THE

LIFE OF MOHAMMED.

The Arabians, who are also by the Greek, and in imitation of them, by Latin writers, called Saracens, are divided by their historians into three classes: 1. The primitive Arabians, who inhabited Arabia immediately after the flood: of whom nothing now remains but the names of their tribes, as Adites, Thamudites, &c. and some traditional stories of their punishment for not hearkening to the prophets sent to reclaim them; which stories, however fabulous, have not only served to furnish the Arabian poets with subjects and allusions, but are mentioned in a serious manner by Mohammed,* in the Koran,† in order to deter his followers from disbelieving his mission and rejecting his doctrine. 2. The second class are the pure Arabians, descended from Kaktan or Joktan the son of Heber, spoken of Gen. x. 25. The Arab historians make Joktan the father of two sons, not mentioned in the Bible, or mentioned under different names: one of them, called Yáarab, they say was the father of the Arabs who

inhabited Yeman, or Arabia Felix; and the other son Jorham settled in the province of Hejaz; hither they tell us Abraham, upon Sarah’s complaint, carried Ishmael, who married Ra’ala the daughter of the twelfth king of the Jorhamites by wham he had twelve sons. From these, and their posterity intermarrying with the pure Arabians, sprang the Most-Arabi or mixt Arabians, called Ishmaelites and Hagarens. This does not agree with Scripture, which tells us, that the mother of Ishmael took him a wife out of the land of Egypt, Gen. xxi. 21. But here I would have it once for all observed, that we shall often find the Arab writers give different accounts of persons and things from what we meet with in sacred history. They had no ancient writings, their memorials of ancient times were handed down to them by tradition;* they are besides much given to fable; no wonder then that they deviate so from the truth. Thus they tell the most absurd stories of Adam and Eve: they mention Noah’s flood, but instead of eight, as the Scripture informs us, pretend eighty persons were saved in the ark: they will have it that it was not Isaac but Ishmael whom Abraham was about to offer, &c. In general, though Mohammed professed great regard for the Old and New Testaments, he miserably corrupted the histories of both by fables; some borrowed out of the Jewish Talmud, others from spurious authors, and some probably forged in his own brain, or that of his assistants.

The Arabs are now, as they were in ancient times, of two sorts. Some inhabit towns, maintaining themselves by their flocks, agriculture, the fruit of their palm-trees, by trade or merchandise; others live in tents, removing from place to place, as they find grass and water for their cattle, feeding chiefly upon the milk and flesh of camels, a diet which is said by an Arabian physician to dispose them to fierceness and cruelty.† The latter class, though strictly just among themselves, often commit robberies upon merchants and travellers; and excuse themselves by alleging the hard usage of their progenitor Ishmael, and think they have a right to indemnify themselves, not only upon the posterity of Isaac, but also upon every body else who falls in their way. The Arabs were, before the time of Mohammed, divided into several

tribes; each tribe had a king or head: and they were often at war with one another.

The religion of the ancient Arabians, according to their traditions, was derived from Abraham and Ishmael. These patriarchs it was pretended built the temple of Mecca, which from its form, was called the Kaaba or Square; and was their kebla, or place towards which they turned their faces when they prayed, as the Jews turned theirs towards the temple of Jerusalem. The Kaaba was held by them in great veneration, as it is also by the present Mohammedans, who are persuaded it is all but coeval with the world. For they say, that when Adam was cast out of paradise (which they place in the seventh heaven), he begged of God that he might be permitted to erect upon earth a building like that he had seen the angels go round in heaven; and that in answer to his prayer, a representation of that house in curtains of light was let down, and placed at Mecca, directly under the original, in a way that he might go round it, and turn his face towards it when he prayed. After Adam’s death, Seth, they tell us, built the Kaaba of stone and clay, in the same place; but, being destroyed by the deluge, it was rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael. The Kaaba, which has been several times rebuilt or repaired,* is a square stone building, the length whereof from north to south is twenty-four cubits, the breadth from east to west twenty-three, and the height twenty-seven cubits. The door, which is on the east side the threshold, has four cubits above the ground, so that, there being no steps† adjoining to it, they who come to worship may touch the threshold with their foreheads, or kiss it. The black stone, which the Mohammedans hold in great reverence, and believe to be one of the stones of paradise, which fell down with Adam from heaven, is a small stone set in silver and fixed in the south-east corner of the Kaaba, about four feet from the ground. It is said to be white within, but to have been turned black on the outside by the sins of the people, or more

probably by the kisses of the pilgrims.* Upon the ground on the north-side of the Kaaba there is a stone called the sepulchre of Ishmael; there is also another stone called the station of Abraham, which they say being used by him for a scaffold rose higher with him as the walls of the building rose; and that, after he had done building, he stood upon it and prayed, and left on it the prints of his feet. Round three sides of the Kaaba, and at no great distance from it, stands a row of pillars, which are joined at the bottom by a low balustrade, and at the top by bars of silver. Without this enclosure, are buildings used for oratories, by the different sects of Mohammedans; there also is the treasury, and a small edifice raised over the sacred well Zemzem.† All these buildings are enclosed

at a considerable distance by a magnificent colonnade surmounted with small cupolas, and at the four corners there are as many steeples adorned like cupolas, with gilded spires and crescents; between the pillars of both enclosures hang a number of lamps, which are constantly lighted up at night.*

The Kaaba is supported by pillars of aloe-wood, between which hang silver lamps, and a spout of gold carries off the rain-water from the roof. The walls on the outside are hung with a rich covering of black damask, adorned with a band of gold, which is changed every year at the expense of the Turkish emperor.† The Kaaba is properly the temple, but the whole territory of Mecca is held sacred, and distinguished by small turrets, some at seven and others at ten miles’ distance from the city. Within these precincts it is not lawful to attack an enemy, or even to hunt or fowl.

