ambitious desire of becoming the mother of the +coming Apostle. Her hopes dashed to the ground, she no longer heeded +Abdullah, notwithstanding his good looks. + +Knowing nothing of all this, he felt hurt at her indifference, +following so quickly on her great ardour. 'How comes it that thou dost +not ask me again for what thou hungered for but a little while ago?' +he asked Quotila.--'Who art thou?' she replied.--'I am Abdullah bin +Abdul Muttalib.'--'Art thou the stripling whose brow seemed to me to +be surrounded with a luminous aureola which has now disappeared? What +hath befell thee, since we first met?' + +He apprised her of his marriage, and Quotila guessed that the radiance +surrounding the future Prophet had passed away from the forehead of +Abdullah into the womb of Aminah, his wife.--'By Allah, I made no +mistake!' she told him. 'On thy brow I discovered the pure light that +I would have dearly liked to possess in the depths of my body. But now +it belongeth to another who will be delivered of "The Best Among +Created Beings," and there remaineth naught of thee that I care for.' + +Thus it came about that Abdullah, by the words that fell from the lips +of this learned woman, got to hear of his wife's pregnancy and the +future in store for his son. Abdullah did not live long enough to +have the happiness of knowing his offspring, for Mohammad's father +died at Yasrib two months before Aminah was delivered. + +Aminah, mother of Allah's Chosen One, spoke thus: + +"Since the day I carried my son in my womb, until I brought him forth, +I never suffered the least pain. I never even felt his weight and +should not have known the state I was in, if it had not been that +after I conceived and was about to fall asleep, an angel appeared to +me, saying: 'Dost thou not see that thou art pregnant with the Lord of +thy Nation; the Prophet of all thy people? Know it full well.' At the +same instant, a streak of light, darting out of my body, went up +northwards--yea, even unto the land of Syria. + +"When the day of my deliverance came due, the angel appeared to me +again and gave me a warning: 'When thou shalt bring forth thy child +into the world, thou must utter these words: 'For him I implore the +protection of Allah, the Only One, against the wickedness of the +envious,' and thou shalt call him by the name of Mohammad which means +The Lauded, as he is announced in the Taurat and the Injil, for he +will be lauded by all the inhabitants of Heaven and Earth.'" + +When the planet Al-Moushtari passed, a line of light darted for the +second time from Aminah's body in the direction of faraway Syria and +it illuminated the palace of the town of Busra. At the same time, +other prodigies astonished the world: the Lake Sowa suddenly dried up; +a violent earthquake made the palace of Chosroes the Great tremble, +and shattered fourteen of its towers; the Sacred Fire, kept alight for +more than a thousand years, went out, in spite of the exertions of its +Persian worshippers, and all the idols of the universe were found with +their heads bowed down in great shame. + +All these portents caused fear in the hearts of those who witnessed +them; but, despite the predictions of Al Moudzenab, the Parsee +sorcerer, who had been warned in a dream that a great upheaval in the +destiny of the universe would be caused by an event to take place in +Arabia, the occurrence was unperceived: the birth of a child of the +Quraish tribe at Makkah, a tiny town lost in the midst of the +wilderness, unknown to the gorgeous monarchs of East and West alike, +or else despised by them. + +[Illustration: Calligraphy: _Then when ye have ended the prayer, make +mention of Allah, standing, and sitting, and reclining._] + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE SECOND] + +[Illustration: _The Night of the Maulid, the Prophet's Birth day._ +_Moslems leaving a village Mosque._] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Have We not opened thy breast for thee? +* And taken off from thee thy burden?_] + + +CHAPTER THE SECOND + + +[Sidenote: THE BIRTH OF MOHAMMAD] + +Our Lord Mohammad (May Allah shower His Blessings upon Him and grant +Him Salvation!) was born a few seconds before the rising of the +Morning Star, on a Monday, the twelfth day of the month Rabi-ul-Awwal +of the first year of the Era of the Elephant. (August 29th, A.D. 570). + +When he came into the world, he was devoid of all pollution, +circumcised naturally and the umbilical cord had been cut by the hand +of the angel Jibra'il. The atmosphere of the city being fatal to +infants, the leading citizens were in the habit of confiding their +children to Bedouin wet-nurses who brought them up in their +Badya-land, where dwelt the Bedouins, or nomads. Shortly after the +birth of Mohammad, about a dozen women belonging to the tribe of the +Bani Sad, all bronzed by the bracing breezes of their country, arrived +at Makkah, to seek nurslings. Upon one of them devolved the honour of +suckling the Prophet of Allah. And she was Halimah, signifying "The +Gentle". + +[Sidenote: MOHAMMAD'S CHILDHOOD WITH THE BANI SAD TRIBE IN THEIR BADYA +LAND] + +Quoth Halimah bint Zuib: "It was a barren year, and both my husband, +Haris bin Abdul Ozza and myself, were plunged in dire distress. We +made up our minds to go to Makkah where I purposed to seek a +foster-child whose grateful parents would help us out of our miserable +plight. We joined a caravan where there were many women of our tribe, +bound likewise on the same errand. + +"The she-ass I was riding was so thin and exhausted by privation that +she came nigh upon breaking down on the road and we did not get a wink +of sleep all night by reason of our poor child being tortured by the +pangs of hunger. Neither in my breasts, nor in the udder of a female +camel driven by my husband, did there remain one drop of milk to +relieve my baby's pain. + +"All sleepless as I was, I fell a prey to despair. In my parlous +state, could I hope to take charge of a suckling? + +"Lagging far behind the caravan, we arrived in Makkah at last, but all +the new-born babes had already been allotted to the other women, +except one child and that was Mohammad. + +"His father being dead and his family far from rich, despite the high +rank it held in Makkah, none of the wet-nurses cared to take charge of +the baby boy. + +"We likewise turned away from him at first, but I was full of shame at +thinking I should have to journey back empty-handed, for I feared the +mockery of my friends luckier than I. Besides, my feelings were deeply +stirred when I gazed upon that fine infant, bound to wither away in +the unwholesome air of the town. + +"My heart became filled with compassion; I felt my milk welling up +miraculously in my breasts, so I said to my husband: 'I swear by Allah +that I have a good mind to adopt that orphan boy, notwithstanding that +we have but slight hopes of ever earning anything worth talking about +by so doing.'--'I cannot say thou art wrong,' he replied. 'Perhaps +with him, the blessing of Allah may once more favour our tent.' + +"Scarcely listening, I could no longer restrain myself and rushed +towards the handsome baby fast asleep. I placed my hand on its pretty +little breast; he smiled and opened his eyes sparkling with light. I +kissed his brow between them. Holding him tightly in my embrace, I +made my way back to where our caravan was encamped. Once there, I +offered him my right breast so that he should enjoy such nourishment +as Allah chose to grant him. To my extreme astonishment, he found +enough milk to satisfy his hunger. I proffered my left breast, but he +refused it, leaving it to his foster-brother, and he always behaved in +like fashion. + +"A greater marvel still was when from our she-camel's teats, dried-up +that morning, my husband drew enough milk to appease the hunger that +gnawed my entrails, and for the first time for many a month, the +shades of night brought us refreshing sleep. 'By Allah, O Halimah!' +exclaimed my husband, next day, on awaking, 'thou hast adopted a child +that is verily blessed!' + +"With the little boy, I mounted my she-ass who started off at a rapid +pace. She was not long in coming up with my surprised companions and +even trotted in front of them. Thereupon they cried out: 'O Halimah! +pull up thy ass, in order that we may journey home all together. Is +that the same animal you bestrode when we departed?'--'Aye; 'tis she +and no other.'--'Then she is under some spell that we cannot unravel!' + +"We reached our tents of the Bani Sad. I know no more arid soil than +ours and our flocks had been mowed down by famine. But we marvelled at +finding them in more thriving condition than during the most +prosperous seasons, and the swollen teats of our ewes yielded more +milk than we knew what to do with. + +"Our neighbour's flocks, on the contrary, were in a grievous state and +their masters threw the blame on their shepherds. 'Woe to ye all, +stupid serving-men!' cried the sheep-owners. 'Lead our lambs to graze +with those of Halimah!' + +"The men obeyed, but all in vain: the sweet grass that seemed to +spring up out of the earth offering its tender sprigs to our sheep, +withered immediately they were gone on their way. + +"Prosperity and blessings remained in our tent unceasingly. Mohammad +attained his second year and it was then I weaned him. His disposition +was truly uncommon. At the age of nine months, he talked in a charming +way with accents that touched all hearts. He was never dirty; nor did +he ever sob or scream, except peradventure when his nakedness chanced +to be seen. If he was uneasy at nights and refused to close his eyes, +I would bring him out of the tent, when he would fix his gaze +immediately with admiration on the stars. He showed great joy, and +when his glances were sated with the sight, he let his eyelids droop +and allowed slumber to claim him." + +[Illustration: _Watching over Camels grazing._] + +But when he was weaned, Halimah was obliged to take Mohammad back to +his mother who was eager to have him with her. What grief therefore +for the poor wet-nurse! She could not resign herself to such cruel +separation. As soon as she got to Makkah, she threw herself at +Aminah's feet and burst out supplicating as she kissed them. 'See how +the bracing air of the Badya hath profited thy child. Think that those +breezes will do him still greater good now that he is beginning to +walk. Fear the pestilential air of the city! Thou wouldst see him +waste away before thine eyes and remember my words when it was too +late.' + +Moved by these touching prayers and thinking only of her son's health, +Aminah stifled her motherly feelings and finished by consenting to let +Halimah take Mohammad back to the Badya. His good-hearted nurse, +buckling him securely to her loins, went off, overjoyed, on the road +leading to her encampment. + +Home again at the Badya of the Bani Sad, Mohammad's first footsteps +were printed on the ripple-marked carpet of the immaculate sands, +where he inhaled with welcome nostrils the sweet odours of the +aromatic plants growing on the hillocks. And there it was he slept +under the dark blue tent of the star-studded sky and his chest +expanded, breathing the limpid air of desert nights. He grew strong, +thanks to the healthy, wholesome food of the nomads: milk and cheese, +with unleavened bread baked under hot ashes and, now and again, +camel's flesh or mutton, devoid of the sickening smell of wool-grease +that comes from animals bred in confined stabling. + +Such moral and physical well-being, that he owed to the Badya, was of +great help to him, during ordeals later in life. He was always pleased +to recur to his childhood's days. 'Allah granted me two inestimable +favours,' he would often say. 'First came the privilege of being born +in the most noble of all the Arab tribes, the Quraish; secondly, that +of being brought up in the Bani Sad region, the most salubrious of the +entire Hijaz.' + +Never were there effaced from his mind those pictures of the desert +which were impressed on his earliest glances when, in company with +other nomadic lads, he would climb to the top of a rock to watch over +a grazing flock. + +Notwithstanding, being inclined to dream and meditate, he did not +agree very well with the turbulence and high spirits of the little +Bedouins of his own age, and preferred to hide away from them, and +ramble in solitude not too far from the tents. + +[Sidenote: MOHAMMAD AND THE TWO ANGELS] + +He went out, one morning, with his foster-brother leading the flocks +of his foster-father to the pasturage. + +All of a sudden, about the middle of the day, Mohammad's young +companion went back alone. 'Come hither quickly!' he shouted to his +father and mother, his voice hoarse with affright. 'My brother, the +Quraish, having slipped away from us, according to his wont, two men, +clothed all in white, seized hold of him, threw him on the ground and +split his chest open.' + +In mad fear, poor Halimah, followed by her husband, ran as fast as her +legs would carry her, following the road pointed out by the youthful +shepherd. Mohammad was found seated on the top of a hill. He was +perfectly calm, but his face had taken on the sinister tint of the +dust and ashes to which we must all return. They fondled him gently +and put question after question to him. 'What ails thee, O child of +ours? What hath befell thee?'--'While I was intent upon looking after +the grazing sheep,' he replied, 'I saw two white forms appear. At +first, I took them to be two great birds, but as they drew nearer, I +saw my mistake: they were two men clad in tunics of dazzling +whiteness.'--'Is that the boy?' said one of them to his companion, +pointing to me. 'Yea! 'Tis he!' As I stood stupefied with fear, they +seized me; threw me down and cut my breast open. They drew out of my +heart a black clot of blood which they cast far away; and then closing +up my chest, they disappeared like phantoms.' + +The words of Allah, in the Qur'an, seem to allude to this incident: +"_Have we not opened thy breast for thee? * And taken off from thee +thy burden. * Which galled thy back?_" (THE QUR'AN, XCIV. 1, 2, 3). + +This story, together with many others to be met with in the pages of +this work, must be taken to be a parable, which, in this case, +signifies that Allah opened Mohammad's breast when quite young, so +that the joy of monotheistic truth should penetrate therein and +permeate his being, relieving him of the heavy burden of idol-worship. + +Mohammad's foster-parents continued to live in a state of bewilderment +and Haris said to his wife: 'I fear the boy is a prey to falling +sickness, evidently due to spells cast by neighbours, jealous of the +prosperity and the Blessing that the child hath brought into our tent. +But whether possessed by the Evil One who conjured up this +hallucination; or because, on the contrary, the boy's vision is a true +one and pointeth to a glorious future, our responsibility is none the +less heavy. Let us give him back to his family, before his disease +becometh more violent.' + +Halimah was regretfully obliged to agree with such wise arguments and, +taking Mohammad with her, she turned in the direction of Makkah. + +The boy, now four years of age, walked by her side, and, on the +outskirts of the town, they found themselves in the midst of a great +crowd wending their way to the market or the Temple pilgrimage. Night +had come on. Hustled in the dense throng, Halimah was soon separated +from her foster-son and was unable to find him in the dark, despite +her active search and desperate shouts. Without losing time, she +hurried to apprise Abdul Muttalib, whose high social position made it +easy for him to send out clever men on the track of his grandson, +while he rode on horseback to head the searchers. + +In the Tihamah water-course, one of the trackers soon found a child +seated among some shrubs. He was amusing himself by pulling the +branches. 'Who art thou, child?' he was asked. 'I am Mohammad, son of +Abdullah bin Abdul Muttalib.' + +Well pleased at having found the boy he was looking for, the man +lifted up the child and carried him to the arms of his grandfather +following behind. Abdul Muttalib embraced Mohammad affectionately, sat +him on the pommel of his saddle in front of him and brought him back +to Makkah. To show his joy, the old man slaughtered some sheep and +distributed their flesh to the poor of the city. Then, taking his +grandson astride on his shoulder, he performed the ritual circuits +round the Ka'bah in token of gratitude. + +Accompanied by poor Halimah, now recovered from her anguish, he led +Mohammad into the presence of Aminah, his mother. After she had given +way to the effusive joy of a loving mother, she turned to Halimah: +'What doth this signify? O nurse, thou wast so desirous of keeping my +son by thy side, and now thou dost bring him back to me, all of a +sudden?'--'I considered that he had reached an age when I could do no +more for him than I have done; and fearing unlucky accidents, I bring +him back to thee, knowing how thou wert longing to set eyes on him +again.' + +Nevertheless, perplexity and sadness were only too clearly to be read +on the kind nurse's features. Not being deceived by her explanations, +Aminah continued: 'Thou dost hide from me the true motive of thy +return. I wait to hear thee tell the whole truth.' + +Halimah then thought it best to repeat what her husband had said, and +Aminah's maternal pride was sorely wounded. 'Can it be that thou art +afraid lest my son should fall a victim to the devil?' she quickly +retorted.--'I confess that such is my fear.'--'Know then that the +demon's wiles are powerless to do him harm, for a glorious destiny is +in store for him.' Aminah made the nurse acquainted with the +marvellous events that had happened during her pregnancy and lying-in. +After having thanked and rewarded Halimah for her devotion, Aminah +kept her child with her, and his health, fortified by life in the open +air, had now nothing to fear from unhealthy conditions of town life. + +[Sidenote: AMINAH'S DEATH (_A.D. 576_)] + +Under the vigilant eyes of the most loving of mothers, Mohammad grew +up handsome and intelligent; but he was not fated to long enjoy +maternal affection which no other love can equal. On returning from a +journey to Yasrib, whither she had taken him, Aminah died suddenly, +halfway on the road, in the straggling village of Al-Abwa, where she +was buried. + +The sorrowing orphan boy, scarce seven years of age, was brought back +to Makkah by a black slave-girl, Umm Aiman; entirely devoted to his +young master and who, including five camels, constituted his sole +inheritance. + +He was taken in hand by his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who had +always shown him great affection, and the old man's love increased +daily, as he saw the lad growing up more and more like Abdullah, his +father, so much regretted. + +The following anecdote gives an idea of Abdul Muttalib's boundless +affection for his grandson: + +In Makkah, where the streets are narrow and crooked like those of all +the towns of the desert, there is only one open space of any size--the +square in which stands the Ka'bah, and where, morning and evening, the +citizens gathered together, resting and gossiping about their business +as well as performing their devotions. Not a day passed without the +servants of Abdul Muttalib throwing down a carpet in the Temple's +shade; and round the rug sat his sons, grandsons and the leading +townsmen, awaiting his coming. The respect shown to the Superintendent +of "The House of Allah" was so great, that never did anyone ever dare +to put his foot even on the outer edge of his carpet. + +It came to pass one day that young Mohammad took up a position right +in the middle of the revered carpet, scandalising in the highest +degree his uncles who drove him away immediately. But Abdul Muttalib +was coming, and he had witnessed the conflict from afar. 'Let my +grandson go back at once to where he was seated!' he called out. 'He +is the delight of my old age and his great audacity ariseth from the +presentiment he hath of his destiny, for he shall occupy higher rank +than any Arab hath ever attained.' + +So saying, he made Mohammad sit by his side and fondled his cheeks and +his shoulders, while in ecstasies at the least thing the boy said or +did. + +Again the fates decreed, that Mohammad should be deprived of gentle +love: Abdul Muttalib died at the age of ninety-five, unanimously +regretted by his fellow-citizens. + +The unlucky orphan boy was received into the house of his uncle Abu +Talib, who had been chosen for this kind succour by his grandsire, for +the reason that, alone among his uncles, he was the brother of both +the mother and father of Abdullah, Mohammad's father. + +[Sidenote: MOHAMMAD'S FIRST JOURNEY IN SYRIA (_A.D. 582_)] + +Having a large family and not being very well off, although the +management of the Ka'bah had been bequeathed to him, Abu Talib was +obliged to do business with the lands of Yaman and Syria. + +Shortly after sheltering his nephew under his roof, he undertook the +task of organising a caravan of Quraish men, and he was to lead them +back to their tents. + +All was in readiness; the loads were shared and divided, corded and +balanced on the pack-saddles of the kneeling camels, grunting +according to their habit. Their drivers began, by dint of blows and +shouts, to force them to rise to their feet and direct their swaying +stride in a northerly direction. This sight caused Mohammad to +remember his beloved Badya, where caravans resembling this one about +to depart passed to and fro continually. Fresh separation, this time +from his beloved uncle, was about to plunge him into the sadness of +solitude. He stood still, gloomy and silent. At last, heartbroken, he +threw himself into Abu Talib's embrace, casting his young arms round +him, and hiding his face in the folds of his uncle's mantle, to +conceal his tears brought on by longing and despair. + +Greatly moved by this spontaneous manifestation of affection, and +guessing how ardent was his nephew's wish to accompany him, Abu Talib +declared: 'By Allah! we'll take him with us; he'll not leave me and +I'll not leave him.' + +Mohammad dried his tears and, jumping for joy, he busied himself in +hastening the final preparations for the journey. At a sign from his +uncle, he perched himself on the female camel, getting up behind him. + +When the caravan began to pass along the tracks made by the Bedouin +tribes, Mohammad's lungs, contracted by breathing the vitiated air of +houses and streets, were deliciously dilated, revelling in liberally +gulping down the life-giving air of the Badya to which he was +accustomed. Being used to a nomadic existence from childhood, the +young traveller was able to support most valiantly the exhausting +privations and terrible fatigue of such an interminable journey in the +midst of the Hijaz deserts. + +For more than a year, the countries he passed through were so much +alike in their sands and rocks, that the caravan seemed as if marking +time. In the pitiless desert there was no other sign of life, except +the presence of Him who is everywhere, eternally existant, but not to +be seen by mortal eyes. + +[Sidenote: HOW MOHAMMAD MET THE MONK BAHIRA] + +On the terrace-roof of a convent perched, like a turban on a tall +man's head, on the top of a steep hill, the lesser chain of the Jabal +Hauran, the most learned monk, Bahira, looked out afar over the Syrian +plains, stretching away in infinite space in the direction of Arabia. +All of a sudden, his attention was drawn to the strange aspect of a +solitary cloud, white and oblong, that stood out in bold relief on the +immaculate blue background of the sky. Like some enormous bird, the +cloud hovered above a small caravan winding its way northwards. The +fleecy mass in the heavens covered the straggling procession with its +azure shade and moved with the line of travellers. + +At the foot of the hill on which the monastery was built, the caravan +halted, close to a great tree that grew on the brink of a dried-up +wady, and began to organise the encampment. At that moment, the cloud +stopped still and vanished in the celestial canopy, while the branches +of the tree were bent, as if beneath the gusts of a breeze acting on +those twigs and leaves, at the same time throwing their shade over one +of the caravaneers, as if to protect him from the blazing rays of the +sun. Seeing these prodigies, Bahira guessed that among these wayfarers +coming from the Hijaz, would be found the man he had been awaiting so +long: the Prophet announced by the Sacred Books. So Bahira hurried +down from the flat roof, gave orders to prepare a bountiful meal and +sent a messenger to invite all the folks of the caravan without +exception, young or old, nobles or slaves. + +The messenger returned, in company with the men of Makkah whose coming +Bahira awaited on the threshold of his monastery. 'By Lat and Uzza! +thy conduct doth puzzle me, O Bahira!' exclaimed one of the guests. +'Many a time and oft have we passed by the convent; yet, until now +thou hast never heeded us; never didst thou dream of showing us the +least sign of hospitality. What maggot biteth thee this day?'--'Thou +dost not err,' replied Bahira. 'I have cogent reasons for behaving as +I do. But ye are my guests at this hour and I pray that ye honour me +by gathering together to partake of the repast that I have prepared +for you all.' + +While the people he had invited were enjoying the food with the +appetites of men having recently been sorely deprived, Bahira +scrutinised them all in turn, trying to find the one answering to the +description given in his Books. Much to his disappointment, he did not +succeed. There was no one to be seen whose appearance agreed with the +description. But as he had just witnessed marvels that could not be +explained, otherwise than by the reason that one of Allah's elect was +surely present, he refused to be discouraged. 'O men of the Quraish +tribe!' he asked; 'is there not one of you remaining in your +tents?'--'Aye, one only,' was the reply. 'We left him alone at rest on +account of his extreme youth.'--'Why did ye not bring him hither? Go, +call him at once, so that he shareth the meal in your company.'--'By +Lat and Uzza!' swore one of the guests; 'we give you right. Of a +surety we are to blame for having left one of us behind, while we +profit by thine invitation, especially as he is a son of Abdullah bin +Abdul Muttalib.' + +Rising, he went and fetched Mohammad and brought him into the midst of +the group of guests. Bahira eyed the newcomer with great attention and +when the men had done eating and drinking, the monk went to him, +taking him on one side. 'O young man!' said the monk, 'I have a +question to ask. By Lat and Uzza, wilt thou consent to answer?' + +Bahira desired to put him to the test by invoking the idols Lat and +Uzza, exactly as he had just heard his guests swearing, but Mohammad +replied thus: 'Put no question to me in the name of Lat and Uzza, for +there is nothing on this earth that I hate more than them.'--'Well +then, by Allah! wilt thou answer me?'--' Question me and, by Allah! +I'll answer thee!' + +Thereupon Bahira interrogated him on everything that was of interest, +such as his family, his position in life, his dreams that, now and +again, disturbed his slumbers, and many other things. Finally, just as +the youth, after having taken leave of the saintly scholar, turned to +go away, the collar of his tunic yawned slightly and Bahira caught +sight of the "Seal of Prophecy," imprinted on the lad's back, below +the nape of the neck, on the exact spot indicated by the Sacred Texts. +Bahira's last doubts vanished--here, indeed, standing in his presence, +was the Prophet whose advent had been foretold. Therefore, the monk +went up to Abu Talib and spoke to him, saying: 'What relation is this +lad to thee?'--'He is my son.'--'No! He is no son of thine!'--'True +enough! He is not my son, but that of my brother.'--'What hath become +of thy brother?'--'He died while his wife was still pregnant with my +nephew.'--'Thou dost speak the truth. Mark then my words: lose no time +in returning to thy country with thy brother's son and watch over him +with constant vigilance. Above all, beware of Jews! If they saw him +and learnt what I have just learnt about him, by Allah! they would do +him harm, for this son of thy brother is chosen to play a great part +in the world!' + +Abu Talib, much impressed by the warnings of a man whose scientific +reputation was universally recognised, made haste to finish his +business at Busra in Syria, and started back home to Makkah with his +nephew, where they arrived safe and sound. + +Protected by Allah and guided by his uncle, who watched over him with +true paternal care, Mohammad grew up and became an accomplished young +man. He was extremely chaste. Abu Talib being busily engaged in +executing some repairs in the Zamzam well, several Quraish striplings, +among them being Mohammad, fetched and carried big stones fitted to +the work. So as to be more at their ease, they lifted up their _izars_ +(a kind of tunic) in front, passing them over their head and rolling +them round the neck, thus protected from the sharp edges of the stones +carried on the shoulders; and all this was done without troubling +about the fact that they were showing their nakedness. Mohammad was +obliged to imitate them; but so soon as he felt his nakedness exposed +to every eye, he was seized with a fit of atrocious anguish; great +drops of sweat stood out on his brow; a shudder of shame shook his +entire frame and he fainted away. + +Such innate modesty, and the protection granted by Allah to his Elect, +safeguarded the young man from the excesses in which lads often fall +at the period of puberty. Among all the youths of the same age, he was +the best-looking; the most generous; the most easygoing; the most +truth-telling; the most devoted friend; and the most devoid of +debauchery, to such an extent that his fellow-citizens called him +"Al-Amin," which means: "The Reliable Man." + +[Sidenote: THE SECOND SYRIAN VOYAGE (_A.D. 594_)] + +Like Abu Talib, most of the men of Makkah were obliged, to eke out a +living, to traffic with Syria and the Yaman. + +Their town, situated in one of the most frightfully barren countries +of the world, offered no resources and its citizens only made both +ends meet by dint of trading with these two countries between which it +served as a link. + +Its caravans crawled to the Yaman to procure raw materials from that +region, known as Arabia Felix; and also products brought from +overseas, imported from Ethiopia, India and even far China. The camels +came laden with fragrant spices, sweet-smelling incense, ivory, gold +dust, silks and many other articles of luxury. Arriving in the Hijaz, +they added dates from Yasrib or Taif. Then they wended their way into +Syria, to exchange these goods for agricultural produce, such as +grain, wheat, barley, rice, figs and raisins, as well as for imports +of Greek and Roman civilisation. + +Even women carried on this kind of trade, confiding their goods to +those who organised caravans. These female traffickers sold the +merchandise in return for a share of the profits. + +Khadijah bint Khuaild, a rich and noble widow, at the head of a +thriving enterprise of this kind, hearing that everybody was unanimous +in extolling Mohammad's well-merited reputation for prudence and +probity, thought it would be well to entrust him with the direction of +her commerce. She sent for him and, as a beginning, proposed that he +should take charge of a caravan she was despatching to Syria and +offered a salary twice as large as she was generally in the habit of +paying. + +Mohammad accepted; but Abu Talib, calling to mind what the monk Bahira +had told him, grew uneasy when the camels were ready to start. He +spoke privately to each of the caravaneers, urging them to watch over +his nephew, and making them responsible for any harm that might come +to him. It was with Maisarah, a slave, Khadijah's right-hand man, that +Abu Talib was most solemn in his warnings. About to travel with +Mohammad, Maisarah, a good servant, simple-minded and devoted, already +greatly impressed by the confidential observations of such a prominent +citizen as Abu Talib, fell under the sway of the charm and influence +exercised by his young master over all who approached him. Maisarah +felt great liking and boundless admiration for Mohammad. + +In every incident of the journey, Maisarah noted miraculous tokens, +proving the superhuman disposition of the man he served, and indeed, +certain events showed that the slave guessed aright. The road he had +so often travelled, knowing all its fatigue and danger; the +interminable tracks where the inexorable orb of day dried up the +water-skins and gave the mortals who went that way a foretaste of the +flames of Jahannam; the paths marked out by the bones of men and +animals that had succumbed to pitiless thirst, were passed as easily +as if they had been enchanted. + +Every day, at the hour when the sun, rising high over the heads of the +travellers, threatened them with its deadly, blazing rays, light +clouds, like the feathers of a bird, floated in the azure sky. They +increased and met; then they were stretched out in long lines +resembling the beam-feathers of enormous wings, opened to protect +Mohammad beneath their shade. When the sun, losing its formidable +power, began to sink gradually below the horizon, the feathers of +these clouds dropped away one by one, vanishing in the last golden +rays that the incandescent orb threw out through space before +disappearing. The protecting wings, now useless, closed, making room +for the stars which sparkle nowhere in the world so brilliantly as +over deserts. Even the camels seemed overjoyed; they doubled the +stride of their great long legs and the path seems to fold itself +backwards as they advance. No dead body of any of them was added to +the sinister skeletons left behind by previous caravans. + +Once only during the whole journey, a couple of Khadijah's camels +showed signs of exhaustion and lagged behind the convoy. Despite the +insults and blows showered on them, Maisarah failed to bring them in +line with the others. The two wretched beasts were completely bathed +in sweat, a certain sign that they would soon fall, never to rise +again. Maisarah, devoted to his mistress's interests, was extremely +perplexed. He did not want to forsake his tired camels; but on the +other hand, he had not forgotten Abu Talib's pressing recommendations +concerning the young man then leading the caravan, so the slave ran to +apprise him of what was taking place. + +Mohammad halted and came back with Maisarah to see the pair of camels +who were lying down, uttering painful, pitiful groans each time an +effort was made to make them get up. He leant over them and, with his +blessed hands, touched their feet hacked by the sharp pebbles of the +Hammadah, and the poor beasts that had not even stirred under the +lash, suddenly rose to their feet and with enormous strides, grunting +joyously, caught up with the leaders of the caravan. + +Good luck lasted when the caravan reached Busra, in Syria. Mohammad +sold out all the goods he brought with unexpected profit, and found, +at extraordinarily advantageous rates, what he had come to get, +without even having to undergo the horrors of never-ending haggling, +according to Oriental custom. + +He awakened the sympathy and interest of everyone by his winning ways, +frankness and honesty; but above all, by that mysterious radiance +emanating from Predestinated Beings; which the old masters interpreted +by a golden aureola, called magnetism by the scientists of the present +day, because they lack the power of explaining its nature. + +In this region, where enthusiasm for questions of religion ran high; +where every hill is topped by a monastery and where every stone calls +up the remembrance of a Prophet, this young traveller, before whom +Nature itself seemed to bow down, excited in the highest degree the +curiosity of all these monks. They were renowned for researches in +sacred texts and lived in hopes of the coming of a new Apostle of +Allah. All flocked to put questions to Maisarah, known to many among +them during previous journeys. They soon divined that he was +Mohammad's confidential slave; and a Nestorian monk, named Jordis, +predicted great things to the devoted serving-man, making the same +kind of recommendations as Bahira had made to Abu Talib. + +All transactions being terminated, the caravan turned homewards, and +immediately the mysterious cloud, that seemed to be awaiting the +travellers, took its place over Mohammad's head and never ceased to +accompany him until the journey's end. On the outskirts of Makkah, at +the spot called Bathen Mou, Maisarah prevailed on Mohammad to go on +ahead of the convoy, so as to carry to Khadijah, without the least +delay, the good news of their return. + +The widow was in the habit of going up with her servants to the top of +her house whence she could see the road to Syria, dipping, in a +north-easterly direction, into the ravine overlooked by the Jabal +Quayqwan. She certainly felt no anxiety concerning her goods, but +without confessing as much to herself as yet, she was fearful lest +anything harmful should happen to the man to whom she had confided +them: young Mohammad who, by his noble bearing and upright +disposition, had so deeply impressed her that his absence weighed her +down. It seemed to be never-ending. + +One day, among all these weary weeks of waiting, when the sun at its +zenith was setting the town in a blaze, preventing the inhabitants +from stirring out in the streets or mounting to the housetops, +Khadijah lingered at her usual observatory. Her beautiful eyes, their +lids scorched by dint of staring searchingly into the depths of the +white-hot horizon, had just reluctantly closed, in despair at not +seeing the caravan so impatiently desired ... All of a sudden, the +house became filled with delicious, cool air; while the blinding +reverberation of sunlight on the white terraces and calcined rocks was +softened by a gauzy veil of sheltering violet shade ... Just then, the +door opened and Mohammad entered Khadijah's dwelling. + +Doing his duty like a scrupulous manager, he turned in all the +accounts of his expedition, and enumerated the magnificent results +thereof. She thanked and complimented him warmly, but without being +very much astonished at his success, for she began to think he was +predestinated. + +The coincidence of his arrival with that of the cloud which granted +such beneficent shade had not failed to strike her, and she divined +the obvious connection of the circumstances. 'Where is Maisarah?' +quoth she.--'With the caravan over which he watches.'--'Go back at +once and fetch him; increase the camels' speed, for great is my haste +to admire the riches thou dost bring me.' + +Mohammad heard and obeyed; and the cloud, flying away from the house, +followed and accompanied him on the Syrian road. Henceforward, +Khadijah's doubts were dispelled, and her faithful slave Maisarah, who +soon arrived, confirmed her opinion. 'The cloud thou didst remark,' he +told her, 'accompanied us unceasingly from the day we left Makkah +until we returned. Ever since we went out of Busra, and enlightened by +the predictions of the learned monks of the Hauran, I am forced to +acknowledge that it was formed by the wings of two angels whose +mission was to protect my master from the sun's ardent rays.' + +He then narrated all those incidents of the journey in which he could +make out miraculous tokens and Khadijah never grew tired of +questioning him. + +[Illustration: _The Flocks_ 2 views] + +[Sidenote: THE MARRIAGE OF MOHAMMAD AND KHADIJAH (_A.D. 595_)] + +This noble, generous woman rewarded Mohammad by giving him double the +salary she had promised and thenceforward had but one idea: to get him +to take care of her entire wealth. The best way was to marry him, and +the dictates of her heart urged her to carry out her plan. There was +but one objection: the difference in their ages. Mohammad had only +just attained his twenty-fifth year, while she was close upon forty. +Nevertheless, Khadijah's age did not prevent her from being the most +marrigeable lady in all the town, not, as might be rightly thought, on +account of her riches (according to Arab customs, the husband brings +the dowry and has no right to his wife's property), but because of her +personal qualities, charming ways, distinguished manners, chastity and +aristocratic descent, Khadijah being the daughter of Khuaild bin Asad, +bin Abdul Ozza, bin Qusaiy, bin Kilab, bin Morra, bin Kab, bin Lawaiy, +bin Ghalib.... + +She was therefore the queen of a court of suitors trying to dazzle +her, some by the purity of their pedigrees; others by the extent of +their riches. But all in vain. Since the death of her second husband, +Abu Hala, it seemed as if she had made up her mind to end her days +without contracting a third alliance. When she met Mohammad and began +to appreciate his moral qualities, all her resolutions soon weakened +and the feelings that drew her towards him increased each day in +intensity. She determined to sound him. + +Maisarah has said: "Two months and twenty days after our return from +Syria, my mistress sent me to my master and I questioned him thus: 'O +Mohammad! hast thou any reason for remaining a bachelor?'--'My hands +are empty. I do not possess the wherewithal to furnish the dowry of a +betrothed bride.'--'But if the small amount thou hast should be +considered enough by a rich, worthy and noble lady--what then?'--'To +whom dost thou allude?'--'I mean Khadijah!'--'Why joke with me? How, +with the trifle I could offer as a dowry, should I dare to seek her +presence and offer to take her in marriage?'--'Rest easy on that +score. I'll see to it.' My master's accents and looks sufficed for me +to become aware of his feelings towards my mistress. Without further +delay, I sought her out and told her what I thought. Beaming with joy, +she made all her arrangements for speedy nuptials." + +At first, Khadijah had to obtain the consent of Khuaild, her father, +who so far had inexorably repulsed all suitors, as he never found any +rich or noble enough for his daughter. To gain her ends, she resorted +to trickery. + +Coached by her, Mohammad made arrangements for a big feast, inviting +his uncles, Khuaild and a group of Quraish tribesmen of the highest +rank. Khuaild's weak point was a love of fermented beverages and, as +was his wont, he drank a little more than was reasonable. His daughter +seized the opportunity to speak to him thus: 'O my father? Mohammad +ben Abdullah asks me to marry him and I beg thee to bring about our +union.' + +Khuaild, giddy with the fumes of wine, and seeing everything tinted +with a rosy hue, gave his consent without reflecting, and Khadijah, +immediately, following the custom prevailing at that epoch, bedewed +her betrothed with perfumes and threw a sumptuous mantle over his +shoulders. + +Khuaild woke up out of his fit of drunkenness and interrogated his +daughter: 'What doth all this signify?'--'Thou knowest full well, O my +father! Thou hast just now settled my betrothal with Mohammad, son of +Abdullah.'--'Could I have done this thing: marry thee to the orphan +adopted by Abu Talib? Ah no! Never will I consent while I +live!'--'Dost desire then to dishonour thyself in the eyes of the +Quraish chiefs here this day, by confessing thou wert drunk just +now?' + +She continued in this strain, until at last Khuaild, finding nothing +to say in response, was obliged to give his definite consent. +Thereupon Abu Talib made the following speech: 'Praise be to Allah who +created us, the Bani Hashem, descendants of Ibrahim (Abraham) and of +the seed of Ishmael, who did appoint us to be custodians of His House, +the Holy Ka'bah, and Administrators of His Sacred Territory; and who +made us as Lords over the Arabs. Here before ye standeth my brother's +son, Mohammad bin Abdullah; no man can be weighed in the balance with +him, for he is far above all others as regards nobility, merit, +generosity and wisdom. If he be not favoured by fortune, remember that +wealth is naught else than a passing, inconstant shadow; a loan to be +repaid eventually. Now the soul of Mohammad bin Abdullah leaneth +towards the noble dame Khadijah, whose soul eke leaneth towards him; +and he doth beg at this hour that thou, O Khuaild! in thy generosity, +should give her to him to be his wife. As dowry, he bringeth twenty +young female camels, and I call upon ye to be my witnesses, O my +Quraish brethren!' + +The marriage took place, and so as to celebrate it duly, Khadijah had +her young and graceful slaves to dance to the sound of tabors, before +the company assembled; all unanimously overjoyed at this alliance +between two such noble families. + +Khadijah was Mohammad's first wife. She never had a rival in her +husband's heart, and, until the day of her death, she was his sole, +beloved spouse. She gave him seven children; three sons: al-Qasim, +at-Tahir and at-Taiyib; and four daughters: Ruqaiyah, Fatimah, Zainab +and Ummu Kulsum. + +After the birth of al-Qasim, the eldest boy, a familiar surname, "Abul +Qasim," that is to say, the Father of Qasim, was bestowed on Mohammad, +full of joy at the coming of a scion of his house. Unfortunately, the +poor child, greatly cherished by his father, was destined to die in +infancy. The same fate overtook his brothers, at-Tahir and at-Taiyib, +who passed away in like fashion in "The Days of Ignorance." Only +Mohammad's daughters witnessed the advent of Islam and were counted +among its first and most faithful servants. + +[Sidenote: HOW THE TEMPLE OF THE KA'BAH WAS REBUILT (_A.D. 605_)] + +After partial destruction by fire, the Ka'bah had been badly restored. +The roof fell in, and thieves took advantage of the breach to get into +the Sanctuary and carry off part of the treasure, constituted by +pilgrims' offerings. + +Fresh repairs were urgently needed; but as bad luck would have it, the +walls were so dilapidated that they could no longer bear the least +weight. There was nothing to be done but to raze them to the ground. +If, however, the idea of rebuilding such a revered monument met with +no objection, its demolition seemed to be the most dangerous sacrilege +imaginable. + +After much hesitation, finally dispelled by a series of obvious +miracles, the Quraish men came to the resolution of tearing down the +old walls of which the remains were in heaps on the ground. Then, as +the ancient foundations were formed of blocks of stone admirably +fitting one into the other, each clan of the Quraish tribe undertook +part of the task of rebuilding. + +The workers, actuated by the zeal that always arises from rivality, +soon built up the walls to the height at which the famous Black Stone, +"al-Hajaru'l-Aswad," should be fixed. Who was to have the honour of +putting the precious relic back in its place? There was not the +slightest chance of coming to an agreement on this point, and, in +consequence of each party pleading the precedence of the purest noble +descent or the greatest merit, the discussion grew so heated that most +tragical results were to be feared. Under the influence of jealousy, +groups were formed and stood face to face. The Bani Abed-Dar, joining +the Bani Adiyy bin Kab, brought forth a bowl filled with blood, +plunging their hands therein, and swearing they would die sooner than +relinquish the privilege in anyone else's favour, because they thought +it devolved upon them by right. + +For four days and four nights, the adversaries, with threatening mien, +remained on the look-out, absorbed in the task of vigilantly watching +each other. At last, Abu-Ummayah, their senior, spoke out, saying: +'There will come a time when all this must finish and this is what I +propose: name as umpire the first man who cometh into our midst, and +let him settle the dispute that destroyeth our union.' + +The advice given was not displeasing to the stubborn rivals and they +finally agreed to follow it. It happened then, at that very moment, +that they saw coming towards them a young man about thirty years of +age. They recognised him as "Al-Amin" (The Reliable); in other words: +Mohammad. Nothing could have been more fortunate, and all being as of +one mind on this point, they accepted him as arbitrator at once, +submitting the cause of their conflict to his judgment. When they +terminated explaining the case, Mohammad, instead of hearkening to +their respective claims, only said: 'Bring a mantle and spread it out +on the ground.' + +When they had obeyed his behest, he took the Black Stone in his hands +and placing it in the middle of the cloak, he went on: 'Let the most +influential person of each party take hold of the mantle by the corner +that is in front of him.' All did as they were told, and then he +turned towards those who held the corners of the mantle. 'Now, lift +the cloak,' he continued; 'all together, up to the height of the wall +which is being built.' + +They obeyed and when the lifted cloak was level with the spot where +the Black Stone was to be built in, Mohammad took the Relic and with +his own hands, put it in its place. + +Thanks to his presence of mind, all cause of discord disappeared. He +had given satisfaction to each of the rival groups, without favouring +one more than the other; and caused the proud Arabs to be reconciled +without bloodshed, for the first time in all their history; in short, +there was honour due to him which no one contested. + +High above the Black Stone, the walls rose rapidly, carried up by the +workers toiling as friends. The ribs of a ship wrecked on the Jeddah +coast furnished a flat terrace-roof, and when the monument was +finished, it was entirely draped with a veil of the finest lawn, woven +by the Copts. + +In later years, the veil consisted of striped Yaman cloth; and still +later, the Ka'bah was covered by Hajaj bin Yusef with the "Kiswah," or +garment of black silk, such as is still thrown over it at the present +day, being renewed yearly. + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And provide for your journey; but the +best provision is the fear of Allah._] + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE THIRD] + +[Illustration: _"At Takbir", or Glorification._] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Verily, we have caused It (the Qur'an) +to descend on the night of Power._] + + +CHAPTER THE THIRD + + +[Sidenote: DESERT RETIREMENT] + +To him they called "Al-Amin," (the Reliable), his fellow-citizens were +ready to grant the highest and most coveted honours, with a post of +preponderance in their city. + +But being of a disposition equally devoid of vanity or ambition, he +disdainfully refused to reply to their flattering advances, and his +fortuitous intervention in the dispute arising from the rebuilding of +the Ka'bah was the only time he was mixed up with public affairs +during a period of fifteen years, dating from his wedding-day. + +How did he pass his time? Allah had inspired him with the love of +solitude, and Mohammad loved more than anything to wander all alone on +great empty plains stretching away farther than the eye could reach. + +What were the causes of this liking? Doubtless, in the gloomy desert +surrounding Makkah, he conjured up over and over again the delightful +memories of his childhood, passed in the Badya; but his highly-gifted +soul found satisfaction of a more exalted kind. In the first place, he +was spared the sight of the moral and religious errors of the Arabs at +that period. + +The Arabs were, in the highest degree, aristocratic, proud, +independent and courageous. Their generosity towards their guests was +exemplified in a refined manner that has never been surpassed; and, +among them, a certain Hatim Tay may be looked upon as the Prince of +Generous Hosts. + +By their natural gifts of eloquence and poetry, they can bear +comparison with the most brilliant orators or magnificent poets of the +universe. Their poetry, above all, allowing them to celebrate heroic +exploits; and their open-minded generosity by which they were led to +sing love's joy and sadness, became, for such hot-blooded men, the +object of passionate adoration, marvellously well served by the most +enchanting language ever known. + +Their public fairs, particularly that held at Okaz, furnished an +opportunity for real poetical contests, where the winner heard his +poem applauded by a madly delighted throng, and then it was written +out fully in letters of gold, and hung up in the Temple of the Ka'bah. +Of these poetical triumphs, called "Al-Muaalaquate," ("The +Suspended"), seven have been handed down to us and prove what great +heights were attained by the genius of the Bedouin primitive poets. + +But, at the same time as we admire such brilliant qualities innate in +the Arabs, we have to deplore great errors. The monotheistic religion +of their great ancestor Ibrahim (Abraham) was entirely forgotten, +despite their continued veneration for the Temple built with their own +hands. They had become "Mushrikun," ("Associates"). To Allah, the Only +One, partners were adjoined in the shape of idols, who were generally +preferred. Every tribe and family possessed a favourite idol; and, at +that epoch, three hundred and sixty false gods, of wood or stone, +dishonoured the Holy Ka'bah. + +The most gross superstition flourished in addition to idolatry. Games +of chance, divining by arrows, drunkenness and sorcery debased the +brains of these men, all otherwise remarkably gifted. Fretting under +all restraint, lacking all ideas of decency, they married as many +women as they could afford to feed; and as widows were considered to +belong to their husbands' estate, revolting unions took place between +stepmothers and stepsons. + +Still more abominable was the custom of the "Wa'du'l-Binat," (Burying +Girls Alive). By some strange morbid decay of the feeling of honour, +and also through fear that the debauchery of daughters or their +capture by an enemy might one day bring opprobrium on their families, +many unnatural fathers preferred to get rid of their female offspring, +by burying them alive as soon as they were born. + +To sum up: the Arabs' leaning towards ostentation, their aristocratic +prejudice and overweening pride, caused them to rebel against all +discipline or authority. Consequently, union and progress becoming +impossible, incessant warfare and pitiless vendettas between tribes +and families submerged all Arabia in a sea of blood. + +Such were the errors that saddened Mohammad. He could no longer bring +himself to look upon them, and as he saw no cure for such deep-rooted +and general evil, which he thought was infallibly destined to draw +down on his people the terrible punishment of Heaven, such as +annihilated the inhabitants of Thamud and Ad, he hid himself away in +the most deserted spots he could find. Far from the contact of human +beings, he was able to drive out of his memory the odious remembrance +of their iniquity. + +It was then that he gave way entirely to the imperious need of +meditation and religious worship that mastered his soul. He wandered +in sandy ravines, following capricious meandering watercourses, or +climbing up the steep sides of rocky mountains, to recline at their +summits and let his glance and imagination be lost in the depths of +the arid expanse that stretched away at his feet as far as the most +unattainable horizon. + +During many long hours, stock-still in the midst of such impressive +empty space; in this ocean of light where deathly silence reigned, he +would be engrossed in mute and ecstatic contemplation of the +sight--incomparably grand and varied--offered to him by the elements +of heaven and earth obeying a mysterious, unknown, inconceivable, +universal and unique Power.... + +He gazed on dunes and rocks, veiled at first by the dawn's rosy gauze, +studded with humble pebbles that became sparkling precious stones when +the early rays of the sun broke forth. Next came the shroud of +dazzling light which the orb of day, at its zenith, spread over the +tired earth that was as still as a corpse. Then followed a golden +flood that the sun, as it declined, let loose in great waves all over +the world, as if wishing that its departure should give rise to even +greater regret. At last was seen the moon's scarf, irisated like a +pigeon's breast, splashing the sky with its sparks that changed into +myriads of stars. + +And there arose proud columns that in still weather the sand erected +joyously, as if trying to reach the blue vault above; or furious +spouts which, on stormy days, gushed from the bottom of ravines, to +attack dark, lightning-loaded mists. Caravans of clouds sometimes +careered, shaped like flocks of white sheep, driven by the wind away +from the high peaks where they were formed; forced to depart before +they could bedew their birthplace with rainy tears. On other days, +diluvian storms broke in cascades over bare mountains, vomiting forth +impetuous torrents, thundering in the valleys. + +In comparison with these formidable elements, which never dared to +rebel against the law imposed upon them by Supreme Power, how weak and +arrogant Humanity seemed to be! It relied upon the strength of mundane +institutions, and now such feeble trifles were liquefied by the mirage +viewed by Mohammad in the mirrored waves of seething ether, as if to +proffer the image of the absolute vanity of the things of this world. + +The "Khelous" (Desert Retirement), was the main source of Mohammad's +education. It cleansed his heart of all worldly thoughts. That is why +tradition has named it "Safat as Safa,"--The Purity of Purity. + +Little by little, the soul of the boundless Desert penetrated his +soul, bringing him the intuition of the unlimited grandeur of the Lord +of All the Worlds. The most imperceptible secrets of Nature communed +in the uttermost hidden depths of his being, impregnating his mind so +violently that these eternal truths were on the point of escaping from +his lips. Carlyle, the great thinker, cannot restrain his admiration +in this connection. "The word of such a man is a Voice direct from +Nature's own heart. Men do and must listen to that as to nothing +else;--all else is wind in comparison." (_The Hero as Prophet_, +London, 1840.) + +How is it that some Orientalists of the West have put forward the +theory that Mohammad profited by this retirement to arrange and +elaborate his future task in its most minute details? Some of these +scholars have even gone so far as to insinuate that, during his +seclusion, he composed the Qur'an in its entirety. Have they not +noticed that, in this Divine Book, there is no preconceived plan +according to human methods; and that each of the Surahs, taken alone, +is applicable to events that happened later, extending over a period +of more than two decades and which it was impossible for Mohammad to +foresee? + +That they could find no other explanation of his long meditation is +due to their ignorance of the Arab mind. If these learned men had +lived among the Bedouins long enough to understand that the +contemplation in which the denizens of the desert are often seen +engrossed, squatting on a hill-top, staring into vacancy, is not that +state of empty-headed idiocy described by a few travellers, possessed +of more humour than observation. If, above all, they themselves had +the opportunity of revelling in the unutterable charm of the ecstasy, +which can only arise from viewing the immensity of the desert, they +would have acknowledged that thereby surprising advantage accrues to +the intuitive faculties of the intellect, and therefore they could +never have been so clumsily mistaken. + +This contemplation is as a crucible in which melt nascent emotive +feelings and thoughts, issuing therefrom in a state of extraordinary +purity. It may be also be compared to an accumulator storing up +supernatural force, although hidden and unknowing, such as the latent +power of fire lurking in the core of a tree-trunk. The forces +accumulated by contemplation remain unsuspected by all, even by those +in whom they reside. But let the tiniest spark fly out and a flashing +flame will immediately rise heavenwards to dazzle the universe. + +At that epoch, it is certain that Mohammad had none of the intentions +with which Orientalists have credited him. He had not even made a plan +of any kind. In his "Khilwah" there was meditation, but no +premeditation. Mohammad, at last, enjoyed luminous visions and heard +mysterious calls, at the moment fixed by Providence to manifest His +bounty by the intervention of the man He had chosen to be His +Prophet. + +Mohammad has said: "For ten months before the first Revelation, my +sleep was disturbed by dazzling dreams, like unto the rays of early +dawn, and when I could no longer be seen from the houses, I heard +voices calling: 'O Mohammad! O Mohammad!' I turned round and looked +behind me, first to the right, then to the left, but I could only see +shrubs and stones. It was then that I was overwhelmed with frightful +anguish. Hating sorcerers and diviners, I feared lest I had become +like them, unknowingly and against my will. These voices that seemed +to spring from inanimate objects, might have been those of the Jinn in +hiding--the Jinn that give informations to wizards and fortune-tellers +concerning celestial matters and so help them to carry on their +nefarious trade." + +[Sidenote: THE REVELATIONS (_A.D. 611_)] + +Hollowed out of a block of red granite on the Jabal An-Noor, or +Mountain of Light, about three miles from Makkah, to the left of the +Arafa road, is the grotto of Hira, chosen by Mohammad to seek +seclusion there yearly for one whole month, living day and night in +absolute retirement. + +He would take some provisions, consisting mainly of "Kaak" (a kind of +biscuit cooked in oil and which possessed the advantage of remaining +indefinitely in a good state of preservation), so as not to be forced +to return to the town. If, by any chance, his stock of food became +exhausted and he was obliged to go and fetch other eatables, he went +back to his cave, for any interruption of his ecstatic meditations +made him suffer greatly. + +He was now forty, and, for the last fifteen years, by dint of anxious +Adoration, he tried to rid the Hanif religion, that is to say the +monotheistic creed of his ancestor Abraham, of the vulgar +modifications from which it had suffered at the hands of the citizens +of Makkah, when one night, the twenty-fifth, twenty-seventh or +twenty-ninth of the month of Ramadhan (January 15-17, or 19, A.D. +611), the unforgettable Event occurred by which the Merciful One +proved His generosity to His creature, by sending His Revelation on +earth in the first verses of the Qur'an, by the lips of His Messenger. + +The Prophet has said: "I had fallen asleep in the grotto of Hira, when +the angel Jibra'il appeared to me, and unfolding before my eyes a long +strip of silken stuff embroidered with written letters: 'Read!' said +he.--'I am not one of those who read,' I replied. He caught hold of me +at once, tightening the silken folds round my limbs, mouth and +nostrils with such violence that I could not breathe. I thought the +hour of my death had arrived. + +"Letting me go, he repeated: 'Read!'--'I am not one of those who +read,' I answered as before. Again he clutched me and I felt my last +breath about to escape from my breast. Finally he loosened his hold +and repeated for the third time: 'Read!'--'What am I to read?' I +asked, in my affright lest he tighten the silk around me anew and this +time I felt certain that my lungs would not have held out. + +"It was then that he said to me: '_Read! in the name of thy Lord who +created * Created man from clots of blood * Read! For thy Lord is the +most beneficent * Who hath taught the use of the pen * Hath taught Man +that which he knew not._' (THE QUR'AN, XCVI, 1-5). + +"I recited these words after him. He vanished. Starting out of my +sleep, I had the impression that the whole of a Book had just been +engraved on my heart. + +"I went out of the cave to collect my thoughts, when halfway down the +mountain, I heard a voice that came from Heaven, crying out to me: 'O +Mohammad, thou art the Prophet of Allah and I am Jibra'il!' I raised +my glance to the sky. It was filled by Jibra'il's presence. Despite +all I could do to turn my eyes, wellnigh blinded, in the direction of +other parts of the horizon, the angel's dazzling apparition was always +before me. And I stood rooted to the spot, unable to go backwards Or +forwards. I was petrified. + +"For the second time, Jibra'il said to me: 'O Mohammad, thou art the +Prophet of Allah and I am Jibra'il!' He then disappeared like a vision +in a dream. It was then that in great haste, my heart beating in the +most terrible anguish, I ran towards my dwelling...." + +[Illustration: _The Encampment._ 2 views] + +When the Prophet crossed the threshold of his house, he rushed to +Khadijah, hiding his face in her lap and trembling as if in a fit of +ague, as he cried: 'Cover me up! Cover me up!' His servants flocked +busily round him, keeping him enwrapped until his emotion had +subsided. Khadijah, much upset, questioned him: 'O Father of Qasim, +where wert thou? By Allah, what befell thee? I sent some of my +servants to meet thee, but they came back without having met thee, +either at Hira, or on the outskirts of the city.' + +The Prophet told her what had happened to him. 'I thought I should +have died!' he added. 'That could not be,' answered Khadijah, +regaining her composure. 'Surely Allah sought not to do thee harm, for +thou art kind to thy family, merciful to the weak and helpful towards +the victims of injustice. O son of my uncle! thou dost bring me +excellent tidings and that I do affirm. I swear, by the name of Him +who holdeth in His hands the soul of Khadijah, that I hoped for this +news. There is no doubt about it--thou wilt be the Prophet of our +nation.' + +Ever since she had heard the miraculous reports that Maisarah, her +slave, brought her, and which confirmed what she had remarked herself, +Khadijah was convinced that the highest destiny was in store for her +husband, and she was not at all astonished at such a Revelation. She +quickly gathered her flowing robes about her, and hastened to the +house of her cousin Waraqah ibn Naufal to apprise him of what had just +come to her ears. + +No man in Makkah was more conversant with Holy Writ than Waraqah, a +convert to Christianity; and, like the Syrian monks, he lived in hopes +of the advent of a Prophet to be born in Arab-land. Therefore, he had +no sooner heard his cousin's story than he cried out, while tears of +joy welled up in his eyes: 'Most Holy God! If what thou sayest is +exact, O Khadijah, He who manifested His presence to thy husband is +the great Namus, Allah's confidant: the Angel who appeared to Our Lord +Moses! Mohammad will be the Prophet of our Nation! Doubt it not and +repeat my words to him that he be convinced thereof.' + +What time the Prophet, according to his wont after each term of +retirement, was performing the ritual circuits round the Ka'bah, +Waraqah, despite weakness due to his great age and blindness caused by +too much reading, had himself led at once into Mohammad's presence, so +as to listen to the story of his adventure from his own lips. When the +sightless old man was satisfied that Mohammad told the truth and had +repeated to him the same predictions, he exclaimed: 'Ah! I should like +to be still in the land of the living when your fellow-men will send +thee into exile!'--'How so?' cried the Prophet. 'Shall I be +banished?'--'Of a surety, they will send thee into exile,' Waraqah +went on, 'for never hath mortal man brought what thou bringest without +falling a victim to the most dastardly persecution. Ah! if God deigned +to lengthen my days until then, I would devote all my energies to +helping thee to triumph over thy enemies!' Death, however, prevented +Waraqah from seeing his wishes fulfilled. + +All Mohammad's doubt vanished. The fulgurating Revelation set all his +unknowing aspirations in a blaze and fanned the flame of the latent +forces stored in his soul during fifteen years of contemplation. It +had opened his eyes and taught him the formidable, superhuman part he +had to play and which was now forced upon him. In reality, all this +was quite unexpected, despite the monks' predictions that he had +forgotten long ago, even if he had ever paid the slightest attention +to them. His anguish and his fear lest he should have fallen a victim +to diabolical hallucinations furnishes us with indisputable proofs of +his state of mind. + +He who had fled from his fellows and had never aspired to fill any +post of public utility, such as his citizen-comrades would have been +glad to grant, was ready now, with resolute faith and courage, to +fulfil the most overwhelming mission that can be confided to a human +being, and he cared not a jot for the terrible ordeals that he knew +were inevitable. + +During that night, for ever memorable, known by the name of +"Leilat-al-Qada," or "Night of Destiny," the Qur'an came down in its +entirety from the highest Heaven where it was kept, as far as the +inferior Heaven, situated immediately above the earth. And there it +had been deposited in the "Bait-al-Izza," or "House of Glory," +underneath which was erected the "Baitu'l-Lah," or "House of Allah," +which signifies the Holy Ka'bah. + +"_Verily, we have caused It (the Qur'an) to descend on the night of +Power * And what shall teach thee what the Night of Power is? * The +Night of Power is better than a thousand months! * Therein descend the +angels and the Spirit by permission of their Lord for every matter. * +All is peace until the breaking of the morn._" (THE QUR'AN, XCVII, +1-5.) + +Then, from this lower Heaven, after the first verses are revealed to +Mohammad, together with a general comprehension of his Mission, the +words of Allah, comprising the Qur'an, come down now from between his +lips, Surah following Surah, for a period of twenty-three years, so as +to guide all his actions, establish the laws of religion and organise +the triumph of Islam. + +For the benefit of our European readers, we consider it needful to add +the following commentary to this story of the Revelation, according to +Arab historians: + +The angel Jibra'il, who sought out the Prophet at Hira is none other +than the angel Gabriel who appeared to Daniel; and to Mary, the mother +of Jesus; but real Moslems say that Jibra'il is totally unlike the +pink-cheeked, fair-haired youth, with wings of varied hues, as seen in +the cheap, religious, saintly images of the Europeans. The angel +Jibra'il is "ar-Ruh," the "Pure Spirit," (THE QUR'AN, XCVII, 6); and +also "An Namus," or "The Invisible Adviser." Sometimes he manifested +his presence to Mohammad by stray sounds resembling tinkling bells or +the hum of bees, by which he caused Allah's Messenger to suffer more +than anything. His brow would be bathed in sweat, even during cold +wintry days, and it was only when the noise died away that he +understood what the angel had revealed to him. At other times, when +Jibra'il taught Mohammad ritual movements, the angel made his presence +manifest by assuming the appearance of a mortal resembling Dihyah ibn +Khalifah, one of the Prophet's companions. + +The Revelation, of which this angel is the symbolic intermediary, is a +divine Irradiation and should be looked upon as the highest degree of +the mysterious Force, evidently surrounding mortals, since it is +totally independent of a man's will-power, and which we call +Inspiration. + +[Sidenote: THE FIRST MOSLEMS.] + +Prayer, preceded by ablutions, was the first duty taught to the +Prophet by the celestial envoy. + +Mohammad, having returned to the place where he had first heard the +Revelation, Jibra'il appeared again, in the shape of a human being. 'O +Prophet!' he said, 'You must lead men to proclaim that there is no God +but Allah.' + +He drove him towards a watercourse where Jibra'il stamped on the +ground with his foot. A spring immediately gushed forth, and setting +the example, the angel taught Mohammad the rites of Purification by +means of ablutions preceding all prayers. He then went through the +prayers, with the bowing, prostrations and sentences of which they +should be comprised; and the Prophet prayed with him, guided by the +angel's movements and words. + +Mohammad felt his body relieved from a weighty burden by the +purification, and his soul brightened by the benefits of these +prayers. Then it was that, thrilling with the faith of belief, +Mohammad was about to return home to his wife when Jibra'il appearing +once more, said to him: 'Teach Khadijah salvation by Islam!' That is +to say, by voluntary resignation to all the Creator's commands. He +obeyed and spoke thus: 'O Khadijah! Jibra'il ordereth me to teach thee +salvation by Islam.' And Khadijah answered: 'Allah is Salvation; from +Him cometh Salvation, and let Salvation be on Jibra'il.' + +Thus it came about that, of all living beings, Khadijah was Islam's +first convert. The Prophet took her at once to the miraculous spring, +where he taught her what he had just learnt. Copying her husband, she +purified herself by the ablutions and recited the prayers. Ever since +that day, Allah made use of this admirable woman to mitigate the +sorrows and pains of His Prophet in all the ordeals he had to undergo. +Khadijah's devotion endowed Mohammad with deep contempt for mortals' +wickedness, and his wife's firm faith served to comfort him when he +was looked upon as an impostor. + +One of the first of the Prophet's companions to believe in his mission +was Ali, son of Abu Talib, only about ten years old just then, and who +Mohammad had adopted during a period of famine, so as to relieve his +uncle, at the head of a very large family. + +Noticing that Mohammad and Khadijah kept aloof and became absorbed in +prayer, he marvelled greatly at seeing no object of worship set up in +front of them and he put this question to the Prophet: 'What rites +were ye both performing just now?'--'We were saying the prayers of the +pure religion that Allah hath just chosen for Himself and for which He +hath chosen me to be the Prophet,' he replied. 'O Ali! I do invite +thee to join with me. I invite thee to worship the Only Allah that +hath no partners and I call upon thee to renounce the idols Lat and +Uzza who can neither benefit nor harm their worshippers.' + +'Say then: "_He is one Allah: * Allah the everlasting! * If He +begetteth not, and He is not begotten; * And there is none like unto +him. * He is Allah beside whom there is no god. He knoweth things +visible and invisible. He is the Compassionate, the Merciful! * And +when He decreeth a thing, He only saith to it, 'Be,' and it is. * +There is no Allah but He; the Living, the Self-subsisting. Neither +slumber seizeth Him, nor sleep. * No vision taketh in Him, but He +taketh in all vision: and He is the Subtile, the All-informed! It is +He who causeth to laugh and to weep * He causeth to die and maketh +alive * He bringeth forth the living out of the dead and the dead out +of the living: He quickeneth the earth after its death; thus it is +that ye too shall be brought forth. * The East and the West is +Allah's: therefore, whichever way ye turn, there is the Face of Allah: +truly Allah is Omnipresent and Omniscient ... * This is Allah, your +Lord. All power is His, But gods whom ye call on beside Him have no +power over the husk of a date-stone!_" (THE QUR'AN, CXII, 1, 4. LIX, +22. II, III, 256. VI, 103. LIII, 44, 45. XXX, 18. II, 109. XXXV, 14.) + +'Never until this day,' Ali replied, 'have I hearkened unto such words +and I wish to consult Abu Talib, my father.'--'Do nothing of the +sort!' the Prophet hastened to tell him, for Mohammad feared lest the +news of his Mission should be noised abroad before the hour arrived to +divulge it in open day. 'If thou dost come to Islam, O Ali! thou must +keep the secret.' + +Greatly troubled in his mind by all he had just heard, Ali passed a +sleepless night, but Allah (Glory be to Him!) guided him on the Road +to Salvation. Early in the morning, he went to Mohammad and professed +the religion of Islam with all his heart. From that day onwards, when +came the hour of prayer, Ali followed Mohammad to the ravine to pray +with him, unbeknown to the boy's father and uncles. + +But one day, when they were both praying at the place called, +"Nakhlat-al-Mahal," Abu Talib caught them unawares and questioned the +Prophet, saying: 'O son of my brother, what is this religion of which +thou dost follow the rites in thy prayers?'