Mohammed was born at Mecca, an ancient city of Arabia, about the year of our Lord 571, for historians do not agree about the precise year.‡ He was of the tribe of Koreish, the noblest of that part of the country. Arab writers make him to be descended in a right line from Ishmael, the son of Abraham but do not pretend to any certainty in the remote part of his genealogy; for our purpose it will be enough to commence much later, but with a well authenticated fact. The great grandfather of Mohammed was Hashem, whose descendants were

from him called Hashemites.* He managed to obtain the presidency over the Kaaba, and, what went with it, the government of Mecca, which had been some time in the tribe of the Koreishites.† After his death it went to his son Abda’l Motalleb; who had thirteen sons, whose names I shall here set down, because we shall meet with some of them in the following history. Abdallah, Hamza, Al Abbas, Abu Taleb, Abu Laheb, Al Gidak, Al Hareth, Jahel, Al Mokawam, Dorar, Al Zobeir, Kelham, Abdal Kaaba. The eldest of them, Abdallah, who, on account of the integrity of his character and the comeliness of his person, is said to have been his father’s favourite, married Amina, of the tribe also of the Koreishites, by whom he had Mohammed. Upon the marriage of Abdallah, it is related that no fewer than two hundred young damsels, who were in love with him, died in despair. We should here observe, that the Mohammedan historians are often very extravagant in their accounts of persons and things that have any relation to their prophet. Thus Abulfeda, one of the gravest of them, tells us of four miraculous events that happened at the birth of Mohammed: 1. That the palace of Cosroes, king of Persia, was so shaken, that fourteen of its towers fell to the ground; 2. That the sacred fires of the Persians, which had been kept incessantly burning for 1000 years, went out all at once; 3. That the lake Sawa sank; 4. That the river Tigris overflowed its banks. By these prodigies, and by a dream of the high-priest of Persia, which seemed to forebode some impending calamity from Arabia, Cosroes being naturally alarmed, sent for a famous diviner to inform him what they portended; he received for answer, that fourteen kings and queens should

reign in Persia, and that then what was to come to pass would happen. Some legendary writers relate a great many more wonderful things, enough to shock the belief of the most credulous. They may be seen in Maracci.* I shall give only two of them as a sample of the rest: 1. They assert that Mohammed came into the world surrounded with a light, which not only illuminated the chamber wherein he lay, but also the whole country round about. 2. That as soon as he was born he fell upon his knees, and bending all except his two fore-fingers, with uplifted hands, and his face turned towards heaven, pronounced distinctly these words, “Allah acbar,” &c. that is, “God is great: there is no other God but one, and I am his prophet.”

Abdallah dying while Mohammed was an infant, or, according to some, before he was born, he was by his mother put to a wet-nurse named Halima. Here again we have more miracles, even in Abulfeda. The nurse, who, while this blessed infant was with her, was in greater affluence than ever she had been before, was one day put in a great fright by her own son, who came running out of the field, and told her that two men in white had just seized Mohammed, laid him on the ground, and ripped open his belly. Upon this, she and her husband went out to him, and found him upon his legs; but when she asked him, What is the matter with you, child? he confirmed the tale of his belly being cut up. Hearing this, the husband said, I am afraid he has contracted some bad disease; and Halima herself, who had before been very desirous to keep the child, was now as eager to get rid of him, and carried him home at once to Amina. On being asked what was the reason she had thus changed her mind, the nurse said she was afraid the devil had made some attack upon him; but the mother replied, “Out upon you, why should the devil hurt my child?” Some authors tell us, that when the angels ripped up Mohammed’s belly they took out his heart, and squeezed out of it the black drop, which they believe is the consequence of original sin, and, the source of all sinful thoughts, being found in the heart of every person descended from Adam, except only the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus.

It is a wonder they did not except Mohammed also, whom they look upon to be the most perfect creature that God ever made; but of whom we shall find in the sequel that his heart was not entirely cleansed from the black drop.

Mohammed’s mother dying when he was six years old, he was taken care of by his grandfather, Abda’l Motalleb, who at his death, which happened two years after, left him under the guardianship of his son Abu Taleb. By this uncle, whose business was merchandise, Mohammed was brought up, and at the age of thirteen went with him into Syria. At fourteen he joined his kinsmen in the impious war,* where the Koreishites gained the victory. With Abu Taleb he continued till he was twenty-five, when he became a factor to Kadija, the widow of a rich merchant at Mecca, who had left her all his wealth. He managed the affairs of his mistress so well, and so ingratiated himself into her favour, that after keeping him three years in her service, she bestowed on him her hand. The legendary writers, in their account of this circumstance, tell us, Kadija fell in love with Mohammed owing to the wonderful things that befell him in his last journey from Bostra in Syria, of which some were related to her by the slaves who had accompanied him, and of some she was herself an eye-witness. But that which made the greatest impression on her heart was, that the angel Gabriel carried all the way a cloud over his head, to screen him from the scorching heat of the sun, which in that country is very intense. But surely there was little need of a miracle to induce a widow of forty-five, who had already buried two husbands, to take for a third a young man of twenty-eight, possessed, as Mohammed is said to have been, of a handsome person and agreeable manners.†

From the age of thirteen or fourteen to twenty-five very

little is related of Mohammed, except a fabulous story of his being seen when very young by a monk of Bostra in Syria, called Bahira, who foretold his future grandeur. Boulainvilliers, indeed, who has left an unfinished account of his life, has thought fit to fill up the chasm with inventions of his own. He tells us, that during this interval his uncle Abu Taleb prepared him for the wars he was afterwards to be engaged in, by inuring him to hunting and martial exercises. Contrary to all history, he makes him twenty when he first travelled into Syria, and carries him to Damascus, to Baalbec, to Elia or Jerusalem, and to the capital of Persia, places which no other writer ever mentions him as visiting. These accounts he pretends to have taken from Arabian authors, but does not name a single authority. In short, Boulainvilliers* has given to the world, instead of a history, a politico-theological romance founded upon the life of Mohammed, whom he supposes, in these imaginary voyages, to have made such observations, and to have furnished his mind with such political ideas as enabled him to form those great designs he afterwards put in execution.

The following, however, seems to be the truth of the matter. Raised by his advantageous match with Kadija to an equality with the principal men of the city, he may very naturally have conceived the idea of aiming at the government of it. And this is the more probable as it belonged to his family, and in a regular succession ought to have come to him; but in consequence of his father and grandfather both dying when he was a minor, it had fallen to his uncle Abu Taleb. From his marriage nearly to the time of his pretended revelation, all that we hear of him on authority is, that by Kadija he had four sons. Upon the birth of the eldest, who was named Casem, he took, according to the custom of the Arabians, the surname Abu’l Casem, i. e. the father of Casem. His sons all died in their infancy; but his daughters, Fatima, Zainab, Rokaia, and Omm Colthum, lived to be married, and will be mentioned hereafter, as occasion arises.

It is probable that he employed himself for some years in the care of his family, and the prosecution of his trade; conforming all the while to the idolatrous superstition of his countrymen. By the Christian writers he is said to have been profligate in his morals; but nothing of the kind, as was to be expected, is mentioned by any Mohammedan author. However this may be, in the thirty-eighth year of his life he began to affect solitude, retiring frequently into a cave of mount Hara, near Mecca, to spend his time in fasting, prayer, and meditation. Here he is supposed to have composed so much of the Koran as he first published. Mohammed, who, it is agreed on all hands, could neither read nor write, has evidently borrowed many things from the Old and New Testaments, and from the Jewish Talmud. His assistants in the work are said to have been Abdia, the son of Salem, who was a Persian Jew, and a Nestorian monk named Bahira by the eastern, and Sergius by the western writers. From a statement we shall presently give from Abulfeda, it seems probable that Waraka was also in the secret, if he did not lend a helping hand. In his Koran, chap. xvi. the impostor complains that his enemies charged him with being assisted by that Persian Jew, but endeavours to clear himself in these words: “They say, certainly some man teaches him; he whom they mean speaks a barbarous language; but the Koran is in the Arabic tongue, full of instruction and eloquence.”* As for the monk, he is said to have murdered him, when he had no further occasion for him. No doubt he took what care he could to conceal his being assisted.

Abulfeda, after relating Mohammed’s marriage with Kadija, has a digression, wherein he speaks of the prefecture of the Kaaba going from Nabet, the son of Ishmael, to the Jorhamites, next to the Kozaites, and from them to the Koreishites. The last pulled down the temple and began to rebuild it. But when the walls were raised up to the height at which the black stone was to be set, a dispute arose as to which of the tribes should have the honour of placing it. The Koreishites being unable to settle the question, Mohammed, who stood by, ordered a garment to be spread upon

the ground, and the stone to be laid in the middle of it, and then all the tribes together to take hold of it round the edges and lift it up. When they had raised it high enough the prophet took the stone and put it into its place. From Abulfeda’s manner of relating this transaction, its date is not fixed to this part of his life; but an Arab writer, cited by Gagnier, says it was done when Mohammed was a little boy. In all probability it is only a fiction, invented to excite a high opinion of his wisdom.*

The following account, which is taken verbatim from Abulfeda, is the statement already alluded to. “When the apostle of God (whom God bless† ) was forty years old,

God sent him to the black and the red (i. e. to all mankind), that by a new law he might abolish the ancient laws. His first entrance upon this prophetic office was by a true night vision; for the most high God had inspired him with a love of retirement and solitude, so that he spent a month every year in the cave of Mount Hara. When the year of his mission was come he went, in the month Ramadan, with some of his family, into the cave. Here, as soon as the night fell wherein the glorious God very greatly honoured him, Gabriel (upon whom be peace) came to him and said, ‘Read,’ And when the prophet answered, ‘I cannot read,’ he said again, ‘Read: In the name of the Lord who hath created,’ &c. reciting the words as far as, ‘he taught man what he knew not,’ v. 5.* Upon this the prophet, going to the middle of the mountain, and hearing a voice from heaven saying, ‘O Mohammed, thou art the apostle of God, and I am Gabriel,’ stood still in his place looking upon Gabriel, till at length Gabriel departed, when the prophet also went away. Soon after he came to Kadija, and told her what he had seen; she said, ‘I am very glad of this good news; I swear by him in whose hand the soul of Kadija is, I verily hope you are the prophet of this nation.’ And when she had said this she went to her kinsman, Waraka, son of Nawfal. Now Waraka had read the books, and heard many discourses, of Jews and Christians. To him, therefore, Kadija related what the apostle of God had said.; and Waraka replied, ‘By the most holy God, and by him in whose hand is the soul of Waraka, what

you say, Kadija, is true, for the glorious law brought by Moses, the son of Amram, foretold his coming. No doubt he is the prophet of this nation.’ Then Kadija returned to the apostle of God, and told him what Waraka had said; whereupon the apostle of God said a prayer, and went to the Kaaba, and, after compassing it seven times, returned to his own house.*

After this, revelations followed thickly one after another. Kadija was the first of mortals that embraced Islamism,† so that nobody preceded her. In the book called Al Sahih there is a tradition, that the apostle of God said, among men there have been many perfect; but among women only four: Asia, the wife of Pharaoh; Mary, daughter of Amram; Kadija, daughter of Cowalled; and Fatima, daughter of Mohammed.”‡

According to this statement, Kadija was the first disciple of Mohammed. Some authors, however, assert that she did not come in so readily as is here related, but for some time rejected the stories he told her as delusions of the devil. Others again say she declared she would not believe except she also should see Gabriel; but upon her husband telling her she had not virtue enough to see an angel, she was satisfied, and became a believer. His second convert was his cousin Ali, who had lived with him some time, and was then not above ten or eleven years old. The third was his slave Zaid, to whom he gave his freedom. In imitation of this, it became a law among the Mohammedans to emancipate those of their slaves who should turn to their religion. The fourth convert was Abubeker, one of the most considerable men in Mecca, and whose example was soon followed by Othman son of Affán Abdal Rahman son of Aws, Saad son of Abu Wakas, Zobeir son of Al Awam, and Telha son of Obeidolla, and Abu Obeida. These were some of the principal men of the city, and were afterwards the generals of Mohammed’s army, and assisted him in establishing his imposture and his empire. Abulfeda says, “Mohammed made his converts in secret for three years; but after this period he was commanded to preach to those of his tribe. Upon this he ordered Ali to invite his kinsmen, about forty in number, to an entertainment, and to set before

them a lamb and a large vessel of milk. When they had done eating and drinking, he began to preach; but being interrupted by Abu Laheb, he invited them to a like feast the next day, and when it was over, he harangued them in the following words: ‘I do not know any man in Arabia can make you a better present than I now bring you; I offer you the good both of this world, and of the other life: the great God has commanded me to call you to him. Who then will be my vizier (i. e. take part of the burden with me), my brother, my deputy?’ When all were silent, Ali said, ‘I will; and I will beat out the teeth, pull out the eyes, rip up the bellies, and break the legs of all that oppose you, I will be your vizier over them.’ Then the apostle of God embracing Ali about the neck, said, ‘This is my brother, my ambassador, my deputy, pay him obedience.’ At this they all fell a laughing, and said to Abu Taleb, ‘You are now to be obedient to your son.’

“Mohammed, not at all discouraged by the opposition of his tribe, continued to upbraid them with their idolatry, and the perverseness and infidelity of their ancestors and of their nation. This provoked them to that degree, that they went to Abu Taleb to complain of his nephew, and desired him to interpose, who, however, dismissed them with a civil answer. However, as Mohammed persisted in his purpose, they went to him a second time, and threatened to use force. Upon this, Abu Taleb sent for his nephew and said to him, ‘Thus and thus have your countrymen spoken to me;’ but Mohammed imagining his uncle to be against him, replied, : Uncle, if they could set the sun against me on my right hand, and the moon on my left, I would never drop the affair.’ ‘Well,’ says Abu Taleb, ‘tell me what answer I shall give them: as for me,’ confirming his words with an oath, ‘I will never give you up.’ The whole tribe now consulted about banishing all who embraced Islamism; but Abu Taleb protected his nephew, though he did not come into his new religion.” After this, Hamza, another of his uncles, resenting an affront that Abu Jehel, whom he bitterly hated, had offered to Mohammed, became one of his proselytes, as did also Omar, the son of Al Ketabi, another of the principal men of Mecca, and Abubeker’s successor in the Caliphate. Previously to his conversion, Omar was violently set against the prophet. At last his

anger rose to such a height, that having girded on a sword, he went in search of him with an intent to kill him. By the way, he called in at his own sister’s, where the twentieth chapter of the Koran was reading. Omar demanded to see the book, and upon his sister’s refusal, gave her a violent slap on the face, who then gave it to him, upon his promising to restore it her again. No sooner had he read a little of it, when he cried out, “O how fine is this! how I reverence it! I have a great desire to be a believer.” He immediately inquired where Mohammed was to be found, and, being told, went to the apostle, who, taking hold of his clothes and pulling him forcibly to him, said, “O son of Al Ketabi, what do you stop at? Why would you stay till the roof of the house falls upon your head?” Upon Omar’s replying, “I come hither that I may believe in God and his apostle,” the apostle gave praise to God, and thus was completed the conversion of Omar.