--'It is the religion of +Allah, of his Angels and His Prophets--the religion of our ancestor +Ibrahim. Allah hath sent me to preach it to all men; and thou, the +most worthy and the nearest of my relatives, I invite thee to tread +the Road to Salvation.'--'I cannot give up the religion and the +tradition of my fathers,' Abu Talib declared; 'and yet I hold thee to +be so sincere that I believe in the truth of what thou sayest. +Continue, however, to fufill thy Mission without anxiety, for no harm +shall come to thee so long as I live.' Turning towards his son, he +added: 'Thou mayest hearken to Mohammad, and follow him as obediently +as thou canst, for he will never guide thy footsteps except in the +path of righteousness.' + +Zayd ibn Harith, a captive, freed and adopted by Mohammad, and who had +so much affection for his liberator that he refused to go away with +his father when he came to pay the ransom, soon followed All's example +and became a convert to Islam. Next followed one of the most noted men +of Makkah, Abdul-Ka'bah, son of Abu Quhafah, whom we shall call +henceforward Abu Bakr, being the name he assumed later and caused to +become celebrated. + +He happened one day to be at the house of Hakim ibn Hazam, when a +slave of the household came and spoke to his master as follow: +'Khadijah, thy aunt, maintaineth that her husband is a Prophet sent by +the Most High, like Moses!' Hearing this, Abu Bakr, who had great +faith in Mohammad's sincerity, and had heard some of Waraqah's +predictions, jumped up hurriedly, much moved; and sought out the +Prophet to interrogate him. No sooner had Abu Bakr hearkened to +Mohammad's utterances giving details of the Revelation, than he was +overtaken by enthusiasm and cried out: 'By my father and my mother and +by all the friends of truth, I believe what thou hast told me and I +bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that thou art His +Prophet!' Hearing his speech, Khadijah, draped in a crimson veil, came +out of a near-by room and said to Abu Bakr: 'Praised be Allah who hath +guided thee, O son of Abu Quhafah!' + +This conversion was a source of great joy for the Prophet. Abu Bakr +held high rank in the city. He was very rich; remarkably well +favoured, with fine features and aristocratic bearing; conversant with +the sciences of genealogy and the meanings of dreams. Truthful in his +speech; affable in neighbourly intercourse, he had been chosen by his +fellow-citizens for the extremely delicate post of the umpire whose +duty it was to judge cases of homicide and fix the amount of the +"Qisas," or money compensation for wilful murder. + +A fervent Believer, Abu Bakr's entire efforts were now devoted to +leading his friends and the people of his party to the Prophet, so +that he might invite them to Islam. Abu Bakr's activities were +successful; the confidence he inspired induced his partisans to +hearken with favour to Mohammad's discourse. The enunciation of this +religion, so simple and withal so great; in such conformity with the +inward longings of the soul of mortals, led them gradually to look +with horror upon the state of gross idolatry in which they had +hitherto wallowed. Besides, this religion was that of Abraham, their +ancestor, and as his creed was still dormant in their hearts, despite +themselves, it was easy for them to acknowledge it. Last of all, the +superhuman accents of the man who preached this new belief and his +radiant, expressive looks, stirred their whole being and they hastened +to be converted by him. + +About fifteen of the leading men of the Quraish tribe came to the +Prophet in the same way and became ennobled by Islam. We may mention +Usman ibn Affan, Abd ar Ralman ibn Auf, Sad ibn Abi Waqqs, Zubayr ibn +al-Auwam, Talha Ubaydullah, Ubayda ibn Harith, Jafar ibn Abdul +Muttalib, and many others. + +At the same time as these conversions, so important by reason of the +proselytes ranking highly, we must not forget one more humble, but +most touching: that of Mohammad's nurse. As soon as the call of her +foster-son came to her ears, good Halimah, who had always believed +that the boy she had reared would make his mark in life, hastened with +Haris, her husband, to be counted among the Faithful. Every person, +too, belonging to Mohammad's household, had become a convert from the +onset, and among them, his daughters, still very young; without +forgetting a negress, Umm al Ayman. This little group of Believers now +led a life filled with ever-changing emotion. What could be more +charming than their secret meetings when they prayed and adored Allah +in perfect union? But they had to take unheard-of precautions so as +not to awaken the hostile suspicions of idolaters. Even in his own +house, the Prophet was forced to beware of his neighbours, and when he +proclaimed the "Takbir," he spoke into a pitcher buried in the ground, +so as to deaden the sound of his voice. In these circumstances, only +clandestine propaganda was possible, and during the first three years, +the progress of Islam was excessively slow and timid. + +On the other hand, Revelation had suddenly stopped; and Mohammad, no +longer feeling himself upheld by the inspiration of the Almighty, +began to doubt and despair. + +He was wandering to and fro, anxious and alone, in a wild valley, when +he heard a celestial voice causing him to look up. In the vivid +brightness of great light, he recognised the Angel that had appeared +to him at Hira. He could not support the brilliancy of this formidable +apparition and, blinded, rushed to his dwelling where he had himself +wrapped up in his mantle, so as to calm the tremor of his frame and +shade his dazzled eyes. It was then that Allah sent down the following +verses: "_O thou enwrapped in thy mantle! * Arise and warn! * Warn thy +relatives of nearer kin * And lower Thy wing over the Faithful who +follow Thee. * And if they disobey thee, then say: 'I verily am clear +of your doings' * And put thy trust in the Mighty, the Merciful_." +(THE QUR'AN, LXXIV, 1, 2. XXVI, 214-220). + +The Prophet rose up, his eyes sparkling with sublime energy. Until +that day, he had never dared to proclaim his Mission publicly, for he +foresaw the hatred it would foment among his idolatrous +fellow-citizens. But having been ordered by his Supreme Master to +preach the doctrines of Islam, which was Mohammad's most earnest wish, +he threw off the restraint that crushed him, and resolved to have +recourse to strong measures. He ordered Ali to prepare a meal composed +of a leg of lamb, hot corn and a jar of milk. He then invited his +relatives to partake of it. + +Not one refused, and there came forty persons all told; among them his +uncles on his father's side: Abu Talib, Hamzah, Abbas and Abu Lahab. +When the guests had eaten their fill, much to their great surprise, +for this modest repast could have been easily swallowed up by any one +man among them, Mohammad made as if to address the meeting. But Abu +Lahab, having some suspicions respecting his nephew's ideas which did +not meet with his approval, took the words out of his mouth. 'What +kind of spell does our host seek to cast over us?' he cried. In +superstitious fear of being bewitched, the proof of such a dire fate +being furnished by the fact that their hunger had been appeased by a +most meagre banquet, the guests scattered away in great haste. + +Affronted by their lack of courtesy, the Prophet said to Ali: 'Didst +thou give heed to my uncle when he cared not how impolitely he behaved +in preventing me from speaking? But no matter! Get another meal ready +for to-morrow, and go round and invite all the same people.' + +Next day, in the presence of the guests once more gathered together, +Mohammad hastened to make himself heard and succeeded in so doing. 'No +one living hath ever brought to the Arabs what I bring,' he declared; +'that is to say, glorious good fortune in this world and supreme +felicity in the next. Allah the Most High hath commanded me to summon +all men to Him. Who among ye wisheth to share my work and help me to +accomplish my mission? Such a man shall be my proxy and my +lieutenant--nay, my brother!' + +At this unexpected declaration, all the people present stared at each +other in stupefaction; and knowing not what to reply, their features +betrayed naught else but fierce enmity and showed what their answer +would have been. Faithful Ali, expecting an outburst of joy, at such +great, good news, coupled with ardent competition in hopes of the +honour of becoming Mohammad's henchman, forgot that his youth demanded +his silence in the midst of such a gathering of noble folks; and +standing up erect, carried away by his enthusiasm, he cried out: 'O +Prophet of Allah! I will be thy lieutenant!' + +Instead of smiling at the pretensions of the lad, the Prophet patted +Ali's neck affectionately while proclaiming: 'Here is my proxy and my +lieutenant! Here standeth my brother! Listen to him and obey!' + +By this time the stupefaction of the guests was boundless, but they +suppressed their rage and received the declaration with great bursts +of merriment. Abu Lahab turned to Abu Talib and shouted ironically: +'Hast heard thy nephew's speech? He ordereth thee to listen to his son +and obey him!' + +With the exception of Abu Talib, saddened by this scandalous scene, +all went away, jeering sarcastily and exasperated. + +It is certain that this utter defeat grieved the Prophet, without +discouraging him in the least, for, from that day, the Revelation gave +him support, instruction and guidance unceasingly. + +[Sidenote: THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE HOUR] + +And Mohammad began to preach. He was hurried along by the Revelations +which came to him quickly, one after the other, all terrible; and +announcing "The Frightful Blow," being the End of the World and the +Day of Judgment. + +"_The Blow! what is the Blow? * And what shall teach thee what the +Blow is? * The Day when men shall be like scattered moths, * And the +mountains shall be like flock of carded wool._" (THE QUR'AN, CI, 1, +4.) + +Mohammad thought this disaster, destined to punish mankind for its +perversity, was imminent. So he increased his reproofs among his +fellow-men, in order to deliver them from the sway of their passions +and guide them into the Path of Salvation before the Blow fell. But +they answered him, saying: "_The Hour will not come upon us!_" (THE +QUR'AN, XXXIV, 3.) + +Obeying the orders of Allah, he reiterated his adjurations: "_Verily, +the Hour will surely arrive: there no doubt with regard to it. * O +Men, fear your Lord! Verily, the earthquake of the Hour will be a +tremendous thing! * When the Earth is shaken with its shaking, * And +when the Earth hath cast forth her burdens of buried dead, * And man +shall say: What aileth her? * On that day shall she tell out her +tidings, * Because thy Lord hath inspired her. * On that day shall men +come forward in bands to behold their works, * And whosoever shall +have wrought an atom's weight of good shall behold it, * And whosoever +shall have wrought an atom's weight of evil shall behold it._" (THE +QUR'AN, XL, 61. XXII, 1. XCIX, 1-6.) + +As a result of these gruesome prophecies, given out with accents of +firm conviction, unbelievers felt a shudder of anguish convulsing +their being; but as they saw nothing take place as time went on, not +even precursory signs, they soon regained their equanimity and fell +back again into their erring ways. + +The Prophet could not tell for what time the hour was fixed: _The +knowledge of it is only with my Lord._ (THE QUR'AN, VII, 186.) But +Mohammad knew punishment was inevitable in this world or the next, and +he was in despair at having to think that his infidel fellow-men would +meet with a fate even sadder than that of the peoples of Thamud and +Ad. + +[Sidenote: THE FIRST HOSTILITIES] + +Following the Prophet's first sermons, the Faithful sought no longer +to hide their belief; but, to avoid useless disputes, they held +clandestine meetings in a desert ravine where they said their prayers. + +A group of idolaters dogged their footsteps and having succeeded in +discovering their retreat, lavished foul epithets on them. The +Believers, unable to put up with the insults offered to their +religion, grew furious and a fight took place, during which Sad ibn +Abi Waqqs picked up the jawbone of a camel's skeleton in the sand and +dashed it violently in the face of one of the Associates, causing the +vital fluid to flow. These were the first drops of blood shed in the +struggle now beginning between Islam and idolatry. + +Wishing to prevent a renewal of these incidents, the Prophet resolved +to retreat to pray in peace with his disciples in the house of Arqam, +situated on the Sufah hill. Nevertheless, fury increased among the +idol-worshippers. So long as Mohammad had gone no further than to +summon them to salvation, even blaming them and threatening them with +the punishment of divine wrath, his adversaries merely shrugged their +shoulders and laughed at him; but when he retaliated by turning their +wooden or stone images into ridicule, pointing out that they were +dumb, deaf, blind and powerless, the rage of the idolaters was +unbounded. Not only did he sting them to the quick through attacking +their beliefs, but he did them great harm commercially, for in the +hands of leading citizens, the idols were a source of considerable +revenue, and constituted efficacious means of domination over the +superstitious common people. + +Alone, among the men of his party who had refused to embrace the +Islamic faith, his uncle, Abu Talib, still gave him proofs of +affection, thus greatly scandalising the other members of the Quraish +tribe, who sent him a deputation of the most influential among them: +Utbah ibn Rabiyah, Abu Sufyan ibn Harib, Abu Jahal and several +chieftains of equal note. + +'O Abu Talib!' said these delegates, 'your brother's son insulteth our +gods and our beliefs. He mocketh at the religion and traditions of our +forefathers. Shall we not rid ourselves of him? Or wilt thou not +remain neutral and thus let us be free to act towards him as we think +fit? For we know that thou dost not share his convictions any more +than we do.' Abu Talib dismissed them with a polite and conciliatory +reply. + +Mohammad, as may well be surmised, continued his sermons with +unfailing ardour. The enmity of the Quraish tribesmen assumed a more +serious aspect; their representatives returning to see Abu Talib, to +make the following declaration: 'We have the greatest respect for +thine age, nobility and rank, but we asked thee to rid us of thy +brother's son and thou didst not do so. Now, we can no longer put up +with the affronts with which he overwhelmeth our beliefs and +traditions, so deprive him of thy protection and leave us free to +treat him as we choose. In case of refusal on thy part, we must reckon +thee as being against us in the war we declare on him, and which will +last until one of the two parties are exterminated!' They then +departed, leaving Abu Talib in despair at being cut off from his +partisans and, on the other hand, firmly resolving never to throw over +his nephew. + +In that state of mind, he sent for Mohammad. 'O son of my brother!' +quoth he; 'our fellow-citizens of the Quraish have returned and made +solemn declarations to me. Reflect; take compassion on me; have pity +for thyself, and do not put upon me a burden too heavy to bear. + +'O my uncle!' replied the Prophet; 'if in order to make me renounce my +Mission, they placed the Sun on my left and the Moon on my right, I +swear that, by Allah, I would not yield before I fulfilled my task +triumphantly or perished in the attempt!' + +Thinking that Abu Talib had spoken as he did as a hint that he would +have to cast him adrift, by reason of his inability to protect him, +his nephew burst into tears and went away. Abu Talib, much moved, +called him back at once and said to him affectionately: 'Go, O son of +my brother! Go forth and preach as thou wilt. By God, I'll never turn +away from thee!' + +Finding that no threats succeeded in estranging uncle and nephew, the +delegates went back to Abu Talib for the third time, taking with them +Ammarah ibn Walid, and then the deputation made the following +proposal: + +'O Abu Talib! here is Ammarah ibn Walid, one of the most accomplished +and handsome young men among all the youths of Makkah. We bring him to +thee. Adopt him for thy son. He belongeth to thee. In exchange, hand +over to us thy brother's son thou didst adopt, so that we put him to +death, for he hath stirred up strife in our tribe.'--'By God!' replied +Abu Talib, 'what's this fine bargain ye now put forward? You would +fain give me your son, so that I feed and clothe him; and I should +have to let you take mine to be killed by you! That could not be! No, +by God!--never!' + +With rage in their hearts, the delegate's left him. The Mausam--the +time for the pilgrimage--drawing nigh, the Quraish idolaters held +a meeting at the dwelling of Walid ibn Moghayrah so as to consult +together with regard to the way in which they ought to behave to +the Prophet. Walid was spokesman, and he said: 'O assembly of +Quraish men! the Mausam will soon bring innumerable pilgrims to +Makkah. Of a surety, they have heard about Mohammad, and they +will question you concerning him. How will ye answer? Ye must be +all of one mind, so as not to contradict each other, which would +nullify the effect of your utterances.'--'It is for thee to advise us, +O Walid!'--'It is for you to speak first. I will listen and discuss +your opinions.'--'Well then! we shall say that Mohammad is a +diviner.'--'No! We know the diviners! He hath none of their mutterings +or rhyming emphasis.'--'We'll say that he is possessed.'--'No! We have +seen men possessed; and unlike them, he is not subject to fits of +suffocation and convulsions.'--'We'll say he is a poet.'--'No! He is +no poet. We know all the styles of versification as used by the poets, +and his speech does not resemble that of any one of them.'--'We'll say +he is a sorcerer.'--'No! for we have fallen across sorcerers, and he +performeth none of their magical operations. Of a truth, his success +is due to the charm and beauty of his discourse.' + +Arraigned before the tribunal of their own conscience, the citizens +assembled were forced to acknowledge the rigorous truth of this last +remark. All of them, more or less, had felt the words springing from +the ecstatic soul of Allah's Apostle go home to them. All of them had +ofttimes been about to give way to the fascination caused by his +accents, ringing with the inspiration of superhuman faith. The Quraish +men were only restrained by the importance of their material interests +and the violence of their earthly passions, thus seriously threatened +by his pure doctrine. + +Nevertheless, they were bound to come to a decision at once, so as to +prevent, at all costs, the Arabs belonging to distant tribes from +undergoing the same ordeal. Therefore, they agreed to say that +Mohammad possessed potent spells by which he stirred up strife in +families, estranging a brother from his brother, a son from his +father, and a husband from a wife. + +[Illustration: _Moslem praying on the Terrace-roof of her dwelling._] + +When the pilgrims began to pour in, Walid and his accomplices were on +the watch, posted on all the roads leading to Makkah. Not a single +Arab passed along these highways without being warned against Mohammad +by the conspirators in ambush. But although a few pilgrims were +alarmed at these warnings and feared the spells that they were +informed were threatening them, the majority felt their curiosity +increasing with regard to this extraordinary man, whose utterances +gave rise to such great apprehension among the lords of the city. Thus +it came to pass that when the travellers returned to their tribes, +they told what they had seen; so that it plainly resulted that the +campaign, organised against Mohammad by his enemies, only achieved the +purpose of spreading his renown all over Arabia. + +In order to add fresh fuel to the fire of their rage, increasing as +the Prophet's reputation became established--a result partly due to +their involuntary efforts--the idol-worshippers sought every +opportunity to heap insults on him. Being all together, one day, in +the precincts of the Temple, they worked each other up. 'No! never +have we endured from anybody what this man hath made us endure,' they +cried out in chorus. At that very moment, Mohammad came on the scene +and began to perform the ritual circuits round the Ka'bah. They rushed +at him, all at one bound. 'Art thou the man who dareth to insult the +gods of our fathers?' they shouted. 'Aye, I am that man!' he replied, +undisturbed. + +One of the enraged citizens caught hold of the collar of his mantle, +and twisting it roughly, tried to strangle him. Abu Bakr, who chanced +to be standing near, interfered. 'How now? Would ye kill a man who +proclaimeth that Allah is his God?' he said sadly, and freed the +Prophet, not without suffering ill-treatment himself, for a portion of +his beard was plucked out by Mohammad's assailant. + +The danger he had risked in these circumstances did not prevent the +Prophet from returning to the Ka'bah to perform his devotions, without +letting the furious glances of his assembled adversaries trouble him. +Acting under the orders of Abu Jahal, a man fetched some sheeps' +entrails from the slaughter-house. He chose those of an animal that +had been killed several days before, and while the Prophet was +prostrate as he prayed, the rascal covered the nape of his neck and +his shoulders with the offal. All those present were seized with such +outrageous fits of mirth that they fell seated on the ground, rolling +one against the other. As for Allah's Elect, he seemed not even to +have noticed the affront offered to him, and continued to pray. It was +his daughter Fatimah who, arriving a few moments later, threw the +filth far from her father, and railed at the wretches who had +belittled themselves by the infliction of such a repulsive insult. + +On a par with Abu Jahal, ranking with those who are branded eternally +in history's pages on account of their atrocious treatment of the +Prophet, was one of his uncles, a son of Abu Muttalib, surnamed Abu +Lahab, "The Man Vowed to Hell-fire." Mohammad was preaching one day on +the hill of Safa, in the midst of a crowd of inhabitants of that +region, when Abu Lahab interrupted him rudely. 'Mayst thou be +annihilated!' he bawled; 'thou who hast called us together to listen +to such nonsense!' To this insult the following surah of the Qur'an +(CXI) replies: "_Let the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and let himself +perish! * His wealth and his gains shall avail him not. * Burned shall +he be at the fiery flame, * And his wife laden with the fire-wood, * +On her neck a rope of twisted palm-fibre._" + +This Surah, quickly becoming renowned, increased Abu Lahab's +resentment and probably had even more effect on that of his wife, Umm +Jemil, who found herself attacked therein in a way that was as +annoying as it was deserved. To be nicknamed "carrier of fire-wood" +was past endurance; but had she not, on one occasion, strewn the path +of Mohammad with thorny branches; had not her tongue lit up the fires +of hatred with the faggots of calumny that she hawked about +everywhere? The odious couple resorted shamelessly to the vilest acts, +daily throwing heaps of filth on the terrace of Mohammad's house or in +front of his door, for he was their neighbour. + +Worked up or terrorised by these fanatics, most of the dwellers in +Makkah repulsed the Prophet or avoided him. Children and wastrels +pursued him with their jibes in the street. He was perfectly +indifferent to such provocations. What was it all to him? Nothing more +than a passing breeze. He never even seemed to notice the persons who +acted thus; he only looked at those he hoped to convert. + +[Sidenote: THE INCIDENT OF THE BLIND MAN] + +It happened one day when Mohammad had taken in hand some of the most +noted townsmen who were beginning to be moved by his arguments, that a +blind pauper, Ibn Umm Maktum, came forward, and humbly begged to be +granted a small share of the knowledge vouchsafed to the Prophet by +Allah. Engrossed in his discussion with the citizens whose conversion +he so ardently desired; fearing, too, to miss an opportunity which +might never occur again, Mohammad was seized with a fit of momentary +vexation and replied curtly to the blind man, who stumbled away +sorrowfully without having been enlightened. + +Immediately afterwards, the Prophet fell a prey to remorse. Might not +that blind man, enlightened by faith, have been able to open the eyes +of other human beings imprisoned in the darkness of ignorance? And the +Revelation increased Mohammad's remorse by confirming his error: +"_He frowned, and he turned his back * Because the blind man came to +him ... * As to him who hath become wealthy * Him therefore thou didst +receive with honour * Yet it is not thy concern that he endeavours not +to be pure; * But as to him who cometh to thee in earnest, * And full +of fears, * Him dost thou neglect. * Do not so. Verily this surah is a +warning._" (THE QUR'AN, LXXX, 1-11.) + +Ever since that day, the Prophet took great care to treat rich and +poor, slaves and nobles alike, with the same consideration. The +exasperation of the idolaters reached the highest pitch when they saw +their own slaves drawn towards Mohammad by his levelling doctrines; +and when the town rang with the Revelation of Surahs threatening the +rich and the sweaters of the people. "_The desire of increasing riches +occupieth you, * Till ye come to the grave. * Nay! but in the end ye +shall know * Nay! once more; in the end ye shall know your folly. * +Nay! would that ye knew it with knowledge of Certainty; * Then shall +ye surely on that day be taken to task concerning the pleasures of +this life._" (THE QUR'AN, CII, 1-8.) + +Abu Jahal, meeting the Prophet at Safa, could not contain himself, and +forgetting the self-control befitting a man of his high social +position, he blurted out such a vulgar insult that the pen refuses to +write it. The Prophet answered not a word, as was his wont, but a +freed female slave of Abdullah ibn Jedhan had witnessed the scene, +while looking out of the back of her dwelling that was just on the +spot. As Hamzah, Mohammad's uncle, came by a few moments later, she +told him what she heard. + +[Sidenote: HOW HAMZAH WAS CONVERTED. UTBAH'S PROPOSALS] + +Hamzah's disposition was haughty and choleric. He felt his blood +boiling with rage when he heard of the affront offered to his nephew. +When returning from the chase--his favourite pastime--he generally +stopped to gossip with the folks he met on the road, but this time he +never halted, hurrying as fast as his legs would carry him towards the +Temple. When he caught sight of Abu Jahal, seated in a group of his +partisans, he went straight up to him, and brandishing his bow above +his head, he slashed the face of Mohammad's uncle by a stinging blow. +'So! thou dost insult my nephew,' he cried. 'Learn that I profess the +same religion as he. All he proclaimeth, do I proclaim likewise. Stop +me from doing so, if thou dost believe thou canst!' + +All the assistants, belonging to the Banu Makhzum tribe of whom Abu +Jahal was a chieftain, rose up to avenge him. But Abu Jahal, ashamed +at having done a thing unworthy of a high-born lord, under the +influence of profound hatred, bid them stand back. 'Let Hamzah go in +peace,' he said to them, 'for verily, I did grievously offend my +brother's son.' + +As for Hamzah, the blessing of Allah was upon him in his outburst of +rage and ennobled him by Islam of which he became one of the most +devoted and formidable defenders. + +Utbah ibn Rabiyah, one of the most noted idol-worshippers, was greatly +shocked when his young son, Huzaifah, became a convert to Islam and +drew away from his father. Hoping to put an end to the discord +established by Mohammad's doctrines, not only in the Quraish tribe, +but even in the bosom of families, he planned to come forward as +mediator. Seeing Allah's Apostle seated, quite alone, near the Temple, +Utbah said to his partisans: 'Will ye authorise me to speak to him, +and discuss one or two proposals in your name? Perhaps he may accept +them and so leave us in peace.' + +Under the influence of the consternation they felt at the conversion +of such an important personage as Hamzah--a conversion that had led +others to follow suit--and well knowing that it would be best to come +to some agreement, they replied: 'Aye, go to him and speak in our +name.' Thereupon, Utbah left them and went to sit by the side of the +Prophet. 'O son of my friend!' said Utbah in most affectionate tones; +'thou dost belong to us, although by insulting our religion and the +traditions of our fathers, thou hast embroiled us. Therefore I come to +thee to put an end to this great misfortune. Give an ear to my +proposals. Maybe they will find grace in thy sight.'--'Speak! I am +listening.'--'O son of my friend! If thou dost hope that thy +undertaking will make thee wealthy, each of us is willing to sacrifice +a part of his fortune, in order that thou shalt become the richest man +among us. If thou seekest honours, we will set thee up as lord over us +all and come to no decision without consulting thee. Dost dream of +royal privileges? We will make thee our king. If, on the contrary, the +thoughts that inspire thee arise from some malady which thou art +powerless to resist, we will have fetched at any cost and from any +country the most celebrated doctors, so that thou mayst be cured. +Choose therefore!' + +The Prophet had listened unmoved. 'Hast thou no more to say?' he +answered Utbah. 'Now 'tis thy turn to hearken to my words.' He then +recited the Surah of "The Made Plain," in which Unbelievers are +menaced with the eternal torments of hell, and Believers comforted by +the promise of the inconceivable felicity of Paradise (THE QUR'AN, +XLI). Utbah, his hands clasped behind his back, stood hearkening to +the sentences, now imperative and then compassionate, that fell upon +his ears in rhythm and cadence totally new to him. Stupefied, he +remained stock-still, his attitude unchanged, although the Prophet had +ceased speaking some little time. Mohammad, after having prostrated +himself, his brow touching the earth, rose up and turned to Utbah, +saying: 'Thou hast heard me, O Utbah? Now, 'tis for thee to choose.' + +Utbah, bewildered, went back to his companions. They all noticed his +troubled face, so different on his return from what it had been before +he left them. 'Come now, O Utbah! what aileth thee?' they queried.--'I +have just listened to extraordinary words,' he answered. 'By our Gods! +I've never heard anything like it before. 'Tis neither poetry, nor +sorcery, nor magic. O Quraish men assembled! believe me and let this +man fulfil his Mission among the Arabs, for his words are full of +surprising prophecies. If harm corrieth to him by the Arabs' fault, ye +will be freed from all anxiety. If, on the other hand, he succeedeth +and shall conquer the Arabs, his empire will be thy empire, seeing +that he is one of us, and thanks to him, ye will attain the highest +pinnacle of power.' + +But what availed such prudent conclusions in the face of jealousy and +hatred? 'With his tongue he hath cast a spell over thee, as he hath +done to others,' his hearers replied; and Utbah, shrugging his +shoulders, went away, declaring: 'Such is my advice. Now do as ye +please.' + +Nevertheless, Utbah's opinion impressed the idolaters. Next day, after +sunset, they foregathered, according to custom, in the precincts of +the Temple, and decided to speak to Mohammad in person. They sent for +him, and he came, hoping that their eyes were open to the light. But +they only wanted to renew the proposals of the day before. He refused +just as scornfully. 'Since thou dost set thyself up as a Prophet,' +they said, changing their arguments, 'take pity on thy country. There +is no land more hemmed-in by mountains, or more poor in its +water-supply; more difficult to live in. Therefore, ask Allah to put +aside the girdle of mountains, make the soil easier to till, and give +us rivers resembling those of Syria and Iraq. Or else, ask Him to +resuscitate one of our ancestors, Qusaiyy ibn Kilab, for instance, who +was a wise and truthful man, so that we may consult him concerning thy +pretensions and let us know if they are veracious or false. If he +giveth thee right and thou dost satisfy our demands, then will we +believe thee and have faith in thy mission as Allah's Apostle.' + +'I have not been sent to thee for this,' was all the Prophet cared to +reply. 'I have told you what I was charged to do; and I tell you once +more that if you accept, your happiness is assured in this life and +the next. Should ye refuse, then I bow down to the decrees of Allah +who shall judge between us.'--'Since thou wilt ask nothing for us,' +they returned; 'crave a favour for thyself. Ask Allah to send one of +his angels to convince us; ask Him to lavish on thee all the pleasures +of this world that thy heart can desire, such as delicious gardens, +marvellous palaces, or treasures of gold and silver. Instead of which, +we see thee as one who "_eateth food and walketh the marts_" (THE +QUR'AN, XXV, 8), exactly the same as the most humble among us! If thou +art really a Prophet, let Allah give us proofs of the power with which +He hath endowed thee, and of the dignity to which He hath raised +thee.'--'I am not one of those who make such demands of Allah, and to +you I renew my adjuration.'--'Ask Allah to "_make the Heaven to fall +in pieces on us, as thou hast given out_," (THE QUR'AN, XVII, 94), if +He hath power to do so, according to what thou dost maintain. If not, +thy word deserveth no credit.'--'Nothing could be easier for the +Almighty. If He shall decide to act as ye say, He will accomplish the +task. Ye ask Him for miracles? The miracles are to be found in all He +hath created and ye do not understand! See how death springeth from +life and life from death! Of a surety, He can, by a miracle, undo the +prodigies of the order of Nature he hath created. Thus did He for my +predecessors, but in vain. Therefore, admire His unceasing miracles in +Nature and crave no others.' + +Unable to catch the Prophet tripping, the idol-worshippers, to check +him, brought forward Nazir ibn Haris who, having been a great +traveller, had garnered many fine stories. As soon as Mohammad began +to preach, Nazir took his stand quite near him, trying to get his +hearers away by reciting the wonderful exploits of Rustam and +Isfandyar. 'See now, I lavish on my audience fine tales,' Nazir was +bold enough to add, 'that will bear comparison with those sent down by +Allah to His Prophet.' + +The Quraish men also sent a delegation to the learned Jews of Yasrib +and to the Prince Halib ibn Malik, illustrious above all men by reason +of his wisdom, science and power, in order to ask that some means +should be found to prove that Mohammad was an impostor. But all these +efforts were useless, and there was no need to believe in the legend +of a miracle based on these words of the Qur'an: "_The hour hath +approached and the moon hath been cleft._" (LIV, 1). + +Some writers assert that Habib having asked the Prophet to perform a +miracle, in order to prove the veracity of his mission, Mohammad gave +an order to the moon which incontinently split into two equal parts; +one ascending towards the East and the other to the West. According to +the opinion of the most trustworthy doctors of Islam, such as Al +Baidawi and Zamakhshri, this verse really means: "The hour (of the Day +of Resurrection) approacheth and (to announce it) the moon will be +cleft." The truth of this assertion is proved by the verses that +follow almost immediately: "_Turn away then from them (The +Unbelievers)! On the day when the summoner shall summon to a horrible +affair, * With downcast eyes shall they come forth from their graves, +as if they were scattered locusts._" (THE QUR'AN, LIV, 6 AND 7.) + +Besides, this supposed miracle is so flagrantly contradicted by +numerous verses of the Qur'an that it is not possible to admit it. +"_Nothing hindered Us from sending thee (Mohammad) with the power of +working miracles, except that the people of old treated them as +lies._" (THE QUR'AN, XVII, 61.) + +There was such slight efficacity in miracles! The Israelites bowed +down to the Golden Calf immediately after the miracle wrought by Moses +to save them from the waves of the Red Sea and Pharaoh's hosts. The +idolaters of Makkah would not have been more greatly impressed by the +sight of the most astonishing miracle. "_With their most binding oath +have they sworn by Allah, that if a sign come unto them, they will +certainly believe it; Say: Signs are in the power of Allah alone: and +what shall make ye to understand that if they were wrought these men +would not believe it * And though We had sent down the Angels to them, +and the dead had spoken to them, and We had gathered all things about +them in hosts, they had not believed, unless Allah willed it._" (THE +QUR'AN, VI, 109, 111.) + +[Sidenote: THE MIRACLE OF THE QUR'AN] + +Nevertheless there was one miracle, the only one placed to Mohammad's +credit, and which was the cause of great anxiety among the Quraish +idolaters: the miracle of the "Ayates," a word generally rendered by +"Verses," but really meaning: "miraculous signs" of the Qur'an. + +The miracles wrought by earlier Prophets had been transient, so to +say, and for that very reason, rapidly forgotten, while that of the +Verses may be called "The Permanent Miracle." Its activity was +unceasing. Everywhere and at all hours, each Believer, by reciting the +Verses, helped to realise the miracle, and in this can be found the +explanation of many sudden conversions, incomprehensible for the +European who knows nothing of the Qur'an, or judges it by cold and +inaccurate translations. + +The wonderful charm of this Book, resembling no other masterpiece of +the literature of mankind, needs not to be explained to us Moslems, +because we consider it emanates from the words of Allah Himself, sent +down through the mouth of His Prophet. In this connection, we think it +will be interesting to quote the opinion of two Orientalists, justly +celebrated. + +This is the conception of Savary, the first to translate the Qur'an +into French: "Mohammad was learned in the study of his language, the +richest and the most harmonious in the world, and which, by the +composition of its verses, permits thoughts as they soar to be +correctly described. By the harmony of its sounds, it imitates the +cries of animals, murmuring waters, thunder and the breeze. Mohammad, +I repeat, being past master of a language that so many poets have +embellished and which exists since the beginning of the world, took +great pains to add every charm of elocution to his precepts of +morality. Poets were greatly looked up to in Arabia. Labid ibn Rabyah, +an illustrious poet, nailed one of his poems on the door of the Temple +of Makkah. His reputation and the value of his works kept all +competitors away. None came forward to compete for the prize.... The +second chapter of the Qur'an--some writers say the 55th--was then +placed by the side of the poem. Labid, although a worshipper of graven +images, was seized with a fit of admiration after reading the first +verses and confessed himself vanquished." + +He became a convert very soon after and one day, his admirers being +desirous of gathering together his complete works, questioned him on +this subject. 'I have no recollection of any of my poetry,' he +replied, 'for my entire memory hath been absorbed by the verses of the +Book of Revelation.' + +We will now give the opinion of Stanley Lane Poole: "The style (of the +Surahs) is haughty in every part and full of passion. The words are +those of a man who tries with all his heart to convince his readers. +Even nowadays, they give an impression of the vehemence and fire with +which they were originally hurled forth at Mohammad's hearers +surrounding him. These are the broken utterances of a human heart +totally incapable of hypocrisy; the heart of a man who has exercised +extraordinary influence over mankind." + +If the magic of the style and the thoughts of the Qur'an produced this +effect on learned men, who were neither Arabs nor Moslems, how great +then was the enthusiasm created among the Arabs of the Hijaz, +especially as the verses were couched in their own poetical language? +You only, travellers who have had an opportunity of seeing the emotion +that overcomes the audience of an Imam reciting the Sacred Verses, can +have a slight idea of this feeling. You may have seen poor +caravaneers, still powdered all over by the sand of their desert, +where they have just endured the greatest fatigue, rushing towards the +Mosque, instead of seeking refreshing repose; drawn thither, as if +hypnotised by the Imam's voice. Sometimes even, in the time of +Ramadhan, Moslems, after having fasted all day, pass the whole of the +night in ecstasy, as they listen to the Divine Word. + +It is certain that the illiterate Bedouins of our day do not always +understand the real meaning of the words recited by the Imam, but the +rhythm, the cadence, the harmony of the assonances animating the +wonderful verses, echoing in their breasts to the beatings of their +hearts, convey to them an explanation, vague perhaps, but truly in +accordance with the spirit of the text, and above all, full of +incomparable suggestion. On the other hand, how vapid would seem to +them the explanation, more literal but less emotional, of a "Talib" +pedant or a frigid grammarian. + +As for the Arab of the Hijaz, comprehending the most subtle hints of +the language of the Qur'an--his own language--and who welcomed the +Surahs as they issued from the lips of his fellow-countryman: the +genial, inspired Messenger of Allah, that listener was overwhelmed by +such sudden surprise that he remained as if petrified. Could this +supernatural language come from Mohammad, known to be completely +illiterate and possessing no other knowledge than that due to nature +and intuition? This seemed perfectly impossible. The Arab was +therefore forced to admit that Mohammad's words were dictated by the +Almighty. Besides, it was following no ingenious falsehood that the +Prophet attributed the verses of the Qur'an to Allah. He was +absolutely convinced of their divine origin. The terrible crises by +which the Revelation manifested itself, bringing him the solution of +unknown problems in language so new to him; so different to his own; +even upbraiding him when he made mistakes and commanding him to recite +these verses, despite any resistance he might make, left him without +the slightest doubt on that head. + +Consequently, it was with the most perfect faith that he felt +boundless admiration for the Qur'an; that is to say for the Words of +Allah. Had not Allah revealed to him these verses: "_Say: Then bring +ten Surahs like it of your devising, and call whom ye can to your aid +beside Allah, if ye are men of truth._" (THE QUR'AN, XI, 16). +Convinced of their powerlessness, "The Unlettered Prophet", (THE +QUR'AN, VII, 156), challenged the most celebrated poets, giving them +the right to call him a cheat, if they could compose ten Surahs +resembling his. + +To doubt the absolute and strangely moving sincerity of Mohammad and +picture him as a vulgar, but clever, ambitious man, as some modern +historians have done, one must be blinded by preconceived ideas, +worthy of the days of the Inquisition. Carlyle, in his book, "On +Heroes," treated such fanaticism or stupidity as it deserved: "A false +man found a religion?" he exclaims, speaking of Mohammad. "Why a false +man cannot build a brick house! If he do not know and follow truly the +properties of mortar, burnt clay and what else he works in, it is no +house that he makes, but a rubbish-heap. It will not stand for twelve +centuries, to lodge a hundred-and-eighty millions; it will fall +straightway." + +[Sidenote: HOW IT WAS FORBIDDEN TO LISTEN TO THE QUR'AN] + +Being powerless to struggle against the irresistible effect produced +by the recitation of the Qur'an, the Quraish idol-worshippers resolved +to forbid people to listen to it. + +By threats, the tribesmen frightened those who tried to approach the +Prophet, when as was his wont, he recited, on the threshold of the +Ka'bah, a few passages of the Revealed Book. So as not to hear him, +they put their fingers in their ears; or else, to drown his voice, +they whistled, clapped their hands, or bawled, as loudly as they +could, scraps of doggerel composed by idolater-poets. The unexpected +result was that the very men who had made it a crime to listen to the +celebrated verses, were moved by that unconquerable curiosity which +attracts weak mortals towards forbidden things. + +One night, Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahal and Al-Akhnas went out of their +houses, bending their steps, each unknown to the other, towards the +dwelling of the Prophet. Once there, their ears glued to the wall, +they tried to overhear the recital of some of the Divine Surahs. In +the darkness of the night, they did not see one another. But when day +dawned, they came face to face on their homeward road, and blamed each +other mutually: 'What would our partisans think, if they had caught us +doing this thing?' And they took a solemn oath never to be so +imprudent again. + +But the next night and the night after that, the same thing occurred, +followed by the same exchange of reproaches. + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _O thou enwrapped in thy mantle! * Arise +and warn! * And thy Lord--magnify Him!_] + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE FOURTH] + +[Illustration: _Ar Ruku, or Inclination._] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Ye shall assuredly be tried in your +possessions and in yourselves._] + + +CHAPTER THE FOURTH + + +[Sidenote: PERSECUTION] + +Quoth the Prophet: "Allah created Paradise for the man who obeyeth +Him, even if only a black Abyssinian slave; and Hell for the man +rebelling against Him, even if he be a nobleman of the Quraish." + +Islam, tending towards the perfect equality of castes and races, +naturally attracted all the poor and downtrodden of the city. With +increasing vexation, the idolatrous masters saw their slaves, in eager +crowds, converted to the new faith. But as these wretched folks were +in the tyrants' power, they glutted their vengeance on them, not +daring to attack disciples of the Prophet occupying higher rank. + +Oummayatah ibn Khalaf, having become aware of the conversion of his +black slave, Bilal ibn Hammah, was engrossed with but a single +thought: that of torturing him with the most dastardly refinements. +Placing his neck in a noose made from a rough rope of palm-fibre, he +gave him into the hands of boys knowing no pity. They dragged him +along behind them, like a beast of burden, just for amusement. The +rope, pulled this way and that by the juvenile wrongdoers, ploughed a +sanguinary furrow in Bilal's flesh. Nevertheless, he seemed insensible +to pain. Thereupon his master deprived him of food and drink, and led +him from the town at noonday, in the middle of summer, throwing him +out in the "Ramda," a sandy plain, so torrid that a slice of meat, +thrown on the ground, cooked itself immediately. He made his slave lie +down, stretched out on his back, an enormous stone on his breast. +'Thou shalt stop there,' he ordered, 'until thou dost abjure +Mohammad's doctrines, and worship Lat and Uzza.' + +But the stoical Moslem did nothing more than lift the forefinger of +his right hand, saying again and again: 'Ahad! Ahad! Allah is one! +Allah is one!' thus testifying the scorn he felt for his master who +dared to couple wooden or stone associates with the Master of the +Worlds. The affirmation of the slave produced insensibility to pain, +because the ineffable joy of the sacrifice for his faith mingled with +and mastered the bitterness of torture. + +Passing one day near the Ramda, Abu Bakr witnessed this cruel sight. +'Fearest thou not the justice of Allah, the Most High, O Oummayatah! +when thou dost inflict such torment on that wretched man?' he cried +indignantly.--'Thou didst corrupt him; therefore 'tis thy duty to save +him,' was the cynical reply.--'Willingly! I possess a young black +slave, stronger and a better worker than thine. Moreover, he is +entirely devoted to thy idols. I offer him to thee in exchange.' +Oummayatah accepted and turned Bilal over to Abu Bakr who granted him +his freedom straightway. Besides, this generous man (may Allah make +him welcome in His Grace!) purchased six other slaves, men and women, +all Islamic converts, merely to set them free, and deliver them out of +the hands of their idolatrous masters. + +These persecutions continued notwithstanding, becoming more and more +barbarous. The Banu Makhzum tribe took Ammar, with Yaser, his father, +and Summayy, his mother, out on the Ramda, in order to make them +suffer all the tortures prompted by diabolical ferocity. Ammar was +enclosed in an iron breastplate that held him down on the ground, +exposed to the blazing rays of the sun at its zenith. His flesh +crackled as if in contact with molten metal. But the same thing +happened as with Bilal; the idolaters were unable to drag from Ammar +or his parents, tortured in like fashion, one blasphemous word. It was +then that, blinded by rage, Abu Jahal drove his spear through +Summayy's heart, mocking the dying woman by telling her: 'If thou dost +believe in Mohammad, 'tis because thou art in love with his beauty!' + +Summayy was the first martyr to Islam, but such constancy was not to +be found in all. A few Believers, enfeebled by privation and torture +to such an extent that they could not stand upright, finished by +letting fall from their lips, despite themselves, the blasphemous +utterances ensuring release. For such as these, crushed by shame and +shedding tears of repentance, the following Surah of consolation has +come down: "_Whoso after he hath believed in God, denieth Him, if he +were forced to it and if his heart remain steadfast in the faith +(shall be guiltless:) * But whoso openeth his breast to infidelity--on +them in that case shall be wrath from God, and a severe punishment +awaiteth them._" (THE QUR'AN, XVI, 108). + +When the Prophet saw what tortures were inflicted on his disciples and +that he was powerless to protect them, he was overwhelmed with intense +sadness. The martyrs' courage proved to him how deeply the roots of +faith were planted in their hearts; nevertheless he considered that +such sacrifices should be avoided. So he advised all who were weak, or +even such as were not forced by imperious necessity to remain in +Makkah, to emigrate to Abyssinia, a land inhabited by Christians, +whose Chieftain, the Najashi (Negus) was celebrated for his tolerance +and justice. + +[Sidenote: THE EMIGRATION TO ABYSSINIA (_A.D. 615_)] + +Sixteen Moslems were the first to depart. Among them was Usman ibn +Affan and his wife Ruqaiyah, one of the Prophet's daughters. They went +out from Makkah secretly and on foot. Reaching the shore of the Red +Sea, they chartered a _felucca_ which carried them over to the +opposite bank, from whence they journeyed to the Court of the Najashi +who welcomed them kindly. Another caravan soon joined them, and the +little Mussulman colony, having taken refuge in Abyssinian territory, +was made up of eighty-three men and eighteen women. + +Exasperated at seeing their victims escape from their clutches; and +still more furious to have to include among the emigrants members of +their own families, such as Umm-i-Habibah, daughter of Abu Sufyan, the +idolaters despatched to the Najashi two ambassadors, Umar ibn al As +and Abdullah, son of Abu Rabiyah, bearing rich presents, with a view +to claiming the fugitives, described as being dangerous agitators, +capable of causing a revolution in his kingdom. + +The Najashi had already seen that the contrary was the case. By their +honesty and virtue, the fugitives had gained the esteem and sympathy +of his subjects, so that he did not feel inclined to favour the +request of the ambassadors, despite their valuable gifts. They then +thought it would be as well to touch upon the religious +susceptibilities of the Christian monarch, and put him on his guard +against the danger of Islam. 'Know then what these impostors seek to +attain,' said they to him. 'They have set foot in thine empire in +order to turn thy subjects away from the religion of Jesus, even as +they sought to lead the Quraish astray from the religion of their +ancestors. Shouldst thou wish to put our veracity to the test, +question them concerning their opinions with regard to Jesus, thy +God.' + +The Najashi followed this piece of advice. He interrogated the most +learned among the emigrants and elicited the following reply from +Jafar, Mohammad's cousin, son of Abu Talib: 'These are the Verses +revealed to the Prophet: "_The Messiah Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam +(Mary), is only an apostle of Allah, and His Word which He conveyed +into Maryam..._" (THE QUR'AN, IV, 169.) + +This answer was not at all displeasing to the Najashi. If it did not +acknowledge the divinity of Jesus, it showed, at least, the deep +veneration in which He was held by the Moslems, and the Abyssinian +monarch was fully reassured as to the fugitives' intentions. So he +sent the ambassadors away, without accepting any of their presents or +giving them the slightest satisfaction. + +[Sidenote: THE CONVERSION OF UMAR, SON OF AL-KHATTAB] + +The Unbelievers had succeeded in making fierce Umar think that he +would save his country by ridding it of Mohammad. So Umar, having +buckled on his sword, and his eyes flashing fire, bent his steps in +the direction of the Safa district, where he fancied he might fall +across the Prophet. Umar, on his way, met Na'im, who had gone over to +Islam unbeknown to his fellow-tribesmen. 'Wither goest thou, O Umar?' +queried the convert.--'To seek out this fellow Mohammad who hath +stirred up strife in the midst of the Quraish. Oh, by our Gods! I must +kill him!'--'By Allah! thy soul leadeth thee to do a mad act, O Umar! +Dost thou think that the Abd-i-Manaf will leave thee in peace on the +face of the earth, if thou dost put to death their relative, +Mohammad?' he added, trying to deter him from carrying out his +abominable plan. 'Would it not be far better to get certain members of +thine own household to explain their doings?'--'Who are these persons +under my roof?'--'Thy sister Fatimah and thy brother-in-law Said ibn +Zayd. They, too, are Moslems.' + +At these words, Umar stopped dead, the direction of his fury changing, +and in great haste, he hurried to the dwelling of Fatimah, his sister. +Just as he got there, Khubab, a fervent disciple, was reading the +Surah "Ta-Ha" written out on a piece of parchment. At the sound of +Umar's furious knocking, Khubab fled into an adjoining room, and +Fatimah hid the parchment in the folds of her attire. + +But Khubab's voice had been overheard by Umar who asked in imperative +accents: 'What is this recitation in an undertone that I heard, and +which ye cut short when I arrived?'--'There was nothing to hear. Thou +art mistaken,' his brother-in-law and sister protested in +chorus.--'No, no! There is no mistake; neither do I err when I tell +you I have learnt that ye follow Mohammad's religion!' Without waiting +for any further explanation, he rushed at his brother-in-law, knocked +him down, sat on his chest and seized him by the beard. + +Fatimah threw herself on her brother and made desperate efforts to +free her husband. 'Thou speakest the truth! We are Moslems!' Umar lost +his wits at this confession and by a brutal blow in the face, he +dashed courageous Fatimah to the ground. 'Yea, we are Moslems, O enemy +of Allah!' she repeated, staring boldly at him, her blood flowing +freely. 'Yea, we believe in Allah and His Prophet! Now do with us as +thou wilt!' + +When Umar saw his sister's blood, the indomitable courage of the weak +woman impressed him greatly and he was ashamed of what he had done. +'Give me the parchment that I heard you reading,' he asked his sister +in softer accents; 'I wish to get some idea of that which hath been +revealed to Mohammad.'--'We fear thou mayest destroy the +writing.'--'Be not afraid! By Allah! ye shall have it back so soon as +I shall have read it.' + +Despite her wish to try and convert her brother, Fatimah raised +objections. 'O my brother! I cannot confide it to thee, for thou art +unclean. Only pure hands are allowed to touch the Book in which are +inscribed the words of Allah.' + +Umar rose with docility and performed his ablutions. Then did Fatimah +hand over the parchment on which was written the Surah, "Ta-Ha", which +begins with these words: _Not to sadden thee have We sent down this +Qur'an to Thee * But as a warning for him who feareth._ (XX, 1 and 2.) + +Immediately after the reading of the first verses, Umar, who was +remarkably well learnt, could not refrain from uttering a cry of +admiration: 'How beautiful! What sublime language!'--'O Umar!' +exclaimed Khubab, coming out of his hiding-place, 'I had great hopes +that the Almighty would fulfil, in thy favour, the wish I heard the +Prophet make but yesterday: 'O Allah!' said he, 'strengthen Islam by +the conversion of either one or the other of those two men: Abu Jahal +or Umar.'--'Lead me at once to Mohammad,' replied Umar, 'so that I may +become a convert to Islam in his presence. Where is he?' Khubab, in +triumph, sent him to the dwelling of Arqam in the Safa district. + +In that house, the disciples, clustering in union round the Prophet, +were drinking in his words, when imperative knocks shook the door. One +of the comrades rose up and, by a crack in the wood, caught sight of +the terrible warrior, his sword dangling from his belt. Thunderstruck +at this apparition, he came back to warn the Prophet who calmly told +him: 'Bring him in here. If he cometh with good intentions, we will +grant him generous welcome, but if evil designs guide his footsteps, +we will kill him with his own sword.' + +The companions having obeyed, Umar entered. Mohammad went to meet him, +and coming face to face with him in the entrance-hall, he caught him +by the collar and, with a sudden pull, dragged him into the midst of +the company assembled. 'What is thy motive in coming here, O son of Al +Khattab?' he asked. 'Dost thou still mean to remain wallowing in +impiety until the wrath of the Almighty crusheth thee?'--'O Prophet!' +answered Umar with unaccustomed humility, 'I come to declare my faith +in Allah, His Messenger, and His Revelation.'--'Praise be to Allah! +Glory to Him!' cried Mohammad. When his companions were informed of +Umar's sudden conversion, they went their different ways, full of +gratitude towards Him who had decreed it. + +Umar was not a man to remain patient and conceal his convictions. In +the street, he stopped the first passer-by he met, one Jamil ibn +Mamar, of the Jumah tribe, and said to him: 'Dost know, O Jamil, that +I have become a Mussulman?' The words were hardly out of his mouth, +before Jamil, an incorrigible gossip, tucked his mantle tightly round +him and ran to the Temple. 'O Assembly of the Quraish men!' shouted he +to the idolaters who were there in groups. 'An astounding piece of +news! The son of Al Khattab hath lost his reason!'--'Thou liest!' +interrupted Umar who had followed him. 'On the contrary, I have set +out on the Road to Salvation. I bear witness that there is no other +God but Allah and that Mohammad is His Prophet!' + +On hearing these words, amounting to insulting aggression, the Quraish +bounded forward, as one man, to throw themselves on Umar, who +steadfastly awaited their attack and a fearful struggle took place. +The sun, darting its flaming rays on the fighters, forced them to +desist for a short space of time. During the truce, Umar sat down on +the ground, surrounded by his enemies whose threatening hands were +stretched over his head. 'Do with me as ye will,' he told them in +tones of the most scornful indifference, 'but, by Allah! if I were +only at the head of three hundred Mussulmans, we should not be long +before we wrested this Temple from you, and never would ye be able to +retake it!' + +[Illustration: _The Friday Visit of Moslems to the Cemetery._] + +At this juncture, a respected old man, attired in a striped mantle and +a sumptuously embroidered tunic, drew nigh, brought there by the +tumult of which he asked the cause. 'Umar is demented,' was the +answer.--'How so?' said the old man to the idolaters. 'If this man +hath voluntarily chosen some religion different to yours, hath he not +a right to do so? What want ye of him? Moreover, think ye that his +relatives will not feel inclined to interfere on his behalf?' Struck +more by the fear of reprisals than by the wisdom of his words, Umar's +assailants clustering round him, dropped back and dispersed. It seemed +as if a heavy cloak had been lifted from his shoulders. + +No one, except Mohammad, dared to pray in public. Umar, caring naught +for the fury he might cause, made up his mind to follow the Prophet's +example, and every day, the sturdy warrior turned like Mohammad in the +direction of the Bait-ul-Muquaddas (The Holy Temple of Jerusalem). +Doing exactly the same as the Prophet, Umar took his stand between the +angle of the Ka'bah where the Black Stone is enframed and the angle +looking towards the Yaman; and there publicly said his prayers. +Encouraged by this audacity, numerous were the Moslems who came to +pray in public by his side, despite the angry glances of the +Unbelievers, only restrained by the reputation of Umar who had earned +the surname of "Al Faruq," (The Cleaver), because he had once cleft in +twain an Arab who refused to bow down to a decision given out by the +Prophet. + +[Sidenote: THE EXILE OF THE BANU HA SHAM (_A.D. 626_)] + +Despite the superiority of numbers, the idol-worshippers of the +Quraish were obliged to acknowledge the critical state of their party. +Unless they could put an end to the irresistible movement that daily +brought new conversions, their domination over the Arabs would soon +become a thing of the past. + +They called a meeting, and, after consulting, resolved to break off +all relations with the Banu Hasham and the Banu Muttalib who were to +be banished from Makkah until they consented to hand over Mohammad, +their relative. In order to prevent themselves being tempted to break +their word, the Quraish leaders wrote out the conditions of this +compact on a sheet of parchment which they hung up inside the Ka'bah. + +Their plan was most cunning. Among the Banu Hasham and the Banu +Muttalib were a large number of idolaters who the Quraish thought +would refuse to identify themselves with Mohammad and suffer for his +cause. Therefore, strife would be stirred up in the bosom of the +Prophet's family. But, contrary to the idol-worshippers' conjectures, +the example of Abu Talib, Mohammad's uncle, carried away all the +members of his family--with the exception of irreducible Abu +Lahab--actuated by feelings of unanimous solidarity. + +This fact enables us to divine one of the reasons that prevented Abu +Talib from adopting the Islamic religion, although he worked hard and +successfully, helping it to triumph. He did not forget Abu Lahab's +ironical remark: 'Thou hast naught else to do than to obey thy son +Ali, now that Mohammad hath chosen him to be his lieutenant.' Abu +Talib's pride caused him to dread mockery. 'I would willingly become a +convert to Islam,' said he, one day, 'were it not that I fear to +become the laughing-stock of the men of Makkah when they would see me +saying my prayers.' Nevertheless, these motives would not have held +him back, if he had not considered that the protection he granted to +his nephew, threatened on all sides, would lose all its power +following the day when the uncle also should have abjured the religion +of his forefathers. + +Directly after the proclamation of the decree of expulsion, the +members of the Prophet's family, Mussulmans or idolaters, left their +houses, scattered here and there in different districts of the town, +and assembled in a neighbouring ravine where Abu Talib possessed a +stronghold. + +During a period of two years, the exiles endured the greatest +privations. Their provisions were quickly exhausted and it was +impossible to renew them. They were forbidden to show themselves in +the markets, and if one among them, having succeeded in getting to +follow a caravan, tried to procure a few articles of food, the +dealers, watched by Abu Jahal or fearing to be denounced, asked such +high prices that the luckless wight was obliged to give up all ideas +of purchase, and return empty-handed to his starving family. + +The outlaws were sometimes secretly revictualled by compassionate +folks, such as Hisham ibn Umar who had recourse to the following +stratagem. At nightfall, he led a camel, laden with provisions, to the +entrance of the ravine, and gave him a violent cut with a whip, in +such a way that the animal bolted in the direction of the starving +fugitives and was captured by them. But such a godsend was not an +everyday occurrence, and Mohammad and his family were driven to feed +on the leaves of the thorny bushes growing in the valley. + +[Sidenote: THE DECREE OF EXPULSION DESTROYED BY A WORM] + +Meanwhile, the Prophet was apprised by a vision that, in order to +destroy the impious document, written by the Quraish, Allah had sent a +gnawing worm and only the Holy Name had been respected. + +Abu Talib, hearing about this, and having faith in his nephew's +vision, went with his brothers and sought out the Unbelievers. They +exulted on seeing him approach, his features distorted by the pangs of +hunger. Conquered by famine, was Abu Talib about to throw over his +nephew? They were so sure that this was the case, that they accepted +his proposals without hesitation. 'Let us go and look at the +parchment,' he said. 'If Mohammad speaketh truly, the act is +abolished. Should that be, ye must swear to cancel your ruling of +outlawry that oppresseth us. For my part, I swear to give Mohammad up +to you if he hath lied.' + +The act was sealed with three seals. Since it had been deposited in +the Ka'bah, it had neither been seen nor touched by anyone. Therefore +Allah's enemies thought it impossible that the Prophet's vision could +be authentic and, anticipating victory, they went to the Temple with +Abu Talib, to see the state of the parchment. The Prophet's words had +come true. In the act in question, the gnawing maggot had destroyed +every unjust and impious sentence. Naught remained intact except a +narrow strip of parchment on which could be read these words: "In Thy +name, Allah!" + +This verification plunged the idolaters into a state of unspeakable +stupor. Abu Jahal was the first to leave the Temple and he tried to +retract the promise given by the Quraish. Thereupon, many among them, +Hisham ibn Umar, Zohair ibn Abi Ommayah, Moutam ibn Adiyy, etc., whose +interests and intercourse had suffered on account of the odious +decree, having only signed it under duress, protested one after the +other. "We supported this iniquitous law against our will. Now it no +longer exists. Therefore the impious pact set forth therein should be +annulled." + +Abu Jahal was forced to bow down in the face of the prodigy and these +vehement protestations. The compact was cancelled. The Banu Hasham and +the Banu Muttalib returned without let or hindrance to their +dwellings. + +[Sidenote: THE DEATH OF ABU TALIB AND KHADIJAH] + +It seemed as if Islam was henceforward to soar aloft safely, when two +events suddenly caused its wings to be clipped. First came the death +of Abu Talib, its indefatigable protector, who had passed the age of +eighty. + +We have already mentioned that, despite all his sympathy for Islam, +Abu Talib had never consented to profess it. Abu Talib, in his dying +moments, having advised all present to obey Mohammad in everything, +for he was sure to lead them into the Path of Righteousness, the +Prophet risked a supreme effort. 'O my uncle!' said Mohammad, 'thou +dost soothe their souls with wise counsel, but wilt thou do nothing +for thine own?'--'What wouldst have me do?'--'Bear witness simply that +there is no Allah but Allah!--'O son of my brother! I know that thou +dost speak truly, but I fear to be accused of only testifying in +affright at the approach of death. Were it not for this fear, be +assured that I would follow thy advice, in order to freshen thine eyes +in which I read the high degree of thy affection.' + +Some writers maintain that Abbas, seeing the dying man's lips move, +and having placed his ear close to them, made the following +declaration to the Prophet: 'Be not uneasy, O son of my brother! thy +uncle hath just uttered the words thou didst wish him to say.' But the +most accredited traditions refuse to accept this version. Where is the +truth? Allah only knows! + +Three days after this bereavement, fraught with fatal consequences, +the Prophet had to put up with a still more grievous loss. + +Khadijah, his admirable companion, who gave herself to him when he was +poor and had believed in him when he was called an impostor; Khadijah, +to whom he confided all his hopes; Khadijah, the sweet consoling +creature when he was crushed by the weight of despair; Khadijah, the +first female Moslem, the "Mother of the Believers," was taken from him +by the Fates at the age of sixty-five. (May Allah welcome her in His +Grace!) + +Khadijah's ascendancy over him was so great and yet so tender that +while she lived, he had never been unfaithful. Never, although he was +then in the prime of life, would he consent to have other wives or +concubines, as permitted by the customs of his country, in spite of +being invited on all sides to do so. And never, when Khadijah was no +more, did he forget her. + +Ayishah, who later on became Mohammad's favourite spouse, was keenly +jealous of the remembrance of his first wife, daily evoked by him. +"Never was I so jealous of any wife of the Prophet as of Khadijah," +Ayishah is known to have said, "although I never met her and +notwithstanding that her death took place long before my marriage. But +the Prophet was always talking about her, and when he slaughtered a +sheep, he always kept back a liberal share to be given to Khadijah's +female friends. + +"I said to him once: 'It seems as if Khadijah was the only woman in +the whole world!' Thereupon he began to enumerate her incomparable +qualities and declared that she would have a palace built of pearls in +Paradise, with no noise or household cares to trouble her. + +"Hala bint Khuaild, Khadijah's sister, was taken to see Allah's +Messenger. He noticed that she spoke in the same way as his dead wife, +and was so stirred that, overcome by jealousy, I could not help +showing temper and I exclaimed: 'What meanest thou by continually +conjuring up the remembrance of these old Quraish females, with their +toothless, red gums and faces betraying the ravages of age? Hath not +Allah given thee better women in their stead?'" + +But despite these scenes, despite the beauty and intelligence of +Ayishah and his other wives, the Prophet always preferred Khadijah. He +included her among the four most perfect women that ever came on +earth. The three others were Asiyah, Pharoah's wife who saved Moses; +Maryam (Mary), mother of Isa (Jesus); and Fatimah-tuz-Zahra, one of +Mohammad's daughters by Khadijah. + +[Sidenote: THE JOURNEY TO TAIF] + +Stricken by his double mourning, threatened by the Unbelievers who no +longer concealed their intentions, now that his noble protector was no +more, the Prophet resolved to preach outside Makkah. If he succeeded +in gaining over some of the neighbouring Arab peoples, these +reinforcements, increasing the number of citizens of Makkah already +converted, and which was far from inconsiderable, would make up a +party sufficiently strong to hold his detractors in respect. + +His first attempt was made at Taif, a small town about seventy-two +miles to the east of Makkah, renowned for its grapes, figs, +pomegranates and the roses of its enchanting gardens. Accompanied by +Zayd ibn Haris, the Prophet arrived in the market-place where he found +many noted Saqifs assembled. He sat by their side and stated the +reasons of his journey: his Divine Mission and the hostility of his +party. + +Most of those present were beginning to fall under the influence of +the wonted charm of his words, when three brothers, ranking among the +most noble and predominant of the Saqifs, interrupted him abruptly. +'This man hath doubtless stolen or torn the veil of the Ka'bah!' +exclaimed the first of the brothers, 'and now, having taken to his +heels, he tells ye a story about being Allah's Messenger!'--'Hath +Allah not been able to find anyone but thee?' jeered the second.--'By +Allah! I'll never have anything to do with thee!' declared the third. +'If thou art truly the Prophet of Allah, as thou dost assert, thou art +so far above me that I dare not argue with thee; and if thou art +merely an impostor, it would not be fitting that I belittle myself by +replying.' + +These remarks broke the charm, and the crowd, veering round, showed +its hostility by shouting insults. The Prophet saw that there was no +hope for him in that town for the moment, and rose up to depart. + +So as to make it impossible for him to renew his attempt, his +contradictors stirred up the lowest dregs of the populace against him. +Slaves and vagabonds, arrayed in a double row, awaited him on each +side of the road he was bound to take. They found amusement in stoning +his bare legs. When exhausted by his sufferings, he sat down in the +middle of the road, trying to shield his bleeding feet, his tormentors +lifted him up by the arms and continued their barbarous fun. In vain, +devoted Zayd tried to protect him by getting in front of him; the +faithful henchman was struck down by a stone that cut his face. +Staggering, falling, rising and dragging themselves along in the midst +of sneering jibes, Mohammad and his companion at last reached a garden +wall, behind which they took refuge, and dropped extenuated in the +shade of a tree covered with vine branches, leaves and grapes. + +'O Allah!' cried the Prophet, 'To Thee I complain of my puny strength +and the failure of my zeal with regard to these men. O Thou! most +Compassionate and Merciful, Thou art the Lord of the weak and Thou art +my Lord! I have none but Thee on whom to lean! But if Thou be not +angry with me because I am powerless to ensure love and respect for +Thy Word, I care nothing for all the ordeals I undergo!' + +The villanous mob did not dare to trespass in the garden in order to +follow up their victims. The owners of the property, charitable folks, +indignant at the scene they had just witnessed, ordered Adas, their +gardener, to gather bunches of grapes and carry a basketful to their +momentary guests. + +When the inflammation of their limbs, covered with bruises, had +subsided by reason of repose in the beneficial shade; and their thirst +being quenched by the honeyed juice of the celebrated grapes of Taif, +the Prophet and his companion set out again on the road to Makkah. + +[Illustration: _The Departure._ 2 views] + +Foreseeing the welcome in store for him, Mohammad could not do +otherwise than claim the assistance of some influential citizen. +Halting at the cave of Mount Hira, he sent Zayd to find a protector. +After two rebuffs at the hands of Al Akhnas and Sohail, who excused +themselves, Zayd approached Muta'm bin Adiyy who, consenting to take +the responsibility on himself, armed his serving-men and posted them +in the precincts of the Ka'bah. Brought back by Zayd, Mohammad was +then enabled, thanks to the escort of this little army, to make the +seven ritual circuits before returning to his dwelling. + +[Sidenote: THE NOCTURNAL JOURNEY AND ASCENSION] + +"Al-Isra," the Nocturnal Journey, and "Al-Miraj" the Prophet's +Ascension, have given rise to innumerable debates between the doctors +of Islam. Some think that this miraculous journey was really, +physically accomplished; whilst others, relying on the most accredited +traditions--among which is that of Ayishah, Abu Bakr's daughter and +Mohammad's favourite wife--maintain that Mohammad's soul alone +undertook the journey, and that it should only be looked upon as a +veracious vision such as frequently came to the Prophet in his sleep. + +One night, the twenty-seventh of the month of Rabi'-ul-Awwal, the +angel Jibra'il, upon whom devolved the duty of directing the heavenly +bodies, was ordered by the Almighty to increase the moon's brilliancy +by adding a part of the sun's radiance; and that of the stars by a +share of the moon's brightness, so that the firmament that night +should be resplendent with light. The Angel was then to descend to +where Mohammad was sleeping, and carry him up to Allah through the +seven zones of Heaven. + +Quoth the Prophet: "I was in a deep sleep when Jibra'il appeared to +me, bringing Al-Buraq, the Prophet's usual mount. This animal +ressembled none to be found on earth. His size was greater than that +of an ass; less than that of a mule. His coat was more dazzlingly +white than snow; he had the face of a man, but was dumb. Great wings +like those of a bird allowed him to rise in the air and career through +space. His mane, tail, feathers and breast-piece were studded with +priceless precious stones that sparkled like myriads of stars. + +"I got on his back and, in a twinkling, he carried me from the +"Masjidu'l-Haram" to the "Masjidu'l-Aqsa" (_i.e._ the Sacred Makkan +Temple to the faraway Temple of Jerusalem). I alighted and fastened +his bridle to the ring used by the Prophets. A man appeared in front +of me, offering a cup of milk and a cup of wine. I drank the milk and +refused the wine. Jibra'il, who had accompanied me without +outstripping me or allowing me to outrun him, approved what I had +done. 