And now, finding he made such progress, the Koreishites cruelly persecuted the followers of Mohammed. On this account he gave leave to as many of them as had no family to hinder it, to leave Mecca, which they did, to the number of eighty-three men and eighteen women, with their little ones. They fled to the king of Ethiopia, to whom the Koreishites sent two persons with a present of skins, desiring him to send back the fugitives. This the king not only refused to do, but, as the Mohammedan writers assert, embraced Islamism himself. In the eighth year of Mohammed’s mission, the Koreishites pledged themselves by a written compact not to intermarry with the Hashemites, or to have any dealings with them. This deed was placed in the Kaaba, where, it is said, a worm ate out every word of the deed, except the name of God. Upon this the whole tribe held a public meeting, and cancelled the agreement.*

“In the tenth year of the mission of the prophet died Abu Taleb. Before his death, whilst he was very ill, the apostle of God said to him, ‘Uncle, make the profession which will entitle you to happiness at the day of the resurrection;’ and Abu Taleb answered, ‘So I would, nephew, if it were not for the disgrace; for if I should do so, the Koreishites would say I did it for fear of death.’ In his last moments he began to move his lips, and Al Abbas, putting his ear close to them, said, ‘O nephew, he has repeated the words that you exhorted him to say.’ Upon hearing this, the apostle of God said, ‘Praised be God who has directed you, dear uncle.’”

Very soon after Kadija died also.* Whereupon, Mohammed, meeting with more and more opposition at Mecca, where Abu Sofian, his mortal enemy, bore the chief sway, took a journey to Taïf, a town about sixty miles east of Mecca, wherein Al Abbas, another of his uncles, often resided, to try if he could make any converts there; but having no success, he returned to Mecca, where his followers were greatly mortified by the repulse he had met with.

Mohammed, however, continued his preaching, even, says Abulfeda, at the hazard of his life; going occasionally among the pilgrims, and calling to them, “O ye of such and such a tribe (which he named), I am the apostle of God, who commands you to serve God, and not to associate any other with him; and to believe and testify that I am a true apostle.” One time, being at a place called Alkaba (a mountain north of Mecca), where there were some pilgrims from Yathreb, he addressed them, and made converts of six. These, upon

their return to Yathreb, spread his fame there, and propagated Islamism with great success.

The chief points of religion which, besides some moral duties, Mahommed first insisted upon were, the unity of God, a resurrection, and a future state of rewards and punishments. The only profession necessary to be made in order to be one of his disciples consisted of these two articles: “There is no God but one,” and “Mohammed is his prophet.” The former was in opposition, not only directly to all who worship idols, or own a plurality of gods, but indirectly against Christians also, as holding the divinity of our blessed Saviour, and the doctrine of the Trinity. The profession of the second article was the most essential means he could take to bind his followers to swallow everything, how absurd soever, that he should propose to them for belief or practice. Islamism, he declared, was not a new religion, but a restoration to its original purity of the ancient religion, taught and practised by the prophets Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. He did indeed purge the religion of the Arabians, which in his time was rank idolatry, from some gross abuses, as Sabæism, or the worship of the host of heaven, the worship of idols, and divination. In order, however, to make his new system the more acceptable to his countrymen, he retained several of their old superstitious services, such as frequent washing, the pilgrimage to Mecca, with the absurd ceremonies appendant to it, of going seven times round the Kaaba, throwing stones to drive away the devil, &c.

The fewness of the things he proposed to their profession and belief certainly made it more easy for him to gain proselytes. And although the paradise he promised them was, as we shall see hereafter, very gross and sensual, it was nevertheless very well suited to the taste of the people he had to deal with, while, on the other hand, the hell with which he threatened unbelievers was terrible. He may be supposed to have dwelt much on the latter subject, as it is so frequently repeated in the Koran. By his artful, insinuating address, in which he is said to have exceeded all men living, he surmounted all difficulties that lay in his way. At his first setting out upon his prophetic office, he bore all affronts without seeming to resent them; and when any of his followers were injured he recommended patience to them, and

for that purpose, it is said, proposed the Christian martyrs for their imitation. He was obliging to every body; the rich he flattered, the poor he relieved with alms: and by his behaviour appeared the most humane, friendly person in the world, so long as he found it necessary to wear the mask, which we shall hereafter find him, upon occasions, pulling off and throwing aside.

In the tenth year of his mission, Mohammed gave his daughter Fatima, then nine years old, in marriage to Ali. The dowry given by Ali upon that occasion was twelve ounces of ostrich plumes (a thing of some value in that country), and a breastplate; all indeed that he had to give.* In the same year, according to Elmakin (for authors vary as to the precise date of many of his most considerable transactions), Mohammed, to strengthen his interest, as well as perhaps to gratify his inclination, married Ayesha, daughter of Abubeker, and Sawda, daughter of Sama.† To these two wives he added, some time after, Hafsa, daughter of Omar. Ayesha was then but seven years old, and therefore this marriage was not consummated till two years after, when she was nine years old, at which age, we are told, women in that country are ripe for marriage. An Arabian author cited by Maracci,‡ says that Abubeker was very averse to the giving him his daughter so young, but that Mohammed pretended a divine command for it; whereupon he sent her to him with a basket of dates, and when the girl was alone with him, he stretched out his blessed hand (these are the author’s words), and rudely took hold of her clothes; upon which she looked fiercely at him, and said, “People call you the faithful man,§ but your behaviour to me shows you are a perfidious one.” And with these words she got out of his hands, and, composing her clothes, went and complained to her father. The old

gentleman, to calm her resentment, told her she was new betrothed to Mohammed, and that made him take liberties with her, as if she had been his wife.

THE STORY OF MOHAMMED’S ASCENT INTO HEAVEN.

The Mohammedan writers are not agreed about the time of this transaction, nor as to the nature of it, whether it were only a vision or a real journey. The most received opinion is, that it was in the twelfth year of his mission; and the most orthodox belief is, that it was a real journey.* I will give it in the words of Abulfeda, who took his relation out of Al Bokhari. “Hodba† the son of Kaled said, that Hamman son of Jahia said, that Cottada had it from Anas the son of Malek the son of Sesa, that the prophet of God gave them a relation of his night-journey to heaven in these words: As I was within the inclosure of the Kaaba (or, as he sometimes told the story, as I lay upon a stone), behold one (Gabriel) came to me with another, and cut me open from the pit of the throat to the groin; this done, he took out my heart, and presently there was brought near me a golden basin full of the water of faith; and he washed my heart, stuffed it, and replaced it. Then was brought to me a white beast less than a mule but larger than an ass, I mounted him, and Gabriel went with me till I came to the first heaven of the world, and when he knocked at the door, it was said to him, ‘Who is there?’ he answered, ‘Gabriel;’ and ‘Who is with you?’ he answered, ‘Mohammed;’ then it was asked, ‘Has the apostle had his mission?’ he replied, ‘Yes;’ whereupon the wish was uttered, ‘May it be fortunate with him, he will now be very welcome;’ and the door was opened, and behold, there was Adam. Upon this Gabriel said to me, This is your father Adam, greet him;’ and I did so, and he returned the greeting, saying, ‘May my best son and the best prophet be prosperous.’ Then he went up with me to the second heaven, and as he knocked at the door a voice demanded, ‘Who is there?’ when he had answered, ‘Gabriel,’

he was further asked, ‘And who is with you?’ to which he replied ‘Mohammed;’ the voice again inquired, ‘Has the apostle had his mission?’ Upon his answering, ‘Yes,’ I again heard the words, ‘May it be fortunate to him, he will now be very welcome;’ and the door was opened, and behold there was Jahia (i. e. John) and Isa (Jesus), and they were cousins-german.’* Gabriel said to me, ‘These are Jahia and Isa, greet them,’ and I did so, and they greeting me in turn, said, ‘May our best brother and the best prophet be successful.”’ It would be nauseous to an English reader to repeat in the same manner, as my author does, the knocking at the doors, the same question and answer, and the exchange of greeting, through the following five heavens; it is sufficient to say that Mohammed being with Gabriel admitted into the third heaven, found Joseph there, Enoch in the fourth heaven, Aaron in the fifth, Moses in the sixth, and Abraham in the seventh; and that when he was near Moses, Moses wept, and being asked the reason of his weeping, said “It was because a young man, whose mission was posterior to his, would have a greater number of his nation enter into paradise, than he should of his countrymen.” “Then,” continued the prophet, “I was carried up to the tree Sedra,† beyond which it is not lawful to go. The fruit thereof is as large as the water-pots of Hadjr, and the leaves as big as the ears of an elephant. I saw there also four rivers, and when I asked Gabriel, ‘What rivers are these?’ he answered, ‘Two of them run within paradise, and quite through it, the other two, which run on the outside of it, are the Nile and the Euphrates.’ Then he took me to the house of visitation,‡ into which seventy thousand angels go every day. Here there were set before me three vessels, one of wine, another of milk, and the third of honey. I drank of the milk, whereupon Gabriel said to me, ‘This is the happiest [omen] for thee and thy nation.’” (Another tradition adds, “If you had chosen the wine, your nation would have strayed from the right way.” ) “Lastly, when I came to the throne of God, I was

ordered to pray fifty times a day. In my return from thence, being near Moses, he asked me what I had been commanded to do; I told him to pray fifty times a day. ‘And are you able,’ said he, ‘to pray fifty times a day?’ and with an oath he declared, ‘I have made the experiment among men, for I have endeavoured to bring the children of Israel to it, but never could compass it. Go back then to your Lord, and beg an abatement for your nation.’ So I went back, and he took off ten prayers; and coming to Moses, he advised me as before, and I went back again and had ten more abated; then coming to Moses, he repeated the same advice; I therefore returned, and was commanded to pray ten times a day; upon Moses’s repeating what he had said before, I went back again, and was commanded to say prayers five times a day; and when Moses was informed of this last order, he would have had me go back again to my Lord and beg a still further abatement; I replied, ‘I have so often petitioned my Lord that I am ashamed;’ and so saying, I took my leave of him, and prayed for him.”

The foregoing account of Mohammed’s night journey is modest, in comparison of what some authors give us, who, from other traditions, add many other wonders. Thus they tell us, that the beast Alborac would not let Mohammed mount, till he had promised him a place in paradise; that then he took him quietly on his back, and in the twinkling of an eye, Gabriel leading him all the way by the bridle, carried him to Jerusalem; that there a number of the prophets and departed saints appearing at the gate of the temple, saluted him, and, attending him into the chief oratory, desired him to pray for them; that when he came out from thence, there was a ladder of light ready set for them, on which Gabriel and Mohammed went up to the heavens, having first tied Alborac to a ring, where he used to be tied by the prophets who had formerly ridden him. Besides all these wonders, in the first heaven, which was made of pure silver, Mohammed saw the stars hanging from it by chains of gold, (each star being as large as Mount Nobo near Mecca, ) and the angels keeping watch and ward in them, that the devils might not come near to listen and hear what was doing in heaven. As he went farther on, he saw a multitude of angels of every variety of shape, which presided over and interceded

for the different kinds of birds and beasts in whose shape they severally appeared. Amongst those of the birds, there was a cock, the angel of the cocks, so large, that his feet standing upon the first heaven, his head reached up to the second, which, at the ordinary rate of travelling upon earth, was at a distance of a five hundred days’ journey. This he makes the distance of every one of the seven heavens from the heaven next above it. Other writers are still more extravagant, and say, the head of the cock reached through all the seven heavens, up to the throne of God: that his wings, which are large in proportion to his height, are decked with carbuncles and pearls: that every morning when God sings a hymn, this cock joins in it, and crows so loud as to be heard by all the creatures upon the earth, except men and fairies: and that upon hearing him all the cocks upon earth crow also. In the second heaven, which was all of pure gold, he saw an angel so large that his head reached up to the third heaven. The third heaven was all made of precious stones. There he found Abraham, who recommended himself to his prayers; and there also, he saw more angels than in either of the former heavens. One of them was of so prodigious a stature that the distance between his two eyes was equal to the length of a journey of 70,000 days.* This, Gabriel told him was the angel of death, who had a table before him of an immense bigness, whereon he was continually writing down the names of those who were to be born, and blotting out the names of those who were to die. The fourth heaven was all of emerald; therein he found Joseph the son of Jacob, who desired him to pray for him. In this again the number of angels was greater than in the third heaven, and one of them, whose head reached to the fifth heaven, was always weeping for the sins of mankind, and the miseries they thereby bring upon themselves. The fifth heaven was made of adamant; here he found Moses, who desired his prayers. The sixth heaven was of carbuncle; here was John the Baptist, who also begged his prayers. In the seventh heaven, which was made

of heavenly light, he found Jesus, whose prayers he desired for himself. Here, says Prideaux, Mohammed changes his style, and acknowledges Jesus for his superior; this Gagnier thinks improbable, as he taught Jesus to be no more than a creature, and pretended that he himself was the most perfect of all creatures. Perhaps it will solve this difficulty to observe, that this privilege of perfection was not yet granted to Mohammed. In this heaven were more angels than in all the rest of the heavens; and among them one, a very extraordinary angel, who had 70,000 heads, and in every head 70,000 mouths, in every mouth 70,000 tongues, and every tongue uttering 70,000 distinct voices, with which he was day and night incessantly praising God.