'If thou hadst preferred wine to milk,' he told me, 'thy people +would have preferred Error to Truth.'" + +After visiting the Temple, the Prophet climbed up the "Sakhrah," the +Sacred Rock (on which now stands the marvellous dome of the Mosque of +Umar) which bowed down in his honour and also so as to enable him to +remount Al-Buraq. Still led by his celestial guide, he continued his +journey by ascending through the Heavens. + +We need not copy the descriptions of this Ascension, or "Miraj," in +every detail. Many writers, particularly the Persians, have given a +free rein to their imagination in this connection, whilst others, more +serious, such as Ibn-i-Hisham, Ibn-i-Sad and Abul Fida, are content to +set forth an extremely simple narrative. We shall only mention +Mohammad's meeting with the Prophets known before him: Abraham, Moses +and Jesus; then his visit to the Paradise of Believers, where the +gardens honoured him by giving out sweet odours and his halt in Hell, +destined to receive Unbelievers, where the flames congealed when he +went along. + +After having passed through the seven zones of the Heavens, it was not +long before he heard the scratching of pens writing in the "Book of +Fate," and the thanksgivings of the angels glorifying the Almighty. +Finally, he reached the "Sidratu'l-Muntaha," the "Lote-tree of the +Extremity." At this spot, Jibra'il left him, saying: "Here is the +boundary of Knowledge, where I am forced to halt. As for thee, O +Prince of Messengers! O friend of the Master of the Worlds! continue +thy glorious Ascension and progress in the Light of thy Lights." And +the Chosen One continued to pass through the veils covering that which +is hidden, until he reached the veil of Unity and looked upon that +which eyes cannot see, nor minds imagine. The eyes of his body would +not have been able to support the brilliancy of this sight which must +have brought on blindness. Therefore, Allah opened the eyes of +Mohammad's heart, thus permitting him to contemplate the Infinite +Splendour. + +Allah bade him draw near to His throne, "_at the distance of two bows, +or even closer_" (THE QUR'AN, LIII, 9), and after having confirmed the +choice He had made in charging Mohammad to be the carrier of Good +Tidings to His servants, He fixed the number of prayers--fifty in +all--that each Believer should offer up daily to the Creator, in +gratitude for His bounty. + +When the Chosen One went down, Moses met him again and questioned him. +'O Prophet of Allah! what hath our Master ordered thee with regard to +the number of prayers which His disciples should offer up?'--'Fifty +prayers during the day and the night.'--'O thou, the best of created +beings!' Moses rejoined, 'go back to our Master, and beg Him to +lighten this burden, too heavy for the weakness and laziness of +mankind.' So Mohammad went back several times into the presence of the +Master of the Worlds, until he prevailed upon Him to reduce the number +of prayers to five only. + +This parable, which serves to decide definitively the number of daily +prayers, also demonstrates admirably that an excess of devotion, in +the Islamic creed, is considered to be an error. "_Allah desireth to +make your burden light to you: for man hath been created weak._" (THE +QUR'AN, IV, 32.) Why should the Almighty be in need of the prayers of +mankind? "_We ask not of Thee to make provision for thyself--We will +provide for Thee._" (THE QUR'AN, XX, 132.) + +Allah has sent prayer to His servants as one of His most salutary +favours. Five times daily, devotion brings absolute rest to Believers; +that is to say, complete interruption of the feelings that stir them, +whether an excess of joy leading to ruin in the aberrations of +debauchery, or an excess of sadness causing them to perish in the +madness of despair. Five times daily, prayer forces them by its +accompanying ablutions, to call to mind the cleanliness of the body, +at the same time as the purity of the soul. + +The day after his vision, the Prophet, beaming with delight, was met +by his mortal enemy, Abu Jahal, who addressed him ironically: 'O +Mohammad! hast thou not one of those marvellous tales which we are +used to hear from thee to tell us this morning?'--'Indeed I have!' +replied the Prophet. 'Between yesternight and this morning I have been +to Jerusalem and back.'--'Gather round quickly, O Quraish! Hasten and +hearken to the wonderful adventure of the nocturnal journey undertaken +by Mohammad!' shouted Abu Jahal. + +The crowd soon grew, and the Prophet gave out the narrative we have +just set forth. Most of his hearers, belonging to the clan of the +idol-worshippers, followed the example of their chieftain and received +it with outbursts of the coarsest merriment. Some clapped their hands; +others held their heads in their hands as if to stop their brains from +bursting. As for the Believers, one party was undecided whether to put +faith in the story or not; and the remainder, unsettled by the +attitude of the public, dared not manifest their confidence openly. + +Profiting by the confusion, Abu Jahal hastened to speak to Abu Bakr. +'Maybe thou dost not know the last extraordinary adventure of thy +Prophet? He pretends to have accomplished in the night the journey +from the "Holy Temple" of Makkah to the "Faraway Temple" of +Jerusalem--there and back!' Abu Jahal was full of glee, in +anticipation, at the thought of the vexation and bewilderment which +were sure to be seen in the face of his fellow-citizen. + +Contrary to Abu Jahal's expectations, however, Abu Bakr replied +without uneasiness: 'Whatever Mohammad asserts is true and I believe +it. If he maintains that he went up to the seventh Heaven in an hour +and came back in the same space of time, I should still have faith in +his declarations.' + +Such dependable testimony caused the Faithful to take heart; thus it +turned out that Abu Jahal, by trying to instil incredulity in men's +minds, only succeeded in strengthening their beliefs. Desirous of +catching the Prophet redhanded as a cheat, Abu Jahal interrogated him +concerning the Temple of Jerusalem, calling on him for a description +thereof. But he was utterly routed when Mohammad, whom his foe thought +had never set foot in Jerusalem, except during this nocturnal vision, +described the city in all its peculiarities and with great accuracy, +endorsed by all among those assembled who had ever undertaken that +journey. + +Therefore the Believers, their faith revived, hastened to put on the +five "Garments of Purity," which means that they offered up the five +prayers brought down to them from Heaven by the Prophet. + +[Sidenote: HOW SIX INHABITANTS OF YASRIB WERE CONVERTED (_A.D. 620_)] + +Towards the end of the year, Usman ibn Affan and his wife Ruqaiyah +returned from Abyssinia, accompanied by a few emigrants, among whom, +one of them, called Sukran, died on arrival. The Prophet married his +widow, Sauda, daughter of Zoma, thus rewarding the zeal of one of the +first female converts to Islam, who had so valiantly undergone the +ordeals of persecution and exile. + +Wishing, in the same way, to show his appreciation of the unchanging +devotion of Abu Bakr, the Veracious, and to bind him still closer by a +matrimonial alliance, the Prophet, at the same epoch, espoused his +daughter Ayishah, although she had barely reached the age of ten. But, +in her case, the marriage was not consummated until many years later, +at Al-Madinah, after the Hegira. + +Despite Abu Bakr's energetic affirmations; despite the strengthening +of the Believers' zeal by the rule of the five prayers, the story of +the Nocturnal Ascension was far from being advantageous to the cause +of Islam. The narrative, on the contrary, furnished its enemies with +an opportunity of petty triumph, enabling them to pile up fresh +mockery and institute greater persecution. + +The case would have seemed hopeless to any other but Mohammad. He knew +not what it meant to be discouraged, feeling certain that the Almighty +would never abandon His Apostle to whom He had revealed the following +verses: "_Say: I betake me for refuge to the Lord of Men, * The King +of Men, * Allah of Men * Against the mischief of the stealthily +withdrawing whisperer (Satan) * Who hides himself at the Name of +Allah, * Who whispereth in man's breast against Jinn and men._" (THE +QUR'AN, CXIV, 16.) + +Postponing for the time being the conversion of the Makkans, the +Prophet turned his attention towards Arab strangers in the town, +attracted in great crowds by the ceremonies of the pilgrimage to the +Ka'bah and the ritual circuits. During the fair that was held at that +time, he went untiringly from group to group. But, just as +indefatigable, close behind, was his uncle, Abu Lahab, who, as soon as +he saw the Prophet in the centre of a ring of men, would call out +loudly to them: 'Hearken not to that man! His sole thought is to tear +the cult of Lat and Uzza from out of your hearts; and trick ye all +with the insane doctrines that he pretends it is his Mission to +preach.' + +These words aroused the Arabs' suspicions, and they turned away from +Mohammad with remarks after this fashion: 'Thy fellow-citizens know +thee better than we, so begin by convincing them!' Or else: 'If Allah +should cause thee to triumph, thy glory will not profit us, but only +thy party. Therefore, it is not to our advantage to ally ourselves to +thee.' + +These rebuffs had no effect on the Prophet. No sooner did any +noteworthy person arrive in Makkah than Mohammad sought his presence +at once. + +One day, on the hill of Aqabah, he went up to a group of six men, +fresh arrivals, and with his usual politeness, he addressed them thus: +'What are you, O my good Lords?'--'We are of the Khazraj +tribe.'--'Masters over the Jews settled in Yasrib, methinks?'--'We are +indeed their masters.'--'Will ye not sit down here awhile, so that I +may speak with you?'--'Willingly.' + +They sat by his side, and he tried to gather them into the fold of +Islam by reciting verses of the Qur'an. Charmed by his eloquence and +the novelty of his words, the Khazraj men listened attentively and +paused to reflect. + +The Jews, inhabiting their land and bent beneath their yoke, were +folks well versed in the knowledge of Holy Writ. Thus it was that +whenever disagreement arose between them and their masters, these +children of Israel were wont to murmur: 'We await the coming of a +Prophet. When his hour arrives, we shall all follow him and thanks to +his assistance, we shall triumph over you and become your masters in +our turn.' Whilst Mohammad spoke unto the tribesmen, they exchanged +glances and came to this conclusion: 'Evidently this is the Prophet +whose advent is threatened by the Jews. We must not let them forestall +us with him.' + +So they replied to his appeal, saying: 'Our land is made desolate by +perpetual war waged between us and our Arab brothers, the Aus tribe. +We will go to them, and call their attention to thy cause and thy +religion. If through thee, Allah should reconcile and unite us, there +will not be in all Arabia a man more powerful than thee!' + +[Sidenote: THE TWO OATHS OF THE AQABAH (_A.D. 621_)] + +The new converts kept their word and spread Mohammad's doctrines in +their region. The following year, twelve Mussulmans from Yasrib, ten +being of the Khazraj and two belonging to the Aus, arrived in Makkah +for the Mausam rejoicings. They met the Prophet on the Aqabah and took +an oath of fidelity towards him. With a view to completing their +religious education and making fresh converts, Mohammad delegated +Musab ibn Umr, one of his most learned disciples, who went away with +them. + +In Yasrib, the Islamic creed did not meet with the difficulties that +hampered its progress in Makkah, where it was harmful to the interests +of the exploiters of the idols. Musab's task turned out to be +particularly easy, and the "Permanent Miracle" of the Surahs of the +Qur'an, recited by him, produced its effect with lightning-like +rapidity. Resembling a beneficial rainstorm which might have broke, in +a few minutes, over every part of a country suffering from drought, +restoring life and fertility, Islam had diffused its wholesome dew +over every district of the town, calming dissensions and causing the +virtues necessary for its triumph to take root and flourish in the +citizens' hearts. + +Soon there was not a single family among the Aus or the Khazraj which +did not count several Believers among its members. Musab, who had good +reasons to be proud of the result of his mission, returned to Makkah +to report progress to Mohammad. When the date of the pilgrimage came +due, seventy-five Mussulmans, two being women, joined the caravan of +their fellow-citizens who were still idolaters. The converts, full of +zeal, arranged to meet the Prophet on the Aqabah, during the night +preceding the second day of Tashriq, in order to offer a safe place of +refuge in their city, for him and his disciples. + +Ka'b ibn Malik, one of the pilgrims, has said: "We made up our minds +to keep our movements secret from our idolatrous fellow-citizens, +among whom we slept until one third of the night was passed. We then +went out, one after another, stealthily, making our way, slowly and +silently, towards a pass on the slopes of the Aqabah, where we all met +together to await the Prophet. He soon arrived, accompanied by his +uncle Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib. + +"He had not yet abjured the religion of his ancestors, but he had +great affection for his nephew from whom he wished to ward off all +misfortune, following the example of his brother, Abu Talib. Having +been informed of the plans of the people of Yasrib, Abbas wanted to +see for himself what amount of confidence Mohammad could have in their +proposals. Abbas was the first to address the meeting and spoke as +follows: 'O Assembly of the Khazraj and the Aus! my brother's son, as +ye know, holds high rank among us, and although we do not share his +convictions, we have hitherto protected him against his +fellow-citizens. In our "qawm" he finds honour and safety. +Nevertheless, at the present hour, he turns towards you, and desires +to settle in your midst. Reflect! if ye decide to remain faithful to +your promises and shield him from all dangers whatsoever, it will be +well. But should ye fear to be forced one day to throw him over, and +give him into the hands of his enemies, it would be better, now at +once, to confess that your purpose is not steadfast by withdrawing +your proposals and leaving him with his own party.' + +"Without the slightest hesitation, we answered Abbas: 'Thou hast heard +what we proposed. Thou canst rely on us absolutely!' Then we turned to +Mohammad: 'Speak, O Prophet! What dost thou want of us, for thy Lord +and for thyself?' + +"After having recited a few Surahs and recapitulated the fundamental +principles of Islam, the Prophet added: 'Swear that ye will fight to +defend me and my disciples, as ye would fight to defend your wives and +children.' + +"We took the required oath with unanimous enthusiasm: 'By Allah! we +are war-children, and our fathers have taught us how to manufacture +all weapons!'--'O Prophet!' broke in Abul Hasham, 'there exists a +compact, between the Jews of Yasrib and us, which we shall have to +break, perhaps, in order to uphold thy cause. What would be our +position, in our land, if, after being victorious thanks to us, thou +didst go back to thy "qawm"?' + +"The Prophet smiled and protested: 'Rest easy on that score! Your +blood hath become my blood and your honour, my honour. He who wrongeth +you, wrongeth me. I'll fight the enemies you fight, and support whom +ye support; ye are mine and I am yours! Choose then twelve Najibs +among you as leaders.' + +"After having consulted together, we chose nine Khazraj and three Aus. +When we brought the twelve men to him, he said: 'Ye shall be my +delegates in your "qawm," as were the apostles of Jesus, son of Mary, +among their people.' + +"The Najibs pledged their words; but, just as the solemn oath was +about to be sworn, Ibn-i-Ubadah rose and said: 'O Assembly of the +Khazraj and Aus! have ye reflected seriously anent the consequences of +the compact ye intend to make with this man? For his sake ye swear to +go to war with white, swarthy and black men. But if, in days to come, +seeing your property pillaged and your nobles massacred, ye were to +forsake him, shame would be brought upon you in this world and the +next.'--'We are resigned in anticipation to the loss of our property +and to the death of our best men, if such a sacrifice is useful for +the cause of Islam,' we replied unhesitatingly, 'but may we ask the +Prophet what we shall receive in exchange?' He replied: 'Paradise!' + +"_Who, from desire to behold the face of their Lord, are constant amid +trials, and observe prayer, and give alms in secret and openly out of +what We have bestowed upon them and turn aside evil by good: for these +is the recompense of the abode * Gardens of Eden--into which they +shall enter together with the just of their fathers, and their wives, +and their descendants: and the angels shalt go in unto them at every +portal: * Peace be upon you! say they, because ye have patiently +endured! * And charming is the recompense of the Abode!_ + +"_So oft as they are fed therefrom with fruit for sustenance, they +shall say, 'This same was our sustenance of eld!' But they will only +resemble those of earth, being infinitely more delicious ... * And +theirs shall be the Houris with large black eyes like close-kept +pearls ... * No vain discourse shall they hear therein, nor charge of +sin * We will remove whatever rancour was in their hearts ... and they +shall say 'Praise be to Allah who hath guided us hither.' *_ + +"_And other things which ye desire will He bestow: Help from Allah and +greedy conquest! ... * O ye who believe! be ansars of Allah! (i.e. +helpers, soldiers.)_ (THE QUR'AN, XIII, 22, 23, 24. II, 23. LVI, 22, +24. VII, 41. LXI, 13, 14.)" + +"When they heard these promises of inconceivable bliss in Paradise, +announced by such tokens as are understood by mortals' weak brains, +the Faithful felt their souls filled with hope and said to the +Prophet: 'Stretch out thine hand!' Mohammad offered his hand, opened +out, the palm turned upwards; and Asad ibn Zarara came and struck it +with his right hand, followed by Abul Hisham and Al Bara; and, one +after the other, all the Yasrib pilgrims, who from that day forth +called themselves, "Ansars." + +"We were getting ready to return furtively to our encampment, our +hearts brimming over with joy and hope, when, in the silence of the +night, on the summit of the Aqabah, a voice resounded, the most shrill +I had ever heard. 'O Assembly of the Quraish!' it shouted, 'be on your +guard! The sons of the Khazraj and Aus have sworn to fall upon you +with the sword!' + +"We shuddered, but the Prophet removed our fears by saying: 'That is +the voice of the demon of the Aqabah which means that Iblis (Satan) is +shrieking. He is Allah's enemy, and his cry has not been heard by any +of our adversaries.' We returned to our tents, where we found our +fellow-citizens sleeping soundly, suspecting naught of that which had +taken place. + +"Nevertheless, upon awaking, next day, a deputation of Quraish nobles +arrived, warned either by the voice of Iblis, or by reports of spies +dogging the Prophet's footsteps. 'O Assembly of the Khazraj and Aus!' +said these delegates, 'it hath come to our ears that ye have allured +one of our men, Mohammad ibn Abdullah and taken an oath with him to +wage war upon us.' + +"The idolaters of our party, knowing nothing about the events of the +night, swore with most evident sincerity that the Quraish were +mistaken. 'This business is improbable!' exclaimed one of their +chieftains, Abu Salul by name. 'My "qawm" would not have hidden it +from me and I have heard naught about it.'" + +The Quraish tribesmen went away, more or less tranquilised, but they +met on their road some Bedouins who had been witnesses of the strange +gathering in the Aqabah ravine and who imparted their suspicions. The +Quraish, convinced of the treachery of the Khazraj and the Aus, turned +back in great haste to the encampment. But the tents were struck; the +birds had flown and were far off by that time, out of danger. + +[Sidenote: THE PLOT AGAINST THE PROPHET] + +Henceforward the Prophet could reckon on safety and shelter in the +town of Yasrib and he gave orders to all his disciples to take refuge +within its walls. + +The idolaters could not help feeling great apprehension, by reason of +their victims meeting with the inhabitants of a rival city. The +worshippers of images impeded the union by means of great violence, +and it was only one by one, or in small, successive groups, that the +Believers were able to reach their place of safety. From that day +onwards, they took the name of "Muhajirun," or emigrants. + +As for the Prophet, relieved of all anxiety concerning them, he +stopped in Makkah with Ali and Abu Bakr only. They knew full well the +risk they ran, but despite Abu Bakr's adjurations, Mohammad wished to +make a supreme effort, and resort to force before leaving his native +town. He still hoped to rescue some of his fellow-countrymen from +idolatry, especially as he now had a shelter to offer them; and +besides, he did not like to leave his post without authorisation from +the Lord. + +The emigration of the Believers carried the fury of the Quraish +idolaters to the highest pitch as well as causing them great anxiety. +They resolved to strike a decisive blow. + +They called a meeting in the "Dar-un-Nadwa," "House of Counsel," built +by their ancestor, Qusayy ibn Kilab. The most important resolutions +were taken in this "Dar-un-Nadwa," where only the descendants of +Qusayy were admitted, but not until they had reached the age of forty. + +Just as representatives of every division of the Quraish were entering +the "House of Counsel," a tall, old man of haughty bearing, attired in +woollen garments, appeared on the threshold. In reply to questions as +to who he was and what he wanted, he replied: 'I am a Shaikh of the +Najd. Attracted by your noble gait and the sweetness of your favourite +scents, I feel great desire to hear you speak. If ye consent to admit +me to your noble assembly, perchance my advice may not be entirely +useless.' + +The inhabitants of the Najd lived too far away to be suspected of +acting in complicity with Mohammad, therefore the Committee of the +Elders found that nothing prevented them from authorising the noble +stranger to be present during the meeting, and he followed them into +the hall of debate. The Head Committee started the discussion at once. +'We all know,' they said to each other, 'about the intrigues of this +man Mohammad and the danger with which he threatens our country. We +will talk over the best means of defence. Let each of us give his +opinion freely.' + +The first to speak was Abul Bukhtari who made this proposal: 'Let us +cast our enemy into a dungeon, load him with chains, and bolt the door +upon him until he die.'--'Such a proceeding would be fraught with +fatal consequences,' the Shaikh of the Najd objected, 'if you carry it +out. The news of your act of violence would filter through the prison +gates and reach the ears of Mohammad's companions who, ye may be sure, +would quickly attack you in order to free him. Thanks to assistance of +the Yasrib Mussulmans, they would be victorious. Let us hear some one +else's proposition.' + +Asad ibn Rabiya rose and said: 'Why cannot we expulse him from among +us and banish him from our country? When he is gone, little we reck +where he taketh refuge or what becometh of him. We shall be well rid +of him.'--'Truly, a fine piece of advice!' exclaimed the Shaikh of the +Najd. 'Know ye nothing about the beauty of your adversary's speech, +the charm of his voice and the strength of his arguments? Scarcely +will he have set foot among the neighbouring Arab tribes, when he will +dominate them by his eloquence, cause them to follow in his wake, and +come back from exile at their head, to have his own way with you all! +Try and find a more reasonable plan to crush him.' + +Then it was the turn of Abu Jahal. 'By our gods!' said he, 'I have a +project which, I am certain, will satisfy you entirely.'--'Speak! What +is thy plan?' exclaimed his audience.--'This is it. In each +subdivision of our tribe we'll choose a young, vigorous warrior +belonging to a family equally noble and respected, and we'll place in +his hand a well-sharpened sword. These young warriors, banded +together, shall throw themselves on Mohammad at the same instant; all +striking him at once. By acting in this way, the responsibility of +shedding his blood will be shared among all the subdivisions to which +the murderers belong, and the Abd Manaf, relatives of the dead man, +unable to declare war upon every subdivision of our tribe, will be +obliged to content themselves with receiving the "Diyah" (blood +ransom) that we may be good enough to offer.'--'These are words of +intelligence!' exclaimed the Shaikh of the Najd, who was no other than +Iblis (Satan) disguised in human shape. 'That man's motion points to +the only way out of your difficulty.' + +This perfidious counsel met with the unanimous approval of the +assembly. The Unbelievers flattered themselves that their enemy was +already got rid of, but they had reckoned without the will of the +Almighty. The angel Jibra'il, sent by Him, warned the Prophet of the +conspiracy to take his life, and brought him orders to emigrate in his +turn, at the same time warning him as follows: 'Sleep not this night +upon thy wonted couch.' + +In Mohammad's house were several sums of money deposited with him by +Unbelievers, and he did not care to go away before having given back +what was due to each rightful owner. He charged his faithful Ali to +carry this out, after having told him what he had just heard and +saying: 'Sleep in my stead, on my habitual couch, and wrap thyself in +this--my green mantle of the Hazramaut. Fear naught; no harm can come +to thee from my enemies.' + +When the first four hours of the night had gone by, the conspirators, +among whom was Abu Jahal who had come to excite their zeal, were +posted in ambush close to the door of the house, to prevent Mohammad +from escaping. They did not wish to consummate their crime in +darkness, for people might then have denied the participation of the +Quraish. They preferred to await daybreak, so that it might be plainly +visible that each and every one had an equal share in the murder. But +He who never sleeps watched over His Prophet surrounded by foes. + +"_Verily on their necks, We have placed chains which reach the chin, +and forced up are their heads * And before them have We set a barrier +and behind them a barrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so +that they shall not see._" (THE QUR'AN, XXXVI, 7-8.) + +Confiding in the protection of his Lord, Mohammad crept quietly out of +his dwelling, picking up some loose earth and throwing a handful or +two on the head of each conspirator. He then went away. The eyes of +the miscreants, beneath lids heavy with tedious waiting and blinded by +the bandage of sleep that Allah had placed thereon, saw nothing. + +'For whom are ye watching here?' quoth a passer-by, coming on the +scene.--'For Mohammad.'--'Allah hath saved him and he hath tricked you +all. He hath just departed right under your noses and after covering +your pates with dust, he strode away gaily.' + +Each startled man swiftly clapped his hand to his head and, +withdrawing his fingers dirty with dust, gave signs of stupefaction. +But, peering through a crack in the door, they saw Ali asleep on the +Prophet's couch and wrapped in his green mantle. This sight set the +villains' minds at rest and they all stood sentinel till dawn. + +Actuated by the same impulse, when the sun rose, they battered down +the door and with swords unsheathed, threw themselves on Ali. He sat +up facing them. They recognised him and called out: 'How now! Can it +be thee, O Ali? Where is thy companion?'--'I know not.' + +In their fury at having been so finely tricked, they seized up Ali and +imprisoned him in the Temple; but quickly recognising what a grave +mistake they would make by being revenged on the son of Abu Talib, +they set him free. + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And before them have We set a barrier +and behind them a barrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so +that they shall not see._] + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE FIFTH] + +[Illustration: _Interior of a Mosque._ _Al Mihrab: the niche marking +the direction of Makkah._] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And fight for the cause of Allah against +those who fight against you._] + + +CHAPTER THE FIFTH + + +[Sidenote: THE HEGIRA, OR THE EMIGRATION OF THE PROPHET TO MADINAH] + +At the moment when the Mohammedans were emigrating to Yasrib, Abu Bakr +begged the Prophet to let him join them, but was answered thus: 'It is +needless to hurry. Maybe Allah may give thee the companion thou dost +prefer to undertake the journey in thy company.' + +Hoping that this companion would turn out to be the Prophet in person, +Abu Bakr purchased two swift she-camels, which he stabled in the +courtyard of his house, feeding them liberally, and keeping them in +readiness to take to the road. + +Ayishah has said: "The Prophet, who never let a day go by, without +coming to see my father, morning or evening, arrived suddenly at an +unwonted hour. Abu Bakr guessed that some serious matter brought his +son-in-law to our dwelling, and made room for him on the bench. The +Prophet sat down and told him: 'Allah authoriseth me to depart from +Makkah with my "qawm." My turn hath come to emigrate.'--'With me, O +Prophet! in company with me?' supplicated Abu Bakr, plying him with +questions. 'Yea, in thy company.'--'At this answer, tears of joy such +as I had never seen before, welled up in my father's eyes, and he +apprised Mohammad of his preparations for travel.'" + +The she-camels, in rare fettle, were handed over to Ibn-i-Arqas, an +idolater, but in whom, nevertheless, Abu Bakr placed great confidence. +Ibn-i-Arqas was to take them to graze, and three days later, lead them +to a meeting-place appointed at the mouth of a cave in the Jabal Saur, +about an hour and half's walk from Makkah, on the road leading to the +sea. Ibn-i-Arqas would then serve as a guide as far as Yasrib. + +By a small door at the back of the house, the two fugitives went off +secretly, stepping softly, and making their way to the Saur cave. The +Prophet's naked feet were soon bleeding, cut by the sharp, loose +stones of the mountain paths. Abu Bakr, in despair at seeing the blood +of God's Chosen One flowing, carried him on his back the rest of the +way, and put him down in front of the entrance to the grot in which he +entered first. He explored every hole and corner to make sure that it +did not serve as a refuge for wild beasts or reptiles. He picked up +all the stones, which he piled in his cloak, and threw them down the +side of the mountain. Then, with torn fragments of his apparel, he +stopped up any holes which might have been places of concealment for +scorpions or other venomous insects. Then only did he admit Mohammad +who fell asleep, his head resting on his companion's thigh. + +But under the sand carpeting the cave, was hidden a viper which had +thus escaped Abu Bakr's vigilant, searching glances. By an involuntary +movement, the devoted disciple stamped on the reptile which, furious, +turned with a hiss, and drove its dart into Abu Bakr's heel. The pain +was atrocious, but, fearing to awaken the Prophet whose head was +pillowed on his companion's thigh, Abu Bakr made not the slightest +movement, nor did he let a cry escape his lips. + +Shortly afterwards, the venom began its malignant course through his +veins, and the intensity of the pain drew tears from his eyes. A few +burning drops fell on Mohammad's cheek. Waking up with a start, the +Prophet asked: 'What ails thee, O sincere friend?'--'I have been stung +by a viper.' + +The sacrifice of his being, made by Abu Bakr, had overwhelmed him with +joy bringing warmth to his heart, and triumphed over the evil effects +of the poison that had begun to freeze his limbs, so that directly the +Prophet rubbed the poisonous wound with a little of his saliva, all +pain and swelling disappeared. + +The Quraish, disturbed and maddened by the flight of Mohammad and Abu +Bakr, despatched two town-criers, one on each side of the city of +Makkah, charging them to offer a reward of a hundred she-camels for +anyone who should overtake the fugitives. The most cunning trackers +set out in all directions. + +Abu Jahal lost no time in rushing to Abu Bakr's dwelling, and knocked +furiously at the door. Asma, Ayishah's sister, came out to him. 'Where +is thy father?' he asked.--'By God! I know not,' she replied. He +lifted his hand and slapped her face so brutally that he tore out one +of her earrings. He then rejoined a group of young men who were +following a clue that took them to the Jabal Saur. + +Scarcely had His Apostle sought shelter in the grot, then Allah +ordered a shrub, grown to about a man's height, and known as +"Umm-ul-Ghilan," a little way off from the cave, to leave the spot +where it flourished and block up the entrance. Then He sent a spider +to spin its web between the branches of the shrub and the jagged edges +of the cavern's mouth; and also a pair of wild pigeons that built a +nest and laid eggs in the narrow entrance. + +At that juncture, the trackers began to arrive from all parts, enticed +by the bait of the reward; but they were brought to a standstill by +the fragile barrier built by the most humble among insects: a web that +the slightest breath of the breeze sufficed to destroy. + +'There is nothing to be done in this cave,' declared one of the +Unbelievers, Ummayyata ibn Khalaf, just as they were getting ready to +enter. 'See this cobweb. It dates, without a doubt, from before the +birth of the man we are pursuing. How could Mohammad have entered the +cave without tearing these slender threads? And look at those pigeons' +eggs. Would he not have broken them as well?' + +All found these deductions well-grounded and gave up a search that +seemed futile. Abu Jahal was the only one who guessed they were on the +right track. 'Nevertheless, I feel that our enemy is not far off,' he +said. 'He is looking at us now, but magic spells cloud our eyes!' They +went away, never thinking about searching on the ground for the +tell-tale traces of the fugitives' footsteps. + +While this scene was being enacted, Abu Bakr trembled greatly; not for +his own life, but for that of his companion, to whom he said: 'My +death means nothing more than a man dying; but thine means all the +lives of thy disciples!' + +They remained in their hiding-place three days and three nights. +Abdullah, son of Abu Bakr, passed the whole of the day among the +Unbelievers of Makkah; and at night, brought all the news he could +gather. Ibn-i-Fuhairah, one of Abu Bakr's shepherds, led his flock to +graze among those of the Quraish. At night, he drove his sheep in +front of the cave, thus bringing food to the fugitives: milk and the +flesh of the lambs. The following day, he went away with his flock, +leading it over Abdullah's tracks so as to efface them. + +On the third day, the vigilance of the Quraish being somewhat relaxed, +Ibn-i-Arqas kept his appointment punctually, bringing Abu Bakr's two +she-camels, and a third belonging to him. Asma, too, had not been +idle. She brought bags filled with provisions. All being in readiness, +Abu Bakr made the best camel kneel down in front of the Prophet, whom +he asked to mount on her back. 'I cannot ride a camel that doth not +belong to me', replied Mohammad.--'By my father and mother, she's +thine! I give her to thee.'--'I cannot accept the gift. Tell me what +she cost thee. I'll buy her for the same price.' + +The bargain concluded, the Prophet bestrode that she-camel. Abu Bakr +rode the other, taking up behind him, Ibn-i-Fuhairah, his faithful +serving-man. Ibn-i-Arqas, on his own camel, guided the little caravan +on the western road to Yasrib which runs, now and again, along the +seashore. + +[Sidenote: SURAQA'S MISHAP] + +Quoth Suraqa ibn Malik: "I was in a group of Makkans gossiping over +recent events and the price set upon Mohammad's head, when a man of +the nomadic tribes, coming from the Badya-land, told us the following +story: 'On the road leading to the sea, I passed a small caravan +comprising three she-camels. I seemed to recognise the riders. They +were Mohammad and his companions.' + +"I winked to him to be silent and said out loud, in an indifferent +sort of tone: 'Thou art mistaken. The folks thou didst meet were +Bedouins that I sent out to search for straying camels belonging to +me.' + +"I remained a little longer in the midst of the citizens, before +returning to my dwelling, where I ordered my serving-maid to lead my +horse to a secluded spot in the valley. I also ordered one of my +slaves, a negro gifted with prodigious strength and indomitable +courage, to drive one of my camels to the same place and there await +my coming. I left my house by a back-door, bending down, trailing my +spear low, on a level with the ground, so as to prevent the glistening +of steel in the sunlight. I took all these precautions so as not to +call the attention of those who, allured by the promised reward, might +have followed and forced me to share with them, were I successful. + +"Arrived at the place of meeting, I mounted my camel and, accompanied +by my slave who ran behind, holding my horse by the bridle, I +diligently followed the track of the fugitives. When I thought I was +sufficiently near to them, I mounted my horse, and left my camel to +the care of my slave, giving him orders to rejoin me as quickly as +possible. + +"My steed was fresh, not having been ridden for some days and he was +renowned lor his speed. I put him at a gallop. But after a few +strides, he stuck his toes in the ground and fell, his nostrils in the +sand, snorting and trembling. I was thrown off. Impressed by this evil +omen, I pulled some "azlams" (divining arrows) out of my quiver to +consult the decrees of fate. The signs pointed to bad luck, but the +reward excited my greed, so I stuck to my plan and continued in +pursuit. + +"Shortly afterwards I caught sight of the fugitives and, urging on my +steed, I got so near that I could hear the voice of the Prophet +reciting the Qur'an; but to my great astonishment, the noise of my +galloping horse's hoofs did not cause him the least uneasiness. He did +not even deign to turn his head. On the other hand, Abu Bakr kept on +looking round, and seemed to be in a state of the liveliest anxiety. + +"Just another effort and I was right up with them, when suddenly my +horse's legs sank up to his knees into the earth, although it seemed +very hard and firm in that spot. I was thrown over his head. I got up, +exasperated, swearing at him and lashing him to make him get a +foothold. But all in vain. His struggles and efforts only succeeded in +making him sink more deeply down, as far as his belly, whilst a +dust-cloud resembling a pillar of smoke, issued from the hole where he +was swallowed up. I was overcome by sudden fear. + +"Once more I tried my luck by the arrows. The forebodings of evil +fortune were just as plainly shown. Feeling sure, therefore, that some +great calamity was in store to punish me for my projects, I cried out: +'O Mohammad, I plead for mercy at thy hands! In exchange, I'll bring +thee useful tidings and beguile all those who are following me; but +pray to thy God that He set my horse free.' + +"Mohammad threw up his hands, saying: 'O Allah! if Suraqa is sincere, +deliver his steed.' The words were no sooner out of his mouth than the +soil lessened its grip, and getting up on my horse whose legs were now +at liberty, I rejoined the fugitives with whom I offered to share my +arms, and provisions. They refused, not wishing to accept anything +from an unbeliever and they commanded me to leave them in peace. + +"From what I had witnessed, I became convinced that Mohammad would +conquer in the end, and I persisted in demanding a safe-conduct +proving that he granted me his pardon and that there no longer existed +any cause for enmity between him and me. Obeying his orders, Abu Bakr +made out, on a piece of leather, the document I claimed. It saved my +life during the Taif expedition. I then turned back. Once more in +Makkah, I told my black slave and all my fellow-citizens--who had +guessed the motives governing my journey--that I had seen nothing, and +I cursed the information that had led me to set out on such a useless +and fatiguing expedition." + +[Sidenote: THE PROPHET'S ARRIVAL AT QUBA (_June 28th A.D. 622_)] + +Thanks to the inconceivable rapidity with which news travels in +Arabian countries, the Mussulmen of Yasrib had already heard of the +Prophet's departure and that he intended to rejoin them. + +Quoth one among them: "Every day, after the morning prayer, we go to +the Hira, a burning plain, covered with scattered black pebbles and +which stretches out south-west of the town. There, our hands shading +our eyes from the dazzling sun, we gaze as far as our sight permits, +hoping to catch sight of Allah's Apostle. We turn not back in the +direction of our dwellings until high noon, doubly defeated by the +blaze of the perpendicular rays of the sun and their reverberation on +white sand and calcined stones. + +"One day, among all these days of overwhelming heat, we had just +returned, when a Jew, noted for the extraordinary acuity of his sight, +made out, from the top of one of the towers on the ramparts, a caravan +consisting of a few men in white garb, mounted on camels. They seemed +rising and falling, driven to and fro by the eddying mirage. + +"Guessing that he saw the Prophet and his companions, the Jew turned +round in the direction of the city. 'O Assembly of the Arabs!' he +shouted in resouding accents, 'the good luck ye did expect hath come +at last!' + +"Awakened from our siesta, we rushed in the direction of the caravan. +It was encamped at the foot of a solitary palm-tree, a few paces off +the Quba oasis. With Abu Bakr, the Prophet was resting in the shade of +this tree. As both appeared to be about the same age, and considering +that the majority had never met Allah's Apostle, we hesitated, not +knowing to whom of the couple we should pay homage. + +"Just then, the palm's scanty shade having changed its direction, the +sunlight fell on the face of one of the travellers. Thereupon, we +noticed the other rise to his feet and stretch his mantle over the +head of his companion, to protect him from the rays of the orb of day. +Thus an end was put to our hesitation." + +The Banu Amir ibn Auf to whom the hamlet of Quba belonged, now +arrived, transported with joy, to invite to sojourn in their midst the +illustrious guest sent to them by Allah. The Prophet lodged with +Kulsum ibn Hidmi; Abu Bakr with Khubib ibn Saf, while the other +Muhajirun took up their quarters with Sad ibn Khazimah, one of the +Najibs. + +[Sidenote: THE ERA OF THE HEGIRA] + +This happy ending of Mohammad's journey took place on a Monday, at +noon, the twelfth day of the month Rabi'u'l-Awwal. The year of this +emigration, renowned under the name of "Hijrah" (called "Hegira" by +the Europeans), has been adopted by Mussulmans for the beginning of +their era. It corresponds to A.D. 622. + +At first, such a choice creates surprise, and yet no other event in +the Prophet's existence exercised more decisive influence over the +world-wide success of his cause. Had he remained in Makkah, granting +even his final triumph, Islam would have remained there with him. The +Arabs of all Arabia, fearing the power with which Islam endowed the +Quraish alone, would have formed a coalition to prevent it spreading +out of the Sacred City. Whereas, after having begun, despite all +malice, to plant the roots of his religion firmly in his native town, +it was easy for the Prophet to return there when he had won over the +rest of the Arabs to his cause. + +This proves how impenetrable are the designs of Providence, and how +frequently the misfortunes with which God afflicts us, burdening us +with suffering, determine the cause of our successes. If the Prophet +had not been persecuted and banished by his own people, he would never +have been able to fulfil his universal mission, and the world would +never have been enlightened by Islam. + +The Prophet sojourned at Quba Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. All +rejoined him there. His faithful henchman, after having restituted all +the deposits confided to his care to their rightful owners, arrived at +Quba, his feet badly lacerated, having tramped night and day. Mohammad +embraced him warmly, bandaged his wounds with his blessed hands, and +made him rest by his side in Kulsum's dwelling. + +Mohammad also busied himself with laying the first brick of a +Mosque--the first place of public prayer in Islam--and left to Ammar +ibn Yasar the care of finishing it. This Mosque was called "At Taqwa," +_i.e._ the Mosque of "The Fear of God." Reference is made to it in +these verses: "_There is indeed a Mosque founded from its first day +upon the fear of God; More right is it that thou take thy stand +therein; therein are men who aspire to keep themselves pure and Allah +loveth those who purify themselves._" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 109.) + +[Sidenote: ARRIVAL OF THE PROPHET AT YASRIB] + +Despite the persistence of the Banu Amir who wished him to remain in +their hamlet, the Prophet departed on Friday, at daybreak, riding the +she-camel he had bought of Abu Bakr, and which became celebrated under +the name of "al-Qaswa," _i.e._ "She that hath split ears and +nostrils." A great throng of horsemen and people on foot followed him, +and his companions fought for the honour of holding his bridle. + +The hour of prayer arrived when he was passing through the territory +of the Banu Salim ibn Auf. He alighted and recited, for the first +time, the Friday prayer, leading a numerous band of Believers in pious +array behind him. At the termination of the prayer, he turned towards +the Faithful to preach them a sermon. Then he once more bestrode his +she-camel, and escorted by a crowd animated by the most ardent +enthusiasm, made a triomphal entry into Yasrib. + +On every terrace-roof, the "Zawat-ul-Khidar," those who are generally +hidden inside houses--women and young girls--were grouped together, +ressembling, in their bright-hued draperies, pretty birds of +vividly-tinted plumage, perched on the edges of cliffs. With melodious +voices, quavering by reason of emotion, they sang in chorus: + +"The full moon hath risen above our heads--Emerging from the +Sanniyat-ul-Wida (the Farewell Mountain Pass)!--Numerous are the +thanksgivings we must offer up to Allah,--With the purest fervour of +our supplications!--O thou, His Messenger among us,--The orders thou +dost bring us shall be piously executed!" + +In every district through which the Prophet passed, that of the Banu +Baid, Banu Saida, Banu Haris, Banu Adyy, etc., a deputation of leading +men caught his camel by the bridle and stopped it, to be able to say: +'Remain with us, O Prophet! Here wilt thou find riches, power and +safety.' But he replied: 'Let my she-camel go, for she hath received +orders from on High.' And smiling kindly, he added: 'The blessing of +Allah be upon you!' + +He let the reins hang loose on the neck of the animal he was riding, +and she, stretching her long neck far above the escort of Believers, +turned her head first to the right and then to the left, as if +searching, with her great black eyes shaded by lengthy lashes, for the +halting-place assigned to her by Providence. After a thousand windings +and turnings, she stopped in the middle of a wide expanse of waste +ground, and knelt down; but as the Prophet did not alight, she rose +and took a few more strides, hesitatingly. Finally, and decisively, +she went back to the spot where she had stopped at first, and knelt +down again. She stretched the entire length of her neck on the ground +and uttered low grunts. + +So then Mohammad alighted, saying: 'Allah causeth me to set foot on +the ground in a blessed spot. Here will be the finest place in which +to dwell.' This piece of property was a "marbad," _i.e._ a barn-floor, +where dates were laid out to dry. It was situated in the district of +the Banu Nijar, not far from the house of Abu Ayyub Ansari who offered +hospitality to the Prophet, and took his saddle and saddle-bags to his +dwelling. Whilst the Apostle, momentarily freed from the veneration of +the populace, was settling under that friendly roof, young people and +slaves dispersed in all directions, singing: 'Mohammad hath come! The +Prophet of Allah hath come to our town!' + +Ever since that day, eternally memorable, the city of Yasrib was +called, "Madinatu'n-Nabi," the City of the Prophet; and by +abbreviation, "Al-Madinah." (Medinah). + +[Sidenote: HOW THE MOSQUE OF AL-MADINAH WAS BUILT] + +At Al-Madinah, Mohammad's first care was to erect a Mosque. + +He sought for the owners of the ground where his she-camel had knelt, +and they turned out to be two orphans, named Sahil and Sohail, whose +guardian was Muaz ibn Afra. The Prophet asked them how much they +wanted for their piece of property. 'Allah's reward is the only price +we ask,' was their reply. Mohammad, however, refused the gift. The +purchase-money, fixed at ten dinars, was advanced by Abu Bakr, who had +transferred all his wealth from Makkah to Al-Madinah. + +Acting under the Prophet's orders, the Believers lost no time in +getting to work. They cleared up the "Marbad," where there were +ruined walls, a palm-tree and a few neglected tombs. They levelled the +ground and, as soon as the foundations were dug, Mohammad lifted a big +stone to place in the cavity, and his noble breast became covered in +dust. Seeing this, his companions tried to prevent him from doing +manual labour; but he said to Abu Bakr: 'Say no more, but follow my +example. Put a stone next to mine.' He then commanded Umar to place +another at the side of the one set down by Abu Bakr; and each of the +leading Moslems contributed in succession his stone to the structure. + +When the stone foundations reached up to a third of the eventual +height of the walls, the Believers began to knead clay with water, +making unbaked bricks, with which they intended to finish the +building. The Prophet, as before, continued to encourage his followers +by his example, and he carried bricks in his mantle. Seeing one of the +workers with a double load on his back, Mohammad wiped his disciple's +hair and neck, soiled with clay, and said: 'The reward of the labourer +awaits him in heaven, but thou wilt find a double reward.' + +All the Believers toiled in high spirits, and to quicken their task by +working in measure, the masons sang in chorus, and the verses of their +chants related to their exalted hopes. When the walls were seven +cubits high, the Faithful covered the building with a flat roof, made +of palm-tree trunks, thatched with lathes and palm-leaves. On this, +they spread a layer of beaten earth, thick enough to prevent rain +filtering through. The ceiling was supported inside by columns of +date-tree trunks, and the floor was sprinkled with gravel. + +The building was one hundred cubits in length; its breadth being a +little less. It could be entered by three doors; of which the +principal was called "Bab-ur-Rahma," or "Door of Mercy." The "Mimbar," +or pulpit, was fashioned out of a simple palm-tree trunk on which the +Prophet mounted when he preached his sermons. + +It can thus be seen that this first Mosque, identical with those of +the poorest villages of the Sahara, was far from resembling the +marvellous edifices which were to be constructed a little later for +the Islamic religion. + +At the same time as the Mosque was being finished, Mohammad had caused +two little hovels to be built with clods of earth--"Hujrah"--leaning +against the walls of the temple. The Prophet proposed to live there +with his family and he sent Zayd, his adopted son, to Makkah to fetch +them. When the houses were finished, he left the dwelling of Abu Ayyub +and settled down with his people who lost no time in arriving. + +As for the Muhajirun, they had all been generously and hospitably +welcomed by the Ansars, proud and joyful to receive beneath their +roof-trees those of the strangers who fell to them by lot. + +Mohammad was especially moved by the cordial welcome extended to his +fellow-countrymen by his new disciples. But, with his great insight +concerning the souls of mortals, he resolved to tighten the bonds of +such touching friendship. So that it should be proof against all +insinuations dictated by the rivalry, inevitable in the future, +between the Muhajirun who had forsaken their country, families and +wealth to follow him; and the Ansars who had offered the safe shelter +and material assistance to which his triumph was due. Would not each +party have some little reason to claim for it alone first rank in the +Prophet's affection and the annals of Islam? + +In order to avoid such dangerous contingencies and create real family +ties for the exiles, Mohammad profited by the cloudless exaltation +uniting Muhajirun and Ansars just then, to issue a decree of perfect +brotherhood between them. He ordained that they should pair off in +couples consisting of a man of the Mohajirun and an Ansar. 'Fraternise +in Allah!' he told them. 'Ye are brothers!' Henceforward, every +Mussulman of Al-Madinah had for brother a Mussulman of Makkah. + +It would be sheer madness to try and find words to express the degree +of devotion attained by this brotherhood of religion, stronger than +ties of blood, for it was supernatural. All these men's hearts, united +in the love of Allah, were now nothing more than a single heart, +palpitating in different breasts. Each man loved his brother better +than himself, and during the first years of the Hegira, when one died, +the other inherited his property, to the exclusion of his natural +heirs. + +Among the fraternal unions thus constituted, we may note those of Abu +Bakr with Kharijah ibn Zayd; Ummar with Usman ibn Malik; Abu Ubaidah +with Sad ibn Muaz; and Usman ibn Affan with Aus ibn Najar. The prophet +had been the first to choose Ali for his brother, thus sealing the +bond of fraternity that he had signed when beginning his mission. But +as Ali belonged to the Muhajirun, the Ansars might have been vexed +because the Apostle did not choose a brother in their ranks. That was +why, at the death of one of their Najibs, Asad ibn Zararah, Mohammad +took his place as Najib, pretexting that he was one of them, because +his uncle on his mother's side had formerly dwelt in their city. + +In this way, thanks to his sense of psychology and diplomatic skill, +Mohammad achieved a wonderful result: the wars between the Kajraz and +the Aus which, for centuries past, had deluged Yasrib with blood, +ceased as by magic, soon after his arrival. He metamorphosed the +inhabitants of Al-Madinah into the brothers of the Makkan emigrants, +formerly their rivals. + +[Sidenote: THE QUIBLAH OF MAKKAH] + +In the beginning, the Prophet allowed the Believers full liberty to +turn in any direction they pleased when saying their prayers, for: +"_The East and the West is Allah's; therefore, whichever way ye turn, +there is the face of Allah. Truly Allah is Omnipresent, Omniscient._" +(THE QUR'AN, II, 109). + +While terminating the building of the first Mosque, the Prophet +divined that prayerful impulsiveness diverted in one direction would +be more thrilling, because of the feeling of union in the same ideals +that was bound to result. By means of a cube of masonry, composed of +stone and clay placed against the wall of the building looking south, +he primitively established the Qiblah, or direction of prayer, towards +the Temple of Jerusalem. + +But he was ordered by a verse to change the direction towards Makkah: +"_We have formerly seen thee turning thy face towards every part of +the Heaven; but We will assuredly have thee turn to a Qiblah which +shall please thee. Turn then thy face towards the Sacred Mosque, and +wherever ye be, turn your faces in that direction._" (THE QUR'AN, II, +139). + +And ever since that day, the Qiblah remains definitively fixed for all +the Mussulmans of the world, in the direction of the Temple of Makkah. + +[Sidenote: INSTITUTION OF THE AZAN, OR CALL OF THE MU'AZZIN] + +Prayer in common is incontestably the most profitable; the fervour of +each Believer communicating with the soul of his neighbour. "It is +worth twenty-seven times more than isolated prayer," says the Prophet. +It was therefore necessary to summon all Believers together every day, +at the same hours fixed for the five prayers. + +How was the exact time of meeting to be determined? Scattered over the +different districts of the city, some came too early; others too late. +A consultation of the leading Moslems took place. Some were for the +use of a beacon, to be lit on a commanding eminence; others suggested +the blowing of a horn; and the rest proposed bell-ringing. But all +these methods were rejected, because they were borrowed, from +Persians, Jews or Christians. + +[Illustration: _The Mu'azzin's Call._] + +Meanwhile, Abdullah ibn Zayd arrived, and he told of a dream he had +had the night before. A man attired all in green passed close to me, +carrying a hand-bell. I stopped him and begged him to sell me his +bell. 'What dost thou want it for?'--'To summon Believers to +prayer.'--'A much better way,' he replied, 'would be to proclaim the +profession of faith of Islam with all the strength of thy lungs.' + +The Prophet, alive to the fact that the resonance of the human voice +is more capable of communicating emotion than the most perfect metal +instrument of music, declared at once: 'In thy dream was truth. Go and +find Bilal. His voice is powerful and harmonious. I charge thee to +order him to mount to the roof of the Mosque and summon the Believers +to prayers.' So Bilal, the freed negro, told to call all the Believers +together, of all ranks and races, uttered from the terrace of the +Mosque the cry of the Islamic soul: "_Allah is great! There is no God +but Allah, and Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah! Come to prayer! Come +to Salvation!_" + +Like exquisite perfume wafted from a priceless flask, these words in +the melodious voice of Bilal and issuing from his strong lungs, +resounded through the city. Echoing in all dwellings, they caused +every citizen to inhale with delight the refreshing scent of prayer. + +Ever since, in every Mosque all the world over, it is the duty of a +crier, called a "muazzin," to give this summons to prayer five times +daily which he does from the top of a slender minaret erected for that +purpose. + +[Sidenote: THE FAST OF RAMADHAN] + +After having decided that the human voice should be used for the call +to prayer, Mohammad, when first he dwelt in Al-Madinah, continued to +set forth the formal obligations of the Islamic religion. + +He was in the habit of fasting three days every month when he received +this Revelation: "_As to the month Ramadhan, in which the Qur'an was +sent down to be man's guidance ... as soon as anyone of you observeth +the moon, let him set about the fast..... You are allowed on the night +of the fast to approach your wives: they are your garment and ye are +their garment ... Eat and drink until ye can discern a white thread +from a black thread by the daybreak: afterwards fast strictly till +night, and go not in unto them, but pass the time in the Mosques._" +(THE QUR'AN, II, 181, 183). + +By these verses was the fast of the month of Ramadhan established, and +numerous were the advantages accruing therefrom: man, full of +self-love, runs after everything bringing material gratification, and +flees from all that falls to the lot of the poor and the weak. To rid +him of this fatal propensity, nothing is more salutary than the pangs +of hunger and thirst. The Faithful, their bodies no longer burdened by +their aliments, foregathered all day long, and the nourishment that +prayer provided for their souls, was more impatiently expected than +the nourishment of their stomachs. + +In the torrid climate of Al-Madinah, nevertheless, their thirst, +unquenched during never-ending summer days, became real torture. With +dry throats, gasping, many among them were on the point of breaking +down when they looked upon the limpid water of the "saqiya" and heard +its tempting trickling. The example of their brethren, more resigned, +soon made them pluck up fresh courage. The bonds of religious +fraternity were tightened still more by this ordeal, and, having +assisted each other to vanquish such terrible adversaries as hunger +and thirst, Believers were ready to stand firm against the fiercest +enemies among mortals. + +During thirty days, without murmuring and with ever-increasing +exaltation, the Ansars and the Mohadjirun went through the first fast +of Ramadhan. At last the crescent of the new month was about to +appear; every terrace-roof and all the hills were crowded with the +Faithful, all trying to get the first glimpse. The sun's golden disc +was scarcely submerged in the blue waves of the desert's horizon when +every eye scrutinised anxiously the depths of the sky of emerald-like +limpidity. Suddenly, in the lower part of the shaded canopy of heaven, +the thin silver bow appeared. A long-drawn sigh escaped from every +breast, as if each had been pierced by invisible arrows, shot from +this bow. + +But the Faithful had heaved no sigh of deliverance. On the contrary, +the sigh was caused by regret at having so soon concluded the fasting +ordeal, in easy payment of the debt of gratitude owing to the +Benefactor. During this pious trial, each soul was fortified and each +body strengthened. In order to pass through the frightful deserts that +encircled them, before going forth to conquer the world, the Believers +were training themselves to get accustomed, as if it were a mere +pastime, to endure the tortures of hunger and thirst that they were +bound to undergo, later on, in the depths of these very wildernesses. + +When, after such self-imposed deprivation, they were able to +appreciate the real value of the benefit of food, the Prophet imposed +upon them the "Sadaqat-ul-Fitr," the Alms of the Breaking of the Fast, +forcing the Faithful rich to give a share of their victuals to the +Faithful poor. + +[Sidenote: PROPERTY BESTOWED IN ALMS, AND THE PROHIBITION OF FERMENTED +LIQUOURS] + +Mohammad judged that the obligation of feeding the poor once a year, +the day after the fast, was insufficient. He completed his ruling by +instituting the "Zakat-ul-Mal," the bestowal of property in alms, +intended to safeguard the existence of pauper Mussulmans without +overburdening rich folks. + +This kind of almsgiving, being one of the five foundations of pratical +religion, is due upon all property and revenue whatsoever: gold, +silver, flocks, fruits, grain; and varies from a third to a tenth of +such resources. It should be bestowed with the greatest tact and +humility: + +"_O ye who believe! make not your alms void by reproach and injury, +like him who spendeth his substance to be seen of men. The likeness of +such an one is that of a rock with a thin soil upon it, on which a +heavy rain falleth, but leaveth it hard * And the likeness of those +who expend their substance from a desire to please Allah, and through +their own steadfastness, is as a garden on a hill, on which the heavy +rain falleth, and yieldeth its fruits twofold; and even if a heavy +rain fall not on it, yet there is a dew ... * If ye give your alms +openly, it is well; and if ye conceal them and give them to the poor, +this too will be of advantage to you ... * Those who know them not, +think them rich because of their modesty. By this their token thou +shall know them--they ask not of men with importunity: and whatever +good thing ye expend in alms, Allah verily taketh knowledge of it. * +Ye shall by no means attain to goodness till ye expend that which ye +love as alms. * But alms are only to be given to the poor and the +needy, and those who collect them, and to those whose hearts are won +to Islam, and for ransoming, and for debtors, and for the cause of +Allah, and the wayfarer. This is an ordinance from Allah._" (THE +QUR'AN, II, 266, 267, 275. III, 86. IX, 60.) By the foregoing verses, +was instituted the impost of the "Zakat-ul-Mal;" literally: "The +Purification," because it serves, as it were, to "purify" wealth and +excuse it. + +The Prophet foresaw the universal ravages of alcoholism, as deadly in +its effects as the worship of idols, and he forbade the use of +fermented liquors. He had first received this Revelation: "_They will +ask thee concerning vinous liquors ... Say: In them is great sin, and +advantage also, to men; but their sin is greater than their +advantage._" (THE QUR'AN, II, 216.) + +Many among the Faithful gave up these beverages, whilst others could +not bring it over their hearts to do so. A second Revelation brought +this caution: "_Come not to prayer when drunken, bid wait till ye can +understand what ye utter._" (THE QUR'AN, IV, 46.) + +Ali caused this announcement. Having drunk to excess just at the hour +of prayer, he recited: 'O ye Unbelievers ... we worship what ye +worship. Ye have no religion and I have no religion,' instead of +saying: "_O ye Unbelievers * I worship not what ye worship! * To you +your religion; and to me my religion._" (THE QUR'AN, CIX, 1, 2, 6.) + +Formal prohibition was finally decreed in these imperative verses: "_O +Believers! Wine and games of chance, and statues and the divining +arrows, are only an abomination of Satan's work! Avoid them, that ye +may prosper. * Only would Satan sow hatred and strife among you, by +wine and games of chance, and turn you aside from the remembrance of +Allah, and from prayer: will ye not, therefore, desist from them? Obey +Allah and obey the Apostle!_" (THE QUR'AN, V, 92, 93.) + +[Sidenote: AYISHAH IN THE HOUSE OF THE PROPHET] + +Ayishah, so kind, witty, and learned, was only the Prophet's wife in +name. About this time, she became a member of his household. + +Quoth Ayishah: "One day, surrounded by my companions, I was playing on +a swing. Umm-i-Rumman, my mother, called me. + +"I ran to her without knowing what she wanted of me. She took my hand, +and made me stop on the threshold until I had got my breath. She then +washed my face and forehead and led me into the house. Many women of +the Ansars were there and they said to me: 'Happiness do we wish thee, +and blessings, and the best of luck!' + +"My mother left me to the care of these women. They decked me out and +had scarcely finished when Allah's Apostle suddenly came in...." + +[Sidenote: HOSTILITY OF THE JEWS AND THE MUNAFIQIN] + +In the beginning, a certain number of Jews--and among them, the +learned Mukhariq and Abdullah ibn Salam, were so moved by the advances +and arguments of the Prophet that they came and were converted by him. + +As for the others, their vanity was greatly flattered by the fact that +the Temple of Solomon, their ancestor, had been chosen for the Qiblah, +or direction in which Moslems were to pray. Their pride, therefore, +led them to conclude that their Temple was immensely superior to that +of Makkah, and consequently that the Jewish race dominated the Arabs. + +When, following the orders of Allah, the Qiblah was changed from +Jerusalem to the Ka'bah, they were deeply mortified. Besides, they +soon found out how prejudicial to their interests was the coming of +Mohammad to Al-Madinah. Thanks to his efforts, fraternity reigned +among the Arab factions, whose feuds had hitherto been a source of +profit. The Prophet, whose advent was foreshadowed in their books and +on whom they founded great hopes, was born at last. They saw him in +their midst, but he did not belong to their race; he sprung from that +of Ishmael. Mohammad brought with him the pure light of Islam which +they sought to extinguish by every means in their power. + +Not venturing to rely on their own strength, they sought to embroil +the Arab townsmen and met with valuable assistance granted by a few +noblemen, whose prejudices were wounded by the principles of equality +of the Qur'an. They felt belittled at merely becoming the brothers of +those they scorned as being beneath them. + +These fresh adversaries, who were called "Munafiqin," or Hypocrites, +were particularly dangerous, for they mingled in the ranks of sincere +Mussulmans and, to all appearances, professed the same doctrines. In +this way, they wormed out secrets and sold them to Jews and idolaters. + +[Sidenote: AL-JAHAD (THE HOLY WAR), AND HOW IT WAS INSTITUTED] + +The Prophet began to feel the urgency of taking up arms for the +triumph of the faith, which could not be definitive until after the +conquest of Makkah where stood the Holy Temple of the Arabs. He had +received the Revelation of the warlike undertaking with orders to +unsheath the sword in his struggle against idolaters: "_And fight for +the cause of Allah against those who fight against you: but commit not +the injustice of attacking them first: verily Allah loveth not the +unjust: * And kill them wherever ye shall find them, and eject them +from whatever place they have ejected you..._" (THE QUR'AN, II, 186, +187.) + +Such were the ordinances of "Al-Jahad," "the Holy War" so violently +criticised by Christians. + +But did not Jesus--their Lord and ours--Himself declare: "Think not +that I am come to send peace on earth: I come not to send peace, but a +sword." (ST. MATTHEW, X, 34.) "I am come to send fire on the earth; +and what will I, if it be already kindled?" (ST. LUKE, XII, 49.) + +If the institution of the "Jahad," destined for the triumph of truth +over idolatry, stirred up strife among the families of Mohammad's +fellow-countrymen for a few years, did not the words of Jesus, still +more imperative in this connection, lead to much more terrible +consequences; lasting too, for centuries among all Christian nations? + +"For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the +daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her +mother-in-law." (ST. MATTHEW, X, 35.) "If any man come to me, and hate +not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and +sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." (ST. +LUKE, XIV, 26.) + +The "Jahad" was not instituted to attack the adversaries of religion +only; it was also proclaimed against those enemies, no less +perfidious, that lurk in every man's own heart. Quoth the Prophet: +"The most meritorious Holy war is that which one declares against +one's own "passions."" + +Mohammad and the Believers had been patient quite long enough. +Banished from the land of their birth after having endured pitiless +persecution, did they not have the right, relying on the Revealed +Verses, to resort to the force of arms? The site of Al-Madinah ensured +victory, for that city overlooked all the caravan routes to Syria, of +which the commerce formed the sole resource of Makkah, surrounded by +barren wastes. By stopping these caravans, the Prophet could starve +out the ungrateful town and force its citizens to beg for mercy. In +this way, the Apostle would not be compelled to kill too many of his +fellow-countrymen, whom he still loved despite their iniquity. He +wanted to spare them, hoping to win them over and induce them to +become steadfast supporters of religion. + +Thus began the long series of campaigns called "Ghazwah" when the +Prophet was personally in command; and "Saria," when one of his +lieutenants led the van. We shall only mention the most characteristic +of these innumerable expeditions; putting on one side the first minor +skirmishes and come at once to the famous Ghazwah of Badr. + +[Sidenote: THE GHAZWAH OF BADR (_Year of the Hegira, A.D. 624_)] + +A caravan of exceptional importance, comprising a thousand camels, had +been sent into Syria by the citizens of Makkah. It was to bring back +the most valuable and highly-prized merchandise. This was the +opportunity awaited by the Prophet. If he succeeded in capturing the +caravan, he would deal a ruinous blow at those who banished him and, +as he hoped, without useless bloodshed, for the escort of the convoy +numbered at most two score. These men could oppose no real resistance +and would be obliged to surrender without fighting. + +The Prophet arrived too late. The caravan had gone past. He made up +his mind to fall upon it by surprise during its return journey. One of +his partisans, posted by him to watch the roads, brought the news that +the caravan had been seen, and would soon be near Al-Madinah, +following the usual route, between the mountains and the sea. + +Thereupon, the Prophet summoned all the Believers, of any origin +whatsoever. The call was answered by more than three hundred men, all +desirous of inflicting exemplary punishment on the idolaters. +Seventy-three Mohadjirun joined the ranks and, for the first time, two +hundred and forty Ansars stood shoulder to shoulder with their +brothers in Islam. Seventy camels were gathered together to carry +water and food; and also to relieve men on foot who took it in turns +to ride. + +The expedition was poor in cavalry, possessing only four horses whose +names were Beraja, Al-Bahrmi, Yasum and Sail. They were led riderless +by the bridle, only to be used at some propitious moment during the +battle. The "Liwa," or white banner, was confided to Musab-al-Abdri, +and the flag of the Ansars was carried by Sad ibn Muaz. + +Unfortunately, the organisation of such a numerous "qawm" could not be +kept secret. The "Hypocrites" and the Banu Israil, watching every step +taken by Mohammad, found out what he was preparing and also his +destination. They send messengers to Abu Sufyan, the leader of the +caravan, to inform him of the threatening danger. He sent an Arab of +the Ghifar tribe, named Dhamdham, to beg for assistance and promised +him a rich reward if, thanks to his diligence, the convoy could be +saved. + +All the inhabitants of Makkah had contributed, more or less, to the +organisation of the great caravan; and, counting upon its approaching +return, they were already revelling in the fine profits that would +accrue to them. All day long, in groups, they wended their way to the +city gates, gazing, till their eyes ached, into the depths of the +valley following the road to Syria, hoping to catch sight of a +messenger. + +At last there came a day when a man, swaying to and fro, by reason of +the swift amble of his racing camel, appeared at the end of the +ravine, advancing towards them. When he was near enough to enable his +aspect and that of the animal to be made out, the stupefaction of the +Makkans was inconceivable. To show his despair, the man, who was no +other than Dhamdham, had rent his garments, turned his saddle round, +slit the nostrils and cut the ears of his camel. As soon as he was +near enough to make himself heard, weak from fatigue, gasping for +breath, he cried out: 'Woe unto you, O men of the Quraish! Your +caravan--your caravan!...' + +In great anxiety, the Quraish gathered round him, besieging him with +questions; and when he could breathe freely, he described the perilous +plight of their caravan. Their fury broke loose. Just when they were +on the point of fulfilling their most dazzling hopes, this man +Mohammad, of whom they thought they had rid themselves for ever, +threatened them with ruin! + +An urgent council, called together hastily, decided that there was not +a moment to lose. To prevent such a catastrophe, every one, rich or +poor, was ready to sacrifice riches and life. An army was immediately +raised, composed of nine hundred and fifty men, having at their +disposal one hundred horses and seven hundred camels. The idolatrous +troops marched out of the town amidst frenzied cheers; groups of young +singing-girls, each as dazzling as the sun; their faces radiant; their +eyes sparkling; their garb of the brightest hues, glittering with gold +and precious stones, headed the warriors. These girls shouted bitter +mockery against the Mussulmans; or recited epic poems, accompanying +their rhymes with the thumping of tabors, causing the hearts of their +lovers to palpitate with burning ardour. + +What spurred them on even better were the suggestions of Iblis (Satan) +who, lurking in the recesses of their souls, filled the Unbelievers +with dreams of victory and vengeance, although ready to desert his +victims shamelessly in case Allah should exert His Might in favour of +their adversaries. + +"_The Evil One had already bewitched them by exaggerated praise of +their actions; and furthermore had said: 'No man shall conquer you +this day; and verily I will be near to help you._'" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, +50) + +The Prophet had no idea of his enemies' preparations. After having +laid in a stock of water at Al-Rouha, he halted near the village of +Safra; pitched his tents in the valley of Zufran, and sent out two +scouts, Bisbas and Adi, to seek for information. + +At early morn, the following day, he took to the road again, halting a +few miles away from the wells of Badr. The two scouts, guessing that +the caravan was heading towards this important spot for replenishing +water supplies, reached there by having urged on their camels +unmercifully. On arriving, they met two Bedouin women who were +quarrelling loudly, while they filled their goat-skins. With insulting +remarks, one claimed the repayment of a loan, and the woman in debt +replied: 'Have patience until to-morrow or the day after, for by then +the great caravan will have come back and thereby I shall have earned +enough to settle with thee.'