Gabriel having brought him thus far, told him he was not permitted to go any farther, and directed him to ascend the rest of the way by himself. He did so, going through water and snow, and other difficulties, till he heard a voice say, “Mohammed, salute thy Creator.” Ascending still higher, he came into a place of such exceeding brightness that his eyes could not bear it. Here was placed the throne of the Almighty, on the right side whereof was written, “La Ellah Ellalla, Mohammed resul Ellah.” “There is no God but God, Mohammed is the prophet of God.” The same inscription was also inscribed upon all the gates of the seven heavens. Having approached to the presence of God, as near as within two bow-shots, he saw him, he said, sitting upon his throne, with a covering of 70,000 veils upon his face. In token of his favour, God put forth his hand and laid it on him, which was of such exceeding coldness as to pierce to the very marrow of his back: that, after this, God talked familiarly with him, taught him many mysteries, instructed him in the whole of his law, gave him many things in charge concerning his teaching it. Moreover, he bestowed upon him several privileges, as that he should be the most perfect of all creatures; that, at the day of judgment, he should be advanced above all the rest of mankind, and that he should be the redeemer of all who believed in him. Then, returning to Gabriel, they both went back the same way they had come, passing successively through all the heavens. Upon arriving at Jerusalem, he found Alborac where he had been left tied, and was brought back by him to Mecca in the

same manner as he had been carried from thence, and all this in the tenth part of a night.

On his relating this extravagant story to the people the next morning after the night on which he pretended it had happened, it was received by them, as it deserved, by a general shout of derision. Some laughed at it as ridiculous; others were moved with indignation at his attempting to impose upon them with so absurd and impudent a lie, and bade him ascend up to heaven before their eyes, and they would believe; while some even of his disciples were so shocked at so improbable a fiction, that they immediately left him. To prevent, therefore, further defection from him, Abubeker came forward and vouched for the truth of all Mohammed had related; and upon this account he received from the impostor the title of Assaddick, “the just man.” However, as this journey to heaven was a great stumbling-block even to his friends, Mohammed does not appear to have thought Abubeker’s asseveration sufficient, for he in two places of the Koran brings God himself to bear witness to the truth of the transactions of this night.

How absurd soever this story seems, Mohammed knew that he would be sure to find his account in it, if he could but once get it believed. It tended to raise his authority among his followers to that height, that they could never reject any doctrine he should afterwards advance, nor refuse obedience to whatever he should think proper to command. And here, in addition to the Koran, or written law, was laid a foundation for an oral law of a like kind to that which the Jews possess, consisting of the traditions of those directions which they say Moses received at the same time with the written law, during his forty days’ stay upon mount Sinai, and were by him dictated by word of mouth to those about him. Accordingly the Mohammedans pay as great a regard to many traditions of the sayings and actions of Mohammed, as to the Koran itself.* And as the Jews have several books in which their oral law is recited and explained, so the Mohammedans have their Sunnah, or tradition; in which the

sayings and doings of Mohammed, in any way referring either to religion or law, are narrated in the manner set down p. 20, from Al Bokhari,* being generally carried up from the collector of the tradition through several hands to one of Mohammed’s intimate companions, who either had the saying from his own mouth, or was an eye-witness of the recorded fact. They have also many commentators upon that Sunnah.

We may observe here, that different traditions give different accounts of the places of the prophets, Abraham, Moses, &c. Gagnier too,† has a much longer relation of the night journey taken from Abu Horaira, one of the six authors of traditions,‡ who had every thing from the mouth of Mohammed himself. The following are some of the principal things mentioned by him, but not given in the other traditions; 1. Gabriel is made to appear in the form he was created in, with a complexion white as snow, and white hair finely plaited and hanging in curls about his shoulders, &c.; upon his forehead were two plates, on one was written, “There is no God but God;” on the other, “Mohammed is the apostle of God;” about him he had also ten thousand little perfume-bags full of musk and saffron; five hundred pair of wings; and from one wing to the other there was the distance of a journey of five hundred years. 2. Gaguier gives a fuller description of the beast Alborac; he had the face of a man, with a mane of fine pearls, &c., his very eyes two large emeralds, bright as stars, &c., while his two large wings were enamelled with pearls and precious stones, and were bordered with light; he had a human soul, and understood what was said, but could not speak; speech, however, was for once given to him, at this time, to enable him to ask Gabriel to intercede with Mohammed,

that he might have a place in paradise, which the prophet promised him. 3. Gabriel made the prophet stop and alight upon Mount Sinai, and pray, after bowing twice; whereupon he got up again, and went on till he was over Bethlehem; there he was ordered to alight, and to say the prayer a second time with two bowings. 4. As he went along, he twice heard an earnest call to him to stop; and after this a young woman finely dressed accosted him, offered her hand, and told him she was entirely at his service: but Alborac continued his pace. Gabriel subsequently told him, that if he had obeyed the first call, his nation would all have become Jews; if the second, they would have been Christians: and that the woman who tempted him was the world; and that if he had stopped to answer her, his nation would have chosen the enjoyment of this world in preference to eternal happiness, and so have been cast into hell. 5. He met a fine looking old man of the most venerable aspect; he gave the prophet a tender embrace, by whom it was returned; Gabriel told him this was Islam. 6. They went to the temple of the resurrection (in Jerusalem), and met there a man with three pitchers, one of water, one of milk, the third of wine; Mohammed, being ordered to choose, drank of the milk; the consequence of which was that his nation would, to the day of resurrection, be always directed in the right way; but hearing that if he had drunk it all, none of his nation would ever have gone to hell, he begged he might take the milk again, and drink it all up: but Gabriel said, It is too late, the thing is determined. 7. A ladder with steps of gold and precious stones was placed where Jacob’s ladder had been formerly set, when he saw the angels going up and down; on this Gabriel ascended, hugging Mohammed close to his bosom, and covering him with his wings. 8. In the fifth heaven he saw an angel so large that he could have swallowed the seven heavens and seven earths as easily as a pea: and another angel of a most frightful aspect, who was the governor of hell, of which also the prophet had a sight. 9. In the sixth heaven he saw an angel, half snow and half fire; upon which he prayed him who could join together things so contrary to unite his several believers, in obedience to him. 10. In the seventh heaven the impostor has the impudence to say, he heard God and one of the angels alternately repeat

the profession, “God is one, and Mohammed is his apostle.” 11. Gabriel stopped at the tree Sedra, as it was not permitted to any angel to go any further; but, upon Mohammed being frightened at his leaving him, the angel was ordered to conduct him further; which he did, till he came to a sea of light, where he consigned him to the angel who presided over it: then this angel took him and carried him to another sea of light, where another angel presided, of such a stature, that if every thing created in heaven and earth were put into his hand it would be but as a grain of mustard seed in a large field.

Then he was carried to a large black sea, and, going ashore, passed by several different choirs of angels, till he came to Asraphel, an angel with a million of wings, and a million of heads; in every head a million of mouths, &c. This angel supported the throne of God on the nape of his neck. Mohammed, being now commanded to look up, saw upon the throne everything that is contained in heaven and earth, in epitome. 12. Besides the angel of the cocks already mentioned, he also saw angels of such gigantic stature, that the distance from the centre of the earth to the seventh heaven would not equal the height of their ancles. Then he was conducted by a retinue of 70,000 angels within the 70,000 veils; and, the last veil of the unity being lifted up, saw 70,000,000 of angels prostrate, adoring the Supreme Being; besides 70,000 more, who had the care of the veils. Upon this there reigned a profound silence, till a voice exclaimed, “Mohammed, approach near to the powerful and glorious God:” upon which he advanced, at one step, a journey of five hundred years; and, the same command being twice repeated, he took two more such steps. At the next moment the ground he stood upon was lifted up, so that he was within the light of his Lord, and was quite absorbed by it and dazzled. Fearing he should be blinded, Mohammed shut his eyes, but God opened the eyes of his heart: and now, being with in the veil, he saw unutterable things without number. The Lord then laid one hand on his breast, and the other upon his shoulder, upon which a cold penetrated into his bowels, but at the same time he was regaled with an inexpressible sweetness, and an odour infinitely delightful. And now, the apostle was admitted to a conversation with his Creator, of

which I shall notice only the principal points. Seeing a bloody sword suspended, he prayed it might not hang over his nation: and was answered, “I send thee with the sword, but thy nation shall not perish by the sword.” Next he begged that some degree of excellence might be given to him, as had been done to other prophets, as Abraham, Moses, &c., and was answered, there are two chapters in the Koran, which whoever reads shall have everything necessary in this world, and enter into paradise in the life to come: “As for you Mohammed, I have written your name in heaven along with my own: mention is never made of me either in heaven or earth, but you are mentioned also: no crier shall call to prayers without saying, ‘God is but one, and Mohammed is the apostle of God; nor will I accept any prayers if that profession is not made.’” He further desired pardon for his nation, and was promised a pardon for seventy thousand of them; and upon his beseeching that the number might be increased, God took three handfuls of infinitely small dust, and scattered it, indicating thereby that so many Mussulmans would be saved, that none but God alone should be able to tell their number.

The first person to whom Mohammed related his night-journey was Al Abbas, who advised him by all means to keep it to himself; for, said he, if you speak of it in public you will be called a liar, and be otherwise insulted. Omm Hana, daughter of Abu Taleb, earnestly besought him to the same purpose, and even laid hold of his vest to detain him; but he, angrily breaking from her, went and declared it in a large company, who received it with much derision. Besides many other taunts, Abu Jehel called out to him, saying, “Mohammed, you say you have been in the temple of Jerusalem, pray give us some description of it; as for me, I have been in it more than once.” Upon this, Mohammed whispered in the ear of Abubeker, that he was quite at a loss what to say; because it was in the night that he was there. Hearing this, Abubeker was in such a consternation that he fell to the ground; but Mohammed soon got out of his difficulty by the help of his friend Gabriel the angel, who, unseen by every body else, held in his view a model of the temple, which enabled him to answer all questions they put to him as to the number and situation of the doors, lamps, &c., so exactly and

according to the truth, as to strike the hearers with astonishment. So much may suffice from Abu Horaira, whose tradition is accounted of great authority, and by every reader it will doubtless be deemed as credible, at least, as the other from Anas, son of Malek.

In the thirteenth year of Mohammed’s mission, Musaab son of Omair, with seventy men and eighteen women, believers, and some others not yet converted, came to Mecca, and promised the apostle to meet him at night at a place called Akaba. He went to them accompanied by his uncle Al Abbas, who, though he favoured his nephew’s interest, had not yet embraced Islamism. Al Abbas made a speech, wherein he recommended to them to stand by his nephew, whom they had invited to come among them. Mohammed proposed that they should take an oath to defend him as they would their wives and children; and when they demanded, “What shall we get, if we be killed upon your account?” he answered, “Paradise.” “Stretch out your hand then,” said they. Upon his complying, they took the oath and returned to Yathreb. Then the prophet ordered his converts among the people of Mecca, to get away secretly to Yathreb, while he himself should stay at Mecca, till he should receive the divine permission to leave it. Abubeker and Ali remained with him.

The Koreishites, finding the prophet had thus entered into a league with those of Yathreb, and that his party at Mecca stuck close to him, determined to assassinate him.* Being informed of their designs, he made his escape by throwing, says my author, a handful of dust upon the heads of the infidels; but first having put his own green vest upon Ali, and ordered him to lie down in his place, which he did. The assassins peeped in through a crevice of the door, and seeing the green vest, thought themselves sure of him, till Ali came out in the morning; and then, finding their mistake, sent out

parties in pursuit of him. Here Mohammed had a narrow escape. The pursuing party halted before the cave where he and Abubeker had hid themselves. During the three days they had lain hid here, a spider, they tell us, has spun its web over the mouth of the cave, and a pigeon laid two eggs near it.* The sight of these objects convinced their enemies that the cave could not lately have been entered by man, and so they passed on without searching it. As soon as their pursuers had departed, they came out; and, by the help of a guide, got safe to Yathreb. Here they met with a kind reception, for some of the helpers, eager to entertain him, laid hold of the bridle of his camel; “Let her go,” said he, “she is obstinate:” at last, when she came to a certain place,† she knelt, and the prophet alighting, walked on till he met Abu Ayub one of the helpers, who took his baggage off his camel, and received him into his house.‡ He lived with Abu Ayub till he had built a house of his own, and settled there till his death. From this event the town lost its ancient name—Yathreb, and was called Medinato’l Nabi, “the town of the prophet,” and at last, Medina, “the town,” by way of eminence; in the same manner as London is often called the town. This Hejira, or Flight of Mohammed, is the era from which the Mohammedans date all their transactions.§

Mohammed had hitherto propagated his religion by fair means only. During his stay at Mecca, he had declared his business was only to preach and admonish; and that whether people believed or not was none of his concern. He had hitherto confined himself to the arts of persuasion, promising, on the one hand, the joys of paradise to all who should believe in him, and who should, for the hopes of them, disregard the things of this world, and even bear persecution with patience and resignation: and, on the other, deterring his hearers from what he called infidelity, by setting before them both the punishments inflicted in this world upon Pharaoh and others, who despised the warnings of the prophets sent to reclaim them; and also the torments of hell, which would be their portion in the world to come. Now, however, when he had got a considerable town at his command, and a good number of followers firmly attached to him, he began to sing another note. Gabriel now brings him messages from heaven to the effect, that whereas, other prophets had come with miracles and been rejected, he was to take different measures, and propagate Islamism by the sword. And accordingly, within a year after his arrival at Medina, he began what was called the holy war. For this purpose, he first of all instituted a brotherhood, joining his Ansars or helpers, and his Mohajerins or refugees together in pairs; he himself taking Ali for his brother. It was in allusion to this, that Ali, afterwards when preaching at Cufa, said, “I am the servant of God, and brother to his apostle.”