--'She is right,' broke in An Najd, chief +of the Juhinna tribe, who happened to be at the well. 'They tell me +that the caravan will certainly be here to-morrow or the next day.' + +Having got to know all they wanted, Bisbas and Adi watered their +animals and rode back in all haste to bring the news to the Prophet, +well pleased to see that things had turned out exactly as he foresaw. + +A few minutes later, however, he was rejoined by one of his partisans +in his pay at Makkah. This friend brought bad news: the expedition of +the idol-worshippers was coming by forced marches to the succour of +Abu Sufyan. These tidings caused Mohammad the greatest anxiety: the +ardour of the Mussulmans, who had set out to attack a caravan defended +by a weak escort, might perhaps be damped upon finding themselves +faced by superior forces? He did not intend to hide the gravity of the +situation, but calling the head-men together, he laid the information +before them, and asked where they thought it would be best to make +their effort. + +They were submerged by a great wave of vacillation. It must be +confessed that the irresistible bait of booty added great charm to a +wish to inflict punishment on the idolaters. Under the necessity of +coming to a decision, some of them objected: 'Dost thou lead us to be +slaughtered?' They were severely blamed for speaking thus. "_And +remember when Allah promised you that one of the two troops should +fall to you, and ye desired that they who had no arms should fall to +you._" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 7.) + +Then uprose Mikdad, protesting stoutly: 'O Prophet! go without +hesitation whither thou art ordered. By Allah! we'll not tell thee as +the Banu Israil told Moses: "Go fight by the side of the Lord and +we'll await thy return here!" On the contrary, we say to thee: "Go +fight by the side of thy Lord and thou wilt find us with thee, always +and everywhere."' + +The Prophet called down divine blessings on the head of his courageous +disciple; and then added: 'Reflect, O my partisans!' He then turned +towards the Ansars who might not have considered themselves bound by +the oath of the Aqbah to do anything else than to protect him so long +as he dwelt in their town. + +But Sad ibn Muaz rose to his feet, pained to have to think that the +devotion of the Ansars could be doubted, if only for a moment. 'Our +confidence in thee is unlimited. We have given thee our word,' he +exclaimed. 'Go where thou art ordered and I swear by Him who sendeth +thee to bring about the triumph of truth, that shouldst thou ask us to +jump in the sea, we would leap with thee!' + +This declaration freed the Prophet from the anxiety that weighed him +down, and which had prevented him from having recourse to the Ansars +in preceding expeditions. His features were radiant with inspired, +grateful emotion; and fixing his eyes on a vision that he alone was +privileged to see: 'Rejoice, O men of my "qawm!" he cried. 'I look +upon warriors fighting, and the enemy's troops are routed!' There was +not a man but what understood that soon the battle would rage and all +made preparations with admirable confidence. + +As for Abu Sufyan, ever since he had been warned that the Mussulmans +were on the march, he was constantly on the look-out. He accelerated +the speed of the caravan and, going on in front himself, arrived at +Badr soon after the Prophet's scouts. He questioned An Najd who had +not yet left the well. 'Hath no prowler been seen about here?'--'I +only saw two camels, each ridden by a man; and they watered their +animals.' + +Abu Sufyan hastened to the spot where the traces could still be seen, +showing where the camels had knelt whilst their masters drew water +from the well. He found fresh droppings, and, crumbling some in his +fingers, picked out many date-kernels. 'By our gods! these camels hail +from Al-Madinah, and the enemy is not far off!' he thought, knowing +that in all the country round, only the camels of Al-Madinah were fed +on soaked kernels of dates. + +Therefore, changing the direction of the caravan at once so as to +leave the Badr well on one side, he turned off the direct road and +took a westerly route along the sea-shore. He was thus able to escape +from the soldiers of Islam; and when he was safe, sent another +messenger to the Quraish, to inform them of what he had done, advising +them to return to Makkah, as he no longer desired their aid. + +'Nothing of the kind!' exclaimed their chief, Abu Jahal, carried away +by hatred. 'Let us push on to the well of Badr. We'll camp there three +days and three nights, passing the time in joyous revels, slaughtering +cattle, enjoying the meat, and drinking our fill of wine. Every year a +fair is held there, lasting a week, attracting Arabs from far and +near. When they hear of our expedition to that spot, the echo of the +news will have a great effect, inspiring all with salutary fear of our +power!' + +Puffed up with pride by reason of this speech, so flattering to their +vanity, and allured by the festivals and liquors in store for them, +the idolaters approved their chieftain's plan and continued on the +march to Badr. + +The Believers bent their steps towards the same goal, not knowing +whether they would meet the caravan, the Quraish army, or both united. +In order to find out, Mohammad sent Ali and Zubayr as scouts. They +caught two young men seeking for a well from which to fill their empty +goat-skins, strapped to their shoulders. They were made prisoners and +taken to the camp to be interrogated, but as the Prophet was at his +devotions, the scouts questioned the lads. 'We were looking for water +for the Quraish army,' the two captives confessed. + +The Quraish forces, therefore, were already in these parts? This +seemed most unlikely, for the scouts did not know the strength of the +enemy in camels and horses, and considered the prisoners' avowal to be +a falsehood. So they fell to brutally beating the young idolaters. +'Think not that ye can hoodwink us with your lies,' said Ali and +Zubayr. 'We know perfectly well that ye belong to the caravan of Abu +Sufyan.' + +Again they rained blows on the boys. To escape such unjust +chastisement, and also to keep the Mussulmans in this state of error +so profitable to Abu Jahal's plans, because it prevented Mohammad's +men from suspecting how close their enemies were to them, the +prisoners began to supplicate their tormentors. 'Mercy, my lords! +Verily nothing escapeth your sharp sight! Yea, we confess it--we +belong to Abu Sufyan's caravan.' + +Proud of their perspicacity and content with having obtained this +avowal, Ali and Zubayr set them free. Meanwhile the Prophet had +finished praying, and as he knew how to read men's minds, he upbraided +his disciples. 'What is all this? When your prisoners tell you the +truth, ye beat them, and now they lie and ye set them free?' He +continued the examination. 'Where are the Quraish?'--'On the other +side of that high hill of sand.'--'How many are they?'--'We know +not.'--'How many camels do they slaughter daily?'--'Nine or +ten.'--'Oho? they number from nine hundred to a thousand,' said +Mohammad to himself. 'Who is at their head?' The prisoners quoted the +names of the most noted men of the city, and the Prophet, shaking his +head sadly, turned to his companions, saying: 'Of a truth, Makkah +sends against us the best part of its liver!' (Meaning its best +beloved children.) + +Nevertheless, the die was cast. The Mussulmans, who had set out to +fall on a caravan protected by a puny escort, found themselves facing +a force at least three times greater than theirs, and assisted by +formidable cavalry. At all costs, the well of Badr must be reached +before the enemy. The Believers began their march again and attained +the borders of the Wadi Superior which they found quite dry. Their +supply of water was exhausted, and next day they suffered terribly +from thirst. Satan tried to exploit these pangs by filling their +brains with most depressing thoughts. 'See where you are led by the +man who pretendeth to be the messenger of the Almighty! Ye are +surrounded by countless enemies, only waiting till your strength be +broken by the agonies of thirst. They will then attack you and ye will +be defenceless and an easy quarry.' + +Every brain was bewildered. Luckily, their training during the fast of +Ramadhan had accustomed the Believers to endure the torments of thirst +and prevented them from breaking down. At the very moment when the +heat, concentrated in the lofty heights of the Wadi, was on the point +of making their position untenable, great clouds crowned the high +peaks. The sombre veils darkening the sun were torn aside, and Allah +let loose beneficial showers to drench His faithful servants. The +Wadi, only just before filled with stones and sand, was transformed +into a raging torrent. + +The Believers were able to quench their thirst, and they dug holes all +along the Wadi that was at once filled by the swelling of the waters. +They washed their clothing, heavy with sweat, and performed their +ablutions. Last, but not least, the shifting sands that rendered their +advance so difficult, grew solid by the damp, and made the ground firm +beneath their feet. "_He sent down upon you water from Heaven that He +might thereby cleanse you, and cause the pollution of Satan to pass +from you, and that He might gird up your hearts, and stablish your +feet by it._" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 11.) + +For the idolaters, the storm was most disastrous. It overtook them in +soil known as "Sabkha," signifying low-lying clay mixed with salt, +churned by wet into greasy, sticky mud. Their camels slipped up and +fell, their long legs comically gliding backwards, powerless to rise +without the help of their drivers. Horses floundered, their hoofs +sinking in the mire and, unable to find foothold, dropped back on +their riders. The confusion and tumult cannot be described, and the +efforts of the Unbelievers, to extricate themselves, hampered their +advance and exhausted them by fatigue. + +The Believers, being cleansed, purified and refreshed, passed the +night in invigorating sleep. They did not even take the trouble to +post sentinels, relying blindly on the words of the Prophet who +assured them that the angels would guard the camp. He alone remained +wakeful, absorbed in prayer. "_Recollect when sleep, a sign of +security from him, fell upon you._" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 11.) + +The hour arrived when the fate of Islam was to be decided. It was on a +Friday, the seventeenth day of the month of Ramadhan. + +[Illustration: _Believers perceiving the New Moon of the Month of +Ramadhan._] + +Hubbab-ul-Ansari, renowned for his sage counsels, craved permission to +be heard, 'O Prophet!' said he; hath the spot where we are now +encamped been pointed out by a Revelation, and therefore we are +forbidden to go forward or retreat? Or are we free to discuss the +choice of ground befitting warlike strategy?'--'No Revelation hath +imposed this place upon me. Speak freely and explain any stratagem +that thou dost judge the most advantageous.'--'In that case, strike +the tents,' Hubbab rejoined, 'and with our troops, go down the channel +of the Wadi and fill up every well we pass until arriving at the last. +There thou must dig a reservoir that will fill itself with all the +water running under the sand, whilst the wells higher up, which we +shall have choked, will have run completely dry. I know the strength +and direction of the stream. Thanks to this reservoir, our warriors, +during the battle, will be able to refresh their burning throats or +relieve their sufferings if wounded, but our adversaries will not find +anywhere in the surrounding country a single drop of water wherewith +to slake their thirst.' + +This piece of advice seemed reasonable to the Prophet, who carried out +Hubbab's idea to the letter, and so fixed the future battlefield, for +the Unbelievers would be forced to come and try to wrest from him the +only spot where water was to be found. + +Then Sad ibn Muaz spoke: 'O Prophet! allow us to build for thee an +"arish" (shelter from the sun's rays) on this hill, from which thou +wilt be able to watch every move in the fighting. Near thee, thy +she-camel shall be hobbled, and we will gallop into the enemy's midst. +Should Allah grant us victory, thine eyes will be gladdened by the +sight of our valour in defending the faith. Should fate be against us, +thou wilt have naught else to do than to climb into the saddle and +rejoin our rearguards, as devoted to thee as we are, and who will +cover thy retreat.' The Prophet accepted, adding: 'Allah will reward +you all by rendering assistance more efficacious than anything ye can +imagine.' + +The Believers cut down twigs of "araq" which they wattled, and so set +up a shelter thatched with sheaves of "surfah". Mohammad retired +therein in company with Abu Bakr, and when the advanced groups of +enemy horsemen made their appearance, wheeling about defiantly before +his eyes: 'O Allah!' he exclaimed, 'so there are the Quraish at last; +urged on by monstrous pride to brave Thee and call Thy Messenger a +liar!' + +The enemy was assembled. After their efforts of the preceding day to +extricate themselves from the briny mud of the "Sabkah," they had +awakened with their throats afire; the storm, over too soon, not +having filled any of the "ghadirs" and the wells of the Wadi having +been choked up, the idolaters had not been able to find the least drop +of water to allay the thirst that began to torture them. It was not to +be wondered at, therefore, that the sight of the sheet of water +sparkling in the reservoir dug by the Believers and which reflected +the sun's rays, blinding their eyes, should increase the fury of their +revengeful feelings. + +Some of the horsemen, reckoning on the speed of their steeds, dashed +recklessly forward, hoping to reach the tempting liquid. The Prophet +ordered his archers to let the mounted men get quite near, and when +they were well within range, to riddle them with showers of arrows. +All rolled on the ground, mortally wounded, with the exception of one +rider, called Hakim. + +Al Asad al Makhzumi, another idolater, instead of being discouraged by +the result of this first attempt, felt his blood boiling in his veins +and shouted loudly enough to be heard by both parties: 'By our gods! +by Lat and Uzza! I swear to slake my thirst in the cistern of +Mohammad's "qawm." Then I'll demolish it and only death can stop me!' + +He dashed forward, brimming over with arrogance. Hamzah went to meet +him and, with a blow from his scimitar, sliced off one of his legs and +sent it flying. Al Asad fell backwards, turned himself over, and +hopping with surprising agility on both hands and his sound leg, tried +to make his way to the reservoir and keep his oath. But Hamzah was +there to meet him and finished him off just as he reached the goal. + +Three champions came forward from among the ranks of the Unbelievers +to challenge the Believers to single combat, and they were Utbah with +his son, Al Walid, and his brother, Shaibah. Hamzah, Ali, and Obaidah +were chosen by the Prophet to oppose them. Stalwart Hamzah and +impetuous Ali soon rid themselves of their adversaries, stretching +them bleeding and lifeless on the sand, but Obaidah and Utbah had no +sooner crossed swords than they both wounded each other grievously. + +Obaidah, one leg so deeply gashed that the marrow dripped from the +bone, was on his back, at his enemy's mercy, when Ali and Hamzah came +to the rescue and freed him by killing Utbah. They then lifted up +their wounded comrade and carried him to the Prophet, who supported +his head lovingly on his knee, consoling him by the glad tidings of +the reward awaiting him in Paradise. Obaidah soon breathed his last +sigh and was thus the first martyr struck down in the Holy War. + +After these single combats causing the hearts of all the lookers-on to +palpitate with warlike ardour, the shock of the forces could no longer +be postponed. The Prophet had drawn up his warriors in line, shoulder +to shoulder, in serried ranks, like stone blocks cemented to form a +wall, and it was all he could do to restrain the impatience of many +who, outstripping their brothers-in-arms, would have run to face +certain and useless slaughter. + +Such an one, Sad ibn Quzai, was far in advance of the post assigned to +him. So as to make him take his proper place, Mohammad struck him on +the breast with the shaft of an arrow he held in his hand. 'Thou didst +hurt me, O prophet!' cried Sad. 'As a messenger from Allah, sent to +bring about the triumph of Right and Justice, thou dost owe me +reparation on thine own body.'--'Satisfy thyself!'--'Thou art clothed, +whereas my flesh was naked.' The Prophet laid bare his breast, saying: +'Give me as good as I gave, O Sad!' + +Profiting by the permission, Sad threw himself on Mohammad, took him +in his arms and pressed his lips to his body. 'Why do thou this +thing?' asked the Prophet.--'O Messenger of Allah! death faceth me and +I desired that for my last farewell, my flesh should touch thy flesh!' + +Moved by such fierce devotion, Mohammad called down the blessing of +the Most High on Sad. Then, having ordered his men to wait without +flinching for the enemy's attack, he went back with Abu Bakr to the +_arish_, of which the entrance was guarded by Sad ibn Muaz, sword in +hand. The Prophet prayed: 'O Allah, remember Thy promise! If this day, +Thou dost let the army of the soldiers of the faith be exterminated, +no one will be left on earth to adore Thee!' + +Uneasy at the great disparity of numbers, Mohammad renewed his +supplicating prostrations. His mantle slipped from his shoulders. Abu +Bakr picked it up and threw it over him again, saying: 'Rest easy, O +Prophet! Allah will surely do what He promised!' + +Overwrought by excess of fatigue and anxiety, the Prophet lost his +senses, and his eyes closed for a second, only to reopen almost +immediately. A smile lit up his features. 'Good news, O Abu Bakr!' he +cried. 'The angel Jibra'il flieth to our assistance. I see the sand +rising in a whirlwind under his horse's hoofs! + +Leaving the "arish" abruptly, he called out to his army: 'Our enemies +are routed! Already I see their backs turned in wild flight! I swear +by Him who holdeth Mohammad's soul in the hollow of His hand, that any +Believer killing a foe hath the right to his spoils; and any Believer +killed face to the enemy will be immediately welcomed by Allah in the +gardens of Paradise.' + +Amir ibn Hammam, listening to these promises, held a handful of dates, +and was about to lift them to his mouth, when he threw them on the +ground with a sudden gesture of disdain, and shouted in tones of +joyous exaltation: 'Bakhr! Bakhr! Considering that between me and my +entry into Paradise there is only the slight barrier of death at the +hands of the men over there'. Without finishing the sentence, he drew +his sword and fell on the idolaters, digging a bloody road through +their ranks, until be succumbed outnumbered. + +Another among the Faithful having heard the Prophet declare that Allah +would consider the martyr fighting with no armour than that of his +faith to be more deserving than any, threw off his breastplate and +followed Amir's footsteps until he, too, fell cut to pieces, but not +until he had sent many Unbelievers to the infernal regions. + +From that moment, it was impossible to restrain the Believers. The +Apostle scraped up a handful of dust, throwing it in the direction of +the Quraish. 'May their faces be covered with confusion!' he cried. +'Forward! O Believers! Forward!' + +The Faithful, like a human hurricane, threw themselves on the +Unbelievers and frightful noises rent the air. The clashing of +weapons, cries of despair and triumph, reverberating again and again +by reason of the echoes of the valley, were accompanied by a strange +uproar, sounding jerkily, like the beating a of a drum. + +Quoth an Arab idolater of the Banu Ghifar: "I went with one of my +cousins to the top of a hill overlooking the battlefield, so as to +find out which side was victorious, meaning to join the conquerors and +plunder the vanquished. + +"All of a sudden, at the very moment when the warriors of Islam +attacked, I saw rising up behind them, from the depths of the valley, +a great pillar of sand approaching with marvellous velocity. In its +tawny spirals that threatened the clouds, fantastic and terrifying +visions appeared and faded. It was like a gigantic combat of the Earth +rebelling against the Heavens! + +"Sounds quite as strange escaped from the whirlwind, freezing my blood +with horror. There was the neighing and trampling of galloping steeds; +the beating of great wings; the roll of loud drums and, dominating the +tumult, an imperious voice shouting: 'Forward, Haizum!' + +"In less than the twinkling of an eye, the whirlwind overtook the +Believers, falling with them on to the ranks of the idol-worshippers. +It soon reached us as well, smothering us in its yellow darkness. I +lost sight of my companion, and was nigh fainting with fear. Powerful +gusts of wind drove me hither and thither, and I had to cling to +projecting rocks so as not to be swept away like a wisp of straw. My +ears were deafened by atrocious clamours. The curses and the groans of +the wounded; the blasphemy of the vanquished, mingled now with the +rumbling of thunder. In the yellow, foggy obscurity, flashes of +lightning gleamed; swords and spears glittered. + +"At last, when the whirlwind passed away, I saw my comrade prone on +the ground, his breast torn open, showing the membrane of his heart +and, like trees uprooted by a hurricane, countless dead bodies strewed +the bed of the Wadi; and in the distance, lit up by a ray of sunlight, +the soldiers of Islam pursued the enemy in flight." + +This whirlwind was the track of Jibra'il riding his horse, Haizum, +that Mohammad had seen at the head of three thousand angels flying to +his aid. The whirlwind of sand, uplifted by the tempestuous wind, +allied itself to the human whirlwind swept along by the stormy breeze +of faith and both, at one bound, rushed upon Allah's foes. The shock +was irresistible. The furious billows of the raging sands struck the +idolaters straight in the face, blistering the flesh, filling mouths +and nostrils, blinding eyes, so that they knew not where to strike, +nor where to turn to defend themselves. + +The Believers, on the contrary, felt their impetuosity increased by +the pushing of the hurricane, and their eyes, freely open, enabled +them to avoid their adversaries' attack, and cut them down to a +certainty. Better still: unknown, supernatural strength increased the +strength of their arms tenfold, to such an extent that they fancied +they struck at empty air, because they felt no resistance to the +impact of their weapons. "Scarcely did I threaten a head with the edge +of my blade," one of the conquerors narrated later, "than I saw it fly +off my adversary's shoulders and roll on the ground, even before my +weapon touched it." "_So it was not ye who slew them, but Allah slew +them._" (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 17). Seventy idolaters bit the dust; and, +among them, all the conspirators who tried to assassinate the Prophet +at Makkah. Twenty-four of the dead belonged to the highest +aristocracy: Utbah, Al Walid, Shaibah, Umaiyah ibn Khalaf, Abu +Bukhtari, Hanzalah, Abu Sufyan's son, etc., and, most important of +all, the chief of the expedition, the famous Abu Jahal. + +Knowing that the latter was the life and soul of the plots weaved +against the Prophet, the Faithful sought for the arch-conspirator +everywhere in the fight. One of them, Muaz ibn Amr, having succeeded +in falling across him, pierced his thigh with a furious lunge. +Ikrimah, Abu Jahal's son, rushed to his father's assistance and, with +a scimitar, avenged him by hacking the left arm of Muaz. It hung from +his shoulder by a strip of flesh. His movements hampered by the +useless, swinging limb, Muaz stooped, and placing his foot on it, tore +it off by roughly standing erect again. He threw it far from him and +went on fighting. + +Two young Ansars, sons of Afrah, coming to the rescue, dragged Abu +Jahal out of the saddle and left him for dead, riddled with wounds. + +The Prophet's mind was more engrossed with the fate of Abu Jahal than +with that of any other of his foes. Ibn-i-Masud went out to search, +and found him at last, in the midst of a pile of corpses. The chief of +the idolaters was still breathing. Ibn-i-Masud placed his foot on the +dying man's neck, even as one stamps on a viper, but just as he leant +over, Abu Jahal, to brave him, seized him by the beard, and gazing at +his conqueror, with a mad look of impotent rage, he shouted, the +death-rattle sounding in his throat: 'Hast ever seen such a noble +fellow as I, murdered by such vile ploughmen?' + +To put an end to the infidel's insults, Ibn-i-Masud cut off his head +and brought it to the Prophet. At the sight of the blood-stained face +of his enemy, Mohammad exclaimed: 'Verily, this man was the detestable +Pharaoh of his nation!' + +Corpses soon became decomposed, exposed to the sun's torrid rays; the +tumefied faces of the dead took on the colour of pitch. This +phenomenon proved to the Believers that the infidels had been struck +down by celestial warriors, for were they not already carbonised by +the flames of hell? Mohammad scoured the whole of the battlefield, +ordering all the dead bodies he came across to be buried at once, no +matter of which creed. Huzaifah, one of the early Islamic adepts, +accompanying Mohammad, suddenly came upon the remains of Utbah ibn +Rabiyah, his father. The son's features became distorted and blanched +with mortal pallor. 'Hast thy father's death shattered thy soul?' +asked the Prophet.--'No, by Allah! but I knew my father was endowed +with intelligence, goodness and generosity. I had hopes that he would +have trodden the path of salvation. His death depriveth me of that +hope. Hence my grief!' + +The Prophet, impressed by the reply of this stoical Mussulman, called +down the blessings of the Lord on his head. Mohammad then had his +she-camel led to him and, mounting, rode to a dried-up well in which +he ordered twenty-four of his best-known enemies to be buried. He +stopped his she-camel in front of the mouth of this well and called on +the dead by name: + +'O such an one, son of such an one! And thou, such an one, son of such +an one! Would ye not have preferred this day to have obeyed Allah and +His Messenger? Of a surety, we have found that which Our Lord promised +us; but you--have ye found that which your divinities promised +you?--'O Apostle!' said Ura, 'why dost thou speak to soulless +bodies?'--'By Him who holdeth in His hands the soul of Mohammad!' he +replied, 'I swear that thou dost not hear my words as distinctly as +they!' + +By this he meant to inform Ura that these infidels, now dwelling in +hell, were compelled to acknowledge the truth of words that he had +ofttimes repeated to them when they were in the land of the living. +Thus does a "hadis" of Ayishah explain this scene, for it is said in +the Qur'an: "_Verily then, thou canst make the dead to bear._" (XXX, +51). The Believers only lost fourteen men, six Mohadjirun and eight +Ansars, winning eternal glory as the first fallen in the Holy War. + +[Sidenote: THE SOJOURN AT BADR AND THE RETURN TO AL-MADINAH] + +The Prophet remained three days on the field of battle to bury the +dead and gather together the booty which he left to be guarded by the +family of the Najjar. He then got ready to go back to Al-Madinah. + +Two couriers, Zayd, his adopted son, and Ibn-i-Ruhah, sent on to carry +the glad tidings, reached there before him. They arrived at the moment +when the situation of the Believers in the city was becoming critical. +Gravediggers had not finished cleansing their hands from the earth +with which they had just covered the last resting-place of Roghaid, +Mohammad's daughter, married to Usman. She had been carried off by +painful illness. "Hypocrites" and Jews put the most alarming rumours +in circulation concerning the Prophet's fate and they were getting +ready to attack his supporters.... + +The good news spread all over the town with lightning-like rapidity; +causing confusion in the haunts of "Hypocrites" and Jews; reassuring +the Faithful and causing great enthusiasm in their ranks. All of +them--a vast crowd of men, women and children--went forth to acclaim +the conqueror, the procession marching to the cadence of drums. They +sang in chorus the chant with which he had been welcomed when he first +arrived: "The full moon hath risen above our head--Emerging from the +Sanniyat-ul-Wida;--Numerous are the thanksgivings we must offer up to +Allah--With the purest fervour of our supplications.--O thou His +Messenger among us--The orders thou dost bring us shall be piously +executed!" + +Ever since this battle, for ever memorable, which by its results +eventually changed the whole face of the world, although only fought +out by a small number of men, the Wadi of Badr is visited yearly by +thousands of pilgrims. + +It is written by the traveller Abul Hosain ibn Zubair. "A small +market-town, surrounded by ramparts, stands now upon its site ... What +was once the well where the Unbelievers were buried, is now a clump of +palm-trees, and a little farther off are the tombs of the martyrs. + +"To the left of the road leading from Safra, is the Mountain of +Mercy--Ar Rahman--by which the Angels descended from Heaven. + +"The "arish," the shelter where Mohammad stood, is said to have been +erected on the slope of a sandhill, called Jabl-ul-Tabl, the Mountain +of the Drum, because the roll of supernatural drums is frequently +heard there by pilgrims; this mysterious martial music celebrating the +remembrance of the first victory of Islam." + +There were as many prisoners as dead: three score and ten, mostly +belonging to the best families among the idolaters. + +Two of them, Aqbah and An Nazir, whose insults to the Prophet were +beyond all measure, suffered the death penalty after condemnation. + +Abbas, Mohammad's uncle, compelled by his pecuniary interests to +remain behind in Makkah, had not yet made up his mind to embrace the +Islamic faith. He had gone to the aid of the caravan in danger, and +was taken prisoner. His commanding stature and bodily vigour stood him +not in good stead, for he was captured by the weakest warrior among +the Ansars and remained petrified with surprise. The ropes that bound +him cut cruelly into his flesh. He sighed heavily in pain. One of the +Faithful, recollecting the captive's handsome behaviour and that he +was a relative of the Prophet, loosened his bonds most charitably. +Hearing of this and not admitting that a member of his family should +be favoured, Mohammad ordered the bonds of all the other prisoners to +be loosened in the same way. + +It now remained to decide the fate of the captives. Abu Bakr, +pretexting the ties of blood uniting victors and vanquished, was of +opinion that a ransom should be accepted. Fierce Umar, recalling the +fact that all the prisoners had made themselves conspicuous by their +persecution of the Mussulmans and were responsible for the Prophet's +banishment, proposed that they should be pitilessly exterminated. Both +opinions rallied an equal number of partisans. + +The Prophet sided with Abu Bakr. He gave orders to respect luckless +valour and to treat the captives with the greatest humanity. He caused +them to be freed from their bonds and had them guarded by all the +Mussulmans in turn who, faithfully obeying his commands, deprived +themselves of bread in favour of their prisoners; the Believers being +content with dried dates. + +The ransom was fixed according to each prisoner's wealth. Abbas, +Mohammad's uncle, had to give the largest amount; the others were +liberated without paying anything. Nevertheless, Mohammad required +that before being set free, each captive knowing how to read and +write, should give lessons to two children of the Ansars. + +Among the prisoners was Abul' As ibn Rabiyah, a rich man in high +repute. He had married Zainab, the daughter of the Prophet, before the +Revelation, and was still an idolater. For the ransom of her husband, +Zainab sent from Makkah a sum of money and a necklace, a wedding-gift +from her mother Khadijah. The Prophet, recognising this piece of +jewellery which he had ofttimes seen round the neck of his beloved and +regretted Khadijah, was unable to repress his emotion and put this +question to his disciples: 'If ye do not oppose me, I will send her +husband back to Zainab, and renounce all claims to ransom.' No +objection being raised, Mohammad told his prisoner that he was free. +'But only on one condition. Restore my daughter to my arms, for a +woman of the Mussulmans cannot remain in the power of an idolater.' +The captive accepted most reluctantly, and as soon as he was again in +Makkah, he kept his word. + +The Quraish, however, hearing of Zainab's departure, started off in +pursuit of her, and one of them, Hibar, struck her so brutally with +the shaft of his spear, that he threw her out of her "hawdaj," (a kind +of litter), and she dropped from the back of her camel to the ground. +Shortly after her arrival at Al-Madinah, the poor woman, not having +recovered from her fall, and being pregnant, died from the effects of +the ill-treatment she had thus undergone. + +Under the influence of grief and despair, the Prophet gave orders that +anyone putting his hand on the villain Hibar was to burn him alive. +But it was not long before Mohammad cancelled this cruel command, +declaring: 'The Master of the Worlds alone hath the right to inflict +the torture of Fire!' This was in allusion to the flames of Hell. + +As for Abul'As, retaken by the Mussulmans while conducting a caravan +back from Syria-, he was again liberated by the Prophet and became a +convert to Islam. + +Mohammad thus let no opportunity escape to prove his generosity to the +prisoners, his own fellow-countrymen. The Prophet's clemency resulted +immediately in the conversion of no small number of Makkans, +marvelling at the tales told by the captives who, upon regaining the +bosom of their families, bore witness to the kindness with which they +had been treated. + +Perhaps the fact of such compassion towards the enemies of Islam +constituted peril in the future? So said a Revelation to the Prophet, +blaming him at the same time. Mohammad was overwhelmed with profound +sadness, at the thought that his generosity would cause the death of +many Believers, as he dared not hope that goodness would sweep away +all feeling of enmity. + +As soon as the victory was won, the division of the booty was near to +causing serious quarrels among the Faithful. Each man desired to keep +to himself all he had plundered. Those who had fought without thinking +of stripping the dead, put in a claim, saying to their comrades who +wanted to keep that which they had taken: 'Had it not been for us, ye +would have been unable to seize any booty at all.' Finally, the men of +the rear-guard also complained: 'If we had not considered the +Prophet's safety above all things, we should have fought with you and +pillaged as ye did.' The debate seemed to be turning out badly when a +Revelation put an end to the dispute: "_They will question Thee about +the spoils. Say: The spoils are Allah's and The Apostle's._" (THE +QUR'AN, VIII, 1.) + +Back again in Al-Madinah, Mohammad divided the booty with the most +scrupulous fairness, and gave out that not only the rearguard should +receive their share, but also a few of the Faithful who had remained +in the city to uphold the cause of Islam during the absence of their +chief. + +Thus did Mohammad succeed in contenting everybody. So far as he was +concerned, he only took the same share as a common soldier; but it was +settled that in future the fifth part of the booty "_should belong to +Allah and to the Apostle and to the near of kin and to orphans, and to +the poor and to the wayfarer_." (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 42.) + +The Makkans were joyfully celebrating the return of the great caravan +that had caused them such immense anxiety, when the remains of the +routed army began to straggle back. + +At first, the citizens refused to believe such dire disaster, so great +had been their confidence in the superiority of the numbers and +equipment of their soldiers. The fugitives were considered to be +cowards deserting before the battle had begun. + +But when doubt was no longer possible, profound consternation overtook +Allah's enemies. The fury of Abu Lahab, the real organiser of the +expedition, was inconceivable. In his presence, one of the fugitives +told of the miracles he had witnessed and which, in his opinion, were +an excuse for the defeat. 'The Mussulmans, assuredly, were granted +supernatural succour, for I saw, with my own eyes, in the whirling +tempest, many warriors gifted with superhuman strength, wearing white +tunics, mounted on dapple-grey horses, and fighting side by side with +our enemies.'--'By Allah! verily, they were angels!' exclaimed one of +those present, Abu Rafiah, a servant of Abbas, Mohammad's uncle. + +Abu Lahab, enraged at the impression of terror produced by this story +and the remarks that had followed, hurled himself on Abu-Rafiah, threw +him down and beat him unmercifully in the most savage fashion. 'Art +thou not ashamed thus to profit by the master's absence to strike his +serving-man?' the wife of Abbas, revolted at the sight, shouted to Abu +Lahab. Catching up a spear, she struck him in the face with it, and +drew blood. The punishment was so well deserved that no one protested. +Abu Lahab, humiliated in the eyes of all, hastened to hide his shame +and rage in the most secluded part of his dwelling. Not being in the +best of health just then, he could not master the exasperation he +felt. His blood was turned; the whole of his body broke out in reddish +pustules, known as "adsah", and he was carried off in less than a +week. + +As for Abu Sufyan and his wife, Hind, in despair at the death of their +son, Hanzalah, and debased by the defeat, they showed themselves +conspicuously as being athirst for vengeance. Abu Sufyan exercised his +authority by prohibiting all show of grief. 'Weep not for your dead,' +he proclaimed. 'Do not give way to the usual funereal lamentations. +Let poets be careful not to compose elegies. O Makkans! avoid causing +the joy of our foes by the sight of your sadness. Let only one thought +absorb your minds--that of vengeance!' + +He took a solemn oath to abstain from going near his wife or making +use of his perfumes until the day when striking revenge should bring +balm to his heart. + +The effect of the Prophet's victory spread far and wide among all the +tribes of Arabia. The tidings crossed the seas; the Prophet having +despatched an emissary to the Najashi of Abyssinia, to announce the +result of the battle and to inform all the Believers, who had taken +refuge at this monarch's court, that they would be in safety behind +the walls of Al-Madinah, at Mohammad's side. + +[Illustration: Calligraphy (end chapter 5) _Believers! when ye +confront a troop, stand firm and make frequent mention of the name of +Allah; haply it shall fare well with you._] + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE SIXTH] + +[Illustration: _"As Sidjah", or Prostration._] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And be not faint-hearted, and be not +sorrowful; For ye shall gain the upper hand if ye be believers._] + + +CHAPTER THE SIXTH + + +[Sidenote: ALI'S MARRIAGE] + +By reason of admirable devotion, indomitable courage and the absolute +purity of his way of living, Ali had become one of the most popular +heroes of Islam, but his extreme poverty forced him to hire himself +out to an Ansar, a garden landlord. When Ali was not engaged in +prayer, he passed the hours in watering date-trees. He deserved that +this lowly situation, bearing no comparison with his exploits, should +have been changed so as to give him new lustre in the eyes of the +people. + +Abu Bakr and Usman, finding him one day busily engaged in drawing +water from a well, bade him halt in his work, and reminded him of a +former desire of his, when he had thought of marrying Fatimah, the +Prophet's daughter. Ali got out of temper. 'Ye know how poor I am,' he +told them. 'It's cruel of you to bring up a dream that can never come +true!' + +But they were so persistent, affirming that he could count upon their +good offices, that Ali repressed his timidity, and carrying his sword, +armour and sandals, that constituted his sole wealth, went and knocked +at the Prophet's door. Mohammad welcomed him with these words: 'Here +stands a man more dear to me than any other.' Ali remained silent, +with bowed head. 'Speak!' commanded Mohammad.--'O Prophet!' Ali made +up his mind to reply at last, 'thou didst bring me up, an orphan boy, +with a father's love. This day have I arrived at an age when a man +should have a home of his own. Once more I seek thine aid. I come to +ask thee to give me thy daughter Fatimah in marriage.'--What dower +bringest thou?'--'Thou knowest my poverty. I bring thee all I possess: +my sword, armour and sandals.'--'Thy sword belongeth to thy religion, +I cannot accept it. But thy good right arm is strong enough to defend +thy breast better than any cuirass. Go sell thine armour and bring me +the price thereof to serve as my daughter's dower.' + +Ali, all his wishes gratified, sought out a buyer. Usman offered him a +good price and then gave him back his armour, begging him to accept it +as a wedding-present. + +The marriage was soon arranged; ratified by Mohammad saying to Ali: +'Verily, Allah gave thee my daughter in Heaven before I gave her to +thee in this world.' + +A great number of the Faithful, summoned by Bilal, were present to +listen to the "khutbah" (sermon) of their chief, who wished to apprise +them of the betrothal of his daughter to Ali. Bilal was charged to +procure the few simple things indispensable in a household. Half the +dowry served to buy a mattress and a pillow of palm-fibre, a goat-skin +for water and a few earthenware platters. With the other half, were +purchased butter, dates, and flour, forming the frugal betrothal +repast. + +When, according to custom, a group of women came to fetch the bride +and lead her into her husband's room, the Prophet, in memory of her on +whom this duty would have devolved, namely Khadijah, Fatimah's mother, +was overtaken by a profound fit of sadness. Showers of tears coursed +down his cheeks. When he had mastered his emotion, he placed Ali at +his right hand, with Fatimah at his left, saying to them: 'May Allah +cause to be born to you noble descendants, who shall be an honour to +our race!' + +For three days and three nights, the newly-married couple remained +absorbed in prayer. It was only on the fourth night that chaste Ali, +to whom Mohammad declared that he hoped a long line of male children +would spring from this marriage, dared to approach his wife in whose +veins coursed the blood of the Prophet. + +Nine months later, Fatimah brought into the world a son who was named +Hasan. A year after the birth of Hasan, his brother Husain was born. +The offspring of Hasan and Husain, called _Sharifs_, are the sole +descendants of the Prophet. + +[Sidenote: THE PROPHET'S MARRIAGE WITH HAFSAH AND UMMU'L-MASAKIN.] + +Hafsah, daughter of Umar and widow of Khunes, wished to marry again, +but she was of such a haughty disposition that no one came forward to +offer to be her husband. Abu Bakr, and Usman after him, to whom her +hand had been proposed, both declined. Umar, greatly annoyed at his +daughter's humiliation, opened his heart to the Prophet who replied: +'Usman will marry a better woman than Hafsah; and Hafsah will marry a +better man than Usman.' Mohammad gave his daughter Ummi-Kulsum in +marriage to Usman, whilst, to honour Umar, the Prophet took haughty +Hafsah to wife. + +Shortly afterwards, Mohammad also espoused the widow of Ubaidah, the +martyr of Badr. She was a woman whose charity was inexhaustible and +earned the surname of "Ummu'l-Masakin," (the Mother of the Poor). + +[Sidenote: THE BATTLE OF UHUD (_Year III of the Hegira, A.D. 625_)] + +The inhabitants of Makkah could not console themselves for the defeat +at Badr. The future seemed to them black indeed. Their caravans dared +not venture on the Syrian road, blocked by the Prophet's bold stroke. +Ruin and famine were inevitable at an early date. To guard against +such impending disaster, they decided to devote the large profits made +by their great caravan to arming an expedition which would avenge +their dead and grant them commercial security. Allured by offers of +money, numerous Bedouins of the vicinity came forward to proffer +assistance. Already worked up by the inflammatory satires of the poets +Kab ibn Ashraf and Abu Uzd, these tribesmen, called "Habash," or +Confederates, were enrolled in the ranks of the army raised by Abu +Sufyan. + +At the head of these troops, three thousand strong, were Safunah and +Ikrimah, sons of Ibn-i-Khalaf and Abu Jahal, two of the mighty dead of +Badr, and Khalid ibn Walid, the unconquerable soldier. The women's +thirst for revenge was equally ardent; and Hind, the wife of Abu +Sufyan, bore along behind her a horde of her companions resolved to +stop any warrior who might be tempted to run away. + +In the fertile plains, north of Al-Madinah, the fellahs were +peacefully engaged in their work of agriculture, or watching over +their grazing flocks, when all of a sudden, the soldiers of Abu +Sufyan, who had taken the greatest precautions to hide their rapid +advance, debouched from the ravines of the western mountains. All +resistance being impossible, the ill-fated peasants fled in great +haste to escape being massacred, and to warn their fellow-citizens of +the invasion of Allah's enemies. + +From the top of their ramparts, the dwellers in Al-Madinah looked down +on a sight that made their agriculturists' hearts bleed. Like a swarm +of gigantic locusts, the camels of the idolatrous army ravaged the +verdant meadows, whilst horsemen slaughtered cattle and, madly +rushing, the riders trampled down and scattered the golden harvest, +with all the disdain of traders for the work of husbandmen. + +In the face of this havoc wrought before their eyes, the Faithful +found themselves in a state of most irritating powerlessness. The +plain afforded commodious space for the manoeuvres of their enemies' +countless cavalry, and the Believers had no mounted men to put in the +field.... Their sole resource was the wisdom of Allah's Apostle; so, +ready for any sacrifice, they gathered round him. + +Now Mohammad had dreamed that he saw his sword-blade notched; his foes +slaughtering his flocks, whilst a breastplate was close to his hand. +The Prophet told his followers of his dream and explained what it +signified. 'The notched blade means that I shall be wounded. The +slaughtered flocks show that a great number of my disciples will die; +and the breastplate near me symbolizes the ramparts of Al-Madinah +which alone can save us from disaster. Let us shut ourselves up in the +city and we shall have nothing to fear from our adversaries. Should +they attack, they can easily be repulsed and made to suffer cruel +losses; and if they fall back without attacking, they will be crushed +in their retreat by the shame of not having dared to fight us.' + +Such had always been the tactics of the people of Al-Madinah from time +immemorial; but their quality of Mussulmans and their victory at the +battle of Badr had changed all their ideas. Thinking that they were +now and for ever invincible, they no longer had the patience to remain +impassible while their gardens were laid waste. Furthermore, those who +had not fought at Badr were burning with desire to show that they too +were full of courage. The worst that could befall them was martyrdom +to which they sincerely aspired. + +Abdullah ibn Abi Salul, chief of the "Hypocrites," was alone opposed +to an advance. For once in a way, the Prophet agreed with him. +Nevertheless, in the face of the unanimity and the enthusiasm of the +true Believers, Mohammad considered that he ought to give way, and +resolved to order the march out that he disapproved in his foresight. +After having recited the afternoon prayer, _Asr_, he went back into +his house to buckle on his armour. + +The warriors, too, were ready. A compact crowd surrounded the dwelling +of the Prophet who soon appeared, girt with his coat of mail, helmet +on head, sword by his side, shield on his shoulders, and spear in +hand.... + +Whilst waiting, the Faithful had had time to reflect. They began to +regret their hasty decision, and their chiefs, ashamed at having +upheld different ideas to those of Allah's Chosen One, said to him: +'We ought to have bowed down to thy judgment. We feel inclined to +remain where we are. Thou canst put aside thine armour.'--'When a +Prophet hath buckled on his breastplate,' replied Mohammad, 'he +forfeits the right to take it off until the fight is finished.' + +The army of the Believers numbered a thousand foot-soldiers, but +possessed only two horses. The standard of the Mohadjirun was confided +to Musab ibn Amir; that of the Aus to Uqaid; the banner of the +Khazraj being borne by Habbab. Just before sunset, the column went +forward, taking a northerly direction. + +Scarcely had they passed the ramparts, when they were rejoined by a +troop of six hundred men, all well-armed. They were Jews; allies of +Abdullah, the "Hypocrite," and it was thanks to his counsel that they +offered their assistance to the Prophet. 'Allah's aid sufficeth,' he +answered, as he sent them away, for knowing their secret sympathies, +he feared they might betray him. + +Abdullah, belittled by the rejection of his allies, lost no time in +trying to spread anxiety in the soldiers' ranks by perfidious remarks +such as these: 'Mohammad listens to the chatter of good-for-nothing +folks, and spurns the good advice I give him. Why go to face certain +death?' In this way, he succeeded in decoying a third of the little +army, thus reduced to about seven hundred men and, at the head of the +deserters, he turned back on the road to Al-Madinah, followed by the +hooting of the true Believers. + +The next morning, on a Saturday, the eleventh day of the month of +Shawwal, before daybreak, the Prophet ordered the tents to be folded. +He asked for a guide clever enough to lead his troops, unseen by the +enemy, to the Jabl-ul-Uhud, a mountain rising isolated in the plain. +Abu Haythama came forward and led them through the orchards and +palm-tree plantations of the Banu Harith. + +The owner of one of these gardens, a "Hypocrite," named Mirba, his +eyes eaten away by ophthalmia, rose up as he heard Mohammad's +footsteps at the head of his troops, and shouted to him: 'If even it +were true that thou art the Prophet of Allah, I would not authorise +thee to go through my garden!' Picking up a clod, he added: 'By Allah! +if I did not fear to strike someone else, I would hurl this earth in +thy face.' The Believers wished to punish the insolence of the +"Hypocrite" by taking his life, but Mohammad restrained them, saying: +'Kill him not, for he is blind. His heart is as blind as his eyes.' + +Along this by-path, and concealed behind the thick foliage of the +orchards, the Mussulmans reached the mountain of Uhud before sunrise, +without having been caught sight of by their foes. + +The Prophet arranged his forces for the fight. They had the mountain +behind them; their left wing being covered by the pass of Ainin, so +that there was no fear of being turned. To be more sure, he posted Ibn +Jubayr above this defile, with fifty of his most skilful archers, to +whom Mohammad gave the following strict order: 'If the idolaters' +cavalry attempt to outflank us, by slipping through the ravine, +repulse them with showers of arrows. But whether the enemy should be +above or below us, remain steadfast at your post, and whatever +befalls, take care not to go forward!' + +At this juncture, a loud outcry was heard resounding in the direction +of the plain. The Makkans had just perceived the Believers who, with +the oblique rays of the sun playing on their spears, stood out in +glowing relief on the rocky slopes of the Jabal-ul-Uhud. Exactly as +the Prophet had foreseen, the enemy's army, its right wing directed by +Khalid ibn Walid, the terrible, and its left wing commanded by +Ikrimah, son of Abu Jahal, spread itself out in a semi-circle, so as +to surround and turn the Mussulmans. + +Abu Sufyan, chieftain of the Infidels, trying to wound the vanity of +the Banu Abdi'd-Dar, guarding the flag, called to them thus: 'O ye who +carried our standard at Badr, remember the disaster of which the blame +must be laid on you. A soldier should follow the flag, but ye fled +with it. If this day ye fear to be unable to defend it, let me confide +it to other hands.' Stung to the quick by such an insult, the Banu +Abdi'd-Dar threw up their heads boldly. 'We shall know how to guard +our flag,' said they; 'and if we are alive to-morrow, thou shalt do +justice to our valour.' + +Hind now came forward, leading her companions to take their stand +behind the guardians of the flag. And the women sang: + +"Courage! O sons of the Abdi'd-Dar!--Courage! O defenders of the women +at your heels!--Strike with every blade!--We are daughters of the star +of Tariq--Our feet glide on soft carpets.--Pearls glisten in our +necklaces--And musk perfumeth our tresses.--If ye show a bold front to +the enemy, we will embrace you!--Should you flee from the foe, we +shall repulse you--And you will be dishonoured eternally by our +scorn!" + +On the side of the Believers, the Prophet was not sparing of +encouragement. 'Who among you,' he exclaimed, offering a glistening +sword, 'is capable of giving this weapon its due?'--'And what is its +due, prithee?' asked Abu Dujana, coming forward.--'Its due is to +strike with its blade till it be twisted!'--'Well then, I swear to +give it its due!' + +Abu Dujana was a redoubtable warrior. He received the sabre from +Mohammad's hands and, rolling round his head a red turban that he +never wore, except on great occasions when death was nigh, he strode +superbly up and down in front of the ranks. 'Such defiant bearing +would give rise to Allah's wrath,' the Prophet declared, 'on any other +occasion but this.' + +Among the enemy was an inhabitant of Medinah, Abu Amir, converted to +Christianity and nicknamed "Ar Rahib," which means "the Monk." Having +got into his head that he could lead a few of his fellow-countrymen in +the Aus tribe astray from the cause of Islam, he went and stood before +them, saying: 'O "qawm" of the Aus! 'tis I, Abu Amir, a son of your +soul. Will ye not hear me out?'--'May Allah refuse thee all favour, O +scoundrel!' they replied. Choking with shame and rancour, "the Monk" +went away, after picking up a pebble which he threw in fury at them. + +When "the Monk" had retired, an idolater of terrible appearance, +bestriding a gigantic camel, advances; challenging the Believers +thrice. At the third provocation, Zubayr stepped out of the ranks. +With the leap of a panther, he sprang on to the camel's rump, threw +his arms round his adversary, and rolling with him on the ground, +never let go his hold until he had torn his throat open. + +Seeing the combat beginning, Abu Dujana could restrain himself no +longer. He drew his sword. 'There is no good fortune in the ranks of +cowards!' he exclaimed. 'I strike with the sword of Allah and His +Prophet!' The scarlet turban was seen digging into the very centre of +the enemy's massed troops like a glowing brand. + +By dint of prodigies of audacity, he struck down all those he met on +his way, when suddenly he found himself facing a strange being who, +vomiting forth the vilest blasphemy, was followed by a crowd of girls +playing on tabors. Abu Dujana brandished his blade over his +adversary's head, but on hearing the piercing shrieks uttered by Hind, +he recognised her. The sword of the Prophet was rendered generous by +him, for he knew it ought not to strike a woman. + +Following Abu Dujana's onslaught, the battle raged furiously and all +the combatants were at grips. Arshah, the Quraish standard-bearer, was +struck down by Hamzah, and showed all his teeth in the snarling grin +of death. Siba-al-Ghassani picked up the flag, and challenged his +companion's conqueror. 'Come a little nearer, O son of the procuress!' +replied Hamzah; and at a single stroke, he made him share the fate of +Arshah. + +Wishing to avenge his uncle Tahaimah, slain at Badr by Hamzah, Zubayr +ibn Mutam promised to free his Abyssininan slave, Al-Uhayha, if he +succeeded in killing Hamzah. + +Thus spoke Al-Uhayha: "During the battle, I had no eyes but for +Hamzah. When I caught sight of him, he was like a rutting grey camel, +throwing down all he met with such terrible blows that none of them +rose again. Not daring to face him, I dogged his footsteps, skulking +behind bushes or rocks. At last, he neared the spot where I was +hidden. I am skilled at throwing the Abyssinian javelin and rarely +miss my mark. Just as Hamzah cut Siba down with a blow on the head, I +balanced my spear and sent it hissing at him. It stuck in his groin, +coming out between his thighs. Terrible in his wrath, Hamzah turned to +attack me, but his strength failing him, he fell down in a huddled +heap and died on the spot. I then came out of my place of concealment, +tore my spear from his dead body and left the battlefield. I only +struck at Hamzah to gain my freedom." + +The standard-bearer of the Mohadjirun, Musab ibn Amir, was slain at +the Prophet's side. His murderer, Qaumiah-al-Lissi, thinking that he +had killed Mohammad himself, returned to his comrades. 'I've slain +Mohammad!' he bawled, puffed up with pride. + +Ali seized the standard that had slipped from Musab's grasp, and +accepted the challenge of Abu Sad ibn Abi Talhah, the idolaters' +standard-bearer, who uttered these jeering words: + +'O companions of Mohammad! ye maintain that our swords send you to +Paradise whilst yours despatch us to hell! By Lat and Uzza! ye lie in +your teeth, for ye take good care not to rush on our blades!' + +Ali did not allow him to say anything else. No sooner did the two men +meet, than the mocking idol-worshipper was sent rolling in agony to +earth. Ali's arm was lifted to finish him off when suddenly the young +man averted his head and turned away: Abu Sad, in falling, had exposed +his nakedness to his conqueror. + +A furious fight took place round the flag of the Quraish, and, many +other Infidels passed from life to death. Two defenders of this +banner, Mishfah and his brother, Al Zulas, both pierced through and +through by arrows, dragged themselves along to their mother, Sulafa, +one of Hind's companions. The two lads, vomiting streams of blood, +rested their heads in the lap of the woman who had brought them into +the world. 'O my poor boys!' she cried, her voice choked with sobs, +'who dealt you these terrible blows?'--'When we fell,' her sons +replied, 'we heard a voice saying: "Take these darts from me. I am +Asim, son of Allah."' And Sulafa swore that Asim's skull should be +fashioned by her into a cup from which she would drink vinous liquors. + +The balance of victory was clearly in favour of the Believers. The +Quraish flag was laid out on the ground, close to a heap of dead +bodies, and no idolater dared to lift the banner. The rout of Allah's +foes had begun. The fury of Hind, her serving-girls, and her female +friends was changed to terror. They lifted their draperies, showing +their legs, in order to flee more easily in wild haste. The archers, +posted near the ravine on the slopes of the Uhud, could see all this +better than anyone else, and they stamped with hot impatience, fearing +that they would not be able to take a hand in plundering the +vanquished. + +In vain their chieftain, Ibn Jubayr, tried to retrain them by bidding +them remember the Prophet's strict orders, and their duty which was to +cover the army's flank by guarding the mountain pass. 'The fight is +finished,' they answered in ill-humour. 'Victory is ours! We mean to +have our share of the booty, or deserve the crown of martyrdom.' Like +a living torrent, they rushed down the declivity of the ravine, +disobeying Allah and His Messenger. + +"_Already had Allah made good to you His promise, when by His +permission ye destroyed your foes, until your courage failed you, and +ye disputed together about the order, and disobeyed, after that the +Prophet had brought you within view of that for which ye longed._" +(THE QUR'AN, III, 145.) + +Khalid, the valiant, farseeing warrior commanding the Quraish left +wing and who, till then, recognised that it was impossible to turn the +position, perceived the fault of the archers. At the head of his +cavalry, he charged Ibn Jubayr, surrounded by a handful of men +remaining faithful to him, and after they were crushed beneath the +hoofs of the horses, Khalid took the Mussulmans in the rear while they +were engrossed with the thoughts of plunder. + +At the same time, a woman of the idolaters, Amr bint Alqamah, lifted +the standard abandoned by the Makkans who, ashamed at their own +cowardice when they saw what this courageous woman had done, went back +and fought again. In triumphant tones, dominating all clamour and +clash of arms, the voice of Qumiah, slayer of Musab, rang out: +'Verily, Mohammad hath just been killed!' + +The current of the combat deviated. The day, that had begun so +favourably, became a day of calamity. Attacked in the rear, maddened +by the fatal news, the Mussulmans gave way, and a number fled to +Al-Madinah. Even Usman, in despair, allowed himself to be led away. + +A great many of the most noble combatants fell martyrs in the fight, +and Allah's enemies rained showers of arrows and stones on a small +group of the Faithful surrounding the Prophet. One stone, thrown by +the son of Abu Waqas, struck Mohammad, splitting his lip, breaking a +front tooth, on the right. Another projectile smashed the rings of his +helmet, driving them into his cheek. + +Abu Ubaidah, by biting the rings forced into the flesh, managed to +drag them out. Little he recked when he broke a tooth on each; and he +sucked in ecstasy the blood flowing from the wounds of Allah's Chosen +One. Moved by such fierce devotion, Mohammad said to him: 'He who hath +sucked my blood hath naught to fear from the flames of Hell; but how +can those men prosper who have shed the blood of their Prophet?' + +Meanwhile, the situation became more and more critical. During the +thick of the fight, Mohammad was knocked down, and thrown into a deep +hole that he had not noticed behind him. Ali and Talha helped him out +at once. + +Then Ali, together with Abu Bakr and Umar, both wounded, hurled +themselves on the assailants whose forces increased unceasingly, +threatening to encircle the Believers. There were moments when the +Prophet had no one with him except Abu Dujana, shielding him with his +body riddled by arrows, and Abu Talha who protected Mohammad by means +of a leather buckler. + +Abu Talha was an archer so strong that he broke three bows by bending +them. He said to Mohammad who rose up to see the result of the +fighting and give directions: 'O thou for whom I would give father and +mother in ransom, lie down, I beg of thee. Thou might be struck by an +arrow. Let my breast protect thy breast.' At that moment, a foeman's +dart, that he dashed aside, mutilated his hand. No longer able to use +his bow, he unsheathed his sabre, but was so greatly exhausted by +fatigue that, overcome by sleep, he closed his eyes and his weapon +fell from his grasp. + +Umm-i-Amr, a heroine of the Ansars, a goat-skin on her back, flew +along the ranks of the Believers, pouring water in their mouths to +refresh them. She seized a sword and fought with manly vigour near +Mohammad, until she fell, badly wounded. + +Ali Abu Aakr and Umar had been separated from the Prophet in the ebb +and flow of the fight; and the shouts of the Infidels announcing his +death deprived them of all courage. The three Believers were like +soulless bodies and they did not even think of defending themselves. +Seeing them in this state, Anas ibn Nazir shamed them: 'What aileth +you that ye are so downcast?'--'The Prophet is dead.'--'Well then what +have ye to do with life, now he is gone? Die as he died.' Setting the +example, he dashed forward, and fell covered with so many wounds that +only his sister was able to recognise his dead body, and that by a +peculiarity of his fingers. + +This was a rallying signal. Abashed by their own despondency, Ali, Abu +Bakr and Umar, followed by a few of the Faithful, copying Umar, rushed +to a part of the battlefield where the enemy masses were furiously +attacking a few men still standing. + +Suddenly, among these heroes resisting with superhuman energy, Kab ibn +Malik recognised the Prophet in person whose eyes sparkled under his +helmet. 'O Mussulmans! O brothers!' shouted Kab, in stentorian +accents. 'Good news! Look at the Prophet of Allah! He is safe and +sound!' + +This cry awakened fresh courage in the heart of every man. On all +sides, the Mussulmans rushed recklessly to the spot whence the glad +cry proceeded. After having disengaged the Prophet, they were afire +with irresistible ardour and cut a bloody path through the overthrown +enemy's ranks as far as the ravine of Ainin, which they never ought to +have abandoned. The effort of the idolaters to storm this impregnable +position was unavailing. Ubi ibn Khalaf cried out in his fury: 'O +Mohammad! where art thou? Shouldst thou be still alive, I swear thou +shalt not escape me!' + +The Prophet would not allow his partisans to tear Ubi limb from limb +as they wished to do, but dragging a spear from the grasp of Al Haris, +Mohammad drove its steel into Ubi's throat. He dropped forward on his +horse's neck and, after vainly trying to save himself by clutching at +the mane, fell heavily to the ground. The idolaters, exhausted, gave +up the idea of avenging his death. The fight was finished.... + +Finding a little water in the hollow of a rock, Ali filled his shield +and offered it to the Prophet. But he turned against the smell of this +water and refused to drink it. So Ali then used it to wash the wounds +of Allah's Chosen One, but in vain, his blood continuing to flow so +freely as to give rise to great uneasiness. Fatimah, who in a state of +great anxiety, had arrived at the scene of battle with a few of her +companions, caused some fragments of a rush-mat to be set on fire and +covered her father's wounds with the ashes. This dressing put a stop +to the hemorrhage. + +The Prophet recited the midday prayer, but remained seated, in +consequence of extreme fatigue and the suffering brought on by his +wounds. Behind him, also seated for the same reason, all the +combatants prayed with him, and gave thanks to the Almighty for having +saved them despite their disobedience. + +The death-roll numbered three score and ten, equalling the count of +the idolatrous prisoners of Badr. Many of the Believers considered +that this coincidence formed a punishment for having accepted a ransom +in their greed for worldly profit. + +The bodies of the martyrs of Uhud were in a parlous state. Athirst for +vengeance, the women of the Quraish had thrown away their tabors in +order to hurl themselves on the corpses and mutilate them odiously. +Hind, their mistress, was the most ferocious of them all. Taking out +her earrings, pulling off necklaces, bracelets and ankle-rings, she +handed them all to Al-Uhayha, the slayer of Hamzah; and, in place of +her gewgaws, adorned herself with necklaces and bangles fashioned with +noses and ears sliced from the heads of her foes. Like a filthy hyena, +she squatted on Hamzah's remains. With ensanguined finger-nails, she +tore his body open and dragged out the liver with fury, making her +teeth meet in it. She then climbed to the top of a lofty rock and +turning towards the soldiers of Islam, howled with all the strength of +her lungs: + +"We have paid you back for the day of Badr!--I was tortured by the +remembrance of my father--Of my son, and of my uncle, murdered by +you!--My soul is now at rest and my vengeance is glutted.--My "uhayha" +(grief) hath been softened by thee--O Uhayha! O conqueror of Hamzah! +I'll sing thy praises--Until my bones crumble into dust in my grave!" + +[Illustration: _Setting out for Al Jihad, or Holy War._ 2 views] + +Abu Sufyan, searching every nook and corner of the field of battle in +the hope of finding Mohammad's lifeless body, stopped short in front +of Hamzah's corpse at the same time as Jalis, chief of the Arab +Confederates. Abu Sufyan amused himself by striking the corners of the +dead man's mouth with the point of a spear. 'Take a good taste of the +bitterness of rebellion,' he said. + +Seeing this, Jalis, although an idolater, was greatly shocked. 'O Banu +Kinana!' cried he to his partisans, 'admire the behaviour of the Lord +of the Quraish towards his cousin now that he is lifeless!' Abu +Sufyan, alive to the fact that his conduct was vile, drew Jalis on one +side and supplicated him. 'Keep all this a secret, O Jalis, for I am +ashamed of what I did just now in thy presence.' + +He then drew near to a spot within hail of the Faithful, entrenched on +the slopes of the Uhud, and called out to them: 'Is Mohammad with +you?' There being no answer, he joyfully concluded that the Prophet +was dead. Before going away, he bawled as loudly as he could: +'Assuredly, war is a game of chance. This day avengeth the day of +Badr; Hubal, our god, is victorious. He is the All-Highest!' + +At this blasphemy, the Prophet ordered Umar to reply. He cried out: +'Allah is the Most High; the Most Majestic!' Recognising Umar's voice, +Abu Sufyan asked him: 'O Umar! I conjure thee, inform me if we have +killed Mohammad.'--'No, by my faith! He is even now listening to +thee.' Abu Sufyan, disappointed, rejoined: 'Evidently, I am bound to +believe thee in preference to Ibn Qamiah who boasts of having killed +him. But I swear to meet you next year at Badr.'--'That is +understood!' replied Umar. 'We pledge our word to meet thee there.' + +The Prophet despatched Ali to track the Infidels. 'Take heed how they +carry themselves,' Mohammad impressed upon his scout. 'See if they +ride their camels and lead their horses by the bridle. That will +certainly denote that they give up all hope of battle and are going to +Makkah. If, on the contrary, they mount their steeds and drive their +camels before them, it is a sure sign that they are bound for +Al-Madinah with the intention of cutting us off. In that case, there +is but one thing to be done: to hurl ourselves upon them without loss +of time, so as to attack them and hack our way through.' + +A few minutes later, Ali returned. He had seen the Quraish alight from +their horses, bestride their camels and set out in the direction of +Makkah. + +Reassured as to the enemy's intentions, the Believers busied +themselves with the burial of the martyrs. First of all, the Prophet +sought to find the body of his uncle Hamzah. Mohammad discovered it in +a hollow of the Wadi, the belly ripped open; and with ears and nose +cut off. 'Were it not that I feared to grieve Safiyah (Hamzah's +sister), and to set an example which perhaps would become law, I would +leave these remains unburied, until they should disappear in the +entrails of jackals and vultures; thus keeping alive the hope of +revenge. If the Almighty should ever deliver into our hands the +wretches who have thus treated thee, I swear to exercise most terrible +reprisals.' + +The Prophet then received this Revelation: "_If ye make reprisals, +then make them to the same extent that ye were injured: but if ye can +endure patiently, best will it surely be for the patiently enduring._" +(THE QUR'AN, XVI, 127.) Thus warned, Mohammad relinquished his ideas +of retaliation, and earnestly urged the Faithful to abstain from +mutilating their enemies. + +The news of the disaster having reached Al-Madinah, all the women, and +Safiyah among them, came in crowds to attend to the wounded and mourn +for the dead. The Prophet charged Safiyah's son, Zubayr ibn Awam, to +send his mother away, to prevent her seeing her brother's corpse, so +atrociously disfigured. 'I have been told that my brother was +mutilated for the cause of Islam,' she replied, 'and I shall be +resigned no matter how horrible the sight, please Allah!' She went +straightway to where Hamzah was lying and after having prayed over him +with fervent firmness, she departed. + +Funerals then began. After having led that of his uncle Hamzah, the +Prophet, so as not to fatigue the Believers who were already +exhausted, had the dead bodies buried two by two, or three by three, +in the same grave, and without being washed according to custom. 'For +I bear witness for these martyrs,' he declared. 'Those who have been +struck down on Allah's Road will be resuscitated on the Day of +Resurrection when their wounds will appear fresh and bloody; smelling +sweetly of musk.' When it came to his ears that several families had +carried their dead to Al-Madinah to bury them there, he upbraided them +and ordained: 'Henceforward, ye shall bury your dead where they fall.' + +The battle of Uhud did not result fatally for Islam as might +reasonably have been feared. There were grievous losses; but several +advantages accrued from the fight. The defeat was due to having +disregarded the Prophet's first idea, and to disobeying his orders on +the field. In future, the Believers submitted entirely to him; they +were resolved to carry out his commands to the letter even in case he +should be killed, according to the verse alluding to the momentary +despondency of Ali, Abu Bakr, and Umar: "_Mohammad is no more than an +Apostle; other Apostles have already passed away before him; if then +he die, or be slain, will ye turn upon your heels?_" (THE QUR'AN, III, +138.) + +Moreover, defeats, when faith is fervent, serve only to sharpen +energy: "_And how many a Prophet hath combated an enemy on whose side +were many myriads? Yet were they not daunted at what befell them on +the path of Allah, nor were they weakened, nor did they basely submit! +And Allah loveth those who endure with steadfastness._" (THE QUR'AN, +III, 140.) + +Clemency henceforward was not to be shown to the idolaters: the savage +mutilation of the seventy martyrs proved that compassion was +inadmissible. + +A distinction was also clearly established between the true Believers +and the "Hypocrites," such as Abdullah ibn Salul and his partisans. +The Prophet knew what they were, but the majority of his disciples +were ignorant of these double-faced men's perfidy, as demonstrated by +their cowardly desertion in the hour of danger. Concerning the Uhud, +quoth Mohammad: "That mountain loveth us and we return its affection! +O Allah! Abraham declared the territory of Makkah to be sacred. I +declare the territory of Al-Madinah, situated between the two Harrah, +to be sacred also." + +[Sidenote: THE MARRIAGE OF MOHAMMAD AND ZAINAB] + +Zayd, the enfranchised slave and adopted son of the Prophet, had taken +Zainab bint Jahsh to wife, but the marriage had not been concluded +easily. Zainab was of noble birth. Ali, sent to make the matrimonial +demand, found it rejected by her and her brothers. The union was only +brought about when the Prophet came forward in person, and Zainab +continued to behave most haughtily towards the freed man now her +husband. + +Having gone one day to Zayd's dwelling to speak to him, Mohammad was +received by Zainab who, hidden behind a curtain, said: 'Zayd hath gone +out; but come in and wait awhile.' The Prophet refused, and was about +to depart, when a gust of air having lifted the hanging, he +involuntarily caught sight of Zainab. She made a great impression on +him; so much so that as he turned to go, he could not help exclaiming: +'Glory to Him who inclineth all hearts!' + +This cry filled Zainab with boundless pride. When poor Zayd returned, +he was received with more scornful haughtiness than ever, and she +hastened to let him know the effect produced upon Allah's Apostle by +her radiant beauty. Zayd began to feel that life with his spouse, +already hard to please, would soon be unbearable. He made up his mind +to see Mohammad; and then he told him: 'Maybe Zainab pleaseth thee? If +so, I'll get rid of her.'--'Go back to thy wife and keep her to +thyself,' replied the Prophet. + +But Zayd had had enough of her. Ever since the sight of Zainab had +forced a cry of admiration from the Prophet, her husband did not dare +to approach her and considered that he would have no peace until after +he had divorced her. So he went back to Mohammad. 'O Prophet!' said +he, 'the way Zainab talketh to me is worse than ever. I wish to +repudiate her.'--'Fear Allah,' replied Mohammad, 'and keep thy wife to +thyself.'--'But I'm no longer master in my own house!'--'If that is +so, put her away from thee.' + +As soon as she was repudiated, Zainab had but a single thought: to +become the wife of the Prophet; and she never ceased intriguing to +gain her ends. At last a Revelation came down to Mohammad: "_And when +Zayd had settled the necessary matter of her divorce, We married her +to thee._" (THE QUR'AN, XXXIII, 37.) So he resolved to be wedded to +Zainab. + +The Jews and the "Hypocrites" declared this was scandalous. 'Mohammad +marries his son's wife!' was their cry, and they worked with a will to +make capital out of the incident and bring him into disrepute. The +following verses, however, stopped every true Believer from listening +to the discreditable group: "_Name your adopted sons after their +fathers: this will be more right before Allah. But if ye know not who +their fathers are, still let them be your brethren in the faith, and +your comrades * Mohammad is not the father of any man among you._" +(THE QUR'AN, XXXIII, 5, 40.) + +The adoption of Zayd, dating from before the birth of Islam, and which +might have proved a serious stumbling-block in the political career of +its chief, was thus annulled, and the freed man, called Zayd ibn +Mohammad, now went by his real name: Zayd ibn al-Haris. But the +affection that Mohammad had for Zayd and his son Usamah, was +strengthened by this solution which put an end to all feelings of +restraint. + +Such is the adventure of Zainab, which all the historians who are +enemies of Islam have passionately exploited in order to sully the +Prophet's memory. We shall not discuss the subject, because, in our +opinion, the details of the life of a man like Mohammad cannot be +isolated from the whole of his work and judged separately. In common +with all the Prophets, without exception, Mohammad doubtless had what +some call "moments of weakness;" but they have nothing to do with his +inspiration. Moreover, the historians of Mohammad enjoy the unusual +honour of having felt such great respect for his memory, that they +refused to discuss his conduct. + +When the historians of other Prophets cut out of their lives all that +they consider may belittle them in the eyes of posterity, the writers +set themselves up, in reality, as critics of their heroes' acts. In +the foregoing narrative, which has served as a pretext for so many +pamphlets, we find the most incontestable proof of the sincerity of +the Arab Prophet's biographers. Following their example, and as a +token of our impartiality, we thought it our duty to relate this +episode, although of secondary interest, and greatly inferior to other +events for which we have not found space in this work. + +[Sidenote: THE GHAZWAH, OR EXPEDITION OF ZAT-IR-RIQUA (_Year IV of the +Hegira, A.D. 626_)] + +Having heard that the Banu Muharib and the Banu Saliba of the Najd +were preparing an expedition against him, the Prophet decided to be +beforehand with them, and set out to meet his foes. In his haste, he +had only been able to get together a small number of camels; one for +six men who took it in turns to ride. The Believers were compelled to +bind up their cruelly wounded feet, from which the nails were torn by +the sharp stones of the Hammadas, with "ruqqah": fragments of their +apparel. Hence the name of Zat-ir-Riga bestowed on this expedition. + +After having camped at Nakhl, Mohammad's soldiers came in sight of the +assembled enemy. The two armies remained motionless, face to face, +neither making up its mind to begin the hostilities; the Mussulmans, +because of their numerical inferiority out of all proportion; and the +Infidels, in consequence of their terror arising from the influence of +the recent victories of Islam. It was in these circumstances that the +Prophet instituted the "Salatu'l-Khauf," the Prayer of Peril. He +divided the Believers into two groups; one saying the prayer, and the +other keeping a vigilant eye on the enemy. + +Greatly impressed by the resolute bearing of the Mussulmans, whom +their foes hoped to surprise, but who had come out and showed fight, +the allies began to retreat, one after the other, so that, passing +from extreme vigilance, as shown at first, the Believers became a prey +to exaggerated confidence. + +During the torrid heat of the middle of the day, they were scattered +here and there enjoying their "siesta" in the shade of the numerous +"talhah" (gum-trees), growing in the valley, and had posted no +sentinels to keep watch and ward. A Bedouin of the Banu Mustaliq +perceived this lack of precaution. By crawling along on hands and +knees, he succeeded in approaching the Prophet and lifting the +silver-hilted sabre hanging to the branches under which the Apostle +was resting, the tribesman said: 'O Mohammad, let me look at thy +sword-blade.' After having run his thumb along the edge of the steel +as if to try it, he brandished it over the Prophet's head and cried +out: 'O Mohammad! dost thou not fear me?'--'No! Why should I fear +thee?'--'Art thou not afraid of the weapon I hold?'--'No, for Allah +protecteth me,' replied the Prophet, with the greatest calm, gazing +boldly at his agressor. + +Petrified at such indifference in the face of danger, the Bedouin was +overwhelmed with supernatural emotion which paralysed his heart's +action. Cold sweat bathed his brow; his fingers, gripping the +sword-hilt, opened out involuntarily, and the sabre fell at Mohammad's +feet. He picked it up quietly. 'And now, what will save thee from my +blows?' he asked.--'Thy generosity!' replied the downcast brigand. + +He was right. The Prophet let him depart without compelling him to +embrace the Mohammedan faith, for he wished to accustom idolaters to +the generosity of Islam, so that they should come to it of their own +accord. The Bedouin, who before leaving his own bivouac, had boasted +that he would bring in Mohammad's head, declared to his people: 'I +have just met the best of men.' And he went back to the Prophet and +became a convert to Islam. + +[Sidenote: THE GHAZWAH, OR EXPEDITION OF THE BANU MUSTALIQ (_Year V of +the Hegira, A.D. 627_)] + +Now it was the turn of the Banu Mustaliq to get restless and conspire +against Islam. The Prophet resolved to punish them, and, at the head +of his troops, he came upon them on their own territory at Qudid, near +the wells of Al Mirisiyah. The two armies crashed together in their +shock, and many were slain on both sides. Allah routed the Banu +Mustaliq; and an enormous amount of booty: camels, sheep and captives, +fell into the hands of his warriors. + +Among the prisoners was the daughter of the Lord of the Mustaliqs, +beautiful Juwairiyah. As a result of the drawing by lot, she fell to +Sabit ibn Qais, but promised her master a heavy ransom in exchange for +liberty. She then sought out the Prophet and told him: 'I am +Juwairiyah, daughter of Haris, Lord of the Mustaliqs. Thou knowest my +unlucky fate. I know thy magnanimity and I come to implore thy help to +pay my ransom.'--'I will settle thy ransom,' he replied; 'and I'll +marry thee, if so be thou art willing.' She accepted, and despite +Ayishah's jealousy, aroused by the charm and grace of Juwairiyah, the +marriage was decided. + +In the meantime, Haris had arrived, bringing his daughter's ransom. +Mohammad gave him back Juwairiyah, but only to ask him immediately for +her hand, offering as dower the sum of four hundred drachmas. As soon +as the news of this union was noised abroad, the Believers said: 'The +Prophet hath allied himself to the Banu Mustaliq. We must therefore +look upon them as our allies.' The Faithful gave back all the booty; +together with all the captives who had just been shared among them. +Few women ever brought such a blessing to her tribe as this +Juwairiyah. + +After the severe fighting, whilst the soldiers were watering their +panting camels at the well Al Mirisiyah, a violent quarrel was nigh +bringing Ansars and Mohadjirun to blows. + +Jajjah, leading Umar's horse by the bridle, hustled Simana ibn Ubair, +an ally of the Banu Auf ibn Khazraj, in order to deprive him of his +turn at the well. Simana turned upon him, and the two adversaries, +locked in murderous embrace, rolled on the ground, Simana shouting: +'Help! O comrades of the Ansars!' and Jajjah: 'Help! O comrades of the +Mohadjirun!' + +They were hauled apart, and for the moment the quarrel came to +nothing. But on both sides, great effervescence reigned in the minds +of the tribesmen. The "Hypocrite," Abdullah ibn Abi Salul, an +eye-witness of the scuffle, worked up the men's exasperation to the +highest pitch by these words: 'O citizens of Al-Madinah! have ye seen +the impudence of all these Quraish? They pick a quarrel with us in our +own country, abusing our hospitality and relying on their numbers. +Such is the result of your candour, when ye opened your doors to them +and shared your property with them. How true is the saying of our +ancestors: 'Feed thy dog and he will devour thee!' Once back in +Al-Madinah, will not the strong make up their minds to drive out the +weak?' + +Zayd, son of Arquam, reported these wicked remarks to Mohammad. By his +side stood Umar who flew into a violent passion. 'O Prophet!' he +cried. 'Wilt thou not order Abbad ibn Bashir to put this impostor to +death?'--'How cometh it, Umar, that thou canst give such a piece of +advice?' rejoined the Prophet. 'If people are able to say: 'Mohammad +cutteth his companions' throats,' what a fine stir there would be in +Al-Madinah. No, no!' he went on, turning to Abbad; 'but give out +orders to depart at once.' + +The sun was at its zenith; the heat overpowering. It was not a +favourable moment for folding the tents. Nevertheless, the Prophet, +lashing his she-camel on the tender skin of her belly, to increase her +speed, led his soldiers in a forced march lasting all day, all night, +and all through the morning of the next day till noon. + +It was then, seeing his brave warriors beginning to stagger, that he +called a halt. All his men, worn out by fatigue, dropped on the +ground, overcome by deep sleep where they fell, without having been +able to give vent to the feelings of fury seething in their hearts and +which might have caused most sanguinary conflicts among them. + +The "Hypocrite" Abdullah had a son who was also called Abdullah. He +was a sincere Believer and he went to the Prophet. 'They tell me,' +quoth the young man, 'that thou didst intend to kill Abdullah, my +father. In that case, charge me to bring thee his head, for by Allah! +thou shalt know that among the Khazraj, there is no son more devoted +to his father than I. If thou shouldst charge any other to execute +him, I should not be able to bear the sight of his murderer going +unpunished and I should kill him. Therefore I should be slaying a true +Mussulman in order to avenge a Mussulman "Hypocrite," and render +myself deserving of hell-fire.' + +The Prophet tranquilised the stoical Believer by these words: 'Give no +credit to what thou didst hear. On the contrary, we look upon thy +father as our friend and comrade, so long as he remaineth with us.' + +[Sidenote: THE TAYANNUM, OR THE CEREMONY OF ABLUTION PERFORMED WITH +SAND] + +It was during this expedition that the following Revelation came down: +"_But if ye are sick, or on a journey, or if one of you come from the +place of retirement, or if ye have touched women and find no water, +then take clean sand and rub your faces and your hands with it._" (THE +QUR'AN, V, 9.) + +Thus was established the Tayammum, or purification by sand, destined +to prevent the Believers from ever forgetting their salutary duty; for +this did away with the pretext, so frequent in their deserts, that +lack of water hindered the performance of ablutions. + +[Sidenote: THE BATTLE OF THE DITCH (_Year V of the Hegira, A.D. 627_)] + +A deputation of Jews from the tribe of the Banu Nazir, and a few +malcontents of the Wayls journeyed to Makkah to offer the Quraish an +alliance. The Ghatafans, a tribe hailing from the north of the Hijaz, +and the "Habash," or Arab Confederates, joined them. Thus was +organised a vast conspiracy, threatening Al-Madinah on all sides. + +This time, when the Prophet got to hear of the importance of this +expedition, he had no difficulty in persuading the Believers that the +only way to save themselves was by entrenchment in the town and there +awaiting the advent of the enemy. + +Al-Madinah was protected in almost every direction, either by +ramparts, fortlets, or gardens. At the north only would it have been +possible for the enemy to arrange a formidable assault. A learned +Persian, Salman-i-Farisi, recently converted, explained to the Prophet +a system of efficacious protection. It was by means of a ditch, and +Salman had seen it practised in his own country. Mohammad was so +struck by the Persian's arguments that this ditch was ordered to be +dug immediately. All the Believers, confiding in their chief's +farsightedness, set ardently to work. + +Nevertheless, they were in a state of extreme distress. An icy north +wind, such as blows frequently in winter on these table-lands of the +desert where there is intense radiation, benumbed their shivering +bodies. Roads where the work of revictualling was carried on were +blocked by the enemy; provisions were lacking. The pangs of hunger +would have paralysed their strength if it had not been kept up and +rekindled by faith, for all they had to eat were a few grains of +barley cooked in rancid, nauseous mutton-fat. + +Meanwhile, the shovelfuls of earth accumulated, thrown up with great +spirit by the workers, and the ditch had reached a good depth, when +suddenly the pickaxes struck against a rock which they were powerless +to uproot. Mohammad filled his mouth with water and spat it out on the +stone, at the same time as he implored the help of the Almighty. The +diggers again applied themselves to their task and the vigour of their +arms, increased tenfold by the certainty of success which the +Prophet's action had instilled into their hearts, met with no further +obstacles. It seemed to them that the hard stone had become as friable +as the sand; the rock splitting into countless fragments under the +attack of their tools. + +Scarcely was the ditch ready, when the entire plain was covered by the +tents of the enemy's army, ten thousand strong: the Quraish, Banu +Kamanah, Ghatafans, Arabs of the Tuhamah and of the Najd, etc. Despite +their great superiority of numbers, the Infidels were not sanguine as +to the result of their conflict with the Prince of Apostles, and they +cast about for new allies. Huwai ibn Akhtab, an enemy of Allah, +approached Kab ibn Asad, Prince of the Jewish tribe of the Banu +Quraizah who, although deeply hostile to the Prophet, had signed a +treaty with him. Ill at ease, Kab repulsed his visitor in these terms: +'O Huwai! the step thou dost take is fraught with great danger for my +tribe. I have signed a treaty with strict fidelity.'--'Open thy door +to me, O Kab, for I only wish to partake of thy "Shishah," a kind of +soup. Kab let him in, and Huwai immediately broached the subject that +brought him there. He vaunted the power of the ten thousand +Confederates encamped near the Uhud, and demonstrated how he was +certain of ridding the world of Mohammad. 'Thou bringest me ugly +business, O Huwai!' replied Kab, still hesitating. ''Tis an empty +raincloud in which only thunder and lightning remain. I see no +advantage for me. What have I to do with all this?' + +His interlocutor never left off until he had coaxed Kab into +cancelling his contract with Mohammad and forming an alliance with the +Infidels. + +The rumour of this defection coming to the Prophet's ears, he sent Sad +ibn Muaz, Sad ibn Ubaidah and Chuat ibn Zubayr to see if it was true. +When these envoys reminded the Banu Quraizah of their pledge, the +following reply was made: 'Who is this Prophet of Allah of whom ye +speak? There exists no treaty between him and us.' + +This was downright treachery, for the Banu Quraizah were marvellously +well-informed as to the Believers' secrets and weak points of the +town. To guard against the anxiety that such treason might create +among his disciples, Mohammad, when his envoys returned, exclaimed: +'Allah is Great! Here have we good news! Hearken, O Moslem comrades!' +In this way he predicted that the spoils accruing from the overthrow +of the Banu Quraizah would soon enrich the Believers, thus brazenly +betrayed. + +The sight of the ten thousand sparkling spears that made the plain +look like a field of darts, produced, nevertheless, a great impression +on the Believers lining the ramparts. The "Hypocrites," as was their +wont, instead of exhorting the citizens to pluck up courage, tried to +sow the seeds of panic. 'Admire Mohammad,' they would say. 'He +promised us the treasures of Chosroes and of Cæsar; and yet, this very +day, he himself is not certain of having a roof over his head!' + +To put an end to these gloomy forebodings, the Prophet made his troops +sally forth and posted them behind the ditch. They were covered in the +rear by the Sala hill. At that juncture, some of the soldiers whose +courage was on the wane asked the permission of the Prophet to return, +saying: 'Of a truth, our houses are left defenceless.' "_But they were +not left defenceless: verily their sole wish was to flee away * If the +enemy had effected an entry at all points, and they had been asked to +promote rebellion among the Believers, they would certainly have done +so; but only a short time would they have remained in._" (THE QUR'AN, +XXXIII, 13, 14.) + +Frankly, great anxiety reigned; but the faith of the sincere +Mussulmans and the unchanging serenity of the Apostle got the best of +it. On the other hand, the Confederates, despite all their advantage, +were still smitten with terror at the thought of the mysterious forces +that they always found facing them each time they fought against +Allah's warriors; and dared not risk an attack before making sure that +it would not turn out to be another miserable, humiliating failure. So +they were contented with drawing near to the walls. + +For twenty days and twenty nights, hostilities were limited to +encircling the city and a few flights of arrows, without any result. +Ashamed, at last, of their inaction, several horsemen of the Quraizah +and Kinanas, got ready for the fray. In close rank, they broke away +from the enemy front. Their breasts pressed to the necks of their +steeds, they dashed forward in a frenzied charge, swallowed up in the +orange-tinted whirlwind of dust.... Then suddenly, the living +hurricane stopped dead, and when the clouds of sand enfolding the +idolatrous riders lifted, they were seen petrified with affright in +front of the deep ditch in which they had nearly been engulphed; +whilst the horses, with twitching nostrils, their mouths twisted and +bleeding by reason of the sudden jerk of the bit, stopping them in +their forward bound, remained with stiffened, trembling legs on the +edge of the trench.... + +'By our gods!' swore the Infidels, 'this is a trick that Arabs never +play!' They sought for a spot where the moat was the most narrow, and +savagely spurring on their steeds, they lifted them in fantastic +jumping efforts and so reached the other side. Ali, followed by a few +soldiers, went out to meet them. Getting between them and the ditch, +he cut off their retreat. One of the men on horseback, Amr ibn +Abd-i-Aud, of frightful aspect and gigantic stature, howled the vilest +curses and challenged the Believers to single combat. With the +permission of the Prophet who buckled on his own breastplate, rolled +his turban round his head and placed his sword in his hand, Ali stood +face to face with the giant. At the sight of his assailant, only a +boy, Amr, the terrible, made a gesture of scorn and pity. 'I am loth +to shed thy blood,' he said, 'for thy father was my friend '--'As for +me,' retorted Ali, 'I shall have no compunction in shedding thine.' + +At these words, Amr foamed with rage, and Ali bade him remark that if +he despised his young adversary, he did not disdain to profit by +remaining on horseback to defend himself against an enemy on foot. Amr +jumped off his horse and hamstrung it; thereby showing that he did not +wish to use it for fight or flight. Mad with rage at the mocking +challenge of so youthful a foe, he beat his own face with his clenched +fists.... Then he rushed at Ali, aiming a fierce blow which glanced +lightly off the lad's forehead, after having smashed his shield to +pieces. + +As quick as lightning, Ali sprung on one side and, by an unexpected +bound, got behind his adversary. Carried forward by the violence of +his advance, the monster was bewildered and staggered when he tried to +turn round. Ali seized the opportunity at once and made a skilful +thrust. The blade pierced Amr's throat, through and through, cutting +the carotid artery. An enormous gush of blood spurted from the gaping +wound; like a drunken man, the colossus, with hoarse hiccoughs +proceeding from his severed throat, made a few faltering steps and +fell in a heap at the feet of Islam's champion. + +At this sight, the Mussulmans sang the "Takbir," and the other +Infidels, overwhelmed by consternation, fled at a wild gallop. One of +them, Nuhfil ibn Abdullah, having miscalculated his jump, rolled with +his mount down into the ditch, where he was slowly being killed by +showers of stones, when Zubayr put an end to the torture by a cut from +his scimitar, which after having cleft his body in twain, was stopped +by the saddle. + +Safiyah, the Prophet's aunt on his mother's side, kept an eye on the +foe from the top of a fortlet belonging to Hasan ibn Sabit, who +remained by her side. She caught sight of a Jew wandering round the +ramparts and said to Hasan: 'Seest thou that Jew prowler? Without a +doubt, he seeketh to find a weak point in our walls, and whilst the +Prophet and his soldiers are busy on the front facing the enemy, other +Jews will be fetched to follow the spy and capture our fortlet. Go +down and kill him!'--'May Allah pardon thee! O daughter of Abdul +Muttalib, I am not a warrior accustomed to the use of arms. I am a +poet.' + +Shrugging her shoulders, masculine-minded Safiyah seized a mace and +went down. Gliding behind the Jew, she felled him by dint of dealing +repeated blows on his head; and then went back to Hasan. 'Now thou +canst go down and strip the Jew of all he possesseth, for it is not +seemly for a woman to undress a man.' + +Several skirmishes of slight importance took place at long intervals; +but if an attack was not to be feared, thanks to the precautionary +moat which had upset the Confederates' calculations, the garrison +might have been mastered by famine. Great uneasiness prevailed in +their ranks. + +Meanwhile, Naim, Prince of the Ghatafans, sought out Mohammad, saying: +'O Prophet! I have become a Mussulman and my people know it not. I am +entirely at thy disposal.'--'Of what use is all thy courage? Thou art +alone! But couldst thou not help us by provoking relinquishment among +the Confederates? In all wars, there are tricks which are licit.' + +Naim understood at once the part he had to play. He went to the Banu +Quraizah, having often broken bread among them when he was an +idolater. + +[Illustration: _"Al Fitr", the Prayer on the Breaking of the Ramadhan +Fast._] + +'O Banu Quraizah!' said he, 'ye know how I feel towards you +all?'--'Verily, and we have entire confidence in thee.'--'Being so, +listen to me. The Quraish and the Ghatafans, your allies, are not in +the same position as you. This part of the country is yours: here is +your property; here dwell your families. Ye cannot abandon your land +for another. They, on the contrary, are only here to fight Mohammad +and his companions; their belongings and their families are beyond +their enemies' reach. If the fortune of war turneth against them, they +will return in tranquility to their own country and leave you in +yours, to do the best you can with this man. Will ye be able to resist +him, once ye face him alone? Fight therefore no more with these +"qawms" without claiming hostages chosen from their noblemen, so as to +make sure that you will never be left in the lurch before ye have +brought Mohammad to his knees.'--'Of a truth, thy advice is good!' +they declared unanimously. Nai then went to the Quraish +idol-worshippers and talked to them. 'Ye know how I feel towards you +all.'--'Aye.'--'I have been able to ascertain something that I +consider is only right that you should be told at once. But swear to +keep it secret.'--'We swear!'--'This is it,' he went on. 'Know that +the Jews regret having annulled their compact with Mohammad and +consequently have sent him this message: "Most certainly do we regret +what we did, but if thou dost consent to pardon us, we will give up to +thee several hostages chosen amongst the most noble of the Quraish or +the Ghatafans we have seized; and we will remain thy faithful allies +until thine enemies are exterminated." Mohammad having accepted, the +Jews therefore will come and claim hostages, pretexting that they are +certain of never being thrown over whilst holding these sureties. Take +care never to give them a single hostage!' + +He said the same thing to the Ghatafans, his fellow-countrymen, and +was just as successful with them. The Quraish and the Ghatafans swore +they would be on their guard. + +One night, on the eve of a Saturday in the month of Shawwal, Abu +Sufyan and the chieftains of the Ghatafans sent Ikrimah to the Banu +Quraizah, charging him to say to them: 'We can no longer sojourn in +these parts, so unsuitable to our horses and camels. Be ready to fight +Mohammad to-morrow. We must get done with him!' They made answer: +'To-morrow is a Saturday, the Sabbath day, which means obligatory +repose in our religion. But, at any rate, we cannot fight by your side +unless ye grant us hostages chosen from the most noble among you, as a +guarantee that ye will not abandon us before having crushed our common +enemy.' When Ikrimah repeated these words, the Quraish and the +Ghatafans cried out: 'By all our gods, what Naim told us concerning +the Banu Quraizah was perfect truth!' The Confederates immediately +sent another message, declaring plainly: 'By our gods, we'll not give +you a single hostage!' + +It was now the turn of the Banu Quraizah to find out how correct was +the information vouchsafed by Naim and they came to a rupture with the +Confederates. This piece of news, reported by Naim, made the Prophet +rejoice exceedingly; but being desirous of knowing the effect produced +by this rupture in the ranks of the Quraish and the Ghatafans, he said +to Huzaifah: 'Make thy way, this very night, into the enemy's camp and +find out what they may be planning. Come back and tell me without +letting anyone know.' + +Thanks to the pitchy darkness of that wintry night, Huzaifah glided +among the enemies' tents. A high, icy wind had put out all the fires +and blown down all the cooking-pots. The whistling gusts deafened all +ears; and the shivering idolaters huddled together, wrapped up in the +folds of their mantles. 'Keep an eye on your companions!' was the +watchword shouted by Abu Sufyan, meaning: 'Beware of spies!' Huzaifah, +with great presence of mind, seized the hand of an Infidel standing +close to him and demanded in threatening accents: 'Who art +thou?'--'Such an one; son of such an one.' Huzaifah let him go, and +the Infidel, forced to exonerate himself, never thought of putting +questions as well. + +The relinquishment of the Banu Quraizah; the difficulties with regard +to feeding camels and horses; and, above all, the disorder arising +from that calamitous night, caused Abu Sufyan to be discouraged. After +a short discussion between him and the other Quraish chieftains, in +the hearing of invisible Huzaifah, the return of the besiegers to +their dwellings was decided. + +Having got to know all he wanted, Huzaifah went back to his camp. He +found the Prophet praying and he beckoned to his disciple to approach. +When Huzaifah was close to him, to warm his messenger, he covered him +with part of the mantle spread out on the ground in lieu of a praying +carpet. When Mohammad had finished his devotions, he listened to the +intrepid scout and congratulated him on the success of his mission. + +Next day, the plain was clear of the enemy; and the Prophet, leaving +the ditch, led his troops back to Al-Madinah. 'The Quraish came here +to attack us for the last time,' he declared. 'Henceforward it will be +for us to go and beard them in their dens.' + +[Sidenote: THE TREATY OF AL-HUDAIBIYAH (_Year VI of the Hegira A.D. +628_)] + +The Prophet dreamt that he entered Makkah in the midst of his +companions and then marched to Mina, in the Valley of Sacrifices. This +vision embodied the greatest desire of his heart; and all the +Believers felt the same, as they suffered from not being able to visit +the Holy Places since the Hegira. So Mohammad determined to satisfy +their craving. + +In the month of Zu'l-Qa'dah, he went out of Al-Madinah, and took the +road to Makkah at the head of fourteen hundred pilgrims, driving +seventy camels for sacrificial purposes. To show that his intentions +were peaceful, he caused garlands to be hung round the victims' necks. +Furthermore, at Zu'l Halifah, he solemnly put himself in the state of +"Ihram," which consists in assuming the pilgrim's garb of double +cloths without seams, and abstaining from all that is forbidden during +the visit to the holy places: approaching women; the use of perfumes; +cutting the beard, hair or nails; fighting or quarrelling; and the +slaying of animals others than those sacrificed. His disciples +followed his example and he gave out the "Talbiyah": "_I stand up for +Thy service, O Allah!_" which they all repeated in chorus. + +At Osfan, he met with Bishr ibn Al-Kâab on his return from Makkah +whither he had been sent to glean information, and who told him: 'O +Prophet! the Quraish know that thou art on the way. They have called +upon the Saquifs and the Habash who are coming to face thee, bringing +with them their wives and children, to stop themselves from even +thinking of flight. They also lead their she-camels and the young +camels, so as to be certain not to suffer from lack of meat or milk; +and the warriors have covered their bodies with skins of panthers as a +token that they will never give in, but fight to the last gasp. At +this moment, they are encamped at Zu Sua. Khalid ibn Walid, at the +head of their cavalry, is in ambush at Kurrat-ul-Ghamin.' + +'Who can guide us along some other road than that by which they expect +us?' asked the Prophet. A guide of the Aslams proffered his services +and led the army of the Believers through an unknown path, but it was +frightful to look upon. It meandered through an inextricable chaos of +wild ravines, jagged rocky heights, abrupt ascents and descents, +strewn with pointed pebbles that cut the feet of men and animals. + +After having mastered exhaustion and fatigue, the Believers debouched +in the sandy bed of a broad wadi which seemed to their bruised and +bleeding feet like a carpet of the richest pile. They offered up +thanksgivings to the Compassionate, and obeying the commands of their +inspired leader, they cried out: "_We implore the forgiveness of Allah +and we repent in His Presence!_" + +Then they went through the pass of Al Morar, and arrived at the foot +of the hill of Al-Hudaibiyah, situated partly on holy ground and +partly in ordinary territory, a day's journey from Makkah. At this +spot, Qaswa, the Prophet's she-camel, suddenly knelt and refused to +get up. 'Is she restive?' asked his companions.--'No, she is not +restive,' replied Mohammad; 'but she is stopped by Him who formerly +stopped the elephant of the Negus Abrah, and prevented him entering +Makkah.' And the Apostle gave orders to pitch the tents. + +The enemy, surprised at not having met Mohammad, and knowing he was +not far off, soon found out that he had taken a new road. They turned +back in the greatest haste, sending their horsemen on in front to bar +the way to their city. They despatched Budail and several Arabs of the +Khuzzah tribe, to sound the Prophet as to his intentions. + +Budail, having heard from the Prophet's own lips that all he wanted +was to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Places and not to wage war +against his fellow-countrymen, returned to inform the Quraish. But +they had no faith in the Khuzza men whose secret sympathy for Mohammad +was known, so they sent him another messenger, Al Halis ibn Alqamah. + +'Let the victims be paraded in front of him,' ordered the Prophet when +he saw him arrive. When Al Halis had seen the long rows of victims +going by with garlands round their necks which were shorn at the parts +where their throats would be cut, he thought it would be useless to +continue and went back to the Quraish to give them an account of his +observations. + +'Sit down,' they told him. 'Thou art naught else but a simpleton of +the Bedouin tribes and thou dost not understand the cunning of +Mohammad who haileth from our part of the country.' Al-Halis got out +of temper. 'O Assembly of the Quraish! Ye do not respect the terms of +our compact. No one hath a right to drive away from the Temple of +Allah the man who cometh to glorify the Most High! By Him who holdeth +in His hands the soul of Al-Halis, ye will let Mohammad finish his +pious visit in peace; or else we Confederates will break off with +you--and at once!' They shrugged their shoulders. 'Pshaw! Let us be +until we have achieved what we have planned.' And they charged Ora ibn +Masud, a chieftain of the Saquifs, with the mission which, in their +judgment, had been badly carried out by the previous messengers. 'O +Assembly of the Quraish!' he objected; 'I have hearkened to the bitter +words with which ye welcomed the return of your men sent to the enemy. +Ye know me by my mother; I am on your side, for I belong to the folks +dwelling in the Makkan valley. If ye suspect me in the least, lay your +hearts bare ere I depart.'--'Thou art in the right. We know thee. We +are not at all distrustful of thee.' + +Ora came into the presence of the Prophet and bowed down to him. 'O +Mohammad,' he said, 'thou hast gathered together a horde of people of +all countries and thou dost come back to thy egg (birthplace) to smash +it with their assistance! Now the Quraish have sworn a most solemn +oath, to the effect that never, so long as their eyelashes quiver on +their eyelids, shalt thou set foot again in Makkah, unless by force of +arms. And, by our gods! the scum surrounding thee must flee from thy +side, before the sun setteth on another day!' + +At these words, a flame of indignation lit up the eyes of the +companions standing, the lower half of their faces veiled, behind the +Prophet. From out of the group, strode Abu Bakr. He went up to the +Infidel and shouted to him: 'Begone and bite the belly of Lat, thine +idol! Dost thou think for a moment that we could abandon Allah's +Messenger?'--'Who is this man, O Mohammad?' queried Ora.--'The son of +Abu Kuhafah.'--'By our gods!' Ora went on, turning to Abu Bakr, 'if I +were not bound to thee by a debt of gratitude, I would have rewarded +thee according to thy deserts. But, by thine insult, we are quits for +the future.' + +The messenger now went up to Mohammad, and while speaking to him, +plucked familiarly at his beard, as was the custom in those days +between people engaged in discussion. 'Take thy hand away from the +Prophet's face before I come to rid thee of thine arm!' cried another +of the companions. 'Who is this boor?' asked Ora.--'Dost thou not know +him?' replied the Prophet with a smile. 'He is thy brother's son, Al +Mughairah Shuba.'--'O traitor!' exclaimed Ora to his nephew, 'hast +thou so soon forgotten thy crimes that were pardoned thanks to my +intervention?' He then continued his conversation with Mohammad who +treated him with the respect due to his rank. The Prophet reiterated +his statement that his intentions were purely pacific. During his +sojourn in the camp of the Believers, Ora was able to see how +boundless was their veneration for their chieftain. When the Prophet +performed his ablutions, his companions rushed to share the water he +had used. If he had his head shaved, not a hair fell to the ground +without being picked up and treasured. So Ora, on his return, said to +those who had sent him forth: 'I have seen Chosroes in the midst of +his sumptuous Persian court; Cæsar, in the proud Senate of Roman +patricians; the Negus, at the head of his formidable bodyguard of +Abyssinian warriors. Well then, I swear that I have never met with a +monarch who, surrounded by the noblemen of his court, held the same +position as Mohammad among his companions. And what is more +remarkable, contrary to what taketh place round about the mighty, +Mohammad's followers expect nothing from him; neither favours, riches, +nor honours! That is what I have ascertained. Now act as it pleaseth +you.' + +Although the Quraish were deeply affected by his declaration, they +persisted in their delusion and sent forty or fifty of their partisans +to prowl round the Believers' army, with the idea of surprising and +capturing a few soldiers of Islam. The Believers were on their guard +and it was they who took a certain number of the Infidels prisoners. +They were led before the Prophet, but resolved not to belie his own +words of peace, he pardoned and freed them, although by having been +caught attacking perfidiously, they deserved death. + +Just then, Mohammad wanted to send Umar with a message to the noblemen +of Makkah, but he made the following reply: 'O Prophet! the Quraish +know my feelings towards them as manifested by many inimical acts of +mine. I have everything to fear from them, because there is no longer +any member of my family in Makkah. But I can show you a man whose +influence will be much more efficacious than mine. I mean Usman ibn +Affan.' + +Mohammad, recognising this to be sound advice, despatched Usman to Abu +Sufyan and the noblemen of the city, to assure them that he was +actuated by pacific sentiments, and to inform them of his wish to do +honour to the "House of Allah" by a pilgrimage. When the Prophet's +envoy had finished explaining the object of his mission to the men of +Makkah, they replied: 'O Usman! if thou dost desire to perform the +ritual circuits of the "Tawaf," we authorise thee to do so.'--'I will +not accomplish them unless following in the footsteps of Allah's +Messenger.' This answer exasperated the citizens of Makkah who threw +Usman into a prison, despite his quality of ambassador. Finding that +Usman did not return, the Believers concluded that he had been +murdered and they were overwhelmed with the most profound indignation. +Mohammad hesitated no longer and proclaimed: 'We will not go away +until we have punished the "qawm" of the Infidels for the abominable +crime they have just committed!' Umar, acting under the Prophet's +orders, cried out with all the strength of his lungs: 'O Believers! +come and take the Oath--the Oath! Come while ye invoke the name of +Allah!' + +The Prophet, seated in the shade of a gum-tree, awaited the coming of +the Faithful who went in haste to him. They quivered with enthusiasm, +and resolved to follow him blindly even if they had to make war in +holy territory. They struck their palms against his to swear fidelity +till death. Just then, the news of Usman's murder being denied on the +best authority, the Prophet clapped his hands together, so as to take +the oath in place of Usman and acknowledge it. + +Meanwhile, the intense agitation manifested on this occasion, in the +ranks of the Believers, was notified by spies to the Quraish. They +grew uneasy and sent Sohail ibn Amr with a flag of truce, giving him +the following instructions: 'Offer peace to Mohammad, but claim as +condition that he turneth back this year, for never could we put up +with the sarcasms of the Arabs who will maintain that he came into our +city in spite of all we said or did. Next year, at the same epoch, he +may accomplish his pilgrimage to the Holy Places, and it pleaseth +him.' + +Sohail went back with these proposals and the Prophet accepted, +despite Umar's vehement protestations. 'I am the servant of Allah,' +Mohammad told him. 'He leadeth me not astray, and I cannot disobey the +orders He sendeth me. How now, O Umar? I decide; and thou must +perforce oppose my decision?' Umar, hearing these words, was overtaken +by such confusion that he trembled in every limb, and icy sweat poured +off him.... + +Quoth Umar: "From that day forth, I have never ceased praying, +fasting, giving alms, and freeing slaves, so as to be granted pardon +for my error." + +'O Ali!' said the Prophet, at this juncture, 'write: in the name of +Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate!'--'I cannot accept that +wording,' protested Sohail. 'Write simply: in Thy name, O Allah!'--'So +be it! Write: in Thy name, O Allah! It hath been agreed between the +undersigned, Mohammad, Prophet of Allah, and--'--'If I acknowledged +that thou art the Prophet of Allah,' interrupted Sohail. 'I should not +be at war with thee!'--'Well then, write: between Mohammad ibn +Abdullah and Sohail ibn Amr: Hostilities shall be suspended for a +period of ten years. Anyone escaping from Makkah and taking refuge +with Mohammad shall be given up to the Quraish. Mohammad and his +followers will turn back, and not attempt to enter into Makkah this +year, against the will of the Quraish. Next year, the Quraish will +cease all opposition to the visit of the Mussulmans to the Holy +Places where they may sojourn for three days, but only carrying +the arms permitted to pilgrims: sheathed sabres.' Hearing these +clauses, seemingly so disadvantageous for them, the Mussulmans +were roused and shouted: 'O Prophet! is it thou who signeth such a +compact?'--'Assuredly!' replied Mohammad with a smile. 'Those among us +who take refuge with the idolaters being insincere, we need not regret +them; and Allah will have rid us of them. As for those of the Makkan +Mussulmans who take refuge with us, if we give them up, Allah will not +abandon them, for He will know how to succour them.' + +The treaty had scarcely been signed by the leading Believers and +principals among the idolaters, when Abu Jindal, son of Sohail, who +had become converted and kept a prisoner, suddenly made his +appearance, still dragging round his ankles the links of his broken +chains. He rushed into the midst of his Moslem brethren who welcomed +him with transports of joy. + +Sohail flew into a passion at this sight. He lashed his son's face +with a thorny twig; and, seizing him by his garments, drove him into +the Prophet's presence, saying: 'O Mohammad! here is the first +fugitive: I call upon thee to give him up to me; the treaty having +been concluded before he arrived.'--'Thou hast right on thy side.'--'O +my Mussulman brethren!' cried Abu Jindal, 'am I thus given back to the +idolaters who persecute me on account of my religion? See to what +state they have reduced me!' The whole of the stoical Believer's body +was indeed covered with traces of the ill-usage from which he had +suffered. 'Be resigned, O Abu Jindal,' said the Prophet; 'and put thy +trust in Allah. He will not abandon thee; nor you; nor the +"Mustazifin" (those who are oppressed like thee); and He will deliver +thee when the time cometh.... But we have concluded a treaty on these +terms, with the "qawm" of the Quraish, and on no account can we break +our word.' + +Nevertheless, the Prophet made overtures to Sohail, asking him to give +up Abu Jindal in exchange for a ransom; but Sohail refused +unmercifully. Umar, in his turn, approached the ill-fated Mussulman, +saying: 'Patience, O Abu Jindal! Thou art in the power of infidels +whose blood hath no more value than that of dogs,' and he showed him +his sword, hoping thereby to incite him to murder his father. Despite +everything, the son loved his father tenderly and thus did he reply: +'Why dost thou not slay him thyself?'--'The Prophet hath forbidden us +to do so.'--'Well then, must not I also observe the conditions imposed +by Mohammad?' + +When Muqirris ibn Hafz, one of the Makkans who had accompanied Sohail, +witnessed this distressing scene, he was overcome with pity, and swore +to protect Abu Jindal against his father and all his persecutors. + +But whilst their companion was dragged away in the direction of +Makkah, the Believers were heartbroken.... Their sanguine enthusiasm, +arising from the fact of their expedition, gave place to gloomy +discouragement; and when the Prophet, to show them that all was +finished, sent forth his order: 'Sacrifice the victims and shave your +heads!' it seemed as if they had suddenly lost their hearing. + +Loudly invoking the name of Allah, Mohammad slew the first victim with +his own hand. He then sat down and was shaved by Khurash ibn Umaiyah. +Recovering from their state of prostration by this example, the +Believers repented, and ashamed at having shown such little eagerness +in obeying their leader, they imitated him at once by sacrificing the +victims and cutting off their own hair. Allah (Glory be to Him!) sent +a high wind that whirled away the shorn locks and carried them within +the precincts of the Holy Temple.... + +The sojourn of Mohammad at Al-Hudaibiyah extended over nineteen or +twenty days. He gave the signal to return; and his soldiers who, until +the last moment, secretly hoped to march on the enemy, obeyed him +without murmuring, despite their deep disappointment. On arriving at +Al-Madinah, fresh scenes of the kind they had just witnessed, produced +a heartbreaking effect. Nothwithstanding, they were much gratified to +find that the Prophet refused to give up to the idolaters several +Moslem women who had fled from Makkah, such as: Ummi-i-Kulsum bint +Ogbah, Sabiyah bint Al-Haris, etc., a Revelation having taught him +that women were not to be included in the treaty: "_O Believers! when +believing women, fleeing from idolatry, come over to you as refugees, +then make trial of them ... and if ye have ascertained them to be +Believers, let them not go back to the unbelievers; they are not +lawful for them, nor are the unbelievers lawful for these women. But +give the husbands back what they have spent for their dowers._" (THE +QUR'AN, LX, 10.) By way of compensation, the clauses of the treaty +concerning men were scrupulously respected. + +Like Abu Jindal, there was a Believer named Abu Basir who had escaped +from his persecutors and he was given back to a tribesman of the Banu +Amar, accompanied by a slave; these two having been sent to Al-Madinah +to claim the refugee. They took him away in full view of the Believers +who would have preferred to sink into the earth sooner than be forced +to remain powerless and witness such a sight. Alone, among them all, +the Prophet who saw what they could not see, remained unmoved and +promised freedom by the aid of the Almighty to his ill-fated +disciples. + +At Zu'l Holifah, the three men sat down in the shade of a wall to rest +awhile. The tribesman of the Banu Amar, priding himself on the success +of his mission, thought he would act the part of an invincible hero +and, unsheathing his sabre, he flourished it, bawling: 'With this good +sword, I could cut down Ansars from daybreak to nightfall and never +feel tired!'--'Is thy blade really so sharp as all that?' asked Abu +Basir. 'Let me see if it is, O my brother!' + +Blinded by pride, the man of the Banu Amar cast all distrust from his +mind. He allowed the edge of the steel to be examined by Abu Basir +who, suddenly pulling it out of the conceited wretch's hands, +brandished it over the Infidel's head and with a single blow, +stretched him dead at his feet. Seeing this, the slave, overcome by +terror, fled to Al-Madinah where he implored Mohammad's protection. At +the same moment, Abu Basir arrived, bestriding his victim's she-camel +which he had captured. He made the animal kneel before the Mosque and, +with the sabre in his grasp, he went and addressed the Prophet, +saying: 'Thou canst not be blamed for what hath occurred, for thou +didst remain true to thy word in giving me into the hands of my +enemies. But Allah hath delivered me from their persecution! Here are +the spoils. A fifth part is due to thee, Take it!'--'I can touch no +plunder coming from that foe without being false to my oath. Away with +thy booty; and now, go whither it pleaseth thee.' When Abu Basir was +gone, after taking leave of him, the Prophet added: 'Woe to his +people! That man is a brand of war! Would that he were accompanied by +a few comrades as determined as he!' + +Abu Basir went to Al-Aish, near the seashore, on the road to Syria +trodden by the Quraish caravans. Once there, he was met by Abu Jindal +and seventy other Mussulmans who, having heard that the Prophet could +not be held responsible for those who freed themselves without his +assistance, had made good their escape from the idolaters. These +refugees were quite as determined as Abu Basir. They elected to remain +in that part of the country because it was very woody and well suited +to the irregular warfare of partisans in ambush. They captured all the +convoys venturing in those regions and their success and the +enticement of booty caused them to be joined by many Arabs of the +Ghifar, Aslams, and Buhaunah tribes, etc., who became converts to +Islam and formed a "jihsh" of more then three hundred highwaymen. + +It was then that the Believers began to fathom the reasons for the +Prophet's placidness when he accepted the paragraph, seemingly so +unfavourable, concerning the restitution of fugitives. Hungered by the +stoppage of all revictualling caravans, the Quraish finished by +sending written entreaties, begging him to suppress the very clause +which at first pleased them so much. They informed Mohammad that all +Mussulmans who should get out of Makkah to join him, could remain +under his protection; and he was begged to recall Abu Basir and his +fellow-raiders. So it turned out that when Mohammad gave the Quraish +satisfaction, he had the advantage of doing a generous act at the same +time as he increased his fighting strength to a most appreciable +extent. + +The results, therefore, of the expedition of Al-Hudaibiyah, to all +appearances so poor, were of great importance. In the Qur'an, it is +set down as being almost equal to the battle of Badr. In fact, at the +moment when the Mussulmans thought they ought to attack the Holy City, +all of them, whether Makkan Mohadjirun, or Ansars of Al-Madinah, took +the oath of fealty without hesitation. After the Prophet's death, the +tree under which he accepted the pledge was so celebrated that +numerous were the Faithful who came to pray in its shade; and Umar was +obliged to have it felled, because he feared lest it became the object +of a cult tainted with fetichism. + +To crown all and complete these results, the following verses came +down: "_Well pleased now hath Allah been with the Believers when they +plighted fealty to thee under the tree; and He knew what was in their +hearts: therefore did He send down upon them a spirit of secure +repose, and rewarded them with a speedy victory. * And with the rich +booty which they took._" (THE QUR'AN, XLVIII, 18, 19.) + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Nay rather Allah is your liege lord, and +He is the best of helpers._] + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE SEVENTH] + +[Illustration: _An Arab Horseman of the Desert._] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Verily, We have won for thee an +undoubted victory._] + + +CHAPTER THE SEVENTH + + +Mohammad was never able to get the Jews to ally themselves with him, +despite all his advances, and the encouragement he had lavished on +them. As we have seen already, they could not admit of the expected +Prophet belonging to any other race but theirs; nor pardon him for +having, by means of religious fraternity, put an end to the secular +quarrels of the citizens of Al-Madinah, which, in olden days, had been +a source of abundant profit. To sum up, the victories of the Islamic +Arabs led the Jews to fear that they would never be able to free +themselves from the Arabic yoke. Therefore each fresh success of the +Mussulman armies increased the jealousy of the Jews and their perfidy +soon degenerated into open hostility, necessitating a long series of +expeditions against them. + +For the sake of clarity, we gather into one chapter the whole of these +expeditions, although they took place at long intervals. + +[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST THE QAYNUQA JEWS (_Year II of the Hegira +A.D. 624_) ] + +An Arab woman, seated close to the shop belonging to a jeweller of the +Qaynuqa Jews, was the victim of a most insulting practical joke. +Without her knowing it, someone had hooked the lowest edge of her robe +to the part of the apparel covering her shoulders, so that when she +rose to her feet, her nakedness was displayed to the gaze of the Jews +in the shop, who were all overtaken by a fit of the most indecent +hilarity. + +An Arab, very indignant, struck down the insulter with a blow from a +club. He was felled in his turn, by the jeweller's relatives. Other +Arabs rushed to avenge him, and a pitched battle took place in the +open, blood flowing on both sides. + +Jews being the agressors, the Prophet, knowing their deep-rooted +inimical feelings, profited by the opportunity to demand in due form +that they should become converts to Islam. At first he tried +persuasion: 'By so doing, you will be making a loan to Allah which +will bring you in marvellous interest,' he told them.--'Allah must be +very poor,' they replied, 'since He is reduced to borrow of us who are +rich?' + +At this blasphemy, the Prophet threatened them with exemplary +punishment, unless they embraced Islam immediately. They shrugged +their shoulders. 'Thou art proud indeed by reason of thy victory over +soldiers of no account,' said the Jews. 'Try now to attack us and thou +wilt see that we are in nowise like thy fellow-countrymen of Makkah.' + +Mohammad called upon the Mussulmans to come to his aid, and the Banu +Qaynuqa, losing their arrogance as soon as Allah's warriors showed +themselves, ran away and took refuge in neighbouring strongholds +belonging to their co-religionists. After holding out for a fortnight, +they had to surrender and beg for mercy. The Prophet ordered their +throats to be cut as an example to the other Jews that would deliver +them from the temptation of copying their slaughtered brethren. +Abdullah, the "Hypocrite," with whom they were allied, interceded with +Mohammad in their favour. Twice he answered: 'Let me be.' + +Abdullah placed his hand on the heart of Allah's Apostle and +supplicated him, saying: 'I cannot stand by and see them massacred! It +would be black ingratitude on my part!'--'They are at thy disposal,' +the Prophet told him at last. 'But their belongings are ours.' + +The Qaynuqa, saved by the intervention of the "Hypocrite," had to go +into exile in Syria, and their property was divided among the victors. + +[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST THE JEWS OF THE BANU NADIR (_Year III of +the Hegira, A.D. 625_)] + +The Jews of the Banu Nadir having claimed money compensation for the +death of two of their brethren killed by the soldiers of Amr, the +Prophet went among the tribesmen to enquire into the matter. + +He had just given them satisfaction; and, whilst conversing with a few +companions, the Prophet was seated in the shade of a house, when a +Jew, son of Jahsh ibn Ka'b, climbed stealthily on to the flat roof +with the intention of crushing Mohammad with great stones already +brought there. By celestial inspiration, Mohammad looked up just as +the son of Jahsh was about to commit the crime. The Apostle of Allah +moved quickly away from the wall, dragging his companions with him. + +As soon as he returned to Al-Madinah, he called his warriors together, +and set out with them to punish the authors of this treacherous act. +The Banu Nadir, having failed in their attempt, shut themselves up in +their strongholds, but after holding out for six days, they had to +follow the example of the Qaynuqa and surrender unconditionally, +throwing themselves on the mercy of their conqueror. + +Their lives were spared, but of all their immense wealth, each man was +only allowed the load of one camel. + +[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST THE JEWS OF THE BANU QURAIZAH (_Year V +of the Hegira, A.D. 627_)] + +The Confederates, being dispersed following their defeat at the Battle +of the Ditch, the Mussulmans had laid down their arms. One day, when +taking their siesta, recuperating after passing sleepless nights and +undergoing great fatigue during the siege, they were suddenly awakened +by the voice of the Mua'zzin. Acting under the Prophet's orders, he +shouted: 'Let all who hear and obey refrain this day from saying the +prayer of "Asr" (afternoon), unless in the midst of the Banu +Quraizah.' + +Mohammad judged that the treachery of these tribesmen, renouncing +their alliance and joining his enemies, deserved immediate punishment. +The same day, he camped with his soldiers at the well of Enna, in +front of his enemies' citadels; and after a blocus of twenty-five +days, forced them to capitulate. + +The Aus, to whom the Banu Quraizah had long been allied, begged the +Prophet to spare their lives, as in the case of the Qaynuqa. The +Prophet, however, considered that the treachery of the Banu Quraizah +was a much more serious matter and he was not at all inclined to let +himself be mollified. At last, desirous of meeting them halfway, he +said: 'O Assembly of the Aus! will ye not consent to let one among you +become arbitrator and decide what shall be done with your +allies?'--'Yea! we consent.'--'Then let one of your chieftains, Sa'b +ibn Mu'adh, seal their fate.' + +Now, Sa'b ibn Mu'adh had been badly wounded during the Battle of the +Ditch by an arrow which had severed an artery in the arm and he prayed +Allah to let him live long enough to punish the Banu Quraizah for +their felony. Sa'b, corpulent and too weak to walk, had himself placed +on the back of an ass; where propped up by cushions and supported by +two Believers, he was led to the assembly of the Mohadjirun and the +Ansars, who stood up to do him honour, saying: 'The Prophet hath +commissioned thee to decide the fate of they allies.'--'Will ye swear +by Allah that my decision be carried into effect!'--'We swear +it!'--'Well then, I decide that the men shall be slain, their property +divided, and their wives and children sent into bondage.'--'Thy +decision hath been inspired by the will of Allah!' concluded Mohammad. + +Seven hundred Jews paid for their unjustifiable treachery with their +lives. The wish for which Sa'b had lived was fulfilled. His old wound +burst open, causing the last drops of his blood to flow away, and he +earned the crown of martyrdom. + +[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST THE JEWS OF KHAIBAR (_Year VI of the +Hegira, A.D. 628_)] + +Notwithstanding these grave defeats, the power of the Jews in Arabia +was not definitively crushed. + +The land of Khaibar, about ninety-six miles north of Al-Madinah, still +belonged to them and it was richer and more important than the +territory they had lost. Many Jews, driven from the neighbourhood of +Al-Madinah, had taken refuge there; and by their thirst for revenge, +they rekindled the hatred which the inhabitants already felt towards +Islam. + +The Jews of Khaibar, fancying themselves safe from any attack of the +Mussulmans, never let an opportunity escape to do them harm; and +copying the manner in which Mohammad had proceeded against the +Makkans, the Jews found out a good way to satisfy their rancour. The +region between Khaibar and the sea was inhabited by the tribe of the +Ghatafans, their allies, and they had come to an agreement to block +the road and stop all Mussulman caravans leaving Al-Madinah to travel +to Syria. The damage inflicted from these tactics had often made the +Prophet think about sending an expedition against the Jews of Khaibar, +but he was too busy round about Makkah, to carry out this plan. + +On returning from Al-Hudaibiyah, the ten years' truce, signed with the +Quraish, freed him from all anxiety as regarded them, and the +Revelation he received at that moment: "_He rewarded them with a +speedy victory. * And with a rich booty,_" (THE QUR'AN, XLVIII, +18-19), seeming to him to apply to Khaibar, and nothing else, he +hesitated no longer, and decided to march against this fortress, the +last stronghold of the Jews in Arabia. + +The Ghatafans, secretly forewarned by Abdullah, the "Hypocrite," +rushed to the aid of the Jews, their allies, but on arriving at the +Wadi'r Raji, they found that the Mussulman forces had outstripped them +and thus they were cut off from the road to Khaibar. Whilst brought to +a dead stop, disagreeably surprised, they heard noises behind them, +near their tents, and imagining that part of the Mussulman "qawm" had +been diverted to take them in the rear, they turned back in great +haste. + +The palm-gardens of Khaibar, spreading between the sombre heights of +the Harra like an emerald lake whence emerged rocky, citadel-crowned +islets, came suddenly into view, after passing through a ravine. To be +able to take possession of them, the Prophet invoked the aid of the +Almighty. But night coming on, Mohammad postponed the attack till the +following day. When the first rays of the sun gilded the tops of the +date-trees, the Khaibar husbandmen left their strongholds to go in +their gardens; their spades, pickaxes and baskets hanging from their +shoulders. Suddenly, they found themselves confronted by the +Believers' army debouching from the Harra; spearheads and swords +reflecting the light of the rising sun in ensanguined radiance. + +'Mohammad and his Jihsh!' they cried, and throwing away implements and +baskets, fled as fast as their legs would carry them. 'Allah is +great!' proclaimed the Prophet. 'Khaibar shall be destroyed. When we +swoop down on the territory of a nation, its awakening is terrible! Lo +and behold the sinister omen! On our behalf, its inhabitants abandon +their tools that will serve to undermine their ramparts and dig their +graves.' + +The first of the many Khaibar citadels to fall into the Mussulmans' +hands was that of Na'im. It was there they had to mourn the loss of +Mahmud ibn Maslama, who, tired of having fought all day in the sun, +wearing heavy armour, had imprudently gone close to the rampart to +rest in the shade. A mill-stone, hurled from an embrasure, smashed the +valiant soldier's helmet, split his skull, and caused the skin of his +forehead to fall down over his eyes. In that parlous state, the +wounded man was brought into the presence of the Prophet who put the +strip of flesh back in its place, fastening a turban round it; but the +best of attention was unavailing in face of such a serious injury, and +it was not long before Mahmud gave up the ghost. + +The citadels of Natha, the next to be invested, resisted more +obstinately. In order to force the besieged to capitulate, the Prophet +gave orders to cut down under their eyes four hundred palm-trees of +their oasis, but all in vain. He therefore put an end to such +devastation, contrary to his principles, for as he has said: 'Among +all trees, there is one which is blessed like a Mussulman: 'tis the +palm.' + +The siege continuing, famine began to make itself felt, discouraging +the besiegers, when Umar, having taken a Jew prisoner, the captive, to +save his life, offered to give the Prophet valuable information. In +the cellars of Sa'b ibn Mu'adh, one of the Natha citadels, called +after the man, instruments of warfare of all kinds were stored: +battering-rams; catapults for siege purposes; and armour, shields, +pikes, lances and swords for the equipment of combatants. Just then, +this fort happened to be weakly garrisoned, and the Jewish captive +undertook to take the Mussulmans inside by means of a secret itinerary +known to him alone. + +Mohammad having accepted the offer, seized upon Sa'b easily, and +thanks to the machines he found therein, which he used to destroy the +ramparts, he captured the remaining fortresses of Natha, one after the +other. They all contained provisions in abundance. While taking one of +these forts, the poet Amr ibn u'l-Uhayha, pursuing one of the enemy, +dealt him a furious sabre-cut, aiming at his legs to stop him in his +flight. But the blade, too short, striking the empty air, rebounded +from the force of the blow and pierced Amar's knee, setting up such +strong hemorrhage that he expired soon afterwards, being sacrificed by +his own hand, whilst fighting for Allah. + +The most important of all the Khaibar citadels was still standing: +that of Al-Qamus, in which Kinana, Prince of the Banu-Nadir, had taken +refuge. It was defended by Marhab al-Yahudi, an illustrious warrior. +Built on the top of a vertical black rock, with smooth sides, and +surrounded by cleverly-designed fortifications, this fort was said to +be impregnable. After ten days of desperate efforts against the +ramparts, the Believers, however, succeeded in effecting a breach, +into which leapt the Prophet, setting the example to his companions; +but after having been in the greatest danger, he was compelled to +retrace his steps. + +The shooting pains of neuralgia forcing him to take forty-eight hours' +rest, he entrusted the standard to Abu Bakr, who led an attack through +the breach, with the most ardent courage, but he also had to beat a +retreat at last. Umar took his place, accomplishing prodigies of +valour, likewise without success. + +Hearing of their failure, Mohammad declared: 'By Allah! to-morrow I'll +confide the flag to an intrepid fellow, to whom flight is unknown. He +loveth Allah and His Messenger, and by them he is beloved. 'Tis he who +will capture Al-Qamus by sheer strength.' + +Next day, all the companions clustering close to the Prophet were +anxious to learn who was the man among them to be so greatly honoured. +But without glancing at the group, he sent for Ali who had to remain +in the rear because he was suffering from painful ophthalmia. Led by a +friend, he came into the Prophet's presence. Ali's eyes were covered +by a bandage. + +'Come hither, close to me,' said Mohammad. 'Take this flag and keep a +hold on it until the Almighty shall open a way for thee through these +ramparts.'--'I suffer cruelly from my eyes, O Prophet!' replied Ali. +'I cannot even see to walk.' + +Mohammad made Ali rest his head in his lap; separated the young man's +swollen eyelids, and rubbed the bloodshot eyes with a little saliva. +All inflammation vanished immediately and every vestige of pain +disappeared.... The Prophet then buckled his own breastplate on Ali +and armed him with his own sword, celebrated under the title of +"Dhu'l-Fiqar". + +Ali went towards the fortress, planting in the ground, close to the +ramparts, the white flag on which stood out in bold relief, +embroidered in black letters, the Islamic profession of faith. He then +got ready to storm the breach.... Al-Harith, at the head of a few +Jews, tried to bar the way and drive back the Mussulman hero, but the +leader of the children of Israel succumbed, struck down by Ali; and +the soldiers who had followed all ran away. + +The brother of Al-Harith, Marhab, famous and feared, came now to the +front, eager for revenge. He produced an effect of terror by his +gigantic stature, double armour, a pair of swords, a three-headed +spear, a double turban; and his helmet on which sparkled a jewel as +big as an egg. His eyes, too, glistened like two carbuncles. Puffed up +by pride, he strode to the breach. 'The whole of the land of Khaibar, +from end to end, knoweth my valour! When war rageth, sometimes I +pierce with my lance; and sometimes I slice with my sword! Doth there +exist in all the world a champion who dare stand up against me?' + +Without being moved by this bragging bombast, Ali showed himself to +take up the challenge: 'I'll be that man! Verily I, called by my +mother Haydra, the lion cub, in memory of my father, known as the +Lion. With my sabre I'll give thee good measure!' + +Hearing this reply, Marhab became purple with rage. Brandishing his +scimitar, he rushed at Ali. The formidable blade hissed through the +air and it seemed as if the champion of Islam had just been +annihilated. But the sword of the terrible Jew was stopped by Ali's +shield in which it penetrated deeply and stuck therein. Without giving +his adversary time to drag it away, Ali loosened his hold of the +buckler, now useless and in his way, and replied to the attack by a +wonderful cut that split the helmet, turban and skull of his enemy, +scattering the brains in every direction. The steel was only stopped +by the Jew's teeth, forming barrier. The giant fell in a huddled heap, +like a tower ruined by an earthquake, in a cloud of dust, with a noise +as of thunder.... + +Seized with affright, the Jewish soldiers fled, pursued by Ali's men. +He tore from its hinges the heavy door of the ramparts and it served +him as a shield in place of the one broken in the fight. Resistance +was cut short and Al-Qamus, the impregnable, was captured by the +warriors of Islam. + +When the fall of the famous fort became known, the Jews of Fadak and +of Wadi'l-Qura, two places a few days' march towards the north, sent +in their submission. In concordance with their co-religionists of +Khaibar, they supplicated the Prophet to let them live as farmers on +their estates which they alone knew how to cultivate properly; and to +allow them to take half of the crops as remuneration for their labour. +Mohammad consented, on condition that the Believers would have the +right to alter this decision, should they deem it necessary. + +Khaibar was the most fertile land of all the Hijaz; the spoils were +therefore considerable. One half was set apart to defray the expenses +of the pilgrimage to take place during the current year; the rest was +distributed among the warriors. The land, with the exception of the +portion due to the Prophet and to orphans, was divided in such a way +that each man received one share, and each charger two shares; making +three shares for each horseman. This was done with the aim of +encouraging the breed of horses. A supplementary gift fell to the lot +of any soldier being the owner of a pure-blooded courser. + +[Sidenote: IMPORTANCE OF HORSE-BREEDING ACCORDING TO THE PROPHET] + +These measures show the importance attributed by the Prophet to the +equine race in the life of the Arabs. + +Up till then, horses were very rare in Arabia, being looked upon as +articles of luxury, as it were. Led by the bridle by the side of the +camels ridden by the warriors, the steeds were only called upon when +charging or pursuing the enemy. The Prophet completed these +arrangements by founding race-meetings destined to develop emulation +among breeders and horsemen. In the Qur'an, so as to inspire Believers +with the fear, of the Day of Retribution, horses galloping breathless +are called to witness: "_By the panting chargers! * And those that +dash off sparks of fire * And those that scour to the attack at morn! +* And stir therein the dust aloft! * And cleave therein their midway +through a host! * Truly, Man is to his Lord ungrateful! * And of this +he verily is himself a witness * And truly he is vehement in the Love +of this world's good. * Knoweth he not, then, that when that which is +in the graves shall be torn forth * And that which is in men's breasts +shall be brought out * Verity their Lord shall on that day be well +informed concerning them?_" (THE QUR'AN, C, 1-11.) + +Unfortunately, tame translation is powerless to give an idea of the +dizzy, whirling rhythm and the panting, galloping, neighing--if one +may venture so to write--assonance of the first verses of this surah. +One of the most celebrated horsemen of that epoch, Abdullah ibn Abi +Sarh, afterwards governor of Egypt and who inflicted cruel defeats on +the Romans, by land and sea, was such an enthusiastic admirer of this +surah that it was always on his lips, and he recited it even on his +deathbed. + +Thanks to the vigorous impulsion given by the Prophet to +horse-breeding, the race of pure-blooded barbs unrivalled in the +world, was soon formed, to be kept up ever afterwards. + +[Sidenote: THE POISONED LAMB] + +After sunset, when the Prophet had said the prayer of "Magrib," he +went back to the camp. Near his tent, he saw seated the Jewess Zainab, +daughter of Al-Harith, and wife of Sallam ibn Mishkam. She awaited +Mohammad's coming to give him the present she had brought: a lamb +spitted on a spear, and which had been roasted at a fire fed with +aromatic wood from the desert. He thanked the woman, and when she had +taken her leave, he invited his companions to sit down and partake of +the roast. Its crisp, golden outer skin looked very tempting. + +The Prophet was the first to fall to, twisting off a shoulder, into +which he bit and began to chew a morsel. Following his example, Bishr +ibn U'l-Bara took a mouthful of meat; masticating and swallowing it. +The other guests had already reached out their hands in like fashion, +when the Prophet spat out the piece he was chewing and stopped them +abruptly, shouting: 'Hold your hands! This shoulder hath just told me +that it is poisoned!'--'By Him who is Generosity incarnate!' exclaimed +Bishr, 'I thought that my mouthful had a peculiar flavour and guessed +what it meant; but seeing thee chew thine, I could not spit it out, +saving your reverence. If this poison should destroy thy life, what +liking can remain to me for mine?' + +Scarcely had Bishr uttered these words than his face, overspread by a +blackish hue, became distorted, and he writhed on the ground, a prey +to unbearable suffering. + +The Prophet sent at once for the Jewess and said to her: 'Thou hast +poisoned this lamb?'--'Who told thee so?'--'This!' and he showed her +the fragment of shoulder he held.--'It is true,' she confessed.--'Why +didst thou do this thing?'--'My father, my uncle, my husband and many +of my people have suffered the sad fate thou knowest of, by thy fault. +And I did think: if Mohammad is naught but a mighty monarch, I end his +days and glut their vengeance and mine. If, on the contrary, he is +truly a Prophet, he is in no danger, because his Allah will warn him +of my purpose.' + +This clever answer calmed the Prophet and he was perchance on the +point of pardoning the guilty woman for her abominable crime, when +Bishr expired at that moment. Mohammad delivered the Jewess into the +hands of the dead man's relatives who came clamouring to be avenged. +Zainab was crucified and the remains of the fatal lamb were burnt. + +Although the Prophet spat out the perfidious piece of meat almost as +soon as it passed his lips, the poison filtered through his body as +far as his entrails, and he never fully recovered from its pernicious +effects. Three years later, when fatally ill, Bishr's sister coming +into his house to ask after his health, he told her: 'The vein of my +heart was torn by the food I ate with thy brother, at Khaibar.' + +[Sidenote: AMRATU'L-QADA OR THE PIOUS VISITATION (_Year VII of the +Hegira, A.D. 629_)] + +At the same time as the expeditionary forces, laden with spoils, came +back from Khaibar, the last emigrants arrived from Abyssinia. Among +them was Jafar, son of Abu Talib and brother to Ali. Their return made +Mohammad very joyful. With sincere effusion, he kissed Jafar between +the eyes and declared: 'I know not which causeth me the greatest joy: +the taking of Khaibar, or the return of Jafar.' + +Among those returning was also Umm Habiba, daughter of Abu Sufyan, the +Prophet's mortal enemy. She had emigrated with her husband, +Ubaydu'llah ibn Jahsh, but he was a convert to Christianity and had +died in Abyssinia, while she remained steadfast to Islam. As a reward +for such fidelity, as well as hoping to disarm by alliance one of his +most fierce adversaries, the Prophet had sent Amr ibn Umayya to the +Negus, asking to be married by proxy to Umm Habiba and to have her +sent back afterwards with the other emigrants. This being done, Umm +Habiba, on arriving at Al-Madinah, was received in the dwelling of her +illustrious husband. + +As for the emigrants, Mohammad proposed that they should be allowed a +share of the Khaibar booty. This arrangement being ratified by +unanimous consent, they were thus compensated for having sacrificed +their property and left their country in order to remain true to their +faith. + +The date on which the treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah gave the Prophet the +right to come to Makkah with his disciples to visit the Holy Places +having arrived, he was now on the point of being able to fulfil one of +his most ardent aspirations and also see his native land. + +Followed by the same number of pilgrims, and driving before him the +same number of camels, destined to be sacrificed, as in the expedition +of Al-Hudaibiyah, he made his partisans disarm and left in the valley +of Batn Ya'jiju, a great quantity of weapons, brought as a +precautionary measure, in the care of a guard, two hundred strong, +commanded by Aws ibn Khawli. 'We only penetrate into the Holy Land,' +declared the Prophet, 'carrying the arms of the traveller: our swords +in their scabbards, according to the terms of our oath, but if we +detect in the glances of the idolatrous Quraish the slightest sign of +treachery, our other weapons will be found handy.' + +He then pushed on. Self-communing, he climbed the Kuda hill, in order +to descend into the valley near the cemetery of Al-Hajun where rested +his beloved Khadijah (May Allah welcome her in His Grace!) When he +cast eyes on the first houses of Makkah, unspeakable emotion +overpowered him by reason of the remembrances and hopes they evoked. +Fearing lest treachery, on the part of the Infidels, should force him +to order reprisals, causing the blood of his fellow-countrymen to +sully the streets of the city where he was born, he cried out: 'O +Allah, spare us all misfortune in the Holy City!' He never ceased +repeating this request until he left the precincts of Makkah. + +On the approach of the Believers, the leading citizens, exasperated at +the triumphant return of the men they had banished, went out of the +town and hid their impotent rage in tents pitched in the neighbouring +ravines. As for the mass of the inhabitants, like all mobs, they were +dominated by a feeling of curiosity and clustered either on the +heights of the Jabal Qu'ayqu'an, or on the terrace-roof of the +"Dar-un-Nadwa", House of Council, from which they were able to look +down into the interior of the Temple. From the gossip of the crowd +could be gathered the general hope: that the Prophet and his partisans +would arrive in a state of complete exhaustion, their blood and bodies +impoverished by the torrid summer heat and pernicious fevers of +Al-Madinah. + +Forewarned by divine inspiration, Mohammad cautioned his companions. +'Allah will be merciful to those,' said he, 'who this day display +their bodily vigour.' + +With the exception of the common people mustering on the roof of the +"Dar-un-Nadwa," the city was quite empty. The Prophet could have +captured it without striking a blow; but his soul, incapable of such +treachery, was entirely engrossed by pious thoughts. Riding his +she-camel, Qaswa, its bridle held by Abdullah ibn Rawaha, and +surrounded and followed by his disciples, he passed through the +outlying districts, under the eyes of enemies, without even honouring +them by a single glance. He alighted on the Temple threshold, wrapping +himself up in the folds of his mantle, by throwing one end over his +left shoulder, leaving his right arm and shoulder at liberty. Followed +and imitated by all the Faithful, he kissed the Black Stone and +performed the "Tawaf," the seven ritual circuits round the Ka'bah. The +three first were made with swift, measured strides (called "Ramal," or +"Harwala"), with a view of proving the fine state of health of the +Believers to the Infidels looking on. They shook their heads gloomily, +saying to each other: 'So these are the men described to us as +enfeebled by the heat and fevers of Al-Madinah!' At the bottom of +their hearts, the Unbelievers were forced to confess that such men as +these, their mental well-being surpassing even their bodily health, +were unconquerable. The four remaining circuits were made with slow +dignity, as Mohammad had no desire to demand useless efforts from his +partisans; and ever since that day, this manner of performing the +"Tawaf" is religiously copied by pilgrims. + +[Illustration: _"Among all trees, one is blessed like the Mussulman, +'tis the palm," said the Prophet._ 2 views] + +The Prophet then ordered Bilal to call the Faithful to prayer. When +the idolaters heard the resounding accents of the black freed slave, +reverberating in the echoes of the valley, they were so deeply annoyed +that they envied the fate of their illustrious dead, Abu Jabal and Abu +Lahab, prevented from hearing this call by the weight of the earth +piled on their graves. After the prayer, Mohammad again bestrode his +she-camel, to perform the "Sa'y" which is the run between the two +hills of Safa and Marwa. His example swept away the Believers' +scruples; for until then, they had hesitated about going through this +ceremony, being embarrassed by the presence of the idols Isaf and +Na'ila, set up at that spot. + +By the performance of these rites, instituted by Abraham and +perpetuated by the Arabs, the Prophet had in view a nationalist and +political goal, which he wished to combine with his religious aims. If +he kissed the Black Stone, it was not by reason of a feeling of +superstitious worship which would have contradicted all the principles +of the Qur'an much too flagrantly, but solely through a feeling of +reverence for this relic of his glorious ancestor. + +Quoth Ibn Abi Shayba, following Isa ibn Talha: "Addressing the Black +Stone, the Prophet declared: Verily, I know that thou art nothing more +than a stone, powerless to do harm, or be of any use. Then he kissed +it.... In this conjuncture, Abu Bakr, followed by Umar, one after the +other, came and kissed it, declaring: By Allah! I know that thou art +nothing more than a stone, powerless to do harm or be of any use, and +if I had not seen the Prophet kiss thee, I should not have kissed +thee!" + +In like fashion, by the "Sa'y" and the ablutions at the well of +Zamzam, Mohammad kept alive the touching remembrance of the Arab's +ancestor Ishmael and of his mother Hajar (Hagar). "Being too weak to +carry any farther her wretched child succumbing athirst in a horrible +desert, Hajar placed her offspring on the ground in the shade of a +shrub and ascended a hill, hoping to see from afar a well or spring; +but all in vain. Then, fearing that the soul of Ishmael might have +escaped from his body, she came back, panting, to his side, and +climbed another hill for the same purpose, but with no more success +than before. So she went down again, tortured by the same anguish. + +"Seven times did she run in despair between the two hills until, +maddened, she thought she would only find a corpse, when she caught +sight of her beloved son quenching his thirst at a spring which, by +order of the Compassionate, had gushed forth under the heel of the +poor child. And to this miraculous well was given the name of Zamzam." + +In imitation of Hajar, pilgrims pass seven times along the path of +agony which she trod between the two hills known as Safa and Marwa, +and it is their duty to drink and perform their ablutions at the +Zamzam spring. + +On the following day, in commemoration of the sacrifice of Abraham, +the victims were immolated in the valley of Mina. Their flesh was +shared among the pilgrims who, having shaved their heads, were once +again in the state of "halal," ordinary life, which they had +relinquished since Zu'l-Holifah. + +While still in the state of "ihram," Mohammad, thanks to the special +privilege derived from his position as Allah's Messenger, married a +woman of Makkah, named Maimunah. She was fifty years of age and +extremely poor; but this matrimonial alliance was bound to bring +notable recruits to Islam. In the first place, her brother-in-law, +Al-Abbas, was Mohammad's uncle. He was her "wakil," or guardian, and +decreed her union with the Prophet. But the marriage was only +consummated at the first halt on the return journey to Al-Madinah. + +Despite the rage of the idolatrous Quraish, who could not bear to look +upon the sight of their enemy's pilgrimage, the Prophet had gained his +end: to inform the Arabs of the whole of the Peninsula that he had no +intention of abolishing their secular traditions; but on the contrary, +would devote all his efforts to consolidate them, by restoring their +primitive purity. + +The "Amratu'l-Qada" was thus the cause of great reaction; bringing +about immediate conversions; among others, those of three great +personages: Uthman ibn Talha, Amr ibnu'l-As and Khalid ibn Walid, +besides preparing the minds of the majority of the Arabs to follow +their example. + +[Sidenote: THE PROPHET SENDS AMBASSADORS TO THE PRINCIPAL MONARCHS OF +THE WORLD] + +The definitive defeat of the Jews rallied a great part of Arabia to +the Prophet; and the rest of the Peninsula was fatally bound, in +course of time, to come under the sway of Islam. + +It was then that Mohammad turned towards neighbouring empires. Allah's +presence filled the universe and Islam, which counted already in its +ranks disciples of many different origins, was not destined to be +merely confined to the land of the Arabs. It spread over the whole +world. As it is written in the Qur'an: "_We have not sent thee +otherwise than to mankind at large._" (XXXIV, 27). + +To the most powerful monarchs of Europe, therefore, Mohammad +despatched envoys carrying letters inviting those potentates to +embrace the religion of Allah, the Only One; and the missives bore a +seal on which the Prophet had caused to be engraved these words, set +out in three lines: "From Allah--the Prophet--Mohammad." + +On receipt of the message, Al-Mundhir, King of Bahrayn, and Badhan, +Persian Satrap of Yaman, became converts to Islam. Al-Muqawqas, +Viceroy of Egypt, sent rich presents, among which, as well as Duldul, +a white mule, and Ya'fur, an ass, was a young slave, Mary the Copt. +She at once became Mohammad's concubine. Hirqal, (Heraclius), the +Roman Emperor, and the Najashi, (Negus), of Abyssinia, both replied by +most courteous letters. + +Kesra (Chosroes), King of Persia, swore he would punish the Prophet +for his audacity and the Almighty immediately chastised the monarch, +for he was murdered by his son Shiru'e, (Siroes), who took his +father's place on the throne. Al-Harith, son of Abu Shamar, was fated +to see his kingdom torn asunder, even as he had torn the letters +delivered to him by the Prophet's envoy. + +Only one of these ambassadors, Al-Harith ibn Amr, was received with +contumely and afterwards treacherously murdered near Karak in the +Balqua region, following orders given by Shurabil al-Ghassani who +governed this region under Roman rule. + +[Sidenote: THE EXPEDITION OF MUTAH (_Year VII of the Hegira, A.D. +629_)] + +When the news of the outrage on his ambassador came to the Prophet's +ears, he determined to be instantly avenged, although he did not +conceal from himself the dangers of the undertaking. + +This time the Believers had to face, not only the Syrian Arabs, +outnumbering those of the Hijaz, but also the Roman troops who +occupied the Balqua-Land. The Prophet placed Zayd ibn Al-Haris at the +head of three thousand men; but foreseeing that in this unequal +struggle, his army might be deprived of its leader, he nominated in +advance, as successor, Jafar, son of Abu Talib; and if misfortune +befell Jafar, Abdullah ibn Rawaha; and lastly, in the case of anything +unluckily happening to the latter, it was left to the soldiers to +choose a commander themselves. + +A Jew was present at the council of war and made the following +remarks: 'O Abul Qasim! (a surname of Mohammad), if thou art really a +Prophet, all the men thou hast appointed are irretrievably lost. When +our prophets of Israel, after having placed a general at the head of +their armies, used to add: 'and, if he is killed, name such an one in +his place,' that infallibly meant that he was bound to lose his life.' +Then, turning to Zayd, he went on: 'I swear to thee that if Mohammad +is a true Prophet, thou wilt never return from this expedition.' Zayd +replied simply: 'I swear to thee that Mohammad is the Prophet of +Allah.' Then the Apostle tied the white "Liwa" (flag) to a spearhead +and gave it into the hands of Zayd. + +Filled with funereal sentiments, Mohammad accompanied his troops to +Saniyat-ul-Wida, (the Pass of Farewells). It was there that he halted +and gave them his final instructions: 'Remain ever in fear of Allah. +Fight in his name and kill His foes who are yours. But leave in peace +such men as dwell in the seclusion of monasteries. Spare women, +children and the blind. Destroy no monuments; cut down no trees; and +when ye shall have avenged the death of Al-Harith ibn Amr, summon the +Arab tribes of Syria to Islam.' + +Shurahbil, anxious as to the results of his cowardly outrage, called +upon all the Arabs of the surrounding country: the Banu Bahra, the +Banu Lakhm, the Judham, the Baliyy, etc., and he notified his fears to +Theodurus, lieutenant of Heraclius, who sent him all the Roman troops +then occupying the land. + +Shurahbil had therefore mustered an army of nearly a hundred thousand +men before the Mussulman forces arrived at Mu'an. When they found +themselves fronting such formidable cohorts, the Believers remained +two days and two nights in consultation and many among them proposed +that a messenger should be despatched to the Prophet who would then +decide whether they were to turn back or fight. Perhaps he might send +them reinforcements. But the utterances of Abdullah ibn Rawaha revived +the courage of the Believers. 'O comrades! how is it that ye seem to +fear the very thing ye come to seek: martyrdom in the Holy War? We +reckon not on numbers to gain the victory, but on the faith with which +Allah hath inspired us!'--'Thou dost speak truly!' they cried and, +hesitating no longer, advanced towards the enemy, coming in contact +with him at Mutah, a little village situated south of the Karab fort. + +Like lions, they dashed into the centre of their massed foes, whose +chief, Malik ibn Rafila, was killed by a spear-thrust.... Recovering +from their first surprise and profiting by their great numerical +superiority, the Infidels were not long in getting the best of the +struggle and they encircled the Mussulmans completely. Outnumbered, +Zayd ibn Al-Haris died the death of a hero; and Jafar, obeying the +Prophet's instructions, bounded forward to uphold the standard that +Zayd's contracted fingers still gripped, and to take command in his +place. + +Jafar rode a magnificent chestnut charger, but seeing the immediate +danger, he alighted and hamstrung his steed, so that if the master +succumbed, his horse should not be captured by the enemy to be used +against Islam. By his example, he was able to rally the Believers and +lead them in an enthusiastic charge, whilst waving the Islamic +standard which proudly spread its wings above their heads. But soon, +like an eagle wounded in its flight, the flag fell down; the hand that +held it being hacked off by a blow from a scimitar. + +Jafar picked up the standard, grasping it in his left hand, when +another sword-cut sliced his unwounded wrist. Jafar stooped, and +seizing the flag between the bleeding stumps of his arms, he kept it +aloft by pressing the staff against his breast, and with sublime +heroism, continued to charge the enemy until he fell, riddled with +ninety wounds. + +Abdullah ibn Rawaha succeeded him and met with the same fate shortly +afterwards. The Mussulmans, attacked on all sides, seeing their +leaders struck down, gave way and began to flee in disorder. Arqam ibn +Amir stopped them. 'O comrades!' he cried out, ''tis better to be +struck in the breast than in the back!' Picking up the standard, he +passed it on to Khalid ibn Walid who refused it at first, saying: +'Thou hast a better right to this honour than I, for thou wert at +Badr.' + +But Arqam insisting, Khalid took charge of the flag. His impetuous +energy instilled fresh courage and confidence into the hearts of the +Believers, ashamed of their momentary weakness, and being a skilful +strategist as well as a valiant soldier, he succeeded with the help of +Allah, in freeing the Mussulman troops and reorganising the fighting +front in such masterly fashion that the Infidels were unable to claim +the victory. + +At sunrise, the next day, he was first to attack, so as not to give +the enemy time to recover from his partial defeat. To deceive him with +regard to the numerical weakness of the Islamic forces, he resorted to +the following stratagem: by rapid evolutions of various sections of +his army, he made the rearguards pass to the van, and _vice versa_, in +such a way that the enemy, continually seeing fresh adversaries +confronting him, imagined that the Mussulmans had been greatly +reinforced during the night. The Infidels' certainty of triumph, +mainly founded on their numbers, vanished; and seized with +indescribable terror, they gave way, pursued by the Believers who +slaughtered them ruthlessly. During that memorable day, Khalid had +nine sabres broken in his hand. + +By divine inspiration, the Prophet was informed of the ordeals of his +army. After general prayer, he went up in the pulpit, his eyes full of +tears, and cried out three times: 'The Gate of Good! Know ye all that +Zayd hath fallen a martyr; implore the mercy of Allah in his favour. +Then Jafar and Abdullah died martyrs; implore the mercy of Allah for +them. Then the standard was upheld by Khalid ibn Walid, who is the +sword among all the swords of Allah. And the Almighty granted him +victory.' + +Mohammad afterwards went to see Asama bint Omis, the wife of Jafar, +and bent down over his children to "smell" them; tears welling up in +his eyes and trickling pearl-like down his beard. 'O Prophet!' asked +Asama, 'what maketh thee weep? Hast thou had news of Jafar and his +comrades?'--'Aye, and now they are no more!' + +The wretched woman dropped down, groaning in despair and, lacerating +her cheeks with her nails. Attracted by her shrieks, the other wives +imitated her and the whole house resounded with lugubrious +lamentation. The Prophet ordered one of his companions to impose +silence on the women. 'It is not fitting,' said Mohammad, 'to mourn +thus for Jafar. Hath he not obtained the great reward? I pray Allah +that He may permit the father's place on this earth to be taken in +posterity by the most accomplished among his children!' + +Suddenly he lifted his eyes to heaven and murmured: 'The Salvation and +Mercy of Allah be upon you!'--'To whom dost thou speak, O Prophet?' +asked one of his followers.--'I have just seen Jafar go by in the +midst of a procession of angels. He was mounting to Paradise with +ruby-studded wings in lieu of his amputated hands. He greeted me and I +returned his greeting.' + +Sohail, who recorded this tradition, is careful to add: 'Such are +merely images: the wings are symbols of the supernatural strength of +Jafar's soul; and the rubies are the precious drops of his blood.' + +In the midst of the universal mourning at Al-Madinah, the Prophet +ordered the funereal repast know as "Al-Oudhim," to be prepared. It +was destined for the families of the martyrs; for it is hard for those +whose souls are saddened to have to think about preparing nourishment +for the body. + +When the return of the army was announced, the whole of the population +of the city, rich or poor, went out to meet it. The Prophet ordained +that the mounted men should lift up the children and give them a ride +on the pummels of the saddles. He took the son of Jafar in his arms +and seated the child in front of him. The soldiers, on arriving, +confirmed the tidings of their leaders' death and the people of +Al-Madinah, thinking that these heroes had not been fully avenged, +threw handfuls of dust in the soldiers' faces, and inveighed against +them: 'O cowards! ye fled, even when ye trod the Path of Allah!' + +The Prophet bade the crowd be silent and made this declaration: 'On +the contrary, these warriors deserve your greatest praise, for they +returned and charged courageously!' + +[Sidenote: THE TAKING OF MAKKAH (_The 21st Day of Ramadhan Year VIII +of the Hegira, January 11th A.D. 630_)] + +It was not long before the idolaters of Makkah violated the ten years' +truce, signed at Al-Hudaibiyah. + +By surprise, one night, they massacred a score of Mussulmans belonging +to the tribe of the Khuza'a, encamped at the well of Al-Watir. In face +of such terrible treachery, the Prophet threw all scruples to the +winds. Determined to attack, he proposed to organise an expedition. + +The Makkans, well aware that their crime would not go unpunished, +delegated Abu Sufyan to go to Al-Madinah, to offer compensation and +ask for the truce to be maintained. On arriving, Abu Sufyan went to +the dwelling of Umm Habiba, his daughter, who, as we know, was one of +Mohammad's wives. But, when he made as if to sit down on a carpet, Umm +Habiba, guessing his purpose, quickly folded up the rug and placed it +on one side. 'O my daughter,' said Abu Sufyan in offended tones, 'dost +find thy father unworthy of that carpet, or is that carpet unworthy of +thy father?'--'That carpet belongeth to the Prophet,' she replied. +'Now thou art a worshipper of idols; therefore in a state of impurity, +and thou wouldst sully it with thy impiety.'--'Of a surety, O my +daughter, some misfortune hath happened, bringing disorder to thy +mind, since the day thou left us!' + +Understanding, by this kind of welcome, that there was no hope for him +in that quarter, he sought out the Prophet from whom no reply was +obtained. Then he made desperate attempts to circumvent Abu Bakr; and +tried his best with Umar and Ali, supplicating them to intercede in +favour of his fellow-citizens, but with no greater success. Full of +apprehension, he mounted his camel and went back on the road to +Makkah. + +The steps taken by Abu Sufyan no longer allowed the Prophet to conceal +his designs. His sole care was to hurry on with his preparation, so as +to surprise the men of Makkah before they had time to place the city +in a state of defence. On the tenth day of the month of Ramadhan, +after having left Abu Ruhm Kulthum al-Shifari as his lieutenant at +Al-Madinah, the Prophet set out, followed by an army of no +inconsiderable strength, increased on the way by numerous tribes +joining, and the total forces soon numbered ten thousand men. + +The fast of Ramadhan was strictly kept by all the Faithful, but when +they reached the well of Al-Kadid in the middle of the day exactly, +the Prophet judged that their constancy had been sufficiently tested. +Fearing that deprivation of drink, joined to extreme fatigue, might +have a dangerous effect on their health, he asked for a jar filled +with water to be brought to him. Overlooking the crowd on his tall +she-camel, he swallowed a mouthful in front of all, so as teach by his +example that they might break their fast when on a journey as soon as +they felt their strength exhausted. Thus prescribes the Qur'an: "_But +he among you who shall be sick, or on a journey, shall fast that same +number of other days._" (II, 180.) + +After that halt, the Prophet hastened the march of his army so +actively that he camped at Marru'dh-Dhahran, close to the town gates, +before the Quraish were able to find out anything about the important +strength of the Mussulman troops, or the road they had taken. + +Abbas, Mohammad's uncle, kept in Makkah till then by his business +functions as superintendent of the water supply, joined the Believers +at Al-Juhfa, with the whole of his family. The sincerity of his +conversion had not caused him to forget the love he felt for his +fellow-citizens. He was most uneasy about their fate, in case they +should behave in such a way that Mohammad would be forced to take the +town by murderous onslaught. + +Quoth Abbas: "When the tents were pitched, I rode the Prophet's white +mule and went to Al-Arak, on the road to the Arafa, hoping to meet a +carrier of wood, brickmaker, or pilgrim whom I might charge to take a +warning to the Quraish and exhort them to go and implore the mercy of +Allah. + +"Whilst advancing with due precaution in the dark, two men passed +quite close to me. They were hidden from my sight by big boulders and +they talked in whispers. One of them, his mind engrossed by the +myriads of golden stars that the camp-fires of the Faithful caused to +scintillate on the hills beneath the real silvery stars of the +firmament, said: 'Never have I seen so many lights as this night on +those mountains.'--'They are probably the camp-fires of the Khuza'a, +determined to wage war to avenge their dead.'--'The Khuza'a are not so +numerous. No, truly, these cannot be their fires!' replied the first +speaker whose voice I recognised. It was that of Abu Sufyan. 'O father +of Handala!' I called to him.--'O father of Al-Fadl! if 'tis thee, +what dost thou want of me?' he returned, having also recognised my +voice.--'O Abu Sufyan! the Prophet is here at the head of such a great +army that all resistance is impossible. To-morrow the Quraish will be +cut to pieces!'--'What is to be done! Canst thou advise me?'--'If thou +art taken prisoner during the fight, thy head will be cut off. Doubt +it not. But get up behind me on my mule. I will take thee to Mohammad +and implore him for thee.' + +"Abu Sufyan, understanding that this was his last hope of safety, +could only submit. He got up behind me and we went on in front of his +companion Budayl, who made up his mind to follow us. + +"Every time the flicker of one of the many camp-fires lit up our +little group, on the dark background, sentinels stopped us, asking: +'Who is that man?' But when I told them that I was Abbas, the +Prophet's uncle, and as they recognised the mule, they allowed us to +pass.... + +"All went well until we came to the lights of Umar's tents. He came +forward to meet us and also demanded: 'Who is that man?' Just then, +the flame of the brazier lit up the face of my companion who held me +tightly. Umar knew him again, and cried out in sudden joy: 'Ah! 'tis +thee, Abu Sufyan, with no treaty or safe-conduct, O enemy of Allah! +The Almighty be praised for delivering thee into our hands!' + +"He ran to the Prophet's tent. I made the mule gallop along, +outstripped him and jumped off, going into Mohammad's tent; but Umar +arrived, almost at the same instant. 'O Prophet!' he shouted. 'Here is +Abu Sufyan, Allah's enemy, without treaty or safe-conduct, given up to +us by the Almighty! Charge me to cut his head off!' + +"I interfered: 'O Prophet! He is under my protection. No one but me +shall go near him this night.' As Umar kept on manifesting still +greater hatred, I said to him: 'Softly, O Umar! If Abu Sufyan was one +of the Banu Adi ibn Kab, thy relatives, thou wouldst not behave in +this way; but he is one of the Banu Abd Manaf, related to the Prophet, +which thou must not forget!' + +"Umar made answer: 'Softly, O Abbas! Know that thy conversion gave me +more pleasure than that of my father, Al-Khattab, would have caused +me, for he lived and died in idolatry; for the sole reason that, as I +know well, the Prophet attached more importance to thy conversion than +to that of my father.' Allah's Messenger cut our dispute short by +saying: 'Take away Abu Sufyan, O Abbas, and to-morrow at dawn, come +back here with him.' + +"I obeyed. Abu Sufyan passed the night in perfect safety in my tent, +but seeing all the Mussulmans rise up at one bound at the first +glimmer of daybreak, he was overcome by anxiety. 'O father of +Al-Fadl!' he asked; 'what are they about? Do they want to kill +me?'--'Be not alarmed,' I told him in reply. 'They only want to pray.' + +"At the sight of these ten thousand men, the mysterious light +reflected by the rosy dawn playing on them; all piously repeating +every gesture of the Prophet; bowing down when he bowed down and +prostrating themselves when he prostrated himself, he could not +refrain from exclaiming: 'By Allah! I have never seen kings obeyed as +this man is obeyed; not even Chosroes, nor Cæsar, nor any of the most +powerful monarchs of the universe!' + +"'Come,' I told him, when prayers had been said. 'I will intercede for +thee; and thou wilt intercede for thy qawm.'--'How now?' asked the +Prophet when the idolater came before him. 'Dost thou not acknowledge, +O Abu Sufyan! that there is no God but Allah?'--'By my father and my +mother! How patient, generous and conciliatory thou art! Yea, I +acknowledge it. If with Allah there were other gods, they would have +given me some little help.'--'Dost thou acknowledge that I am the +Prophet of Allah?'--'By my father and my mother! As for that, there is +still some doubt in my mind. I will see later.'--'Woe unto thee! O Abu +Sufyan!' I exclaimed, indignant at his reply. 'Hasten to bear witness +to the whole truth, or I deprive thee of my protection and thine head +will fall from thy shoulders!' + +"Abu Sufyan still hazarded a few objections: 'What wilt thou do with +the statue of Al-Uzza that is in my dwelling?'--'Thou shalt throw it +in the privy!' shouted an angry voice. It was that of Umar, listening +behind the canvas of the tent, hoping to be ordered to execute the man +who had been an enemy of Allah. 'Woe unto thee, O Umar! thou art an +indecent fellow,' he replied. 'Let me come to terms with my uncle's +son.' + +"Having made up his mind by this time, he recited the profession of +Islamic faith integrally, at the same time as his companion Budayl, +who had just rejoined us. + +"I remarked to the Prophet: 'Thou knowest how proud is Abu Sufyan. +Invest him with some authority, no matter what, and he will be bound +to us definitively.' + +"My idea met with Mohammad's approbation and he gave out the following +proclamation: 'He who taketh refuge in the dwelling of Abu Sufyan will +be in safety; he who taketh refuge in the Temple will be in safety; he +who layeth down his arms and remaineth shut up in his house will be in +safety.' + +"The Prophet then said to me: 'O Abbas! bring Abu Sufyan to a halt +where the valley is narrow, on the mountain top, so that all the +warriors of Allah will pass before his eyes.' I obeyed and took my +stand with Abu Sufyan on one of the rocks overhanging the outlet of +the valley. One after the other passed the soldiers of the Sulaym, the +Muzayna, the Banu Ghifar, the Banu Ka'b, the Kinana, the Juhayn, etc., +and my companion, despite all his efforts, could not hide the +impression made upon him by the numbers of the Believers. When he +caught sight of the Ashja, he cried out: 'Those tribesmen, +notwithstanding, were the most inveterate of all the Prophet's +enemies!'--'Truly,' I retorted, 'but Allah, in His Generosity, +instilled Islam in their hearts!' + +"At last, the Prophet appeared, surrounded by his bodyguard, the +flower of his army, comprising the Ansars and the Mohadjirun, called +"Al-Khadra," the green guards. When Abu Sufyan saw these warriors +entirely covered in sombre armour, from which the sun caused blinding +sparks to fly, he started in affright: 'By Allah! O Abbas, who are +those men?'--'The Prophet with his companions, the Ansars and the +Mohadjirun.'--'None can make a stand against such troops! Verily, O +Abbas, this morning, thy brother's son is resplendent with the majesty +of a glorious king!'--'His majesty is not that of a king, O Abu +Sufyan! 'tis that of a Prophet. And now that thine eyes convince thee +that all resistance would be rank folly, hasten back to thy people and +let thy good advice save them from misfortune!' Without losing a +minute, Abu Sufyan went on his way to the town, where immediately on +arriving, he was surrounded by anxious crowds overwhelming him with +questions. 'O Assembly of the Quraish!' he cried, 'Mohammad is upon us +with such an army that ye cannot hope to resist him for a single +instant!'" + +His wife, Hind, furious at the emotion caused by these tidings, caught +him by his moustaches to make him hold his tongue and she bawled: +'Hearken not to the old fool and traitor! Kill him!' Tearing himself +out of the shrew's clutches, Abu Sufyan went on: 'Woe unto you, if ye +let yourselves be led astray by this woman! Again I say to you, ye are +lost without fail if ye dream of resistance.' He then added proudly: +'All those who take refuge in the dwelling of Abu Sufyan will be in +safety.'--'May Allah cause thee to perish!' was the reply made to him +on all sides. 'How can thy house afford security for all of us?' + +It was then that he concluded to announce that which he had +intentionally omitted, out of pure vanity: 'Likewise will be in safety +all those taking refuge in the Temple; and eke those who, laying down +their arms, remain behind closed doors in their dwellings.' + +[Sidenote: ENTRY OF THE PROPHET INTO MAKKAH] + +The Prophet stopped his she-camel at Dhu Tawad. At the sight of +Makkah, where he hoped to make his entry victoriously without shedding +the blood of his fellow-countrymen, he offered up thanksgivings to the +Most Generous, bowing down deeply until his beard swept the pummel of +his saddle. He then placed his troops for the occupation of the city: +Zubayr was to go in by the Kuda road; Khalid ibn Walid, by the +outlying western districts; Sa'd ibn Ubayda, by the pass of Al-Kada. +But as the latter chieftain, in his ardour, let drop this remark: +'To-day is a day of carnage; allowable even in the holy precincts!' +Mohammad bade Ali deprive the rash speaker of his command and take +charge of the standard in his place. + +Zubayr, Ali, and Ubayda met with no resistance and, without striking a +blow, occupied the parts of the city assigned to them. As for Khalid, +just as he passed through the suburbs, a volley of arrows disturbed +his troops and several of his men were killed. The darts came from +marksmen in ambush, posted by Safwan ibn Umayya and Ikrimah, behind +the rocks of the Jabal Al-Khandama. Without the least hesitation, +Khalid called on his soldiers to storm the position. He routed the +enemy, massacred many and pursued the survivors, putting them to the +sword. Some fled to the Temple; others ran towards the sea. + +From the summit of Al-Hajun, which the Prophet had just reached, he +saw the sparkle of spearheads and swords. 'What's this?' he cried. +'Did I not forbid all fighting?' He despatched an Ansar to Khalid and +when he came into the presence of Mohammad, he upbraided him severely +for having given battle against his strict orders. + +'The enemy were the agressors. They riddled us with their arrows,' +replied Khalid. 'I held back as much as I could, but I was obliged to +unsheath my sword to defend ourselves.... And Allah granted us the +victory!'--'The Will of Allah be done!' concluded the Prophet, getting +ready to make his own entry into the town. + +He rode Qaswa, his favourite she-camel. Behind him, on the same +animal, was Usama, the son of Zayd ibn Al-Haris. Mohammad prostrated +himself on his saddle and recited the surah of Victory: "_Verily, We +have won for thee an undoubted victory * In token that Allah forgiveth +thy earlier and later faults, and fulfilleth his goodness to thee, and +guideth thee on the right way. * And that Allah succoureth thee with a +mighty succour._" (THE QUR'AN, XLVIII, 1, 2, 3.) + +Round the red-striped drapery that covered his head, the Prophet +rolled a black turban, letting one end hang down between his +shoulders. He rode to the Ka'bah to perform the "tawaf", and without +leaving the saddle, saluted the Black Stone by touching it with the +end of a hooked stick. He then alighted to enter the sanctuary, but +seeing the idols that dishonoured it, he started back in horror. In +front of an image of Abraham holding divining arrows, he cried out: +'May Allah annihilate all those who represent our ancestor Abraham +trying to peer into futurity by means of arrows!' Mohammad ordered the +impious statue to be destroyed. With his own hands, he shattered a +dove carved in wood and went in proclaiming: 'Allah is Great!' + +[Illustration: _Bird's-eye View of Makkah, the Most Sacred City, as +seen from the Jabal Abi-Qubais._ 2 views] + +He then went up to the three hundred and sixty idols ranged round the +Temple. Beginning with the biggest: Hubal, he pierced its eyes with +the hooked stick, saying: 'Truth hath come, error hath vanished; error +is perishable!' The idol fell face downwards, shattered in a thousand +pieces. + +One after the other suffered the same fate, as he passed in front of +them. A single effigy remained standing--the idol of the +Khuza'a--fashioned out of bronze and enamel. It stood superbly erect +on the Temple's terrace-roof. 'Kneel down,' was the order given by the +Prophet to Ali. Mohammad mounted on his shoulders. 'Rise!' Ali was +unable to do so, despite all his bodily strength. He felt himself +crushed by supernatural weight: that of the Prophecy. Seeing this, the +Prophet got down, knelt in his turn and said to Ali: 'Climb up on my +back to destroy that idol!' Ali, overcome by confusion, refused; but +finally obeyed, as Mohammad persisted. + +Quoth Ali: "I stood upon the Prophet's shoulders; he drew himself up +erect and I felt myself lifted by some unknown force by which I could +have risen to heaven had I tried. + +"The idol was fixed by iron clamps, but at the words of the Prophet: +'Truth hath come; error hath vanished,' it tottered without the least +effort on my part and falling to the ground, crumbled away in dust." + +The people, recovered from affright, stole gradually forth from their +dwellings and, dumb with stupor, looked on while their impotent idols +were being destroyed.... When the last vestige of idolatry had +disappeared, the Prophet, turning towards the Ka'bah, proclaimed: +'There is no God but Allah! He hath no associates! He hath kept his +word and succoured His Servant and dispersed His enemies!' Mohammad +turned to the Makkans: 'O Assembly of the Quraish! how shall I treat +you, do ye think?'--'With generosity, O generous brother, son of a +generous man!' they replied, devoured by anxiety.--'Begone!' he told +them. 'Ye are free!' (According to the laws of war, they were slaves +and captives.) + +The only exceptions to this magnanimous amnesty were made in the cases +of eleven men and six women whose conduct had been inexcusable. He +ordered them to be put to death, wherever found. The sentence was +immediately carried out, and a few of the condemned were executed, +including Huwarith, who brutally ill-treated Fatimah, the Prophet's +daughter and Ali's wife, when she went away from Makkah. + +In order to establish the new state of affairs firmly, Mohammad +proceeded to appoint immediately the two most important functions of +Makkah: the custodian of the Ka'bah and that of the Zamzam well. + +He sent to claim the keys of the Temple from Uthman ibn Talha who, +after having in a fit of fury locked the gates, took the keys away +with him to his house. The Prophet had them torn from him forcibly, +and intended to confide them to his uncle Abbas whom he maintained at +his post as Superintendent of the Zamzam well. But a Revelation made +the Prophet alter his mind and he was ordered to reinstate the former +custodian of the Temple. Mohammad therefore charged Ali to take the +keys back to Uthman and say to him: 'O son of Talha, take the keys +once more and with them the appointment as custodian of the Ka'bah.' + +This official, touched by such generosity, so little deserved, +hastened to give the Prophet the promise of sincere gratitude and +absolute fidelity. + +Just then a touching group approached: there was Abu Quhafa, an old +blind man, bent beneath the burden of his eighty-seven years, and +leaning on the arm of his son, Abu Bakr. 'Why didst thou not let this +noble old man remain in his dwelling, whither I could have gone to see +him?' said the Prophet to Abu Bakr.--'It is only right that he cometh +to thee, and not that thou shouldst go to him,' replied Abu Bakr. + +Mohammad made the venerable sightless man sit by his side, paying him +great attention, stroking his breast affectionately, and was overjoyed +to hear that Abu Quhafa had come to announce his conversion to the +faith of Islam. + +[Sidenote: THE PROPHET AT SAFA] + +Next day, all the inhabitants of Makkah wended their way towards the +hill of Safa where the Prophet had called them together to receive +their submission. + +Tranquilized already by the generosity of the first utterances and +acts of their conqueror, they did not seem to be affected by the +feelings of sadness, shame and dejectedness that usually overcome the +vanquished. Was not their conqueror one of their own people? Would not +his glory become their glory; his triumph, their triumph; and his +empire, their empire? As a matter of fact, despite their hostility +towards him, most of them had suffered cruelly at being separated from +their genial fellow-countryman; the man who, in the heyday of his +youth, had been called by them: "Al-Amin," the Reliable. They were +greatly moved as they called to mind the mysterious charm of his +personality and the irresistible allurement of his speech. + +For some time past, in secret, they had feverishly longed to join the +enthusiastic religious movement that Mohammad stirred up throughout +the whole of Arabia, and become converted in their turn. How derisive +their idols seemed now; the miserable fragments of the graven images +swelling the garbage heaps swept out of the city! Even those men who +exploited the superstition surrounding the false gods of wood or +stone, were the first to arrive at Safa, being in a hurry to get the +fact forgotten that they had been the priests of such a coarse cult. +Despite the levelling humility which Mohammad required of all his +disciples, those who had waxed fat on the proceeds of commercial +idolatry were inwardly proud of the family ties binding them to the +Prophet upon whom, of old, they had showered the vilest insults. + +As for Mohammad, it is impossible to describe the sublime emotion that +seized upon his great soul when he saw flocking to him from all parts, +their eyes at last open to the Light, all those among his +fellow-countrymen who had so stubbornly fought against him and whom he +cherished, notwithstanding their injustice. Seated beneath the +Prophet, Umar, as his deputy, received the submission of the Makkans +who all came, one after the other, to strike his palm, and in the name +of Mohammad, he pledged his word to protect them. When this grand +ceremony was finished, a most poignant scene was enacted on the slopes +of the hill. + +An odious barrier, formed by the idols, which for nigh upon twenty +years separated the Quraish Mohadjirun from the Quraish dwelling in +Makkah, was broken down never to be set up again, and all the enemy +brethren threw themselves in each other's arms, reconciled and +reunited in "the Path of Allah." + +A third group of brothers rejoined them soon. They were the Ansar +citizens of Al-Madinah, the rival town to Makkah; and the two cities, +now having become two sisters, called themselves by the glorious name +of "Al-Haramani, the two Sacred Cities." + +One incident, however, cast a gloom over this unforgettable +manifestation that realised so perfectly the dream which had haunted +the Prophet, filling him with superhuman perseverance. The Khuza'a, +falling across one of the murderers of their brethren, cut his throat. +Mohammad caused the guilty parties to be brought before him and, after +blaming them severely, he added: 'I will compensate your victim's +relatives myself, but cease all reprisals. Too much blood hath been +shed already. On the day when He created the Heavens and the Earth, +Allah declared the territory of Makkah to be holy; its sacred +character hath remained for all before me and shall remain for all +after me. Not only shall the lives of human beings be sacred here, but +it is likewise forbidden to hunt game, fell trees and cut grass.'--'In +this prohibition, O Prophet! the Idhkhir must be excepted,' remarked +Abbas. 'It furnisheth us with that which we cannot do without, to wit: +fuel for the forge and the cooking of food.' After a moment's silence, +the Prophet concluded: 'With the exception of the Idhkhir, which it +will be allowable to uproot.' Following this declaration, all those +condemned to death, and who had not been executed the first day, were +granted a free pardon. + +Among the crowd of Makkan women who came to declared their devotion, +Mohammad's attention was drawn to a female hiding herself behind her +companions. Despite the fact that she was disguised, he recognised +ferocious Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan. 'Aye! 'tis I!' she cried, +throwing off her veil, 'I am Hind, and I implore pardon for the past!' + +The Prophet, in spite of the odious mutilation of the body of his +uncle Hamzah, forgave her. Hind, when she returned to her dwelling, +lavished insults on her private family idol: 'O impotent idol! How mad +we all were to rely on thy succour!' And she smashed it to pieces. + +The son of Abu Jahal, Ikrimah, who had organised the ambush that +nearly entrapped Khalid, fled to the sea coast. The fugitive's pardon +was granted to Umm Hakim, his wife, who rejoined him when he was on +the point of embarking. She brought him back, and the Prophet, fearful +lest his companions, remembering how he had been so often outraged by +Abu Jahal, Ikrimah's father, might seek to be avenged on Ikrimah +personally, declared: 'Ikrimah hath come to Islam. Let no one insult +his father's memory! To insult the dead is to wound the living!' And +Ikrimah, deeply moved by such rare tolerance, became one of the most +ardent defenders of the Religion. + +Al-Uhayha, the slayer of Hamzah, was pardoned likewise, after becoming +a convert to Islam. Habbar who, by a blow of the shaft of his spear, +had brought about the death of Zainab, Mohammad's daughter, had fled, +fearing deserved punishment; and then, confiding in the infinite +clemency of the Prophet, came and gave himself up, after having +embraced the Islamic faith in all sincerity. 'Go thy way in peace,' +said Allah's Apostle. 'Thy conversion doth wipe out the past; but +never let me see thee more!' + +Safwan, the second instigator of the ambush in which Khalid was to +have fallen, profited also by the victor's magnanimity; and as he +begged for a delay of two month's reflection before abjuring idolatry, +the Prophet replied: 'I grant thee four months.' + +Ibn Abi Sarh was the only man who had great trouble in softening the +just wrath that his defection had kindled in Mohammad's heart. Ibn Abi +Sarh was well versed in the arts of calligraphy and horsemanship. +Formerly in the Prophet's employ as secretary, he had shamelessly +changed words and altered the sense of the Revelations whilst copying +them out, in order to make a mockery of the Word of Allah. When his +crime was discovered, he fled to Makkah and reverted to idol-worship. +When the town was taken, he took refuge under the roof of Usman ibn +Affan, his foster-brother. After having kept the faithless scribe in +hiding for some time, Usman made up his mind to take him to the +Prophet and beg for mercy, but in vain. At each supplication, he +averted his head. Finally, giving way to fresh and pressing +entreaties, Mohammad consented to grant a free pardon, but when the +guilty wretch was gone, the Prophet said to his companions: 'If I kept +silence just now, it was but to give one of you time to kill +him.'--'We were only waiting for one glance of thine eyes to put him +to death.'--'A sign by a look of the eye is a treacherous act,' he +replied, 'ill befitting one of Allah's Messengers.' + +From the foregoing examples, it can be seen how carefully the Prophet +tried to win over his fellow-countrymen by gentleness, but +nevertheless never deviating from inexorable firmness when anything +concerning idolatry was in question. His mercy led to results which +could never have been obtained by sanguinary repression. + +He conquered all hearts. With the exception of the Hawazin and the +Saquifs, all the neighbouring tribes came in at once and made their +submission. From that day onwards, no one could earn the title of +Mohadjer by emigration, because Islam was as firmly establised in +Makkah as in Al-Madinah. + +[Sidenote: GHAZWAH OR EXPEDITION OF HUNAIN (_6th day of Shawwal, +Year VIII of the Hegira, 28th of January, A.D. 630_)] + +Relying on the solidity of the ramparts surrounding their town of +Taif; hoping to be able to take refuge there in case of defeat, the +Hawazin and the Saquifs had refused to bow down to the Prophet. They +even got ready to fight him and, under the leadership of two +celebrated warriors, Malik ibn Awf and Durayd ibnu's-Simma, they +mustered in the valley of Awtas. + +Mohammad, being told about their plans, sent Ibn Abi Hadrad as scout. +When he came back with positive information, the Prophet resolved to +set out and face his foes. + +His ten thousand soldiers were joined by more than two thousand +Makkans, lately converted, and impatient to prove their devotion and +fervour. The effect produced by the army of the Believers was so +imposing that a voice in the group of the Banu Bakr, it is said, cried +out: 'Truly we need not fear defeat with such a big army!' + +This exclamation of pride displeased the Prophet greatly, for vanity +weakens endeavour and causes forgetfulness of the fact that victory is +granted by Allah. Mohammad blamed the boastful cry in the most severe +terms. + +On the bank of a "wadi," the troops saw a big green tree, growing by +itself, which the idolaters worshipped and looked upon with +superstitious awe. Beneath its shade, they sacrificed victims and, on +its branches, they hung their weapons, imagining they would become +invincible by this verdant contact. Several soldiers, their minds not +yet sufficiently purified from the stain of fetich observances, longed +to possess likewise a tree, "Dhat Anwat,"--"Carrier of Weapons"--and +sent in a demand to the Apostle which made him very indignant. + +'Your demand,' he replied, 'is just as abominable as that of the +Banu-Isra'il, when saved by a miracle from Pharaoh's hosts and the +waves of the sea, they asked Moses for an idol in human shape. Ye are +a stupid "qawm" accustomed to adopt without reflecting the vilest +custome of your neighbours!' + +Quoth Jabir ibn Abdullah: "Shortly before daybreak, we reached the +"wadi" of Hunain, at the entrance of an extremely narrow and deep +defile. All of a sudden, while we were still in the black shadows of +the lofty crags, the first rays of the sun, on the other side of of +the pass, lit up a sight that made our hearts leap impatiently. + +"Under the careless guard of a few sentinels, our enemies' tents were +pitched in the plain. Between them, women and children passed to and +fro. Round the encampment, countless flocks of sheep and herds of +camels were about to depart to pasture-land. Without waiting for the +Prophet's orders, overwrought by the hope of plunder, we rush into the +pass, so narrow that we were pressed together, shoulder to shoulder. +No sooner was the entire army in the defile, when a lengthy, whistling +murmur was heard in the air and, like great swarms of locusts, clouds +of arrows darkened the sky. The darts were showered on us, aimed from +two ridges, overlooking the pass.... We had fallen into an ambush +organised by cunning Durayd. + +"In consequence of the sting of the arrows from which there was no +escape, for not one was lost in the soil, all finding a target as +they pierced with a hissing noise the flesh of men, horses and camels, +mad terror overcame us. Indescribable panic was also caused by our +foes, lying in wait, concealed at the egress of the pass and who, with +savage shouts, charged into our ranks. Tugging at the bridles of our +camels, we turned round, the poor beasts grunting gloomily and shaking +their long necks bristling with arrows. In the inextricable confusion +of their stampede and fright, they tripped each other up and rolled +over on the ground with their riders, who were at once trampled on by +fleeing comrades.... + +"Whilst the archers continued to distress us with their darts, we +discovered that the entry into the pass was barricaded by another +detachment of our enemies who had allowed us to ride through and now +awaited our return. At their head was a soldier of the Hawazin, +bestriding a gigantic red camel and he was signalling with a spear to +which he had fixed a black flag. When a Believer passed within reach, +he lowered his lance to run him through, and perchance he missed, he +signalled with his flag lifted again to those following him, and they +pursued the Mussulman and put him to death." + +The defeat seemed irretrievable. Already many of the Prophet's old +enemies, their hearts still brimming with, rancour, began to gloat +over the critical situation of the Mussulmans. 'Their flight will not +cease until they reach the sea coast!' cried Abu Sufyan, who busied +himself with consulting his divining arrows which he carried concealed +in his quiver. 'Mohammad's sorcery is powerless this day!' exclaimed +Kalada ibn Hanbal in his turn. But his brother Safwan, although not +yet converted, silenced him with these words: 'May a gag close thy +mouth!' + +In the midst of general confusion, the Prophet alone was cool and +collected. He posted himself on a low hill, to the right of the +valley. 'I am the Prophet of Allah and no impostor!' he declared, and +urging his mule forward, went to throw himself in the thick of the +fight. Abu Bakr rushed in front of the animal and, seizing the bridle, +held it back. To try and rally his troops, Mohammad ordered Abbas to +shout: 'O Ansars and Mohadjirun, my companions! O ye who took their +oath over there!' (at Al-Hudaibiyah). When, from the top of a rock, +his stentorian voice carried the Prophet's cry to the fugitives, they +were covered with great confusion. Regaining their self-control, they +replied: 'We are here at thy service!' + +But what was to be done to stem such a torrent of fleeing men and +beasts, crowded together between the two vertical sides of the ravine? +The Faithful did their best to lash the camels, twisting their necks +by pulling the bridle contrariwise. With great strides, the frightened +animals kept on in their flight.... It was then that the warriors of +Allah slung their shields round their necks and jumped out of the +saddle, leaving their camels to go on alone. Unsheathing their swords, +the soldiers turned back to begin fighting again. + +The Prophet, standing up in his stirrups, saw with joy that the +situation was changed, and when his gaze fell upon the countless +warriors rushing into the brazier of the battle, he cried out: 'The +furnace is alight!' + +Ali, accompanied by an Ansar, resolved to put a stop to the exploits +of the Bedouin of the Hawazin, proudly waving his spear adorned with +the black flag. With one blow of his scimitar, Ali hamstrung the +camel, and at the same moment, the Ansar brought down the Infidel by +slicing his leg from the knee to the heel, putting an end to his +misery as soon as he was flattened out on the ground. + +Mad terror seized the idolaters when thinking they had crushed the +Mussulmans, they resumed the offensive. It was now the Infidels' turn +to give way.... Mohammad ordered his mule to lie down. The animal bent +its knees until its belly rested on the ground. Then taking up a +handful of dust, the Prophet, as he had done at Badr, threw it towards +his enemies whose flight became a mad rout. It seemed as if they had +been blinded by this dust and that their soldiers were dispersed +exactly the same as these impalpable atoms.... + +"_Now hath Allah helped you in many battle-fields, and, on the day of +Hunain, when ye prided yourselves on your numbers; but it availed you +nothing; and the earth, with all its breadth, became too strait for +you: then turned ye your backs in flight. * Then did Allah send down a +spirit of tranquillity upon His Apostle, and upon the Faithful; and He +sent down hosts which ye saw not and punished the Infidels._" (THE +QUR'AN, IX, 25, 26.) + +Harried by the sword during their retreat, Malik and the remains of +his army managed to find safety in the fortified town of Taif. + +Less lucky, Durayd, the Infidels' second leader, was unable to escape +his fate. Ninety years of age and blind, he was unable to direct his +camel when abandoned by his panic-stricken fellow-countrymen, and he +fell into the hands of a mere lad, Rabi'a ibn Rafia. When he saw the +litter in which reclined this celebrated warrior, paralysed by the +infirmities of great age, the youth thought he had captured a woman. +He made the camel kneel, parted the hangings and was petrified at only +finding an old man. Vexed and disappointed, he dealt Durayd a +sabre-cut, but the aged fighter did not even seem to know that he had +been struck. 'What sort of weapon hath thy mother placed in thy hands, +O little vagabond?' he asked in accents of supreme scorn. 'Take my +sabre, hanging from my camel's saddle. Lift the blade aloft and hit +between the vertebrae of the back and those of the head. That was how +I used to strike men down.' + +Abashed at his first failure, Rabi'a followed this piece of advice and +the famous warrior rolled dead in the dust. + +Urged on by the spur of victory, the Prophet pursued the fugitives to +the foot of the ramparts of Taif and tried to take the town. After a +useless siege of twenty days, he preferred to give up all ideas of an +attack in favour of other means, slower but more sure, and instead of +invoking the wrath of the Divinity against the inhabitants, he said: +'O Allah! enlighten the people of Taif and inspire them with a desire +to come to Thy Apostle of their own free will!' + +Despite the disappointment of his troops, he retook the road to +Makkah, camping at Al-Ji'rana where all the prisoners were collected, +as well as all the booty to be divided. + +When the Prophet arrived, a female captive, Ash-Shayma, of the Banu +Sad, which was a fraction of the Hawazin, was struggling to escape +from the brutality of the soldiery. On perceiving Mohammad, she cried +out: 'O Prophet of Allah, I am thy foster-sister!'--'Prove it!'--'See +the scar on my shoulder where thou didst bite me when I carried thee, +a baby boy, on my back.' + +The Prophet recognised the cicatrice. Much moved, he shed tears, +spread his mantle on the ground, and asked Ash-Shayma to sit down on +it. 'According to thy wish,' he said, 'thou wilt find generous +friendship by my side; or thou canst return to thy tribe with all the +gifts I'll lavish on thee.'--'Send me back to my people in the desert, +O Prophet! Such is my sole desire.' Mohammad set her free, after +having loaded her with presents. + +A deputation of the Hawazin was presented to the Prophet, and Abu +Sorada, an old man belonging to the division of the Banu Sa's, spoke +in their name: 'O Prophet! among thy prisoners are thine aunts, +sisters of the wet-nurses who suckled thee. As for the male captives, +they were the companions of thy childhood--almost of thy race! In the +great misfortune which crusheth us, we implore thee in the name of +Allah! If, for the same reasons, we were forced to implore Al-Harith +ibn Abi Chammar, or Nu'man ibnu'l Mundhir, they would surely take pity +on us! Now thou art the best of nurslings!'--'Which do ye prefer: your +families or your property?' asked Mohammad, scarcely able to hide his +tender feelings.--' O Prophet! give our wives and children back to us. +We love them quite otherwise to our property.'--'I restore to you all +male and female captives belonging to the Banui Muttalib,' declared +Mohammad loudly.--'But those who are ours belong to the Apostle of +Allah!' cried the Mohadjirun and the Ansars immediately. Thus all the +prisoners, numbering about six thousand, were given up to the +delegates of the Hawazin. + +The family of Malik ibn Awf formed an exception to this ruling. +Mohammad, however, charged those he had just liberated to make him the +following proposal: 'If Malik cometh to me and becometh a convert to +Islam, I will give him back his property. Nay, more--I will make him a +present of a hundred camels.' + +Malik accepted. He left Taif secretly, and when converted, gave such +tokens of sincerity, that the Prophet appointed him as commander over +all the Mussulmans of the country. It was the best way to curb the +resistance of the inhabitants of Taif. + +And so it turned out indeed, for this able leader, proud of the +investiture, at the head of troops stirred by faith, continued to war +against the Saquifs. By pitilessly raiding their flocks and caravans, +blocking them by hunger behind the ramparts of their city, he soon +compelled them to come in their turn and implore the Prophet's mercy, +when they were converted to Islam. The booty was considerable, +consisting of about twenty-four thousand camels and forty thousand +sheep. After the emotions of the affair of the prisoners, Mohammad +resolved to postpone the division of the plunder until another day, +and he mounted his she-camel. But his soldiers were so impatient to +share the spoils that they followed and importuned him. By accident, +they pushed his animal against a thorny shrub, and its branches tore +the mantle of Allah's Chosen One. 'Now, you men, give me back my +mantle!' he told them, and yielding to their entreaties, he returned +to see the booty shared among them. + +He tried, above all, to ingratiate himself definitively with the +nobles of the city, by favouring them in all ways; and afterwards, +they were called "Al-mu'allafa qulubuhum," "those whose hearts have +been won over." Abu Sufyan and Mu'awiya his son; Hakim ibn Hizam, +An-Nadr ibn Al-Harith, Suhayl, Ikrimah Uyayna, Al-Ajra, and Safwan, +all received fifty camels each. This difference of treatment gave rise +to protestations. Ibn Mirdas manifested his dissatisfaction in a piece +of poetry: 'My share of the booty and that of Al-Ubayd have been +distributed to Oyama and Al-Ajra. And yet their fathers, Al-Hasan and +Al-Habis, never took precedence of my father in any assembly +whatsoever!' + +The Prophet sent for him and asked: 'Hast thou composed these rhymes: +"My share of the booty and that of Al-Ubayd have been distributed to +Al-Ajra and Oyama?" changing the order of the two last names +mentioned; without noticing that he had thus broken the metre. In the +Qur'an, Allah says: "_We have not taught him (Mohammad) poetry._" +(XXXVI, 59.) + +Abu Bakr pointed this out to him. 'No matter,' he replied. 'The +meaning remaineth the same.' And he gave orders to "cut the poet's +tongue" by granting him all he claimed. + +An Arab of the Tamim tribe, Dhu'l Khuwaysira, dared to say to Allah's +Messenger: 'Thou wert unjust in thy division.' Umar started up. 'I'll +cut the throat of that insolent churl!' he shouted.--'Nay! let him go +his own road,' was Mohammad's simple reply. + +The Prophet was obliged to resort to most skilful political measures +in order to spare all kinds of feelings during the division of these +riches; and to prevent dangerous jealousy arising among his disciples. +All the spoils, nevertheless, were nearly all allotted and he seemed +to have forgotten his devoted Ansars who, naturally, expected to rank +among the first to be rewarded. With ever-increasing surprise, they +saw no share offered to them and the rich bounty flowing into the +hands of the Quraish and the Bedouins. + +At last there was no more left to give away and the Ansars exchanged +bitter remarks: 'By Allah, the Prophet thinketh only of his own +people. Now that, thanks to us, he hath returned victorious to his +birthplace, we are forgotten and neglected.' + +Sa'd ibn Ubada, having heard these complaints, went and told Mohammad, +who said: 'Good! Call the Ansars together!' + +When they were mustered, the Prophet came before them. 'O Assembly of +the Ansars!' he said; 'I have been told about your talk and the +sadness of your souls. Did I not seek you out when ye had been led +astray? Hath not Allah led you all into the right path? Ye were +unfortunate: hath not Allah made you happy? Each man was his brother's +enemy: hath not Allah reconciled your hearts?'--'Truly!' they answered +unanimously. 'Allah and His Apostle are the most compassionate and +generous!'--'And on your part,' he added, 'did ye not welcome me with +compassion and generosity when I was a homeless wanderer? Have ye not +the right to say to me: "Thou wert branded as an impostor and we put +faith in thee; thou wert east down and we helped thee to be +victorious; thou wert poverty-stricken and we made thee rich?"'--'Nay, +nay!' protested every man of the Assembly. 'We are indebted to thee +for everything and thou dost owe us nothing!'--'In that case,' he went +on, 'O Ansar comrades! how could you let the least feeling of +affection arise in your hearts concerning the fleeting riches of this +world, with which I have endowed certain persons in order to +strengthen their vacillating faith, whilst I knew that you were +unshaken. Know ye not that these people will return to their +homesteads with camels and sheep only, whilst ye will take the Prophet +of Allah back with you to your dwellings?... By Him who holdeth +Mohammad's soul in His hands, I swear that if the Arab tribes retired +into one valley and the Ansars into another, I would follow into the +valley of the Ansars. For me, the Ansars are as a shirt on the skin; +and for me, the other tribes are as the mantle outside everything. O +Allah, show mercy to the Ansars; to the sons of the Ansars; and to the +children of their children!' + +These words, which the Prophet was unable to utter without betraying +intense emotion, mollified the entire Assembly. Tears of gratitude +flowed from the eyes of the Ansars so abundantly that their beards +were wetted. All cried out, sobs causing them to falter: 'Aye, verily, +we accept our share of the booty, for the most beautiful portion is +ours!' + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Now hath Allah helped you in many +battle-fields, and, on the day of Hunain, when ye prided yourselves on +your numbers; but it availed you nothing._] + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE EIGHTH] + +[Illustration: _"Ad-da'wah" or the Invocation_] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Accomplish the Pilgrimage and the +Visitation of the Holy Places in honour of Allah._] + + +CHAPTER THE EIGHTH + + +[Sidenote: AYISHAH SLANDERED] + +Quoth Ayishah: "During my return from the Mustaliq expedition, +pressing need compelled me to alight from my Hawdaj, (a kind of litter +carried on a camel's back). I found a lonely spot and stopped behind, +waiting until all the soldiers had marched past. But seeing my camel +halted, and thinking I was inside the hawdaj, they drove the animal +forward to ensure it remaining in line with the rest. + +"When I came back and found my camel gone, I shouted despairingly; but +all in vain, until overcome by fatigue, I dropped down and fell +asleep. One of the rearguards, Safwan Ibnu'l-Mu'attal, catching sight +of me, recognised me and cried out: 'To Allah we belong and to Him +shall we return!' Having awakened me by this exclamation, he brought +up his camel, helping me into the saddle, and he led the animal by the +bridle until we rejoined the Prophet." + +Scandalmongers got hold of the story and ascribed shameful motives to +this chance meeting. Despite the accused woman's protestations of +innocence, Mohammad felt suspicion gnawing at his heart, and he kept +Ayishah at a distance, greatly to the confusion of his father-in-law, +Abu Bakr. + +At last, a Revelation called the accusers liars, and condemned +calumny: "_With Allah it was a grave matter_," (THE QUR'AN, XXIV, 14), +thus ridding the Prophet of all suspicion and putting an end to a +painful situation. + +[Sidenote: THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF IBRAHIM] + +In Year VIII of the Hegira, Mary, the Coptic concubine, gave birth to +a boy. The Prophet, who had never found consolation for the death of +his sons brought into the world by Khadijah, was beside himself with +joy. He gave a slave as a present to Abu Rafi'a, for having brought +the news that a son was born, and Mohammad declared that the child's +advent freed the mother. + +On the seventh day, the baby's hair was shaved off and buried; two +sheep were sacrificed and alms were distributed to the poor. All the +wet-nurses vied with each other for the honour of suckling the +Prophet's son, who was called Ibrahim. He was given into the care of +Umm Burda, wife of Al-Bara ibn Aws, and she, was rewarded by the gift +of a palm-garden. + +She took her nursling into the country, to the Banu Mazin, where the +Prophet went frequently to see his son. He used to take him in his +arms, unceasingly "smelling" him and covering him with kisses. The +affection he felt for the child's mother, Mary the Copt, also +increased, much to the great vexation of his other wives. + +It happened, too, that he broke his strictly impartial household laws, +and granted Mary a night that rightly belonged to Hafsa, Umar's +daughter. She was grieved to the heart by her rights being forgotten +and reproached Mohammad so bitterly that he promised to cease all +intercourse with his freed slave on condition that Hafsa held her +tongue. But haughty Hafsa broke her word. She told her grievances to +Ayishah, who was likewise furiously exasperated at the favour shown to +Mary. It was now the turn of Hafsa to rouse the indignation of the +other joint wives. + +Scenes, scandal and shrieks caused life to be unbearable; so, +renouncing all consideration and refusing to let his spouses dictate +to him, the Prophet put Hafsa away, after having blamed her severely +for her indiscretion. For a whole month, he refused to have anything +to do with his helpmates who, although there was now no cause for +jealousy, still continued their quarrels; each woman accusing the +other of being the cause of their common husband's neglect. All his +wives swore that in future they would not pester him with their +scolding. + +But Mohammad kept his oath strictly. He sought seclusion in a room to +which access could only be had by a staircase of palm-tree trunks, and +where his sole couch consisted of a mat, of which the rough fibre made +dents in his flesh. His meals were brought to him by a black guardian +who stood--an inexorable sentinel--in front of the door, which +remained closed even to the most beloved among the Prophet's +companions. At last, on the twenty-ninth day, mindful of the grief +felt by Umar and Abu Bakr at the humiliation experienced by their +daughters, Hafsa and Ayishah, Mohammad took them both back, and all +his other wives as well, after he had recited the following verses: + +"_If ye assist one another against the Prophet, then verily, Allah is +his Protector and Gabriel and every just man among the Faithful; and +the angels are his helpers besides. * Haply if he put you both away, +his Lord will give him in exchange other wives better than you: +Moslems, Believers, devout, penitent, worshippers, observant of +fasting._" (THE QUR'AN, LXVI, 4, 5.) + +The joy and hopes accompanying the birth of Ibrahim were not destined +to last long. The child breathed its last sigh at the age of seventeen +months, under his father's eyes, and Mohammad could not repress +showers of tears. + +Seeing the Prophet's grief and remembering that in cases of mourning +he forbade all lamentations, rending of garments, or laceration of +faces, Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Awf said to him: 'Thou also, O Messenger of +Allah?'--'O Ibn Awf!' he replied. 'Tears arise from compassion. They +are not prohibited like shrieks and lamentations which are +protestations inspired by the Evil One against the decrees of +Providence.' + +Then, as his tears flowed in still greater abundance, he added: 'The +eyes shed tears; the heart is full of affliction, but we utter no +exclamation displeasing to the Lord. True resignation is manifested at +the first shock; as, later, time bringeth succour. O Ibrahim, we are +deeply saddened by being separated from thee; but we belong to Allah +and to Him shall we return!' + +Zaira, mother of the wet-nurse, washed the poor little dead body; +Al-Fadl ibn al-Abbas and Usama ibn Zayd carried it to the cemetery of +Al-Bagi and lowered it into the grave. When the earth covered the son +on whom he had founded such great hopes, the Prophet prayed over the +tiny tomb, and exclaimed: 'Declare, O my son! Allah is my Lord, His +Messenger is my father, and Islam is my Religion!' + +All who assisted at this scene were shaken by sobs. All of a sudden, +their faces took on a livid tint, which, at the same time, spread over +the earth, the sand, and the rocks. The azure of the sky changed to a +leaden hue; the sunlight paled and gradually faded away, although no +clouds gathered to veil it. An icy shudder, resembling that of fever, +caused the whole face of nature to be stirred; and the birds, with +cries of fright, took refuge in their nocturnal shelters. The last +rays, still illuminating surrounding objects with dim and sinister +light, began to die away and darkness came on in open day, whilst a +few twinkling stars appeared in the sky. + +The people in terror knew not which way to turn so as to escape the +fearful cataclysm they anticipated. Many in the crowd, struck by the +phenomenon coinciding with the death of Ibrahim, cried out: 'O +Prophet! the eyes of the sun itself are dimmed by tears and it hath +departed to take part in thy mourning!' + +The Prophet, struggling against his grief, drew himself up erect and +proclaimed in firm accents: 'Nay; it is not so. The Sun and the Moon +are two tokens of Allah's Almightiness. Like everything beautiful in +this world, their beauty is liable to be eclipsed by His orders.... +But there is no eclipse for the death of any mortal!' + +[Sidenote: GHAZWAH, OR EXPEDITION OF TABUK (_Jumada, Year VIII of the +Hegira, August A.D. 630_)] + +At the battle of Mutah, the Christian Greeks learnt to their cost what +it meant to put the valour of Allah's warriors to the test; and in +their hatred of Islam's steady growth, they busied themselves in +mustering a most terrible army to crush it. + +The Prophet heard of this. He resolved to be first in the field and +attack. Only his unshaken confidence in divine protection could have +inspired him with such temerity. How many thousands of soldiers must +he gather together so as not to court irretrievable disaster? Now the +moment was not in the least favourable: a long drought had withered +crops and herbage; flocks were decimated; horrible famine plunged the +whole region in desolation; and the torrid heat of the second half of +summer destroyed all energy. The harvest of the savoury fruit of each +oasis, watered by inexhaustible wells, alone promised to be abundant +and invigorating; and it was precisely when the Faithful were about to +profit by the only benefits of this lean year that the Apostle issued +his marching orders. + +Secret discontent invaded every heart and the incorrigible +"Hypocrites" hastened to exploit it by hawking about everywhere +perfidious remarks, such as these: 'Do ye think this war against the +Banu'l-Asfar (the descendants of fair-headed Ishaq) will be child's +play, as was that against the swarthy sons of Ishmael? Remember that +arriving exhausted by the intolerable heat of the season and the +superhuman fatigue of the road, ye will have to face the Nazarene +soldiers encased in armour!' + +These arguments, which would have been logical if the struggle had not +been in the cause of Allah, began to weaken the minds of those who +were hesitating. As for those who were convinced, they could not get +away from the unheard-of difficulties bound to be met with in feeding +the troops, by reason of the dearth of provisions; and means of +transport, in consequence of the scarcity of camels. Following the +lack of pasturage, the majority of these animals that had not +succumbed to hunger, were in a pitiful state of decline. All these +circumstances were unfavorable; but no obstacle could stop the Chosen +One. + +As the "Hypocrites" met to conspire in the house of Suwaylim, a Jew, +the Prophet sent Talha ibn Ubaydu'llah to burn their den. They said, +"_March not out in the heat." Say: "A fiercer heat wilt be the fire of +Hell! Little then let them laugh, and much let them weep as the meed +of their doings._" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 82, 83.) + +Caring nothing for his own toil, the Prophet spared no pains to +impress upon his disciples the grandeur of the goal. So as to arouse +general interest, he treated each man differently according to the +inward aspirations of his being. If in some he awakened the pure hope +of celestial satisfaction, suitable to their souls loving ideality; in +others, he did not discourage hopes of material gratification, such as +booty and profane pleasures. + +Al-Jadd ibn Qays was a man of intrigue. He said to the Prophet: 'Thou +knowest that in my "qawm" no man loveth woman better than I. Now, I +fear I shall not be able to restrain myself at the sight of the +charming lasses of the Banu'l-Asfar. In that case, wilt thou blame +me?' + +The Prophet avoided answering. Al-Jadd interpreted such silence as +showing that Mohammad promised to shut his eyes. The debauchee could +not repress a start of joy, despite the presence of his son, who made +a gesture of disapproval, and his father threw his sandal in the lad's +face. + +Thanks to the indefatigable activity of their leader, it was not long +before the Believers were carried away by enthusiasm. The difficulties +to be overcome; the sacrifices to be made, instead of diminishing +their optimism, only succeeded in feeding it, and those whose poverty +or infirmities prevented them from joining the ranks of the fighters, +became so sad that they were nicknamed the "Bakka'un," or "Weepers." +Nevertheless, they are excused by this Revelation: "_It is no crime in +the weak, and in the sick, and in those who find not the means of +contributing, to stay at home, provided that they are sincere with +Allah and His Apostle. Nor in those who when they came to thee that +thou shoulsdt mount them, and thou didst say: "I find not wherewith to +mount you," and turned away their eyes, and shed floods of tears for +grief, because they found no means to contribute towards the +expense._" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 92, 93.) + +Moved by their despair, the Prophet made an urgent appeal to the +devotion of all the Believers who, with admirable emulation, replied +at once by bringing considerable sums. Abu Bakr placed the whole of +his fortune at the disposition of the Prophet. Usman ibn Affan +furnished ten thousand warriors with provisions and weapons. All vied +with each other in acts of generosity and women stripped themselves of +their most precious jewellery. + +The expeditionary force was soon organised and numbered between thirty +to forty thousand men; a figure hitherto unknown in Arabia. The troops +were assembled at the Sanniyat-ul-Wida pass. Seeing the exaltation of +the Believers, the "Hypocrites" considered it prudent to conceal their +sentiments, but they arranged to group themselves together in the rear +and when the army had disappeared behind the "Farewell Pass," the +shufflers dropped out, one after the other, and made their way back to +Al-Madinah. + +Their conduct was not surprising, but unfortunately their fatal advice +had deterred four good Moslems from their duty: the poet Ka'b ibn +Mabk, Murara ibnu'r-Rabi', Hilal ibn Umayya and Abu Khaythama. The +latter, suffocated by the extreme heat and also, perchance, by +feelings of shame, went into his orchard, surrounded by protecting +walls. It was there, under intertwining palms and vine-branches with +leaves and grapes, which stretched like serpentine bind-weeds from one +date-tree to another, that two shelters were erected, built of +palm-tree trunks and foliage; so impervious to sunlight that the +obscurity therein seemed to be the shades of night. To complete the +resemblance, the mysterious darkness of each of these arbours was +illuminated by a young woman's face, as brilliant as the moon in the +fulness of its fourteenth night. + +Kindly attentive as well as beautiful, these loving spouses had +carefully watered the sandy soil, whence arose exquisite, moist +odours. Ingeniously, too, they had hung up, in draughty corners, +oozing goat-skins in which water got to be as cool as snow; and they +had prepared delicate dishes of which the aroma sufficed to excite the +most rebellious appetite.... + +Abu Khaythama, bathed in sweat, powdered all over with sand, +experienced a sensation of Eden-like comfort, when he glanced at the +delights in readiness and was about to revel in enjoyment by lazily +stretching his limbs on soft rugs. But, suddenly, the emerald-tinted +reflection of the shade that gently caressed his tired eyes, was +furrowed by the flash of a vision: + +In a gloomy, wild, boundless space, beneath the deep azure hue of a +cloudless sky, under the unbearable sting of a pitiless sun, a long +line of human beings dragged itself along with difficulty, coming into +view and then being lost to sight amid yellowish waves formed by rocks +or sandheaps.... He recognised these mortals. They were his brethren +in Islam. At their head was ... Allah's Chosen One! + +'The Prophet leads an expedition, under yon blazing sky! And Abu +Khaythama is at rest, in this fresh shade, with fresh water and two +fresh beauties! No! that cannot be!' he cried; and turning to his +wives, each of them hoping to gain the preference: 'By Allah! I go not +into the shelter of any among you! I rejoin the Prophet! Prepare my +provisions for the journey; and that quickly!' + +They obeyed. Releasing his camel, busy just then in drawing water, he +clapped on the saddle. Then he took down his sword, spear and shield +from where they were hanging, and without a look behind, abandoned +fresh shade, fresh water and fresh beauties, to hurry in the track of +the army. He rejoined it at Tabuk. + +Meanwhile, after having followed the windings of the Wadi'l-Qura, a +broad valley where the verdant splashes of colour of more than one +oasis, encircling many villages or strongholds, stood out in gay, bold +relief on the dull hue of the arid landscape, the expedition had +reached the fringe of the frightful desert surrounding Al-Hijr, or +Mada'in Salih, the Thamud country. The sight of this inhospitable +region oppressed the hearts of the Believers. With its Harra, or +burning soil cracked and laid waste by celestial flames that marked it +with a distinguishing funereal hue of ashes and charcoal, it offered +to their view the most startling image of a country cursed by the +Almighty. + +[Sidenote: THE THAMUD COUNTRY] + +In the earliest ages, the idolatrous and debauched inhabitants of +Thamud, proud of the prosperity of their seven towns and massive +dwellings, hewn out of the solid rock, welcomed with derision the +Prophet Salih, sent by Allah to lead them in the right path. + +So as to show them that his mission was genuine, Salih implored the +Most High to grant him the aid of a miracle. Thereupon, a rock split +itself, with a roar which may be compared to that of ocean waves, and +brought forth a wonder in the shape of a gigantic she-camel, +wonderfully hairy and advanced ten months in pregnancy. She dropped a +little foal, already weaned, and bearing an astonishing resemblance to +its mother. + +Miracles have nearly always been powerless to convert hardened sinners +and the only result of this marvel was a recrudescence of perversity +among the people of Thamud. To testify how little they valued such a +portent, these impious wretches resolved to do away with the prodigy. +With sharp blades, they studded the two steep sides of a narrow rocky +pass, through which, each morning, the she-camel passed to graze in +the plains. In the evening, returning with her little camel, she +rushed through and tore her flanks most cruelly. The poor beast, +quivering, uttered groans and, it is said, the echo thereof resounds +even nowadays, from time to time. She dropped down and died at the +egress of the defile that was called: "Al-Huwayra,"--the +camel-foal--remarkable by reason of a rock that took on a faithful +resemblance to the young animal. + +Salih, after such sacrilege, realised how useless were his efforts, +and called down the curse of Allah on the head of the Thamud people, +upon whom punishment was quickly inflicted: "_And they hewed them +out secure abodes in the mountains * But they rebelled against +their Lord's command: so the tempest took them as they watched its +coming ... * So that they were not able to stand upright, and could +not help themselves.... * We sent against them a single shout; and +they became like the dry sticks of the fold-builders._" (THE QUR'AN, +XV, 82. LI, 44, 46. LIV, 31.) + +Ever since the wrath of Heaven destroyed its inhabitants, the country +of Thamud is deserted. The abodes of this ungodly people alone were +left and are still remaining. Under the brows of their frontals, the +wide-open doors look like the pupils of fantastic eyes, dilated by the +horror of the formidable sight they witnessed. The crevices scarring +the walls seem, likewise, to be mouths distorted by affright and +calling out to those who dare set foot in this desolate domain: +"Admire by our example, the vanity of mortals' pride and the emptiness +of their undertakings. Who can describe the mighty efforts by which +our masters carved us out of the heart of the mountain and adorned us +with slender pillars and graceful sculpture? Sheltered in our bosom, +stronger than iron, were they wrong to reckon that they were in +perfect safety? + +"How mad were they! In vain their contracted hands clung despairingly +to the angles of our walls, the storm of divine wrath passed over +them ... and they disappeared for evermore. Even we tottered on our +foundations like unto the limbs of a man devoured by fever whose teeth +chatter noisily. If we were spared, it was only so that we might serve +as a lesson to travellers straying into our mournful land." + +When the army of the Believers penetrated into the midst of +strangely-shaped stone blocks, emerging like reefs from a sea of sand, +and showing in their smooth sides the dark openings that were the +abodes of the people of Thamud, the Prophet covered his face with a +corner of his mantle, so as to avoid looking at these vestiges of +impiety. He closed his mouth and nostrils, not wishing to breathe the +impure air emanating from the ruins, and urged on his camel to get +away from them as quickly as possible. + +Fearing lest irresistible curiosity might lead the Soldiers of Islam +astray, he exhorted them thus: 'If ye enter these dens of the ungodly, +do so only with tears in your eyes as ye recall their sad fate.' He +knew that tears of this kind, welling up by reason of such terrible +remembrances, would cause the attraction of curiosity to be dominated +by fear of the Almighty. Impressed, however, by the strangeness of +these dwellings, seemingly those of superhuman beings or evil spirits; +and by the deathly silence that reigned in these parts where formerly +a powerful people lived a riotous life of pride and debauchery, the +Faithful sought but to follow the example of their inspired guide and +flee from the accursed ruins. + +Besides, the soldiers were urged onwards by thirst; and when, in the +midst of the sandy plains, the famous well of the Thamud people came +in sight where the she-camel of the miracle used to drink, they broke +their ranks in the greatest disorder, trying to outstrip each other, +racing to be the first to slake their thirst. The Prophet, who had +been unable to restrain them, hurried along with his she-camel, caught +them up, and gave his orders in accents of great severity: 'Beware of +that water, tainted by impiety. Take care not to use it for drinking +purposes; nor for your ablutions; nor for cooking your food! Let all +who have drunk of it, vomit it forth! Those who have kneaded "hays" +with it must throw that "hays" to their camels! Those who have used it +to cook their victuals must scatter those victuals on the ground +without touching them!' To put an end to all temptation, he ordered +the march to be resumed, without taking into account the fatigue or +the thirst of his troops. + +His face still veiled by a fold of his mantle, the Prophet, obeyed and +followed blindly by his soldiers, among whom deception and suffering +had not caused the slightest murmur, soon reached the entrance to the +narrow, weird pass of the "Mabraku'n-Naqa." + +Skirted on each side by crags from one hundred and fifty to two +hundred cubits high, the dark defile produced the most sinister +impression. The Faithful felt their breasts shrinking as if crushed +between the dizzy dominating walls. What they most feared was to hear +the resounding echoes of the miraculous, disembowelled she-camel. In +that case, no power on earth could have mastered the mad terror that +must have overwhelmed the animals ridden by the soldiers. By dint of +wild leaps and bounds, the camels would have thrown off their loads of +arms and food, and ridding themselves of their drivers, taken to +flight; when, after throwing down and trampling all those who might +have tried to stop them, the men must have been abandoned on foot in +the midst of the most frightful of all deserts. + +The slightest noises, amplified by the sonorous echoes of the rocky +heights, made the Believers start and shudder. They went on in the +most profound silence, thinking only of how best to speed their +camels. At last the lugubrious passage was traversed; the soldiers' +breath came and went normally in their breasts now relieved of all +oppression, and a wide, open space, suitable for pitching the tents, +offered itself to their gaze. + +When the Believers had finished the work of encampment, the Prophet +warned them that a heavy tempest would rage during the night, and he +enjoined them solemnly: 'Let those in charge of camels tie them +securely and no man leave his tent without a companion.' + +They had scarcely time to give a look at the hobbles of their beasts +than the Prophet's prediction began to come true. The sun had set, +covered by a misty veil, contrasting with its habitual sumptuous +purple; its rayless pallor was the sign of an extraordinary storm. + +All of a sudden, a brownish curtain sprung up from the horizon, to +drag in its moving folds the orb of day, and the shades of coming +night took on a tarry tint. The darkness thickened to such an extent +that each man might have thought he was struck blind. A strange +rumbling sound arose from the depth of the desert and approached with +incredible rapidity, soon changing its deafening uproar which might +have been taken for the hissing of monstrous vipers, accompanied by +diabolical vociferation. At the same moment, the camp was crushed by a +gigantic whirling spout of sand, tearing away in its gyrations +everything that was not securely fastened. The pitchy darkness gave +way to yellow obscurity, still more impenetrable to the eye. + +Sheltered behind their camels, turning their backs to the tempest +whilst shuddering and snorting in terror, the Faithful veiled their +faces and covered their arms and legs, so as to guarantee their limbs +against the fury of the raging sand that sank painfully into their +flesh like thousands of wasps' stings. The soldiers flattened +themselves face downwards on the ground, digging in their nails; +holding fast in fear of being swept away like flock of wool.... + +Despite the horror of the hour, two soldiers forgot the formal +directions of the Prophet. One of them, urged by necessity, left the +encampment and at once fell suffocated. The other tried to run after +his maddened camel that had broken its trammels and galloped away, +only to be caught immediately in the whirlwind, and rolled round and +round in its spirals, like a pebble spinning when hurled from a sling; +and he was whisked up to the summit of the Jabala Tay. When told of +this, the Prophet exclaimed: 'Did I not forbid you to leave the camp +without a companion?' + +He invoked the Mercy of the Compassionate in favour of the suffocated +soldier who gradually regained consciousness and came back to life. As +for the other victim, the Tay mountains restored him when the +expedition returned. + +The hurricane, at last, after having exhausted its impotent fury +against the soldiers of Allah, passed away to ravage other regions +and the Faithful had no further accidents to deplore. But they were +broken down by their former difficult marches; and that night, instead +of granting invigorating rest, only brought them fresh fatigue. The +simoon having dried up the last vestiges of moisture in their bodies, +their thickened blood circulated difficultly in their veins and the +beatings of their temples led to unbearable singing in the ears. + +What would become of them on the long road they still had to travel +before reaching the first well? The aspect of the surrounding country +was not at all calculated to encourage them. They fancied that they +were tramping through the ruins of a world destroyed by an +inconceivable outbreak of fire. A black line marked the horizon: the +never-ending Harra, which seemed in some parts to be formed of coal, +soot and ashes; and in others, of iron congealed when molten, with +enormous bubbles which, in bursting, had laid great crevices open, +bordered with scattered slag as sharp as broken glass.... + +There, at any rate, the flames were extinguished, whereas, on the way +they went, fires seemed to be still smouldering. Blocks of rock rose +up on all sides, like a real forest, and by their shape and colour, +they could bear comparison with gigantic tree-trunks, partly calcined +and partly incandescent. Some were distorted in such strange fashion +that, in the eyes of the Faithful, they looked like mouthing demons +escaped from Hell and posted where they stood to revel in the torments +of Allah's soldiers passing by. + +Slippery slabs and pointed black stones of volcanic origin covered the +earth, except where it was carpeted by sand of dazzling whiteness +which, by its intense reverberation, kindled myriads of white-hot +embers under every stone and in all the windings and turnings of the +crags and peaks. Even in the depths of the sapphire sky, a hovering +vulture and a rare fleeting cloud were tinted with a bright orange +hue, as if they reflected the blaze of an immense furnace. To complete +the illusion, lofty pillars of sand hung over all these remains, like +columns of smoke issuing from a badly-extinguished conflagration. + +The Believers' eyes, inflamed by the sandstorm, reddened by the +refraction on the dunes, produced--even in their sockets--the effect +of burning embers. Each time they put their feet, lacerated by the +pebbles of the Hammada, to the overheated ground, their sufferings +were unbearable. Their thickened saliva, mixed with impalpable dust, +formed a firm paste, which the throat would not allow to pass. Their +skin, stretched as on a drumhead, resounded at the slightest touch, +cracking in broad furrows, and split lips made speech impossible. + +Some of the soldiers were a prey to delirium, caused by thirst; a sure +sign of death. To bring them back to life, the only resource of their +companions was to make the sufferers drink the liquid contained in the +stomach of a slaughtered camel, and to plaster the dying man's parched +breast with the still moist residue. + +The Prophet endured the sufferings of each of his disciples, but at no +moment was his confidence shaken; he knew that if Allah often sees fit +to put His servants to the test, never does He abandon them. So +Mohammad never ceased to implore His mercy. + +Would the day never come to an end? The sun, as if fastened in the sky +by invisible bonds, at last seemed determined to come down to earth. +The orb was veiled, as on the preceding eve; its ruby disc was +swallowed up on the horizon by the dark cloud in waiting and which, +travelling fast towards the zenith, covered the camp with an ebony +canopy, fringed with stalactites reflecting coppery tints. A series of +lightning flashes struck furiously against the sides of this cupola, +breaking it into a thousand fragments. From between them, large drops +of rain escaped, and then came more and more, to be followed at last +by a diluvian downpour. The poor, parched soldiers shuddered +delightfully in feelings of indescribable comfort when the blessed +shower, soaking through their garments, refreshed their racked limbs; +and they rushed to quench their thirst at the numerous pools which the +waters of the heavens, rolling in cascades on the bare slopes, formed +in every depression of the soil. + +[Illustration: _The Pilgrims of Mount Arafa, on the Ninth Day of the +month of Zu'l Hijjah._ 2 views] + +Thus reinvigorated, and their goat-skins filled again, the Believers +joyfully resisted the fatigue of the march between each successive +halting-place and finally emerged, safe and sound, from that accursed +region. + +[Sidenote: ARRIVAL AND SOJOURN OF THE PROPHET AT TABUK] + +A vast plain of sparkling sand, streaked by a thin line of a beautiful +peacock blue, now spread itself out to the gaze of the Prophet and his +men. This line, the goal of their efforts, soon became notched; and at +last appeared, sharply outlined on the turquoise sky, the slender +tufts of the palm-trees of which it was formed. + +This was the oasis of Tabuk! No pen can describe the joy of those, who +having endured the anguish of thirst, arrived at this safe haven, an +oasis of date-trees; nor give an idea of the expression on their faces +when, having slaked their thirst and performed their ablutions, they +looked down on the crystal water rippling in the "Sawaqi;" nor of +their satisfaction when they laid themselves down in the light shade +of the palm-trees. + +The Prophet's soldiers had got through the hardest part of their task. +They had triumphed over the obstacles opposed to them by Nature, and +henceforward could look with deep disdain on any barriers formed by +the weapons of the Infidels. Besides, thanks to the fantastic rapidity +with which tidings travel through the desert, their arrival at Tabuk +soon came to the ears of the Christians and the Syrian Arabs who had +formed a coalition to fight the Believers. + +The enemies of Allah were overcome by stupor, for they had felt +certain that if the Prophet should try to carry out his audacious plan +at such a time of year, the bones of all the men of his army would be +scattered over the lonely Hijaz wilderness. + +Therefore, in spite of their enormous numerical superiority, they +concluded that any struggle against forty thousand Believers who had +just accomplished this prodigious feat would be madness, and finish by +overwhelming their opponents with indescribable disaster. Strife broke +the ranks of their innumerable army, and each party it comprised fled +towards its own part of the country without having dared to face the +Prophet. The pitiful helter-skelter retreat of the allies enhanced the +magic power of Islam as greatly as the most brilliant victory; and if +Mohammad had not been kept back by the necessity of fulfilling his +mission in the Hijaz before any other undertaking, he could have +penetrated in the depth of the Palatinat almost without striking a +blow. + +As it was, established at Tabuk, he received the eager submission of +the Arab lords who hurried to him, one and all, coming not only from +the vicinity, but also from distant regions, such as those of Sinai +and Syria. Alone, the proud Prince of "Dawmatu'l-Jandal," an important +town situated on the outskirts of the "Nefud" (Desert of Red Sand), +having refused submission, the Prophet sent Khalid the Terrible to +him; and he was brought to his knees at once. + +During the few weeks' rest granted to his army, Mohammad never ceased +the work of organising the country and teaching new converts. + +One event only saddened him in his success: the death of a most +devoted comrade, known as "Dhu Nijadayn," (the man with the two +shoulder-belts). To prove to all in what esteem he held this perfect +Mussulman, he insisted in helping, with his own noble hands, the +gravedigger to lower the body into the earth, and Ibn Mas'ud, jealous +at seeing the dead man so highly honoured, exclaimed: 'Ah! why am I +not buried in that tomb?' + +[Sidenote: THE PROPHET GOES BACK TO AL-MADINAH] + +The return journey took place without any incident worthy of +narration. The hot months having gone by, the army was spared the +pangs of thirst; and during the first days of the month of Ramadhan, +the soldiers re-entered Al-Madinah. + +In such a moment, in the midst of the acclamations greeting the +returning, energetic soldiers, the perfidious "qawm" of the +"Hypocrites" knew not where to turn to hide their shame. To palliate +their meanness, they invoked the most specious pretexts in vain. The +Apostle did not even deign to honour them by resentment, reserved for +the shaming of the three Ansars, deterred from their duty by the +double-faced crew. + +Despite the repentant humility of the abashed men, the Prophet +sentenced them most rigorously by putting them under interdict and +forbidding the Believers to have anything to do with them. The +delinquents were completely isolated and the Faithful fled from them +as if they were plague-stricken. Allah, notwithstanding, moved by +their remorse, pardoned them: + +"_He hath also turned in Mercy unto the three who were left behind, so +that the earth, spacious as it is, became too strait for them; and +their souls became so straitened within them, that they bethought them +that there was no refuge from Allah but unto Himself. Then was he +turned to them that they might turn to him. Verily Allah is He that +turneth, the Merciful!_" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 119.) + +The "Ghazwah" of Tabuk was the last expedition led by the Prophet. To +conclude the conquest of Arabia, he was satisfied thenceforth to send +his lieutenants to accomplish a certain number of "Saraya" or +expeditions, all fully successful, but which it would take too long to +describe here. + +He dwelt in Al-Madinah, kept busy in receiving the numerous +submissions brought about by the victories of Islam. There were those +of the Princes of Dawmatu'l-Jandal; of the Yaman; of the Uman, of +Buhayra; of the Yamama; of Taif; of Najran, etc. He also devoted his +energies to the most difficult task of governing the Arabs, for the +first time united to form a people of brothers; and in his work as +legislator, he displayed the resources of as much genius as when he +was at the head of his armies. + +About this time, the famous chief of the "Hypocrites," Abdullah ibn +Salul, died. Seized with remorse in his last moments, Abdullah +implored Mohammad's pardon and, despite the objections of ungovernable +Umar, the Prophet was not to be stopped from saying prayers over the +body of his perfidious foe and burying him with his own hands. After +this proof of clemency and forgetfulness of offences, there no longer +remained a single "Hypocrite" in Al-Madinah. + +In his turn, Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, who had passed his life in composing +virulent satires against the Prophet, came to be converted by him, and +recited a poem which he had written in his honour. When Ka'b got as +far as the fifty-first verse: + +"The Messenger of Allah is a flaming sword illuminating mortals; a +sword of India, unsheathed by Allah," Mohammad pardoned him, making +him a present of his mantle which he threw over the poet's shoulders. + +After the return of his victorious lieutenants, the Prophet despatched +missionaries to the newly-converted tribes, in order to prevent them +backsliding by introducing any of their past superstitions into the +religion. + +One of the principal missionaries was Mu'adh ibn Jabal, who was about +to set out for the Yaman. So that all should see the consideration he +attached to the mission entrusted to Mu'adh, the Prophet bound a +turban round his envoy's head, helped him to mount his camel, and +walked by the animal's side, giving final instructions. Mu'adh +confused, made as if to alight, but Mohammad stopped him. 'Remain in +the saddle, O sincere friend!' he said. 'I follow the orders of Heaven +and satisfy my heart. It is needful that a man performing important +duties should be honoured. Ah! if only I had hopes of seeing thee +again, I should cut our conversation short; but probably I now speak +to thee for the last time.' Much moved, they separated; never to meet +again in this world.... + +In the month of Zu'l-Qa'dah, the Apostle, ever mindful of the +religious and political importance of the pilgrimage to Makkah, sent +Abu Bakr to accomplish it at the head of three hundred Mussulmans. +Scarcely had Abu Bakr reached Zu'l Holifah, when the Surah of +"Bara'ah" was revealed: + +"_O Believers! only they who join gods with Allah (that is to say, +those who in any way whatsoever, associate Allah the Only One with +other divinities or persons) are unclean! Let them not therefore, +after this their year, come near the Sacred Temple (of Makkah)._" (THE +QUR'AN, IX, 28.) + +This Surah, remarkable as being the only one in the Qur'an without the +introductory form: "In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the +Compassionate," was of the greatest importance, in so far as the +pilgrimage was concerned. It forbid all who were not Mussulmans from +setting foot in Holy Territory and even nowadays this prohibition +being rigorously enforced, the pilgrims of Islam are safeguarded +against enemy spies, and protected from the unseemly curiosity of +foreigners. + +This was also the final blow struck at idolatry among the Arabs who +could no longer come to Makkah unless they disowned their idols. +Consequently, the Prophet charged Ali to rejoin the pilgrims' caravan +in all haste and recite this imperative Surah to the assembled +Faithful, after the sacrifices had been made in the valley of Mina. + +[Sidenote: THE VALEDICTORY PILGRIMAGE (_Zul-Hijjah, in Year X of the +Hegira, March A.D. 632_)] + +The following year, the Prophet determined to lead the pilgrimage to +Makkah personally. Since the Hegira, he had only accomplished the +"Amratu'l-Qada," or pious visitation, at a time when Makkah had not +yet been entirely won over to Islam. Now the "Hajj u'l-Akbar," or +Greater Pilgrimage, which imposes, besides the visit to the Sacred +Temple of Allah, a visit to the mountain of Arafa, or of Recognition, +(so called because our first parents, Adam and Eve, met each other +there after having been driven out of Paradise), is one of the five +pillars of the practical religion of Islam. + +Mohammad also wished to see his native land for the last time, having +a presentiment of his coming end, for he felt himself secretly +undermined by the vestiges of poison remaining in his veins. He +solemnly announced his intention. The idea of seeing the Apostle of +Allah and accomplishing the pilgrimage with him, stirred the +enthusiasm of the whole of Arabia, and the number of pilgrims who +accompanied him from Al-Madinah or joined him on the way, may be set +down at about hundred thousand. + +At Zu'l Hobfah, all the Faithful, following the Prophet's example, put +themselves in the state of "Ihram," as described in the chapter of +al-Hudaibiyah, and assumed the robe also called "Ihram," consisting of +two seamless wrappers free from any dye likely to stain the skin. One +piece of drapery is wrapped round the waist and the other, thrown +loosely over the shoulders, covers the chest; the head, arms, and legs +being left bare. After the Prophet had proclaimed the "Talbiyah," the +pilgrims took it up in chorus: "_I stand up for thy service, O Allah! +There is no Partner with Thee! Verily Thine is the Praise, the +Blessing and the Kingdom!_" + +During the journey, two unimportant incidents arose which we note +nevertheless, because they show that a pilgrim is obliged to suppress +all feelings of impatience or anger. The camel of Safiyah, one of the +Prophet's wives, was a slow animal, and being heavily laden, did not +keep up with the caravan, despite the efforts of its driver. Ayishah's +camel, possessing a good turn of speed and lightly burdened, Mohammad, +after having tried to explain these facts to its fair rider, gave +orders to change the loads of the two animals. But this displeased +Ayishah. She lost her temper and cried out: 'Thou sayest thou art +Prophet? Then why not do things justly?' + +No sooner had these words escaped her lips, than her father, Abu Bakr, +slapped her face; and as Mohammad upbraided him, he replied: 'Didst +hear what she said?'--'Yea; but she must be excused. The essence of a +woman's mind is jealousy; and when jealousy masters her, she is +incapable of seeing in what direction runs the current of a wadi!' + +On arriving at the encampment of Al-Arj, the camel carrying the +provisions of the Prophet and of Abu Bakr was missing. Ayishah's +father laid the blame on the driver: 'How's this? Thou hadst but one +camel to look after and thou hast let it go astray?' Carried away by +great anger, Abu Bakr, with his whip, gave the man a good hiding. +'Admire the conduct of this pilgrim in the state of "Ihram!"' said the +Prophet, ironically. 'Come now, O Abu Bakr, be calm, and rest assured +that thy serving-man's sole desire was not to lose thy camel.' + +The caravan took the same road as that of the pious visitation. The +Prophet entered Makkah in open day, and made his she-camel kneel in +front of the entrance of the Sacred Precincts, called the "Door of +Salvation," and on catching sight of the Ka'bah, he exclaimed: 'O +Allah, increase the glory of this Temple and the number of its +visitors!' + +After three ablutions, he kissed the Black Stone, whilst tears welled +up in his eyes. He then performed the "Tawaf," and the "Sa'y," in the +same way as during the pious visit. + +On the eighth day of the month of Zu'l-Hijjah, he went to the valley +of Mina where he caused a tent of woollen stuff to be pitched; and it +was there he said the prayers of the afternoon; of sunset; and of +nightfall. Next day, after the prayer of the "Fajr," he once more +bestrode his she-camel, al-Qaswa, in order to reach the mountain of +Arafa. + +Countless crowds having gathered on the mountain's rocky slopes, as +well as on the plain and in the surrounding ravines, the Prophet +preached, remaining on his she-camel which he had ridden and halted on +the summit. Standing immediately beneath him, was Rabiyah ibn +Ummayatah, posted there to repeat the words of the sermon, with his +resounding voice, during a pause made for that purpose at the +conclusion of each sentence. + +After Allah had been glorified by the "Takbir," the Prophet exhorted +the Faithful to treat their wives with the greatest gentleness, and +never to forget that the rights of spouses are equal to their duties. +He explicitly forbade the exaction of any interest whatsoever on money +lent; and no murders committed during the "days of ignorance" were to +be avenged. He fixed the duration of the year at twelve lunar months; +and declared that the "Nasi," which added a month every three years to +reestablish equilibrium and bring the same dates back to the same +seasons, was impious and must be abolished.... + +He then concluded, as he cried: 'O Believers, your blood and your +belongings ought to be looked upon as holy to each of you, even as +this day is holy and as this land is holy! O Believers, remember what +I say, for I know not if ever I shall be with you again on this spot, +when this day is past. And, above all, never forget that every +Mussulman should be truly a brother to every other Mussulman, for all +the Mussulmans in the world form a single people of brothers!... O +Allah! have I fulfilled my Mission?'--'Yea, verily, O Allah!' replied +in unanimous outcry the hundred thousand mouths of the pilgrims, in +accents of the most ardent gratitude.--'O Allah! hearken to their +testimony!' cried Mohammad. + +At another spot, near the summit of the Arafa, and known by the name +of "As-Sakhrah," recognisable by being paved with broad slabs, a +sudden Revelation came down to the Prophet. Under the burden of Divine +Inspiration penetrating the heart of her rider, the she-camel al-Qaswa +came nigh to breaking all her limbs, and she fell on her knees. + +Here are the words of Allah, the Most High: "_This day have I +perfected your religion for you, and have filled up the measure of my +favours towards you; and it is my pleasure that Islam be your +religion...._" (THE QUR'AN, V, 5.) + +This Revelation, terminating the Prophet's sermon which had so deeply +touched the Believers, stirred up the purest enthusiasm in the whole +of the Assembly. + +Nevertheless, Abu Bakr, far from participating in the general joy, was +seized with a fit of intense melancholy, and was unable to hold back +the tears that filled his eyes. He thought that having found favour in +the eyes of the Almighty, His mercy was bound to decrease. Knowing +that his son-in-law's Mission was terminated, Abu Bakr was afraid that +the Prophet would soon disappear from this world.... + +The indigo shades of night had fallen over the valley and spread along +the slopes of the Arafa. All by himself, on the mountain top, +overlooking the great multitude of pilgrims, the Prophet, on the back +of his tall she-camel, still remained in the light of the last golden +rays of sunset. His glance, ecstatic by faith, was resplendent with +superhuman brilliancy; but his face, emaciated by illness, had taken +on the immaterial aspect of a vision about to fade.... The rising +shadows reached and veiled him.... + +It was now the turn of the companions of the Prophet to find +themselves overcome by the same mournful apprehension that Abu Bakr +had felt, although scarcely a few moments before, they were +manifesting their joy at hearing that their religion had been +perfected by Allah.... By degrees, their emotion was communicated to +the entire assembly of the Believers and their hundred thousand hearts +were filled with the keenest anguish. + +The Prophet gave the signal of departure; but to prevent the accidents +which any haste would inevitably cause among the great masses of such +a gathering, he tugged the bridle of swift Qaswa to him, twisting her +head round until her nostrils touched her ribs, whilst he slid on to +her withers; unceasingly exhorting all: 'Go quietly, O ye people!' + +On arriving at Muzdalifa, he said the prayer, "Isha," and next day, +after the daybreak prayer, riding his she-camel, led by Bilal, and +protected from the sun by a mantle that Usama, riding behind him, held +over his head, he went into the valley of Mina, in order to throw +seven stones against each of the three pillars of rude masonry, called +"Jumurat." This is in commemoration of the pebbles thrown by Abraham +to drive away the Devil who thrice tried to stop him at that spot. + +After that, the Prophet, to prove his gratitude for the sixty-three +years of life granted to him by the Creator, freed sixty-three slaves +and, with his own hands, sacrificed sixty-three camels, their flesh +and skins being distributed among the pilgrims by Ali, acting under +Mohammad's orders. He then had his head shaved by Mi'mar ibn Abdullah, +who commenced at the right temple and finished at the left. Finally, +after having once more performed the "Tawaf" round the Kab'ah, and +drunk for the last time some Zamzam water in a vase offered to him by +his uncle Abbas, the Superintendent of the Well, he set out again on +the road to Al-Madinah. + +Such was the pilgrimage called the "Valedictory Visitation," which +overwhelmed the Believers with such deep emotion by apprising them +that Mohammad's Mission was fulfilled. This pilgrimage serves as a +pattern for all the pilgrimages which, during thirteen centuries, have +brought annually to these Holy Places, one hundred and fifty to two +hundred thousand pilgrims, collected from all parts of the universe. + +Any pilgrimage, be the religion giving rise to it what it may, causes +inexpressible emotion by the sight of so many faces beaming with +faith; and the most sceptical among the onlookers finds it difficult +to escape the contagion of this outbreak of fervour. But, among the +majority of the spectators, inadmissible practices soon overcome +sympathetic feelings and change them into aversion. At Makkah, +doubtless, as in all religious centres without exception, pilgrims are +ruthlessly exploited; but in this city, at least, the traffickers may +be excused: they dwell in the most inhospitable of all deserts and +have no other means of getting a living. + +What makes the Mussulman pilgrimage essentially different to any +other, is the absence of those innumerable chapels, whose narrow +arches imprison souls, hampering them as they soar towards the Creator +and holding them back on earth at the mercy of the clergy. Here are no +fetishes, such as statuettes or miraculous icons, surrounded by their +procession of votive offerings; nor that multitude of saints, their +worship taking the place of that of the "Eternal," generally neglected +on these occasions. There are also none of those monks clad in varied +gowns, all jealous of each other; quarrelling over pilgrims and +religious resorts for the greater glory of their sect or order. + +At Makkah, prayers are said in the vast quadrangular courtyard +surrounding the Ka'bah; the ethereal vault of heaven takes the place +of the masonry work of chapel roofs and, purified from all its mists, +it opens to souls thirsting for ideal good, its lapis-lazuli depths, +more vertiginous here than in any other part of the world. At Makkah, +nothing is worshipped except Allah, the Chosen One, and pilgrims seek +the remembrance of Abraham and Mohammad for no other reason than to +strengthen the fervour of their faith by following the Prophet's +example. They never pray to these Prophets in the same way as +Christians adore their saints; on the contrary, Moslems pray to Allah +for their prophets. + +The gates of the Ka'bah enclosure are open day and night. The pilgrim +hurries there as soon as he gets to Makkah. At the sight of the temple +draped in black, the object of his unceasing thoughts during the +severe ordeals of the journey, in the midst of sandstorms or +tempest-tossed, he is overtaken by such emotion that in this moment of +superhuman ecstasy, he wishes his soul to be snatched away. Sobbing, +his breast heaving fitfully, under the influence of remorse, his face +convulsed by shame, he approaches the Black Stone to kiss it, +exclaiming: 'O Allah! pardon me my sins; free my being from their +burden and purify my heart, O Thou, the most Merciful among the +Compassionate!' + +When the hour of prayer is called by the Muazzin, the spacious +quadrangle is invaded by a veritable sea of Believers; their hurrying +waves scarcely leaving in the serried ranks the needful space for +prostration. Following one of the "Takbirs" of the Imam, said after +him in an immense sigh escaping simultaneously from every breast, a +great swell passes over all the Faithful, causing every head to be +bowed, like billows breaking. + +At another "Takbir," it seems that the ground suddenly gives way under +the pilgrims' feet. At one bound, every forehead is pressed to the +earth, where the body of each man remains crushed by the threefold +weight of Contrition, Gratitude and Adoration; like so many rays +converging in the direction of the Temple which seems to be made still +taller by the added height of the prostrated pilgrims. Above them, the +black silk veil undulates, stirred by the gusts of a mysterious breeze +which many attribute to angels' beating wings. + +The Assembly of the Arafa is distinguished by quite as much grandeur. +In a wild valley stands the conical mountain of Arafa. Its slopes, +bare of all vegetation, bristle with enormous boulders. There is no +sign of life on its sides, nor in the neighbourhood; all around is the +image of desolation and the silence of death. But every year, on the +ninth day of the month of Zu'l-Hijjah, the funereal landscape evokes +most strikingly the future Day of Resurrection. + +Soil, sand and rocks disappear, truly cloaked by human beings, +enwrapped in their white "ihrams," and who might be taken for the +resuscitated dead, freeing themselves from their shrouds after having +lifted the rocks which were their gravestones. As it will happen on +that supreme day, all the earth's races are represented in the +countless crowds gathered together at this spot, deserted but a short +time before. Here some Arabs, with eyes of eagles, their complexion of +a reddish bronze; Ottomans, their features showing them to be +energetic and headstrong; Hindoos, with faces clear-cut and +olive-tinted; Berbers, fair-haired and rosy-cheeked, their eyes blue; +Somalis and Soudanese, their black skins shining in the sun with lunar +gleams; refined Persians; bold Turcomans; yellow Chinese, with closed +eyelids; Javanese, high cheek-boned, etc.... Nowhere else in the world +can such a variety of faces and languages be met with. + +After the prayer of the "Asr," (afternoon), the "Khatib," or preacher, +riding his she-camel, gorgeously harnessed, appears on the summit of +the Arafa where the sermon is given forth, interrupted by frequent +"Talbiyahs": "_Labbaika! Allahummah! Labbaika!_" (I stand up for Thy +service, O Allah! I stand up! I stand up!) + +At each "Talbiyah," the pilgrims wave the ends of their white +draperies over their heads and the whole mountain seems to be +palpitating under the beating of myriads of wings ready to fly, whilst +a lengthy clamour rises to the sky from every part of the valley, +reverberating in the sonorous echoes of the desert. "_Labbaika! +Allahummah! Labbaika!_" shout two hundred thousand pilgrims with one +voice, neglecting their own idioms, so as to become united in the same +tongue: that of the Arabs, chosen by the Almighty for the Revelation +of His Book. + +In that sublime hour, in language as well as by the heart, all these +mortals are cordially brothers. They have forgotten all their racial +differences, distinctions of rank or caste, and all their political +and religious feuds.... On the Arafa, Islam once more finds its +perfect unity and its primitive outbreak of enthusiasm. What great +consolation! What balm for some of its wounds! + +Quoth the Prophet: 'The Moslems are as one body; the pain in any +single limb gives rise to fever and insomnia in the whole of the +frame.' + +On the Arafa, Islam has nothing to fear from enemy spies; it can make +good its losses and prepare its future. Despite its disasters, it is +more alive than ever! Such is the impression of this unforgettable +day, that each of the assistants takes back with him to his own +country, as well as the title, so greatly envied, of "Haji," +signifying Pilgrim to the Holy Places. + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Say: Go through the earth, and see how +He hath brought forth created beings._] + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE NINTH] + +[Illustration: _Al Madinah, the City of the Prophet. The Dome of +Mohammad's Tomb._] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Thou truly art mortal, O Mohammad, and +they truly are mortals._] + + +CHAPTER THE NINTH + + +[Sidenote: ILLNESS AND DEATH OF THE PROPHET (_Rabi'u'l-Awwal, Year IX +of the Hegira. June A.D. 632._)] + +Quoth Abu Muwayhiba, the Prophet's serving-man: "One night towards the +end of the month of Safar, my master woke me up. "I must go and +implore the blessing of Allah," said he, "for those at rest in the +tombs of Baqui'u a'l-Gharqad. Come with me." + +"I accompanied him. "Blessed be you, O dwellers in the tomb!" he +exclaimed, when we reached the cemetery. "Rest in peace! Allah hath +spared you terrible ordeals, like unto the anguish of a dark night, +more terribly black at the end than at the beginning. Such are the +torments in store for those who are still upon this earth!" + +"As he finished speaking, the whole of his body was shaken by the +palsy of fever, and he wended his way back to his dwelling with +difficulty; his temples racked by the unbearable pains known as +"Suda"...." + +Quoth Ayishah: "When the Prophet returned from his visit to the +cemetery of Al-Baqi, he came to see me in the middle of the night. I +was suffering from violent headache and as I complained, he said: 'Ah! +'tis I who ought to complain of pains in the head and not thou!' He +went on, jokingly: 'Would it not be better for thee to die whilst I am +still in the land of the living? I could implore the Mercy of Allah in +thy favour; with my own hands I could enfold thee in thy +winding-sheet; I could pray over thy body and place thee in thy +grave.' 'Of a surety thou doest me great honour in apprising me that +thou wouldst act thus in my favour,' I replied; 'but I fear that after +I was buried, thy sole consolation would be to bring back with thee, +into my room, some other of thy wives!' At this sally, a smile +returned to the Prophet's face and, for a brief moment, he forgot his +pain." + +As time went on, his illness left him no rest; nevertheless, mastering +his sufferings, his mind was busier than ever, and he occupied himself +with the future of Islam, for he felt that the effects of his +management would soon be lacking. + +Thinking that Syria was one of the gates through which the warriors of +Allah would have to march to conquer the world, Mohammad's gaze was +unceasingly turned towards that country and he resolved to organise a +third expedition against the Christians, in whose power it was. + +Great rivalry at once arose with regard to commanding such an +incursion. Of heroes and generals having been put to the test, Islam +had enough and to spare. The most famous among them: Ansars or +Mohadjirun, anxiously awaited the Prophet's choice. + +To the stupefaction of all, however, Usama, barely twenty years of +age, was chosen. It is true that this lad was the son of Zayd ibn +Harith, the martyr of Mutah. Mohammad placed great reliance on the +revengeful ardour that Usama would show in fighting the murderers of +his father on the very spot where he gloriously succumbed, than on the +experience and warlike valour of the Mussulman generals. + +This selection caused deception and gave rise to murmuring. The +Believers hesitated to put boundless confidence, such as is +indispensable for success, in a chief so young and inexperienced. +Having been told about this, the Prophet rose and cut short all +disputes by these words: 'Ye criticise my choice of Usama, even as ye +formerly cavilled at that of Zayd, his father! Listen! To you I swear, +by Allah! that Zayd was truly worthy of the post of command with which +I did entrust him. I cherished him above all other men; and after him, +his son is the man I prefer. Go, carry out my orders, and have +confidence!' + +These simple words, uttered in a tone of inspired conviction, banished +all hesitation; smoothing away all jealousy as if by magic; and the +noblest and most famous among all the chieftains, together with the +most humble soldiers, came enthusiastically to obey the commands of +the stripling. When the expedition marched into the "Farewell Pass," +the Prophet was deeply moved as he saw his troops disappear. The +superhuman faith animating the warriors at the parting hour proved to +him that no obstacle could bar their way on the road to victory and +that the irresistible torrent of Islam, like unto the salutary +overflow of a wadi, was about to inundate the world and bring it the +prolific germs of its new civilisation. Meanwhile, it was not long +before the alarming news, relating to the Prophet's illness, stopped +Usama's forward progress, bringing him back to Al-Madinah. + +About that time, the Apostle received a letter, couched in these +terms: "Musailimah, the Prophet of Allah, to Mohammad, the Prophet of +Allah. Peace be with thee, I am thy associate. Let the exercise of +authority be divided between us. Half the earth is mine, and half +belongeth to the Quraish. But the Quraish are a greedy people, and +will not be satisfied with a fair division." + +The author of this epistle, Musailimah, Prince of the Yamama, had +recently been converted to Islam; and then, fully appreciating the +majesty of the part played by the Prophet, this pretender planned with +monstrous pride to play the some part in his turn. + +To the envoys bringing the impudent missive, Mohammad replied: 'Were +it not that your situation as ambassadors causeth me to look upon your +lives as sacred, I would have you beheaded.' And he handed them this +answer: "Mohammad, the Prophet of Allah to Musailimah, the Impostor. +Peace be with those who follow the right road! The earth is Allah's, +and He giveth it to whom he will. Those only prosper who fear the +Lord!" + +Both Musailimah and Al-Aswad, another impostor, soon found out the +danger run by those who enacted the part of Prophet without having +been called by Allah. They expiated their temerity most cruelly. + +The Prophet's illness became daily more serious. He grew so weak that +he could only move about by dint of the most painful efforts. + +Being in the house of Maimunah, he sent for his other wives. His usual +habit was to pass the night in turn, impartially, at each of their +dwellings; but feeling himself weighed down by intense suffering, he +begged them to let him remain with Ayishah alone for the duration of +his illness; and to this they consented. + +Quoth Ayishah: "The Prophet left the abode of Maimunah, thanks to the +assistance of Al-Fadl and Ali, who held him in their arms. A bandage +was bound tightly round his head, and his weakness was so great that +he had no sooner set foot in my room than he swooned. When he came to, +lancinating pains tortured his temples; and hoping to soothe his +pangs, he asked: 'Pour over me six skinsful of water drawn from a very +cold spring, so that I may be in a fit state to go forth and preach to +the Faithful.' We sat him in a stone trough, borrowed from Hafsa, and +poured water over him in abundance, until he bade us stop, by a wave +of his hand, saying: 'Enough!'" + +Momentarily invigorated, Mohammad went out through Ayishah's door +which gave on to the Mosque; and again supported by his cousin Ali and +Al-Fadl, he had great trouble in mounting the steps of the pulpit, +from which he made the following declaration to the Faithful +assembled: 'O Believers, if among you there be one whose back I have +beaten, here is my back so that he may do himself justice! If there be +one whose honour I may have wounded, here is my honour, let him be +avenged! If there be one whose property I may have seized, here is my +property, let him satisfy his claim! Let no one hesitate in fear of my +resentment, for resentment formeth no part of my disposition.' After +having stepped down to give out the noonday prayer, he went up in the +pulpit again and repeated the same declaration. + +A man arose and claimed payment of a debt amounting to three drachmas. +The Prophet handed them over to him at once, adding: 'It is easier to +put up with shame in this world than in the other.' + +He then evoked the remembrance of the martyrs of Uhud, to whom he +devoted the best part of his prayer, imploring Allah's blessings in +their favour. He wound up as follows: 'Allah hath offered one of His +servants the choice between the riches of this earth and those that +are to be found at His side.' At these words, divining that the +Prophet was alluding to himself and the state of his health, Abu Bakr +burst into tears, and exclaimed: 'Ah! why cannot we offer our lives as +a ransom for thine?'--'O Believers!' replied Mohammad, 'it hath come +to my ears that ye fear your Prophet may die; but before me hath any +Prophet been immortal as he accomplished his Mission? How can I dwell +eternally among you? Every soul is doomed to die. I must return to +Allah and ye likewise will return to Him.' + +Quoth Ayishah: "After this effort, when the Prophet came back to my +room, he fainted away again. When the call of the Muazzin was heard, +he rose up and asked for water wherewith to perform his ablutions, +meaning to lead the prayers. He swooned three times. + +"As the Faithful awaited his coming in the Mosque, he sent Bilal to +fetch Abu Bakr, so that he could perform the duties of Imam instead of +the Prophet. The crowd, guessing the reason of this change, broke out +into fits of sobbing.... + +"The Prophet was frequently seized with delirium. One Thursday, whilst +all his companions gathered round his bed, he said to them: 'Bring +hither to me ink and parchment; I would place on record a book for you +which shall prevent your going astray for evermore.'--'Allah's +Messenger is burdened by pain,' said Umar; 'have we not the Qur'an? +Allah's Book sufficeth for us.' + +"Several of his companions, accustomed never to argue about anything +said by the Prophet and remembering that he was illiterate, thought +that in this supreme moment a miracle was about to be accomplished. +Therefore they wanted to give him what he asked for. They were opposed +by his partisans sharing Umar's opinion, and a quarrel began, the +Prophet recovering his senses by the noise. He told them +reproachfully: 'It is not seemly to quarrel thus at a Prophet's +bedside. Go away!' + +"To soothe his unbearable pain, he dipped his hands in a pitcher of +cold water and passed his wet palms over his face, as if to wipe it: +'O Allah!' he cried, 'help me to support the terrors of the death +struggle!' + +"He had Fatimah, his beloved daughter, fetched to him twice and spoke +to her secretly, whispering in her ear. The first time, Fatimah's face +was bathed in tears; the second time, her features were lit up by a +smile. We asked her the reason of her changed expression, and she told +us: 'The first time, my father warned me that he must soon succumb to +his illness, and I could not repress my tears. The second time, he +informed me that of all his family, I should be the first to rejoin +him, and so great was my joy that I could not stop myself from +smiling.'" + +On the Monday, the twelfth day of Rabi'u'l-Awwal, Abu Bakr was saying +prayers in the presence of the Faithful, when Ayishah's door, giving +into the Mosque, was thrown open. Supported by Ali and Al-Fadl, the +Prophet appeared. His turban was twisted tightly round his head, and +his benumbed feet dragged along the ground. On seeing him, the +Faithful were comforted by a ray of hope and a wave of emotion stirred +them all. Without turning round, Abu Bakr guessed that only the +arrival of the Prophet could have given rise to such a manifestation +while prayers were being said, and he moved away to join the ranks of +the worshippers and let his place be taken by Mohammad. But he made +Bakr go back; pulling him by his garment, as he said: 'Continue to +lead the prayers.' + +He then sat down on Abu Bakr's right hand, under the pulpit, and his +face beamed with happiness, at the sight of the piety of the +congregation. When prayers had been said, he spoke to the Believers +for the last time; and in tones firm enough to be heard outside the +Mosque, he preached a sermon predicting terrible ordeals and charging +them with the strictest observance of the principles of the Qur'an, +for such would be the only way leading to Salvation. Leaning against +one of the palm-tree trunk pillars, he chatted familiarly with some of +his companions, and then went back to his room. + +Quoth Ayishah: "After this last effort, the Prophet was again +overtaken by greater pain than ever, and covered his face with a black +garment, which he threw off again, as it stifled him.... + +"Just then, Abdu'r Rahman, son of Abu Bakr, came in, holding in his +hand a small twig of green "araq," with which he was picking his +teeth. The Prophet stared at the little stick and I made out that he +would have liked it. So I took it out of Abdu'r Rahman's hand. Cutting +off the end of the toothpick, I shook it, cleaned it and gave it to +Allah's messenger who immediately made use of it, picking his teeth +more carefully than ever before. When he had finished, he let the +little stick drop from between his faltering fingers. He raised his +eyes to heaven, repeating three times: 'O Allah! with the +Compassionate on High....!' And I felt his head, resting between my +chin and shoulder, grow heavy on my arm. + +"I guessed that the Prophet had chosen the eternal dwelling and that +his noble soul had just been taken by the Angel of Death. I placed my +head on the pillow and uttered a great cry of distress.... His wives +came running in; and all together, we went down on our knees, and tore +our faces with our nails." + +On hearing these lamentations, the Believers filled the Mosque. They +were dazed, like sheep straying on a dark, wintry night; but not one +of the Faithful would admit that the Prophet was dead. The +disappearance of the man who led them in every way seemed an +impossibility. + +'How can he be dead?' they cried. 'Did we not count upon him to be our +witness on the Day of Resurrection? He is not dead; he hath been +carried up to Heaven, even as was Isa (Jesus).' And through the door +they cried: 'Beware lest ye bury him!' + +This met with Umar's approval: 'No, verily, the Prophet is not dead! +He hath gone to visit the Lord, even as Moses did, when after an +absence of forty days, he reappeared to his people. In like fashion, +Mohammad will be restored to us. Those who say he is dead are traitors +to the cause of Islam. Let their hands and feet be cut off!' + +At that juncture, Abu Bakr, who had been fetched from the As-Sunuh +quarter where he lived, arrived on horseback, galloping as fast as +possible. He alighted and, making his way through the crowd in +consternation, he went into the Mosque without speaking to a soul, and +from there, passed into the room of his daughter Ayishah in order to +see Allah's Messenger. A piece of striped stuff was thrown over the +body; Abu Bakr uncovered the Prophet's face, kissed him, wept and then +broke down under the weight of his great grief.... 'O Thou for whose +ransom I would have offered both father and mother,' he cried, 'thy +career is well accomplished!' + +Tearing himself away from his sorrowful contemplation, he covered up +Mohammad's face again and went out, going straight up to Umar who was +haranguing the people. 'Sit down, O Umar!' he said. Umar refused to +obey him. In the meantime, the majority of the Faithful left him by +himself, and gathered round Abu Bakr who told them: 'O Believers, if +ye adore Mohammad, know that Mohammad is dead; but if ye adore Allah, +know that Allah is alive, for Allah cannot die! Ye must have forgotten +these verses of the Qur'an: "_Mohammad is no more than an Apostle; +other Apostles have already passed away before him; if then he die, or +be slain, will ye turn upon your heels? Thou truly art mortal, O +(Mohammad), and they truly are mortals._" (THE QUR'AN, III, 138, and +XXXIX, 31.) + +Quoth Umar: "By Allah! scarcely did I hear Abu Bakr recite these +verses than I felt my legs give way under me. I was near falling down, +for then I began to understand that the Prophet was really dead!" + +[Sidenote: ABU BAKR ELECTED] + +Before thinking about the funeral, it was urgent to guard against the +pressing danger threatening Islam, totally broken up by the loss of +its inspired guide. + +The man who had succeeded in bringing together in religious fraternity +families and tribes at loggerheads for centuries, having disappeared, +what would become of this brotherhood? The immediate nomination of a +Caliph, or lieutenant appointed to continue the Prophet's task, could +alone prevent irretrievable disaggregation. This urgent necessity +stirred the tribes tumultuously; a tragical conflict between Ansars +and Mohadjirun was imminent, each party claiming to have the Caliph +chosen from among its adherents. Happily, Umar's energy and spirit of +decision easily averted the crisis. Having succeeded in gaining a few +moments' silence, he called upon the Believers to take notice that +during the last days of his life, Mohammad had designated Abu Bakr, +his companion during the Hegira, to take his place as "Imam," and +doubtless the Prophet would have chosen him for Caliph. + +This opinion carried the day. When the sun rose again, all the +Believers, forgetting their disputes, came and took the oath of +fidelity to Abu Bakr. + +[Sidenote: THE PROPHET'S BURIAL] + +This important question being settled, the Faithful were free to +arrange the Prophet's funeral and give way to the despair that racked +their souls. + +At first, they were embarrassed, not daring to strip off his garments +so as to wash the body according to the usual rites. Respect forbid +them to look on his nakedness, as if it were sacrilegious to do so. +After long discussions, irresistible sleep weighed down their +eyelids; their chins rested on their breasts, when suddenly, a voice +proceeding from the chamber of death was heard. They awoke at its +sound and it replied to what was passing in their minds: 'Wash the +Prophet without undressing him.' That was the solution they sought, +and without further delay, they acted on the suggestion. With striped +stuff of the Yaman, Abbas erected a kind of tent in the room, so as to +keep the crowd away from the body. By the aid of seven skinsful of +water drawn from the well of Al-Ghars, at Quba, preferred by Mohammad +to any other, Ali, Usama, Abbas and his sons, and Shukran, the freed +slave, proceeded with the ritual washing. Abbas, assisted by his sons, +Al-Fadl and Qutham, turned the venerated body over. Usama and Shukran +sprinkled it with water and Ali wiped it without removing the shirt. + +The first washing was done with plain water, the next with an infusion +of lotus-flowers; and the third, and last, with camphorated water. +Abbas and Ali then perfumed every part of the body that comes in +contact with the earth during the ceremony of prostration: forehead, +nose, hands, knees and feet. + +'How sweet is thy smell, O Prophet!' exclaimed Ali; and all marvelled +at not finding on Mohammad's frame any of those horrible traces of +decomposition following the separation of the soul from the body, with +the exception of a slight bluish tinge appearing on the nails. + +Instead of a shroud, the Prophet was wrapped in the garments he wore +at the moment of death: his shirt, which after the ablutions was wrung +out and allowed to drip; and a double robe woven at Najran. It was +then that Ali and Abbas, having replaced Mohammad on his bed, allowed +the crowd to enter. + +The room was at once filled with as many Believers as it would hold, +and after they had said: 'Peace be with thee, O Prophet, and also the +Mercy and Blessing of Allah!' they got ready to pray without an "Imam" +to lead them, for the real "Imam" was present, although his soul had +been called back to the side of the Almighty. + +Abu Bakr and Umar were in the front rank of the worshippers, and they +concluded the prayer by these words: "_O Allah! we bear witness that +he hath accomplished the Mission Thou didst entrust to him. O Allah! +grant peace to those among us who follow faithfully the orders Thou +hast revealed to him and hasten to reunite us with him. Amin!_" And +all the people, stirred to the innermost depths of their being, +repeated: "_Amin! Amin!_" + +Fresh difficulties now arose, concerning the place of burial; some +wanting the grave to be dug in the Mosque; others, at Al-Baqi, among +the tombs of the Prophet's family. A few mentioned Makkah, his +birthplace. Abu Bakr silenced them, affirming that he had heard +Mohammad say: 'Allah only taketh the soul of a Prophet on the spot +where it is fitting that he should be buried.' + +The bed was accordingly moved away and the grave dug in the ground +underneath it. This task was alloted to Talha, the gravedigger of +Al-Madinah. He strengthened the sides of the grave by means of nine +unburnt bricks, and carpeted the bottom with the red blanket that +served the Prophet as a rug for his camel when travelling, and which +was not to be used by anyone now that he was dead. Ali, Al-Fadl, +Qutham, and Shakran lowered the body into its last resting-place.... + +Al Mughira ibn Shu'ba affirms that he was the last man to have the +happiness of contemplating the face of the Chosen One before it was +covered with earth. "I let my finger-ring drop into the grave,' he +says, 'so that when I regained it, I should be the last to address a +farewell salute to the Prophet." + +The sad ceremony was concluded in the middle of the night between +Tuesday and Wednesday. On the morrow, at dawn, when in his call to +prayer, Bilal, the "Muazzin," proclaimed: 'There is no God but Allah, +and Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah!' he could only shout the name of +Mohammad through his sobs. The whole town replied to him, as by an +echo, in a long moan of despair which rose to heaven, from every door +and window of the houses.... + +Ever since that day, the twelfth of the month of Rabi'u'l-Awwal, Year +XII of the Hegira, (June 8th, A.D. 632), this extraordinary man, who +was, to say the least, the equal of the greatest of all Prophets; +monarch, general theologian, legislator and philosopher, and whose +religion counts at the present time three hundred millions of +disciples, rests in this spot where his noble soul was carried aloft. + +A sumptuous Mosque, erected over the room where he died, has taken the +place of the humble temple of raw bricks and palm-trunks that he built +up with his own hand. A visit to his tomb is not one of the pillars of +Islamic pratical religion, but nevertheless there are few pilgrims +who, after the severe trials endured during their journey to Makkah, +hesitate to undertake the twelve days' caravan travel, so distressing +and dangerous, between Mohammad's birthplace and Al-Madinah, in order +to salute the Prophet's grave piously and enthusiastically.... + +Even the learned men of Europe are beginning to forget secular +prejudices and do justice to the founder of Islam. 'If a man's value +is to be estimated by the grandeur of his works,' declares Dr. G. Le +Bon, 'we can say that Mohammad was one of the greatest men known in +history.' + +[Illustration (Calligraphy) _Mohammad is no more than an apostle; +other apostles have already passed away before him; if then he die, or +be slain, will ye turn upon your heels?_] + +[Illustration: _Imam leading the Prayers._] + + + + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _O my supreme Master, lavish thy +Blessings and thy Favours for ever and ever on Thy Friend (Mohammad), +the best of all created beings._] + + +THE PROPHET'S PORTRAIT + + +According to his son-in-law, Ali, the Prophet was of middle height and +sturdy build. His head was large, his complexion healthy; with smooth +cheeks, a thick beard, and wavy hair. When he was vexed, a vein +swelled out on his forehead, from the top of his aquiline nose between +his eyebrows which were well arched and meeting. + +His big eyes, framed by long lashes, were of a deep black, lit up at +times by a few red gleams, and his glance was extraordinarily keen. +His mouth was large, well suited to eloquence. His teeth, as white as +hailstones, were slightly separated in front. The palms of his hands, +of which the fingers were long and slender, were broad and soft to the +touch like fine silk. + +The Seal of Prophecy--which the monk Bahira discovered--was just below +the nape of the neck, between Mohammad's shoulder-blades. It resembled +the scar left by the bite of a leech, and was of a reddish hue, +surrounded by a few hairs. + +The Prophet's gait was slow, solemn and majestic. In all +circumstances, he never lost his presence of mind and was +quick-witted. When he turned round, the whole of his body moved, +unlike frivolous folks twisting their necks and rolling their heads +about. If he held out an object to show it, he made use of the whole +of his hand and not two or three fingers. When surprised, he glorified +Allah, turning the palms of his hands to heaven, nodding his head and +biting his lips. + +When he made an affirmation, he struck his widely-open left hand with +his right thumb to lay stress on his declaration. If angry, his face +flushed; he stroked his beard and passed his hand over his face, +taking a deep breath and exclaiming: 'I leave it to Allah, the best +proxy!' + +He was a man of few words; but each had many different meanings, some +plain and others hidden. As for the charm of his elocution, it was +supernatural, going straight to the heart. None could resist it. The +Prophet's merriment never went beyond a smile, but if he was overcome +by an excess of gaiety, he covered his mouth with his hand. + +His disposition was even, without self-sufficiency or obstinacy. +Whenever any of his companions called him, he replied immediately: +'Here I am!' He liked to play with their children and would press them +to his noble breast. He used to make the sons of his uncle Abbas stand +in a row and, promising to reward the child who got first to him, they +would all run into his arms and jump on his knees. + +He interested himself in the doings of all, whether slaves or nobles, +and followed the funeral of the most humble Believer. He flew one day +into a most violent passion because, through negligence, he had not +been apprised of the death of a poor negro who swept out the Mosque. +He insisted on being told where the grave was situated and went to +pray over it. + +When an applicant tried to get close to the Prophet's ear so as not to +be overheard, he would bend his head until the man had finished +speaking. When a visitor took the hand of Mohammad, he was never the +first to withdraw it, but waited until the other chose to relax his +grasp. The Prophet often said: 'To be a good Mussulman, we must wish +for others that which we wish for ourselves.' + +Never did he let his blessed hand fall on a woman, nor on one of his +slaves. Quoth Anas, who was seven years in his service: "'He never +scolded me; he never even asked me: 'Hast done this?' or: 'Why didst +thou not do that'" Abu Dharr heard the Prophet declare: 'These +servants are your brothers, placed under your authority by Allah. +Whoso is master over his brother must give him the same food as he +eateth and the same apparel as he weareth.' + +An Arab who bore arms at the battle of Hunain, tells the following +story: "My feet were shod with heavy sandals and in the thick of the +fight, I accidentally trod on the Prophet's foot. He struck me with +the whip he held in his hand and cried out: 'By Allah! thou hast hurt +me!' And all night long, I reproached myself for having inflicted pain +on Allah's Messenger. Next day, early in the morning, he sent for me. +I went into his presence. I was trembling with fright. 'Thou art the +man,' said he, 'who crushed my foot yesterday under thy thick sole and +whom I lashed with my whip? Well then, here are eighty lambs. I give +them to thee. Take them away.' And ever since that incident, the +Prophet's patience got the best of his anger." + +Of a loving disposition, he suffered at having been deprived at an +early age of maternal affection, which led him always to busy himself +about the way mothers and children got on together. His ideas in this +connection were summed up in this sentence: 'A son gains Paradise at +his mother's feet.' While saying prayers, if he heard a child cry, he +would hasten to conclude, so as to allow the mother to go and console +her offspring, for he knew how mothers suffer when they hear their +children cry. + +His marvellous insight into mortals' souls and the depths of all +things, causing him to be the most prodigious psychologist ever known, +did not prevent him from consulting his companions for the least +thing. Ayishah tells us: 'I never knew anybody ask for advice and +listen to different opinions so carefully as the Prophet.' + +If feelings of kindly dignity prevented Mohammad from resorting to +vulgar mockery or making use of cutting remarks, his mood was +nevertheless playful. He was fond of joking, which is not reproved by +Allah, if the sally contains a grain of truth. One day, for amusement, +he told Safiyah, his aunt on his father's side, that 'old women were +not allowed to enter Paradise.' The noble dame, well advanced in +years, burst into tears. So he went on: 'But all women will be +resuscitated with the aspect of females thirty-three years of age, +just as if they had all been born on the same day.' + +The three things he loved best in this world were prayer, perfumes, +and women. + +He was so fond of praying that his feet used to swell in consequence +of standing for too long a time whilst at his devotions; but he +considered that the right to pray so often was one of the prerogatives +of his position as a Prophet. Still he would not admit that his +example should be followed. This he proved when upraiding Abdullah ibn +Amir: 'Have I heard aright when they tell me thou dost pass the night +in prayer, upstanding; and then fast next day? If thou shouldst keep +on at this, thou wilt endanger thy sight and wear out thy body. Thy +duty, that thou owest to thyself and thy people, is to fast and break +thy fast; to rise in the night and also to sleep.' + +Next to prayer, Mohammad preferred women, for which his detractors +have blamed him severely. He was certainly an ardent lover; a male, in +every respect, morally and physically, but endowed with that chastity +which fits in well with healthy voluptuousness. Following his example, +even nowadays, the Arabs are remarkable for their extreme decency, +although devoid of all affectation and having nothing in common with +the hypocritical mock-modesty of Puritans. + +Mohammad had twenty-three wives, but he only had intercourse with +twelve of them; his other marriages taking place for political +reasons. All the tribes were eager to be allied to him through one of +their daughters and he was beseiged by matrimonial offers. One of +these women, Azza, sister to Dihya al-Kalbi, died of joy when she +heard that the Prophet accepted her as spouse. + +His love of women caused him to be brimful of kindness to them, +and he sought to better their lot whenever he could. To begin +with, he abolished the monstrous custom of burying girls alive, +"Wa'du'l-Binat," of which we have already spoken. He then regulated +polygamy, limiting the number of legitimate helpmates to four, which +did not prevent him from urging the Faithful to give heed to this +verse of the Qur'an: "_If ye fear that ye shall not act equitably, +then marry but one woman only._" (IV, 3.) + +Then, after declaring that: 'among all things which are licit, divorce +is the most displeasing to Allah,' he allowed a wife to ask for +release if the husband neglected the duties of marriage. + +Finally, thanks to his ruling, a virgin could no longer be taken in +marriage against her will; the dower, formerly given by the husband to +the father of the affianced maiden, was ordered to be handed over to +her. Such is the wise custom of the dower which the enemies of Islam +call the purchase of a wife. Doubtless, they know nothing about the +terrible retort of Moslems when they notice that in certain Western +countries the dowry is paid to the bridegroom by the bride's father! +Over and above the dower, the Mussulman husband has to defray +household expenses without touching his wife's fortune to which he has +no right. + +The Prophet also ordained that a wife is always entitled to some part +of an inheritance. If it is only half a share, that is because the +compensation found by the spouse in the dowry and the household upkeep +is taken into account. + +The Prophet was fond of perfumes; for they completed the process of +purification by ablutions. The man who has a sweet smell will be +worthier and better able to safeguard his honour than he whose bodily +odour is disgusting. Mohammad scented himself with musk and he liked +sandal-wood, camphor and ambergris to be burnt. He used pomade for his +hair, and four plaits hung down over his ears, two on each side. He +clipped beard and moustache with scissors, keeping all in order by +means of an ivory, or tortoise-shell comb. He blackened his eyelids +with "Kuhl," which brightens the eye and strengthens the lashes. He +took care of his teeth by rubbing them often with the "Miswak," +(fragment of soft "Araq" wood), of which the fibre, when the end is +chewed, has the same effect as a brush. + +His apparel consisted generally of a tunic of cotton cloth, +short-sleeved, and not too long; together with a cloak, four cubits +long and two wide, woven in the Uman region. He also had a Yamanite +mantle, six cubits long and three wide, which he wore on Fridays and +holydays. Then, last of all, came his green mantle, inherited by the +Caliphs; and a turban known as "As-Sahab," bequeathed to his +son-in-law, Ali. + +The Prophet took the greatest care of his personal appearance and +reached as far as simple, although very refined elegance. He was wont +to look at himself in a mirror, or if that was lacking, in a jar full +of water, to comb his hair, or adjust the folds of his turban, letting +one end hang down behind his back. He used to say: 'By attending to +our exterior, we please Him of whom we are the servants.' + +To make amends, he severely condemned extravagance in clothing; +particularly the use of silk, which for rich people furnishes an +opportunity for a display of pride belittling the needy; but he +permitted it for those to whom it was necessary for reasons of bodily +health. + +His love of justice and charity extended to animals. It was he who +told how "a man saw a dog so thirsty that it lapped up mud. Taking off +one of his slippers, the man filled it with water which he offered to +the dog; keeping on in the same way until the animal had quenched its +thirst. Allah was pleased at what the man did and welcomed him to +Paradise." + +This kindness and the mysterious radiation emanating from Mohammad's +personality made an impression on animals; and even on inanimate +objects, as well as on human beings. When he went up the steps of a +pulpit newly constructed in the Mosque of Al-Madinah, the humble +palm-tree trunk on which he habitually stood when preaching, began to +groan and was only quieted when he laid his blessed fingers on it. + +The Prophet worked with his own hands. He milked his ewes, cobbled his +shoes, mended his clothes, fed his camels, pitched his tent, etc., +without accepting the assistance of anyone. He carried home his own +purchases from the market, and replied to one of the Faithful who +wished to do so for him: 'It is incumbent on the buyer to take away +what he buyeth.' Thus, by his example, he condemned the practice of +wealthy people who bought largely, and without troubling about the +weight of their purchases, forced their servants to carry the goods. + +His disdain for the riches of this world reached to the highest pitch. +According to Ayishah, this is what he said on this head: + +"Allah offered to change all the pebbles round Makkah, into pure gold +for me and I answered: 'O Allah! all I ask is to be hungry one day and +satisfied the next. The day I am hungry, I will implore Thee and the +day I am satisfied, I will thank Thee.' What have I to do with worldly +wealth? I am like the traveller who lieth down in the shade of a tree; +the sun, as it turneth, beateth down upon him and he goeth away from +that tree never to return. O Allah! let me die poor and resuscitate me +in the ranks of the poor!" + +The Prophet's sobriety was extreme; he never would have several kinds +of food served at the same repast. If he ate meat, he went without +dates; and if he ate dates, he deprived himself of meat. He showed a +predilection for milk which appeases thirst and hunger at one and the +same time. + +Many months often passed without a fire being kindled in any of the +Prophet's houses for baking bread or preparing other kinds of food. +All this time, he and his family lived on dried dates only and his +sole beverage was plain water. When hunger-pains gnawed his entrails +too cruelly, he placed a stone on his belly and bound it there with a +girdle. He departed this life without having a surfeit of any sort of +victuals, not even of barley cake. + +He never troubled about his body, so far as comfort went, although he +kept it in a state of perfect purity by dint of continual ablutions. +He frequently slept on a rugged mat, the rough bristles deeply marking +his flesh. His pillow was made of palm-fibre and his bed was a mantle +folded in two. One night, when Ayishah had folded it in four, the +Prophet lost his temper, found his couch too soft and ordered it to be +restored to its usual state. + +Before dying, he freed all his slaves and distributed the small amount +of property he still possessed. He deemed it unseemly to appear before +the Lord with gold in his possession. In his dwelling, but thirty +measures of barley were found; and to buy them, he had been forced to +leave his breastplate at a usurer's as security for a loan. + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad +is the Prophet of Allah._] + + + + +[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE TENTH] + +[Illustration: _A Writing-lesson at a village school devoted to the +Teaching of the Qur'an._] + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Say: O my people! Act as ye best can: I +verily will act my part, and hereafter shall ye know!_] + + +CHAPTER THE TENTH + + +[Sidenote: THE MARCH OF ISLAM] + +At the very moment when fate had deprived Islam of its genial founder, +the organisation of this new religion was definitively and +meticulously arranged even in its most humble practices. + +The soldiers of Allah had already conquered the whole of Arabia and +the attack on the colossal empire of the Cæsars in Syria was begun. A +short period of unrest, inevitable after the disappearance of the +inspired guide, caused a few rebellions; but Islam was so strongly +constituted, overflowing with such enthusiasm that it was about to +astonish the world by its impressive forward march, unique perhaps in +the annals of history. + +For the first time, rushing forth from their country forsaken by +Nature, the proud Arabs, stirred by the miracle of Faith, were about +to become masters in less than a century of the best part of the old +civilised world from India to Andalusia, and that despite their +extreme numerical inferiority. + +This marvellous épopée engrossed the mind of the most wonderful man of +our time, Napoleon, who always manifested the most sympathetic +interest in favour of Islam. During the Egyptian campaign, he declared +that he was: "Muslimun Muwahhidun," _i.e._ Unitarian Mussulman. +(_Bonaparte el l'Islam_, by Ch. Cherfils.) Towards the end of his +life, he returned to the subject: 'He thought that apart from +fortuitous circumstances, giving rise to miracles, there must have +been something more than we know in the establishing of Islam; that +the Christian world had been so remarkably cut into by the results of +some first cause still hidden; that these peoples, perhaps, suddenly +emerging from the desert depths, had endured long periods of civil war +in their midst, during which great characters and talents had been +formed, as well as irresistible impulses, or some other cause of the +same kind.' (Las Casas, _Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène_, iii, p. 183.) + +Guessing, therefore, that beneath the slumber of Islam in decadence, +there were incomparable reserves of energy, he tried, not once but +often, to win it over by an alliance. If he succeeded, he deemed +himself capable of awakening it and, by its aid, changing the face of +the world. + +Napoleon was not mistaken; civil wars had indeed exalted the heroic +qualities of the Arabs, but they had made all organisation and +progress impossible. Had it not been for the advent of Mohammad, these +intrepid soldiers would have remained eternally in their deserts, +solely absorbed by the obsession of hereditary feuds. + +When Islam, abolishing pride of caste, birth, or race, made all +Believers really brothers and endowed them with religious and poetical +souls, based on equality, there was no exploit that these fiery-minded +men, their hearts untamable, were incapable of performing. These +treasures of combative energy, accumulated during centuries of civil +war, were not the only means by which they overthrew so many peoples, +all different and superior to them in culture at that epoch. The +Arabs, likewise, had stored dream-treasures in their deserts, and +these visions of an unpolished, though young people were about to be +imposed on those peoples who, although educated, were old and +worn-out. + +We advise all those who may have doubts about the genius of the Arabs +to look through a collection of photographs showing the edifices +erected in every part of the countries they held in subjection. There +is nothing more striking than the unity of type distinguishing these +monuments from all other monuments in the world; and these buildings, +with their remarkable family likeness, were set up in India, +Turkestan, Persia, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Barbary, Spain, etc., all +countries essentially different and so peculiar, by reason of their +characteristic genius, that the genius of Greece or Rome was never +able to be grafted successfully. + +The Arabs borrowed largely from those they conquered, often utilising +their talent and even their muscles in order to build palaces and +mosques; but Arabic dreams were thus always realised. + +The exceptional originality of the Arab style resided in the fact that +it was always imperiously guided by an art that was born at the same +time as Islam. This art had no predecessors and offers us, as it were, +the materialness of the Arabs' ideal. It is the art of calligraphic +decoration, applied to the glorification of the word of Allah, +otherwise the verses of the Qur'an. + +Even reduced to its own resources, this art of Arabic calligraphy is +one of the most marvellous forms of decorative skill that has ever +sprung from human imagination. It is perhaps the only science of +ornament of which it may be said without exaggeration that it +possesses a soul, for like the voice, it expresses thought. Owing +nothing even to the most cultured parts of the outer world, its +independence resembles that of music and seems like the stenography of +the innermost beatings of the heart. + +Look at the letters which spring swiftly and horizontally from right +to left as if acting under the impulse of inward life. Then they whirl +on their own axis in discreet or impassioned curves, and are next +erect, coming to a sudden halt, fixed in perpendicular pride.... They +soon start off again in their frenzied gallop, unrolling their +flourishes, bestriding each other in delicious fantasy and causing the +imagination to soar in wild dreams. + +To follow the impulses of the reed-pen having traced these letters; +and in order to enjoy the pure eminence of their form or the intense +emotion of their curve, one need not be a past master of Arabic, or a +subtile graphologist; any artistic mind can penetrate without any +effort the secrets of their soul. + +After having expressed the ideal of his nation with such +perfection, the Arab calligrapher bent beneath his yoke--almost +religious--everything that was destined to support or enframe it: +architecture and other systems of embellishment, forcing them to yield +to the sway of his shaping skill. Under this yoke, the heavy, +hemispherical dome of Byzantium was improved by adopting the pure +outline of the Saracen helmet. The curves of the commonplace arcade +became those of the graceful ogive, or of the proud, far-extending +arch. The vulgar towers were metamorphosed into elegant minarets, +leaping towards the peaks of ecstasy. + +[Illustration: _Theological Students, in the Courtyard of Al-Azhar, +the great Cairo Moslem University._] + +In short, the only system of decoration which, with the exception of +Calligraphy, borrows nothing from Nature: geometrical ornament--from +which the Greek and Latin races merely derived poor and frigid +effects--became endowed with real life. Henceforward this decoration +was significantly labelled as Arabesque and, following the example of +its model, it tried skilfully to astonish the mind by straying in the +midst of the most inextricable entanglements and unexpected +transformations.... + +How precious are the creations of Moslem art! European amateurs nowadays +outbid each other in golden offers for its vestiges, hoping through them +to introduce into their homes a few gleams of the mirages that inspired +their authors. Radiant stained-glass, variegated glassware, stuffs +worked with gold or silver wire, sparkling silks, damaskeened, inlaid +bronzes, exquisite miniatures in the dwellings of the West, do they not +all sing the glory of Islam? Among all these treasures, connoisseurs +already begin to prefer those of Calligraphy which animates the +transcription of the divine verses by the delicate colouring of copies +of the Qur'an, or of the thick enamel of earthware. By so doing, the +buyers of Europe follow the example of Mussulman princes of the best +epoch who, to possess a page of calligraphy by a celebrated artist, +lavished madly as much money as is given in our time for masterpieces of +painters. May not these sacred inscriptions, causing their new +possessors to be thrilled with admiration by reason of the refined +elegance of their form, reveal one day to their purchasers the sublime +beauty of the Islamic soul lurking in these writings? + +[Sidenote: INFLUENCE OF MOSLEM CIVILISATION IN EUROPE DURING THE +MIDDLE AGES AND THE RENAISSANCE] + +Even at a period when Europe was not inimically inclined towards +Islam, it was dazzled by all its marvels and borrowed largely from the +decorative and architectural genius of the Arabs. Deep research would +soon prove that it owes much more to it than to Greek or Latin +antiquity. Such a study would take us too far from our subject. We +may, however, point out as a curious fact that, according to the +historian Dulaure, Arab architects were employed in the work of +building the Parisian cathedral of Notre Dame. + +In the domain of science, the influence of the Moslems was just as +fertile. To give an idea thereof, we cannot do better than summarise +the opinion vouchsafed by Doctor Gustave Le Bon, in his remarkable +work: _La Civilisation des Arabes_. (_The Civilisation of the Arabs._) + +"First of all, it must be acknowledged that it is to the Arabs that we +owe entirely the idea of experiment and observation, the basis of +modern scientific methods, overriding the authority of a master. This +substitution is therefore not the work of Bacon, to whom it is +generally attributed. + +"After having established that the highest degree of science consists +in giving rise to phenomena oneself and at will, the celebrated +scientist Humboldt adds: "The Arabs reached to this height, which was +almost unknown to the ancients." + +"The study of mathematics enjoyed overspread favour among the Arabs, +and the progress accomplished in algebra metamorphosed that science to +such an extent that its invention has been attributed to them. To them +also are due the first application of algebra to geometry, and the +introduction of tangents into trigonometry. + +"Astronomy was passionately studied in their schools of Bagdad, +Damascus, Samarcand, Cairo, Fez, Toledo, Cordova, etc., and their +discoveries may be summed up in the following enumeration: +introduction of tangents into astronomical calculation; construction +of tables of planetary movement; strict determination of the obliquity +of the ecliptic and of its gradual diminution; exact estimation of +the procession of the equinoxes; and the first precise determination +of the year's duration. To them also we owe the ascertainment of the +irregularities of the greatest latitude of the moon, and the discovery +of the third lunar inequality, now called variation. + +"In geography, the contribution of these bold travellers is most +remarkable from a scientific viewpoint. They made those exact +astronomical determinations which form the first foundation of +cartography, and rectified the enormous errors of position committed +by the Greeks. + +"From the standpoint of exploration, they published accounts of travel +which caused different parts of the world, scarcely suspected before +them, to be known, and where no European had ever set foot. The +sources of the Nile, running through the great equatorial lakes, are +exactly set out on a map by Al-Idrisi, dating from the year 1160, and +which were only discovered by Europeans during the second half of the +nineteenth century. + +"In physical sciences, the sum total of their discoveries is still +more considerable. The following enumeration proves their importance: +high attainment of knowledge in theoretical physics, especially in +optics and in the creation of the most ingenious mechanical apparatus; +discovery of the most fundamental bodies of chemistry, such as +alcohol, nitric acid, sulphuric acid; and the most essential +operation, such as distillation; application of chemistry to pharmacy +and commerce, especially as regards the extraction of metals, the +manufacturing of paper from rags, which they caused to take the place +of parchment, papyrus, or Chinese silk-paper. + +"They were probably the first to use the compass in navigation; at any +rate, they certainly introduced this fundamental invention to Europe. + +"To conclude: the discovery of firearms. In 1205, the Emir Yaqub +resorted already to artillery at the siege of Mahdiyya; in 1273, the +Sultan Abu Yusuf used cannons at the siege of Sijilmasa. In 1342, two +Englishmen, Lord Derby and Lord Salisbury, were present at the siege +of Algeciras, defended by the Arabs in the same way. These travellers, +having witnessed the effect of gunpowder, took this discovery back to +their country. It was through them that the English made use of it, +four years later, at Cressy. + +"In medical science, the Moslems followed Greek writers, and +afterwards made most important progress. Nearly all the medical +knowledge of Europe, at the epoch of the Renaissance, was borrowed +from them. The remarkable progress they made in medicine, was in +surgery; the description of maladies; _materia medica_; and pharmacy. +They found out a quantity of methods, of which many--the use of cold +water in typhoid fever, for instance--crop up again in modern times, +after having been forgotten for centuries. + +"_Materia medica_ owes them numerous medicines, such as: cassia, +senna, rhubarb, tamarinds, camphor, alcohol, ammonia, etc. They were +the true creators of pharmacy. Most of the preparations still in use +nowadays are due to them: syrups, emulsions, pomades, ointments, +distilled water, etc. + +"Surgery also owes fundamental progress to the Arabs. Their work +served as a basis for the teaching of Faculties of Medecine until +quite recently. In the eleventh century of our era, they knew the +treatment of cataract by the lowering or the extraction of the +crystalline; lithotrity; the treatment of hemorrhage by irrigations of +cold water; the use of caustics; setons; and cauterization by fire. +Anesthesia, of which the principal discovery is supposed to be modern, +seems to have been known to them. As a matter of fact, they speak +favourably of the use of tare before undertaking painful operations, +so that the patient may be put to sleep until "loss of consciousness +and feeling" supervenes. + +"They had, likewise, implicit confidence in hygiene in medical +treatment, and placed great reliance on the resources of Nature. +Expectant medecine, which, at the present time, seems the last word of +modern science, reasons exactly in the same way." (Dr. G. Le Bon, _La +Civilisation des Arabes._) + +In the domain of ideas, the influence of the Moslems had perhaps still +more valuable consequences. Jesus preached equality and fraternity, +but Mohammad was lucky enough to realise both among the Believers +during his lifetime. + +It would be absurd to maintain that his direct example served to guide +the French Revolution which was not inspired by much of his levelling +works. Nevertheless, the first attempts of this enfranchisement of +ideas and the organisation of modern society on a new basis--and of +this there is ample proof--resulted logically from his doctrines. +Honour is due to a Mussulman philosopher, Ibn Rushd, or Averroes, who +lived in Spain from 1120 to 1198, for being the first to introduce +freethought--not to be confused with atheism--into Europe. + +Averroes opposed the pure deism of Islam to mythological pantheism and +Christian anthromorphism, and his 'Commentaries of Aristotle,' +although vividly coloured with Mussulman tints, impassioned all +independent minds in medieval Europe. Averroism, born of this +enthusiasm, may be justly considered not only the precursor of Reform, +but also the father of modern Rationalism. + +The influence exercised by Mussulman customs over those of Europe was +equally healthful. The Arabs joined most chivalrous manners to extreme +religious tolerance. + +"It was among the Arabs of Spain that the knightly spirit arose, and +which was afterwards appropriated by the warriors of the North, as if +it was a quality inherent in Christian nations," declares the +celebrated Spanish writer Blasco Ibanez, in his novel: _Dans L'Ombre +de la Cathédrale_. (_In the Shadow Of the Cathedral._) + +In this connection, we can again quote Dr. Le Bon: + +"Like Christian chivalry, which came later, Arab chivalry had a code +of its own. No man was worthy to be a knight unless he possessed the +following qualities: kindness, valour, amability, poetical talent, +eloquence, bodily strength, skill in horsemanship, and cleverness in +handling spear, sword and bow.... + +"In 1139, the Wali of Cordova having laid siege to Toledo, belonging +to the Christians, Queen Berengaria, shut up in the city, sent him a +herald to bid him take notice that it was unworthy of a brave, gallant +and generous knight to attack a woman. The Arab general retired +forthwith, asking as sole favour, to be allowed the honour of saluting +the Queen.... + +"The Arab chronicles of Spain are full of stories of the same kind, +proving how wide-spread were these knight-errant-like qualities; and a +very religious learned man, Barthélemy St. Hilaire, admits most +loyally how greatly European customs are indebted to them. In his book +on the Qur'an, he says: "Through having intercourse with the Arabs and +copying them, the boorish barons of the Middle Ages toned down their +rough habits; and the knights, without lessening their bravery, became +cognisant of more delicate, noble and humane sentiments. It is +doubtful whether Christianism alone, despite its benevolence, would +have inspired them with these feelings." + +"The reader may perhaps ask why, under these conditions, the influence +of the Arabs is so unappreciated in our day by learned men who, by +their intellect, seem far above all religious prejudice. That is +because independence of opinion is more apparent than real, and we are +not at all free to think as we like about certain subjects. The +hereditary prejudices professed by us against Islamism and its +disciples have accumulated during too many centuries not to have +become part and parcel of our organism.... + +"If we join thereto other prejudices also hereditary, and increased in +each generation by our detestable classic education: that all sciences +and literature of the past spring solely from Greeks and Romans, we +can easily understand that the great influence of the Arabs in the +history of European civilisation is generally slighted. + +"In certain minds, it will always seem humiliating that it is owing to +the Moslems that Christian Europe shook off barbarism...." (Dr. +Gustave Le Bon, _La Civilisation des Arabes_.) + +What caused Islam to fall so rapidly, after having, during the eight +centuries of its domination in Spain, placed that country not only at +the head of occidental civilisation, but also causing it to shine +quite as brilliantly from Delhi and Bokhara, as far as Constantinople +and Fez? + +The first cause may be found in the non-observance of the strictly +levelling principles that the Prophet had so much trouble to establish +while he lived, and which were the motives of his successes and of +those of the first Caliphs. One example will serve to show how +rigorously these principles were applied in the beginning: "A rich, +powerful, and proud monarch, Jabala, newly converted, struck violent +blows in the face of a poor Bedouin, who had accidentally pushed +against him while he was performing his devotions round the Ka'bah. +Without bringing into account the rank of the delinquent, or the +danger of estranging such an important personage, the Caliph Umar +thought that, for the honour of the future of Islam, equality in the +eyes of law and justice should override all other considerations, and +he condemned King Jabala to undergo, at the hands of the humble +Bedouin, the same chastisement as had been inflicted on him." + +With such strict principles, no one could possibly be proud of +anything but his personal merit; and emulation gave birth to miracles +for the greater good of Islam. No men were chosen as chieftains except +those who deserved that honour, and once elected, they were blindly +obeyed because they were sincerely admired and respected. + +Unfortunately, the complete observance of this master-thought of the +Prophet turned out to be ephemeral, and already under the rule of +Usman, the third Caliph, aristocratic prejudices began to regain their +evil influence. In vain Mohammad had said to his beloved daughter, +Fatimah-tuz-Zahra: 'Work, and reckon not that it sufficeth for thee to +be the Prophet's daughter;' the sons of most unimportant people +despised their Mussulman brothers of more lowly origin, and thought +that their social rank exempted them from making those efforts without +which no progress can be realised. Moreover, rivalry between folks +more proud of their forbears than of their own works, gave rise again +to fractricidal struggles, as ruthless as in the past; and with them, +the disorganisation and general anarchy which had paralysed the Arabs +of pre-Islamic times. Having lost all taste for study; separated and +exhausted by incessant civil wars, the Moslems were only able to offer +puny resistance to the Christians, who dreamt of revenge and had +profited by these dissensions to organise themselves. + +In the past as in the present, Islam might have avoided the greater +part of its misfortunes if it always remembered this last adjuration +of the Prophet in his sermon of the Valedictory Pilgrimage: 'Never +forget that each Mussulman should be a true brother to every other +Mussulman!' + +The second cause of its decline arose from one of the primordial +qualities of Islam. The conformity of its dogma, almost entirely +devoid of supernaturalism, to the exigencies of reason, was at first +inestimably advantageous for science which remained free from the +hindrances of superstition. This suffices to explain the rapid rise of +its civilisation. But the Moslem mind had gradually been lulled, being +satisfied with the magnificent results attained by the enthusiasm +reigning in the first centuries of the Hegira. Henceforth, it +was at the mercy of animal passions and fetishism, in certain +newly-conquered countries. The cult of Saints and Intercessors, +"Awliya," or "Murabitun," borrowed from the Christians and so strictly +forbidden by the Qur'an, took the place of the cult of Science and, by +its gross superstitions, barred all progress. Philosophers like +Averroes, tried to struggle, but it was too late; the evil was too +deeply rooted among the masses who called these enlightened men +ungodly, and demanded that they should be put out of favour.... + +These two causes of decay are ancient, and contradict the real +doctrine of the Qur'an. On the other hand, there is one, dating from +the nineteenth century only, and which seems to be in accordance, if +not with the spirit, at least with the letter of the Holy Book. It is +that which results from the prohibition of any interest whatsoever +being received for money lent. + +"_They who swallow down usury, shall arise in the Resurrection only as +he ariseth whom Satan hath infected by his touch. This, for that they +say, 'Selling is only the like of usury': and yet Allah hath allowed +selling, and forbidden usury._" (THE QUR'AN, II, 276.) + +The excellence of this principle is unquestionable, and, until the +last century, the slight inconveniences which might have troubled the +Moslems in consequence of usury practised among them by Jews and +Christians, were not to be compared with the advantages of this +precept of the Qur'an. But at the present time, when credit is +indispensable to all great undertakings and when bankers have become +the real masters of the world, Islam, by adhering with exaggerated +rigidity to the text of these verses, is momentarily reduced to +financial and political ruin. + +[Sidenote: THE FUTURE OF ISLAM] + +Such, we think, rapidly summarised, are the three leading causes of +the decline of Islam. Is there no remedy for this state of decay? Are +the three hundred millions of Moslems spread over the surface of the +globe, to be condemned to remain eternally in the sad situation +established for them beyond the pale of modern civilisation? We think +not. + +For the two first causes, the remedy is simple: it consists in +returning to the principles instituted by the Prophet. The remedy for +the third is to be found perhaps in a less strict interpretation of +the letter, but certainly in accordance with the spirit of the Sacred +Text. Enlightened Moslems are fully aware of this and henceforward, +they will take care not to confuse banking operations with the sordid +usury condemned by the Prophet. + +The wounds inflicted on Islam during the last century have at last +awakened it from its lethargy. Its very defeats have shown the +necessity of adopting the scientific method of its conquerors. Islam +recalls to mind the words of the Prophet: "Go, seek for Science +everywhere, even in far China. The benefits of Science are superior to +the benefits of devotion. On the Day of Resurrection, the ink used by +learned men and the blood poured out by martyrdom will be measured: +neither shall be preferred." + +Renovators, men of genius, such as the celebrated Shaykh Abduh, have +pointed out the right road to Islam, proving to Moslems that the +teaching of Mohammad agrees with that of modern civilisation. +Thereupon, myriads of young men have gone through courses of European +study and show wonderful facility, without losing any part of their +native originality; and, very soon, innumerable Moslems will take +their places in the modern world without fear of any disparaging +comparisons. + +Does this mean that the empire of Islam, following the example of +Japan, will regain its rank among great political Powers? Considering +that the future of nations depends on the will of Allah, it is always +presumptuous to predict it. Besides, political might is the most +ephemeral of all; a few months are enough to overthrow the most +formidable empires. Such power proves nothing as regards the vitality +of a religion, and is not absolutely necessary for the subject we +treat. + +There are, indeed, conquests differing from those of armies. The +imperialism of the Israelites, which disappeared centuries ago, has +never given the slightest sign of a return movement and yet few +peoples possess at present the power of the Jews. Persecution was for +them the great educator, and nowadays, in all the nations of Europe +and America, the Jews, thanks to their activity and intelligence, +occupy the front rank. Why does not the same effect, due to the same +cause--persecution--take place among the Moslems, who, for the most +part, are first, cousins to the Israelites and who possess the +advantage of numbers? + +Objections are against the possibility of such a revival: Fatalism, +Fanaticism, Polygamy. Let us examine them. + +Can Mussulman fatalism fit in with a real effort on the road to +progress? + +If some criticisms are justified by the way in which fatalism is +understood by certain followers of the Murabitun, it has never +possessed the importance ascribed to it. Islam is not more fatalist +than determinism, and it is still less than Christianism which adheres +strictly to the letter of the following precepts of the Gospel: +'Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye +shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye +shall put on.' (ST. MATTHEW, VI, 25.) + +Why then accuse fatalism of having paralysed all effects among the +Moslems, when the Prophet was one of the most active, persevering and +energetic men that the world has ever known; and when Islam is the +only religion which, no sooner founded, was followed immediately by +such a marvellous épopée and such splendid civilisation? The word +"Islam" signifies "resignation to the decrees of Allah," that is to +say: to that which looks as if it could be mastered by energy and +courage. "_Say: O my people! Act as ye best can._" (THE QUR'AN, IV, +135.) Far from being the cause of weakness, such resignation becomes +the source of incomparable moral strength for the Believer, fortifying +him during the ordeals of adversity. + +In their intercourse with civilised beings belonging to other +religions, will not Moslems be stopped by the implacable and +irreducible fanaticism of which they are accused? The main object is +to see if this fanaticism is not one of the countless legends +inimically invented during the Middle Ages. In order to permit the +reader to form an opinion, here are some extracts chosen among +thousands of the same kind. + +According to Ibn Abbas, Ibn Jari said: "A man of the Banu Salim ibn +Awf, named Al-Husayn, father of two sons who were Christians, whilst +he was a Mussulman, asked the Prophet: "Ought I not force my children +to embrace Islamism? They will have no other religion than the +Christian religion!" Allah (may He be glorified!) thereupon revealed +for this man the following verse: "_Let there be no compulsion in +Religion._" (THE QUR'AN, II, 257.) + +When the Christian ambassadors of the Hijr territory came to see the +Prophet at Al-Madinah, he offered them half of his Mosque so that they +might say their prayers therein. He rose to his feet one day, as a +funeral procession went by, and when he was told that it was only a +Jew's burial, he replied: 'Is it not a soul?' He also said: 'He who +ill-treateth a Jew or a Christian will find me his accuser on the Day +of Judgment. With ungodliness an empire may last; but never with +injustice.' + +Notwithstanding all legends, never, beyond the Hijaz, which means the +sacred territory and its vicinity, did Moslems use force to obtain +conversions. The Spanish Christians were never molested on account of +their belief during the eight centuries of Mussulman domination. Many +of them, indeed, occupied the highest posts at the Court of the +Caliphs of Cordova. On the other hand, these same Christians, as soon +as they became conquerors, immediately exterminated all Moslems +without exception. The Jews, who had lived in peace under Arab rule, +were treated in the same way. + +In his _Voyage Religieux en Orient_, the Abbé Michon pays homage to +truth by this exclamation: 'It is a sad thing for Christian nations +that religious tolerance, the great law of charity between the +peoples, should have been taught by Mussulmans.' (Quoted by Comte de +Castries, in his book on Islam.) + +What about the Armenian massacres? will be alleged against us. Our +answer is that every time they have not been provoked by rebellions +and conspiracies, they are condemned by all true Moslems just in the +same way as the massacre of all the Moslems in Spain is condemned +nowadays by true Christians. + +But the Armenian massacres were never the outcome of religious causes, +for never have the disciples of Mohammad thought of imitating the +followers of Torquemada by forcing the Armenians to choose between +conversion and death at the stake. Besides, Moslems do not lean +towards proselytism. Strictly speaking, they have no missionaries, and +if their religion, at the present day, is the one that causes the most +conversions in Africa and Asia, it is, as A. Burdo justly remarks: 'by +a kind of moral endosmose.' (_Les Arabes dans l'Afrique Centrale._) + +A good example, free from any proselytizing attempts, produces in +religious souls a much more powerful impression than the importunities +of cathechists. Despite his hostility to Islam and his partiality, the +"savant" Dozy is obliged to acknowledge that In Spain, formerly: 'it +is a positive fact that many Christians became converted to Islam out +of conviction.' + +The rule of conduct of a Mussulman towards the followers of other +religions is fixed by these words of the Qur'an: "_To you your +religions; and to me my religion._" (CIX, 6.) + +How can a Mussulman be intolerant, when he venerates alike the +Prophets honoured by Jew and Christian? For him, Moses, who spoke with +Allah; and Jesus, inspired by Allah, deserve the same veneration as +Mohammad, the friend of Allah. "_We make no distinction between any of +His Apostles._" (THE QUR'AN, II, 285.) + +Never does any Mussulman dare to utter the slightest insult towards +Jesus; never would he allow any to be uttered in his presence, even +coming from the lips of people of Christian origin who consider Jesus +to be responsible for sacerdotal errors. To insult Jesus would be to +insult the Qur'an which orders Him to be revered. We were privileged +once to witness the uncommon sight of a Mussulman condemned by a +Christian judge for having struck a Jew who, in the presence of this +disciple of Mohammad, had made outrageous remarks on the birth of +Jesus. + +Let us now compare the respectful attitude of the Moslems as far as +Jesus is concerned, with the manner in which Europeans behave when +Mohammad's name is mentioned. In the Middle Ages, monks and +troubadours represented him to be either some monstrous idol, or an +incorrigible drunkard, fallen on a dung-heap and devoured by hogs. +Hence, they pointed out, the repugnance of his disciples for +swine-flesh. We should never be done if we tried to quote all that in +former times sprung from the fertile imagination of Mohammad's +enemies. + +The first Orientalists were no kinder. In the eighteenth century, +Gagnier, a most learned man, after blaming the Abbé Maracci and Doctor +Prideaux for their impassioned insults, speaks in his turn of Mohammad +as 'the most villanous of all men; the most deadly of Allah's enemies; +the idiotic Prophet,' etc., whilst claiming to speak in guarded terms! + +The companions of the Prophet have likewise not been spared from the +earliest times. So that the barbarity with which Cardinal Ximenes +burnt the marvellous libraries of the Moslems of Spain should be +forgotten, many calumniators invented the famous legend of the +conflagration of the libraries of Alexandria, by order of the Caliph +Umar, thus fully showing the slanderers' great disdain for chronology. +These collections of books had not been in existence for several +centuries when Islam was revealed to the world. The first library, +that of Bruchium, containing four hundred thousand volumes, was +destroyed by fire during the war of Cæsar against the Alexandrians; +and the second, that of Serapeum, comprising two hundred thousand +volumes, bequeathed by Antony, was completely pillaged in the reign of +Theodosius. + +These ridiculous legends are dying out gradually at the present day; +and yet we prefer their candid fanaticism to the malicious calumny +with which certain writers, still impregnated with medieval passionate +partiality, try from behind a screen of Oriental science, to belittle +one of the men who do the most honour, not only to history, but to the +history of humanity. + +After having adopted the modern civilisation of Christians, may not +the Moslems conclude by adopting their religion as well? To answer +this question, we need only quote the opinion of an author who, +although a fervent Christian, acknowledges facts most loyally. In the +course of a remarkable study of Islam, he writes: + +"Islam is the only religion which has no recreants--It is very +difficult, if not impossible, to form an exact idea of the spiritual +state of a Moslem evangelized by a Christian. We can only imagine +something very near it, by trying to realise in our minds the feelings +of an enlightened Christian whom an idolater might be trying to +convert to his gross, superstitious cult." (_L'Islam_, by Comte Henry +de Castries.) + +Islam, in spite of its irreducibleness, offers Christians many proofs +of its feelings of veneration towards Jesus. Therefore, whence comes +the hatred with which the followers of Christ pursue Mohammad even in +our present century of tolerance--not to say religious indifference? + +Is it because of its Asiatic origin? Was not Christianism essentially +Asiatic, before Saint Paul had stripped it of Jewish trappings? Jesus +declared: 'I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of +Israel.' (ST. MATTHEW, XV, 24.) Is it because of its doctrine? The +doctrine of Islam is almost the same as that of certain Protestant +sects. Is it because of the remembrance of the Crusades? Despite the +years that are past, this remembrance has still disastrous influence +over many ignorant minds, but if that was all, it would not suffice to +explain away the ostracism shown in Europe to Islam. + +We must seek therefore some other cause, and we find it furnished by +the example of the only religion really reviled and persecuted in the +same way. + +There exists a Protestant sect, the Mormons. After prodigies of +will-power, labour and intelligence, they have transformed one of the +saddest regions, a mere salt desert, into a thriving country. Europe +and America ought to have applauded this work of civilisation, +unanimously and enthusiastically. Far from so doing, every sect of +Christianity forgot their own disagreements and united themselves +against the Mormons with the same feeling of reprobation. + +Of what crime were they guilty? They practised polygamy like the +Moslems. Such is the true explanation of the mystery: Islam is warned +that it will never be granted recognition unless it renounces +polygamy. + +We shall not risk trying to defend a custom thus violently condemned, +but content ourselves with making a few observations. As a matter of +fact, polygamy is universal and will last out the world, despite all +present or future legislation. This is denied by none. The only +question is to know if it is preferable to let it be avowed and +limited, or let it flourish hypocritically and boundlessly. + +All travellers, Gérard de Nerval and Lady Morgan to wit, have noted +that among polygamous Moslems, polygamy is generally less widespread +than among so-called monogamous Christians. What can be more natural? +For Catholics and Protestants, does not polygamy possess the +allurement of forbidden fruit? + +[Illustration: _Tombs of the Khaliphs. Under their rule, Moslem +civilisation enlightened the World._] + +By troubling about polygamy, shall we not be set down as +old-fashioned? Without taking other things into consideration, the +needs of modern life render it impraticable in large cities. It will +have died out before long, among civilised Moslems. If the principle +survives, it will only be applied in the desert depths where it is an +imperious necessity. + +Will morality improve by the disappearance of polygamy? That remains +doubtful. Prostitution, so rare in most Mussulman lands, will extend +its ravages. A plague, now totally unknown, will break out: that of +the celibacy of women, which causes desolation in monogamous +countries--where, above all, following great wars, it attains +disastrous proportions. + +In a study on the future of the French colonies, Charles Dumas, +writing about the Moslems, states: 'No race can gain freedom when it +condemns the half of itself (i.e. its women) to eternal bondage.' + +Is it true that Mussulman women are reduced to such a lamentable +situation? It is certain that in the eyes of European women enjoying +untrammelled freedom, the wearing of a veil and semi-claustration as +well, to which the women of Islam are subjected, must seem to be +tokens of the most unbearable slavery. But if these ladies of Europe +heard the reflexions of these same Mussulman women, objects of +monogamists' wives' heartfelt commiseration, they would be surprised +to learn that they, in their turn, are not envied, but charitably +pitied. Besides, the wearing of the veil and claustration are in no +wise religious obligations. The Verses of the Qur'an (XXXIII, 53, 55) +by which these questions are supported, are solely aimed at the +Prophet's wives and not at those of all Believers, as might be deduced +from the inexact translation of verse 55, by Kasimirski. + +These practices, put in force many years after Mohammad's death, are +therefore fiercely attacked by numerous champions of the feminine +cause. Among them, we note Qasim Bey Amin, with his book: +"Tahriru'l-Mirat" ("Woman's Emancipation"); and Es Zahawi, the poet of +Bagdad, who wrote a celebrated letter on the veil, and says: 'Woman is +the remedy of youth, the beauty of nature and the splendour of life. +Without women, man is a sterile syllogism--he does not conclude!' And +then, relying on this verse: "_And it is for the women to act as the +husbands act towards them with all fairness._" (THE QUR'AN, II, 228), +he claims complete female freedom. + +We will conclude by quoting the words of one of the fair sex, al-Sitti +Malika who, with the consent of her father, Hifni Bey Nasif, formerly +professor at the University of Al Azhar, published a Qasida, +terminating with this verse: 'To unveil, if one is chaste, is no harm; +and if one is not chaste, veils in excess offer no protection.' + +At the same times as European queens of fashion have tried to +acclimatise the Turkish veil in the West, perhaps at some future +period, near or distant, the custom of wearing the veil may die out in +the East. In that case, the flower of Mussulman beauty will have been +stripped of its graceful calyx. Will not the woman of the East regret +the mysterious charm she owed to her filmy mask? Will she be +compensated by the advantages accruing to her in consequence of +budding forth in the strong light of civilisation? The example of the +great misery reigning among her sisters of the West, struggling for +life in opposition to men, may perhaps frighten the woman of the East +when, with dazzled eyes, scarcely awakened from harem dreams, she +plunges into the vortex of modern existence. The question is too +delicate. We dare not come to a conclusion. After all, the interest +and possibility of such reforms vary too completely, from one country +to another, so that no general rule can be fixed. + +But if we hesitate about passing judgment on the reforms we have just +set forth, we acknowledge unreservedly, to make amends, that the +education of woman is an imperious necessity for the future of Islam. + +Education has nothing to do with the above-mentioned customs. It is in +agreement with all the principles of the religion, and during the +period of Islamic splendour, was lavished on Mussulman femininity +whose culture was superior to that of European women in those days. + +In the East, education has never disappeared as completely as in some +regions of the Maghrib. During a certain number of years, many +Mussulman women passed their leisure harem hours in educating +themselves, and their new intellectual birth began to be generalised. +From education alone the evolution of manners and customs will proceed +wherever it will be necessary in the sense and proportions creating +the least amount of trouble in the bosom of families. + +[Sidenote: CONCLUSION] + +The knots relating to polygamy and the emancipation of woman (the only +questions that give a shadow of right to inimical critics of Islam) +once cut, Islam will appear to be what it really is: a religion +essentially in conformity with the most modern needs and ideas, so +much so that an Englishman, Oswald Wirth, was able to write: 'I +discovered, one fine day, that I was a Mussulman, without knowing it, +like Monsieur Jourdain with his prose.' In like fashion, Goethe, after +having studied the principles of the Qur'an, declared: 'If that is +Islam, do we not all live in Islam?' + +Very soon, no one will venture to give credence to the childish +legends perpetuated since the Crusades, and Islam will at last claim +to take its place in the van of modern civilisation.... + +We were writing the concluding lines when suddenly the most formidable +conflict ever know in history broke out in Europe, and thousands of +Moslem soldiers, descendants of the warriors of Poitiers, immediately +invaded the whole of France. + +This time, they came not as conquerors, but as friends; as +brothers-in-arms, summoned by the Allies to take part in this gigantic +struggle on which depends the fate of civilisation. Their traditional +heroism has been admired by all. The French soil is riddled by +thousands of their graves, thereby they have implanted Islam for ever +in the heart of Europe, in the most glorious way; and a strong +contingent of the Prophet's disciples is now in European territory. + +After such services rendered, it will be churlish to refuse them the +freedom of the city, so to speak, that we have already claimed on +their behalf. We go further and ask if it is admissible to think that +their example, dealing the last blow at the imputations of the past, +may give some Europeans food for fresh reflexion? + +Undeceived by the failure of integral rationalism, many anxious minds +seek new paths. "The modern system of intuition, towards which they +hurry, following Bergson, its celebrated defender, represents decided +reaction against rationalism, or to be more exact, against the +powerlessness of rationalism.... + +"In the hearts of men hungering after faith, this eminent thinker has +caused the aspirations they seem to have lost definitively to be born +anew. He allows them to hope for the survival of the soul; he tells +them that this world is not a great mass of machinery driven by blind +forces and that intelligence is not the only formula of our senses.... + +"In affirming all this, the illustrious philosopher is perhaps +confining himself to the task of reviving ancient illusions; but he +has awakened them so that we may hear; and at a moment when they may +serve to prepare the elements of a new religion, needed by many men." +(_La Vie des Vérités_, by Dr. Gustave Le Bon.) + +Such a movement is irresistible, especially after the sanguinary +ordeals we have undergone. We are therefore about to witness the +efforts of new and old religions, trying to monopolize these +manifestations and turn them to account. Rationalism, however, +although defeated, has nevertheless been fruitful, and it will oppose +an insuperable barrier to the dogmas that run counter to reason much +too violently. + +On the other hand, must not mystic, pathetic and poetical aspirations +be reckoned with? Are they not the essential final causes of all +religions? To sum up, are not the most needful conditions of a modern +religion those of advanced Protestantism: "Unitarism," clothed in a +glorious cloak of poetry? + +Islam, freed from all the dross which it accumulated in its course, +has precisely these conditions, and already small communities of +European converts to Islam have been founded in England and America. +One of them, having Mr. Quilliam at his head, exists for several years +past at Liverpool, and is remarkable for the fact that the majority of +its proselytes belong to the weaker sex. + +The conversion of Lord Headley, an English peer, followed by that of +other well-known leading Londoners, created a great sensation. The +Mussulman commonwealth, founded by this eminent man, publishes a +monthly magazine, "The Islamic Review," from which we take the +following significant passage: + +"Why have Englishmen and other Europeans become Mussulmans? In the +first place, because they sought for some simple, logical, essentially +practical creed; (for we English flatter ourselves that we are the +most practical people under the sun) a creed fitting in with the +conditions, customs, and occupations of every people; a divine, true +creed, where the Creator and Man are face to face, without any +intermediary." (Sheldrake.) + +That is what practical minds have found in Islam which, having no +sacrements or worship of saints, needs no priest and could, at a +pinch, do without a temple. As Allah's presence fills the universe, is +not the whole of the earth one immense Mosque? + +Moreover, several modern desists, generally finding it difficult to +express the aspiration of their souls, will find in the pure deism of +true Islam, the most admirable ritual movements and words of prayer +that an artistic mind could dream of. In short, for more than one, +'Islam realises the maximum of altruism with a minimum of +metaphysics.' (Christian Cherfils.) + +Other isolated conversions have taken place in France and in different +countries of Europe, Africa and Asia. Perhaps, in this way, we may +witness the realisation of this "Hadis" of the Prophet: 'Assuredly +Allah will make this religion (Islam) all-powerful by means of men who +were strangers thereto!' of the principal characteristic of Islam is +that it is wonderfully fitted to all races of creation. Among his +first disciples, Mohammad counted not only Arabs of the most different +tribes, but also Persians, such as Salman al-Farsi; Christians, such +as Waraqa; Abyssinians, such as Bilal; Jews, such as Mukhayriq, +Abdullah ibn Sallam, etc. As it is said in the Qur'an: "_We have not +sent thee otherwise than to mankind at large._" (XXXIV, 27.) + +Even during Mohammad's life, and in the very beginning, his doctrine +asserted its stamp of universality. If suitable to all races, it is +equally suitable to all intellects and to all degrees of civilisation. +Of supreme simplicity, as in Mu'tazilitcism; desperately esoteric, as +in Sufiism, bringing guidance and consolation to the European +"savant"--leaving thought absolutely free and untrammelled--as well as +to the negro of the Soudan, thereby delivered from the superstition of +his fetishism. It exalts the soul of a practical English merchant, for +whom 'time is money,' quite as much as that of a mystical philosopher; +of a contemplative Oriental; or of a man of the West loving art and +poetry. It will even allure a modern medical man, by the logic of its +repeated ablutions and the rhythm of its bowing and prostration, just +as salutary for physical well-being as for the health of the soul +itself. + +It is therefore not too foolhardy to think that when the fearful storm +has passed and the respect due to all nationalities, as well as to all +religions, shall have been enforced, Islam will be able to look upon a +future brimming with real hope. + +Thanks to the great share it has taken in the events causing the +upheaval of European civilisation, it has entered therein and will +appear at last in its true light. The different nations will vie with +each other in seeking to be allied to it, for they will have put its +value to the test and have recognised the inexhaustible resources it +possesses. + +The disciples of the Prophet, awakened from their momentary lethargy, +will take their brilliant place in the world. + +--"Insha'llah!"--If Allah be willing! + +[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Allah will perhaps establish goodwill +between yourselves and those of them with whom ye are at enmity, and +Allah is Powerful: and Allah is Gracious, Merciful._] + + +_This book was finished at Bou-Sâada, on the Twenty-seventh day of the +month of Ramadhan; in the Year 1334 of the Hegira--the 28th of July, +A.D. 1916._ + +_O Allah! be indulgent towards its authors; excuse the extravagant +audacity that urged them on in their hope of doing good, to affront +such a vast subject, despite the scantiness of their knowledge._ + +_O Thou, the Omniscient! pardon them the errors which, through +ignorance, they may have committed in such a sublime history as that +of Thy Messenger, Our Lord Mohammad, the Seal of the Prophets._ + + _May Allah pour out for him His Blessings and His Favours!_ + _Likewise on his Relatives,_ + _And on his Companions!_ + _Amin._ + + +Étienne DINET. + +Sliman ben IBRAHIM. + +[Illustration: _A traditional old Scribe of the Desert._ Calligraphy: +_One's pen should be ennobled; that is, by treating of worthy +matters._] + + + THE + BOOK + WAS FINISHED +IN THE YEAR 1335 + OF THE + HEGIRA + + +[Illustration: MAP OF THE HIJAZ AND THE ROAD TO SYRIA] + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +Fearing to enlarge this work too much, we prefer to publish the notes, +which we deem necessary for its justification, under the title: +"L'Orient vu de l'Occident," (The East Seen from the West), forming a +pamphlet to be issued later on. + +Nevertheless, we give as follows a list of those works which we have +specially consulted. + + +WORKS IN ARABIC + +"Al-Qur'an wa huwa'l-Huda wa'l-Furqan."--"Tafsir Anwaru't Tanzil wa +Asraru't Tawil," by Al-Baydawi, (Commonly referred to as "The +Commentary of Al-Baydawi.")--"Tafsiru'l Qur'ani'l Karim," by the +Shaykh Mohammad Abduh. ("The Commentary of the Shaykh Mohammad +Abduh.")--"Siratu'n-Rasul," by Ibn Hisham. (Ibn Hisham's "Life of the +Prophet.")--"Kitabu't Tabaqat," by Ibn Sad. (The "Tabaqat" of Ibn +Sad.)--"Insanu'l-'Uyun fi sirati'l-Amiri'l-Mamun," by Ali ibn +Burhanu'd-Dini'l-Halabi.--"Nuru'l yaqin fi sirati Sayyidi'l-Marsulin," +by Mohammad Al-Khudri.--"Kitabu's-Sahih," by Al-Bukhari. (The "Sahih" +of Al-Bukhari.)--"Rihlat," by Abi'l Husayn ibn Jubayr. (The "Travels +of Ibn Jubayr.")--"Ar-Rihlatu'l Hijaziyya," by Mohammad +Al-Batanuni.--"Al-Bourdate," by the Shaykh Al-Busiri. (The "Burda," or +"Mantle Poem of Al-Busiri.")--"Ummu'l Qura," by Al-Kawakibi. + + +ISLAMIC WORKS, IN ENGLISH + +"The spirit of Islam", by Ameer Ali Syied.--"Islamic Review," edited +by Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, B.A., L.L.B. + + +WORKS IN FRENCH, OR TRANSLATED INTO FRENCH + +Le Coran, traduction de Savary.--Le Coran, traduction de +Kasimirski.--Le Coran, analysé par J. La Baume.--Le Coran, sa poésie, +ses lois, par Stanley Lane Pole.--L'Esprit libéral du Coran, par +Benâttar, El Hadi Sebâï et Abdelâziz Ettsalbi.--Encyclopédie de +l'Islam, dirigée par le Professeur Houtsma.--Les Traditions islamiques +d'El Bokhari, traduction de Houdas.--L'Islam, par le Comte Henry de +Castries.--L'Islamisme, par Houdas.--"Oumm el Quora", (la mère des +Cités) de El Kaouakibi, compte-rendu littéral, d'après la version +d'Omar Bouderba, par Christian Cherfils (en préparation).--L'Islamisme +au point de vue social, textes d'Auguste Comte, publiés par Christian +Cherfils.--Bonaparte et l'Islam, par Christian Cherfils.--Vie de +Mahomet, par J. Gagnier.--Essai sur l'histoire des Arabes, par +Caussin de Perceval.--Histoire des Arabes, de Sédillot.--Histoire +des Arabes, de Huart.--"La Civilisation des Arabes", par le Dr. +Gustave Le Bon.--Essai sur l'histoire de l'Islamisme, par +Dozy.--Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne, par Dozy.--Le présent de +l'homme lettre, pour réfuter les partisans de la Croix, par Abd +Allah Le Drogman.--De l'état présent et de l'avenir de l'Islam, +par E. Montet.--Les Héros (Mahomet, le héros comme Prophète), +par Carlyle.--Averrhoës et l'Averrhoïsme, par E. Renan.--Les +Musulmans français de l'Afrique du Nord, par Ismaïl Hamet.--Les +vieux Arabes, par P. Radiot.--Voyage en Arabie, par Hubert.--Mon +voyage à la Mecque, par G. Courtellement.--"Mohammed et la fin du +Monde", par P. Casanova.--L'enseignement de l'Arabe au Collège de +France, par P. Casanova.--Revue du Monde Musulman, dirigée par A. Le +Chatelier.--"L'Orient vu de l'Occident", par E. Dinet et Sliman ben +Ibrahim. + + + + +TRANSLATION OF THE ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY + + +TITLE: _There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is the Prophet of +Allah._ + + +CHAPTER THE FIRST. + +Opening: _In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful._ + +Closing: _Then when ye have ended the prayer, make mention of Allah, +standing, and sitting, and reclining._ (THE QUR'AN, IV, 104.) + + +CHAPTER THE SECOND. + +Opening: _Have We not opened thy breast for thee? * And taken off from +thee thy burden?_ (THE QUR'AN, XCIV, 1-2.) + +Closing: _And provide for your journey; but the best provision is the +fear of Allah._ (THE QUR'AN, II, 193.) + + +CHAPTER THE THIRD. + +Opening: _Verily, we have caused It (the Qur'an) to descend on the +night of Power._ (THE QUR'AN, XCVII, 1.) + +Closing: _O thou enwrapped in thy mantle! * Arise and warn! * And thy +Lord--magnify Him!_ (THE QUR'AN, LXXIV, 1-3.) + + +CHAPTER THE FOURTH. + +Opening: _Ye shall assuredly be tried in your possessions and in +yourselves._ (THE QUR'AN, III, 183.) + +Closing: _And before them have We set a barrier and behind them a +barrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so that they shall not +see._ (THE QUR'AN, XXXVI, 8.) + + +CHAPTER THE FIFTH. + +Opening: _And fight for the cause of Allah against those who fight +against you._ (THE QUR'AN, II, 186.) + +Closing: _Believers! when ye confront a troop, stand firm and make +frequent mention of the name of Allah; haply it shall fare well with +you._ (THE QUR'AN, VIII, 47.) + + +CHAPTER THE SIXTH. + +Opening: _And be not faint-hearted, and be not sorrowful; For ye shall +gain the upper hand if ye be believers._ (THE QUR'AN, III, 133.) + +Closing: _Nay rather Allah is your liege lord, and He is the best of +helpers._ (THE QUR'AN, III, 143.) + + +CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. + +Opening: _Verily, We have won for thee an undoubted victory._ (THE +QUR'AN, XLVIII, 1.) + +Closing: _Now hath Allah helped you in many battle-fields, and, on the +day of Hunain, when ye prided yourselves on your numbers; but it +availed you nothing._ (THE QUR'AN, IX, 25.) + + +CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. + +Opening: _Accomplish the Pilgrimage and the Visitation of the Holy +Places in honour of Allah._ (THE QUR'AN, II, 192.) + +Closing: _Say: Go through the earth, and see how He hath brought forth +created beings._ (THE QUR'AN, xxix, 19.) + + +CHAPTER THE NINTH. + +Opening: _Thou truly art mortal, O Mohammad, and they truly are +mortals._ (THE QUR'AN, XXXIX, 31.) + +Closing: _Mohammad is no more than an apostle; other apostles have +already passed away before him; if then he die, or be slain, will ye +turn upon your heels?_ (THE QUR'AN, III, 138.) + + +PORTRAIT OF THE PROPHET. + +Opening: _O my supreme Master, lavish thy Blessings and thy Favours +for ever and ever on Thy Friend (Mohammad), the best of all created +beings._ (Al-Bourdate. Poem by the Shaykh Al-Busiri, in honour of the +Prophet.) + +Closing: _There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is the Prophet of +Allah._ + + +CHAPTER THE TENTH. + +Opening: _Say: O my people! Act as ye best can: I verily will act my +part, and hereafter shall ye know!_ (THE QUR'AN, VI, 135.) + +Closing: _Allah will perhaps establish goodwill between yourselves and +those of them with whom ye are at enmity, and Allah is Powerful: and +Allah is Gracious, Merciful._ (THE QUR'AN, LX, 7.) + + +FINAL ENGRAVING: _One's pen should be ennobled; that is, by treating +of worthy matters._ + + +COVER: _Upon him, Mohammad, Salvation._ + +SEAL: Mohammad's Seal. [Transcriber's note: seal not found.] + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +FRONTISPIECE.--Ornamental page + +CHAPTER THE FIRST.--Ornamental page + + Praying round the Sacred Temple of the Ka'bah of Makkah + +CHAPTER THE SECOND.--Ornamental page + + The Night of the "Maulid," the Prophet's Birthday. Moslems + leaving a village Mosque. + + SCENES OF THE BADYA, OR NOMADIC LIFE. + --Watching over camels grazing + --The Flocks + +CHAPTER THE THIRD.--Ornamental page + + "At Takbir," or the Glorification + + SCENES OF THE BADYA, OR NOMADIC LIFE. + --The Encampment + + Moslem woman praying on the terrace-roof of her dwelling + +CHAPTER THE FOURTH.--Ornamental page + + "Ar Ruku," or the Inclination + + The Friday Visit of Moslems to the Cemetery + + SCENES OF THE BADYA, OR NOMADIC LIFE. + --The Departure + +CHAPTER THE FIFTH.--Ornamental page + + Interior of a Mosque. "Al Mihrab," the niche marking the + direction of Makkah + + The Mu'azzin's Call + + Believers perceiving the New Moon of the Month of Ramadhan + +CHAPTER THE SIXTH.--Ornamental page + + "As Sidjah," or Prostration + + Setting out for the "Jihad," or Holy War + + "Al Fitr," the Prayer on the breaking of the Ramadhan fast + +CHAPTER THE SEVENTH.--Ornamental page + + An Arab horseman of the Desert + + "Among all trees, one is blessed like the Mussulman; 'tis + the Palm," said the Prophet + + Bird's-eye view of Makkah, the Most Sacred City, as seen + from the Jabal Abi-Qubais + +CHAPTER THE EIGHTH.--Ornamental page + + "Ad Dawah," or the Invocation + + The Pilgrims of Mount Arafa, on the Ninth day of the Month + of Zu'l Hijjah + +CHAPTER THE NINTH.--Ornamental page + + Al-Madinah, the city of the Prophet. + + The Dome of Mohammad's Tomb + +PORTRAIT OF THE PROPHET.--Imam leading the Prayer + +CHAPTER THE TENTH.--Ornamental page + + A writing lesson at a village school devoted to the teaching + of the Qur'an + + Theological Students in the courtyard of Al-Azhar, the great + Cairo Moslem University + + Tombs of the Kaliphs. Under their rule, Moslem civilisation + enlightened the world + + A traditional old scribe of the Desert + + Final ornamental page + + + + +INDEX + + +PREFACE + +CHAPTER THE FIRST.--The Moslem Prayer.--Description of Makkah. +--The Temple of the Ka'bah and the Black Stone.--The Marriage +of Abdullah, Father of the Prophet. + +CHAPTER THE SECOND.--The Birth of Mohammad.--Mohammad's +Childhood with the Banu Sad Tribe in their Badya-Land.--Mohammad +and the two Angels.--Aminah's Death.--Mohammad's first Journey +to Syria.--How Mohammad met the Monk Bahira.--The second Syrian +voyage.--The Marriage of Mohammad and Khadijah.--How the Temple +of the Ka'bah was rebuilt. + +CHAPTER THE THIRD.--Desert Retirement.--The Revelation.--The +First Moslems.--The Announcement of the Hour.--The First +Hostilities.--The Incident of the Blind Man.--How Hamzah was +converted.--Utbah's proposals.--The Miracle of the Qur'an.--How +it was forbidden to listen to the Qur'an. + +CHAPTER THE FOURTH.--Persecution.--The Emigration to +Abyssinia.--The Conversion of Umar, son of Al Khattab.--The +Exile of the Banu Hasham.--The Decree of Expulsion destroyed +by a Worm.--The Death of Abu Talib and Khadijah.--The Journey +to Taif.--The Nocturnal Journey and Ascension.--How six +Inhabitants of Yasrib were converted.--The two Oaths of the +Aqabah.--The Plot against the Prophet. + +CHAPTER THE FIFTH.--The Hegira, or the Migration of the Prophet +to Al-Madinah.--Suraqa's Mishap.--The Prophet's Arrival at Quba. +--The Era of the Hegira.--Arrival of the Prophet at Yasrib. +--How the Mosque of Al-Madinah was built.--The Qiblah of Makkah. +--Institution of the Azan, or Call of the Mu'azzin.--The Fast of +Ramadhan.--Property bestowed in Alms, and the prohibition of +fermented liquors.--Ayishah in the House of the Prophet. +--Hostility of the Jews and the Munafiqun.--Al-Jihad (the Holy +War), and how it was instituted.--The Gazwah of Badr.--The +Sojourn at Badr and the Return to Al-Madinah. + +CHAPTER THE SIXTH.--Ali's Marriage.--The Prophet's Marriage +with Hafsah and Ummu'l Masakin.--The Battle of Uhud.--The +Marriage of Mohammad and Zainab.--The Ghazwah, or Expedition +of Zat-ir-Riqua.--The Ghazwah, or Expedition of the Banu +Mustaliq.--The Tayammum, or the Ceremony of Ablution performed +with Sand.--The Battle of the Ditch.--The Treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah. + +CHAPTER THE SEVENTH.--Expedition against the Qaynuqa Jews. +--Expedition against the Jews of the Banu Nadir.--Expedition +against the Jews of the Banu Quraizah.--Expedition against the +Jews of Khaibar.--Importance of Horse-breeding according to +the Prophet.--The Poisoned Lamb.--Amratu'l-Qada, or the Pious +Visitation.--The Prophet sends Ambassadors to the Principal +Monarchs of the World.--The Expedition of Mutah.--The Taking +of Makkah.--Entry of the Prophet into Makkah.--The Prophet at +Safa.--Ghazwah, or Expedition of Hunain. + +CHAPTER THE EIGHTH.--Ayishah slandered.--The Birth and Death of +Ibrahim.--Ghazwah, or expedition of Tabuk.--The Thamud Country. +--Arrival and Sojourn of the Prophet at Tabuk. The Prophet goes +back to Al-Madinah.--The Valedictory Pilgrimage. + +CHAPTER THE NINTH.--- Illness and Death of the Prophet.--Abu-Bakr +elected.--The Prophet's Burial. + +THE PROPHETS PORTRAIT. + +CHAPTER THE TENTH.--The March of Islam.--Influence of Moslem +Civilisation in Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. +--The Future of Islam.--Conclusion. + +MAP OF THE HIJAZ AND THE ROAD TO SYRIA. + +BIBLIOGRAPHY. + +INDEX OF THE ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY. + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + + + THIS BOOK + WAS ISSUED + FROM THE PRESS +ON THE THIRTIETH + OF AUGUST 1918 + FOR THE PARIS + BOOK CLUB + + + + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Notes: + + The original text does not include in-line translations of + the calligraphy that opens and closes each chapter. Here, + translations have been added to calligraphy as captions and + also appear in the original Translation of Arabic Calligraphy + index. 'Opening:' and 'Closing:' tags have been added to that + list. + + There appear to be some discrepancies in the Year of + the Hegira, particularly in the sidenotes. Year of the + Hegira=622, Year I=623, Year II=624, etc. + + Inconsistencies in spelling of Arabic names: Variations in + use of vowels, word endings, transliteration and internal + punctuation have been left as printed. Examples: Husain v. + Husayn, Habiba v. Habibah, Al Bagi v. Al Baqi, Muazzin v. + Mu'azzin. Variations that could be validated as typographical + errors have been corrected. Examples: Zeinah to Zeinab, + Zamzan to Zamzam, Al-Rahmah to Al-Rahman. + + Obvious typographical errors in English and French have been + repaired. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Mohammad, by +Etienne Dinet and Sliman Ben Ibrahim + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF MOHAMMAD *** + +***** This file should be named 39523-8.txt or 39523-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/5/2/39523/ + +Produced by Andrea Ball, Christine Bell & Marc D'Hooghe +at http://www.freeliterature.org (From images generously +made available by Internet Archive.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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