In the second year of the Hejira, Mohammed changed the Kebla of the Mussulman, which before this time had been towards Jerusalem, ordering them henceforth to turn towards Mecca, when they prayed.* In the same year, he also appointed the fast of the month Ramadan.

Mohammed having now a pretty large congregation at Medina, found it necessary to have some means of calling them to prayers; for this purpose he was thinking of employing a horn, or some instrument of wood, which should be made to emit a loud sound by being struck upon. But his doubts

were settled this year by a dream of one of his disciples, in which a man appearing to him in a green vest recommended as a better way, that the people should be summoned to prayers by a crier calling out, “Allah acbar, Allah acbar,” &c.; “God is great, God is great, there is but one God, Mohammed is his prophet;* come to prayers, come to prayers.” Mohammed approved of the scheme, and this is the very form in use to this day among the Mussulmans; who, however, in the call to morning prayers, add the words, “Prayer is better than sleep, prayer is better than sleep;” a sentiment not unworthy the consideration of those who are professors of a better religion.

The same year, the apostle sent some of his people to plunder a caravan going to Mecca; which they did, and brought back two prisoners to Medina. This was the first act of hostility committed by the Mussulmans against the idolaters. The second, was the battle of Beder. The history of the battle is thus given by Abulfeda:—“The apostle, hearing that a caravan of the Meccans was coming home from Syria, escorted by Abu Sofian at the head of thirty men, placed a number of soldiers in ambuscade to intercept it. Abu Sofian, being informed thereof by his spies, sent word immediately to Mecca, whereupon all the principal men, except Abu Laheb, who, however, sent Al Asum son of Hesham in his stead, marched out to his assistance, making in all 950 men, whereof 200 were cavalry. The apostle of God went out against them with 313 men, of whom seventy-seven were refugees from Mecca, the rest being helpers from Medina; they had with them only two horses and seventy camels, upon which they rode by turns. The apostle encamped near a well called Beder, from the name of the person who was owner of it, and had a hut made where he and Abubeker sat. As soon as the armies were in sight of each other, three champions came out from among the idolaters, Otha son of Rabia, his brother Shaiba, and Al Walid son of Otha; against the first of these, the prophet sent Obeidah son of Hareth, Hamza against the second, and Ali against the third: Hamza and Ali slew each his man and

then went to the assistance of Obeidah, and having killed his adversary, brought off Obeidah, who, however, soon after died of a wound in his foot. All this while the apostle continued in his but in prayer, beating his breast so violently that his cloak fell off his shoulders, and he was suddenly taken with a palpitation of the heart; soon recovering, however, he comforted Abubeker, telling him God’s help was come. Having uttered these words, he forthwith ran out of his but and encouraged his men, and taking a handful of dust, threw it towards the Koreishites, and said, ‘May their faces be confounded;’ and immediately they fled. After the battle, Abdallah, the son of Masud, brought the head of Abu Jehel to the apostle, who gave thanks to God; Al As, brother to Abu Jehel, was also killed; Al Abbas also, the prophet’s uncle, and Ocail son of Abu Taleb, were taken prisoners. Upon the news of this defeat, Abu Laheb died of grief within a week.” Of the Mussulmans died fourteen martyrs, (for so they call all such as die fighting for Islamism.) The number of idolaters slain was seventy; among whom my author names one of chief note, Hantala son of Abu Sofian, and Nawfal brother to Kadija. Ali slew six of the enemy with his own hand.

The prophet ordered the dead bodies of the enemy to be thrown into a pit, and remained three days upon the field of battle dividing the spoil; on occasion of which a quarrel arose between the helpers and the refugees, and to quiet them, the 8th chapter of the Koran was brought from heaven. It begins thus, “They will ask thee concerning the spoils: say, The spoils belong to God and his apostle:” and again in the same chapter, “And know that whenever ye gain any, a fifth part belongeth to God, and to the apostle, and his kindred, and the orphans, and the poor.” The other four-fifths are to be divided among those who are present at the action. The apostle, when he returned to Safra in his way to Medina, ordered Ali to behead two of his prisoners.

The victory at Beder was of great importance to Mohammed: to encourage his men, and to increase the number of his followers, he pretended that two miracles were wrought in his favour, in this, as also in several subsequent battles:—1st, that God sent his angels to fight on his side, and 2nd, made his army appear to the enemy much greater than it

really was. Both these miracles are mentioned in the Koran, chap. viii. Al Abbas said, he was taken prisoner by a man of a prodigious size (an angel, of course); no wonder, then, he became a convert.

“Ommia, the son of Abu’l Salat, was one of the chief of the unbelievers: being one who could read, he had objected to the mission of the prophet, and was arrived to that pitch of madness, as to hope to be received for an apostle himself. He had been in Syria when the battle was fought, and, as he was returning home, he was shown the well into which the carcases of the slain, and among these two of his near relations, had been thrown. In token of grief, he cut off the ears of his camel; and, standing by the well, recited a long elegy, of which the following lines are a part:

As soon as the Mussulmans returned to Medina, the Koreishites sent to offer a ransom for their prisoners, which was accepted, and distributed among those who had taken them, according to the quality of the prisoners. Some had 1000 drachms for their share.. Those who had only a small or no part of the ransom Mohammed rewarded with donations, so as to content them all.

The Jews had many a treaty with Mohammed, and lived peaceably at Medina; till a Jew, having affronted an Arabian milk-woman, was killed by a Mussulman. In revenge for this, the Jews killed the Mussulman, whereupon a general quarrel ensued. The Jews fled to their castles; but after a siege of fifteen days, were forced to surrender at discretion. Mohammed ordered their hands to be tied behind them, determined to put them all to the sword, and was with great difficulty

prevailed upon to spare their lives, and take all their property. Kaab, son of Ashraf, was one of the most violent among the Jews against Mohammed. He had been at Mecca, and, with some pathetic verses upon the unhappy fate of those who had fallen at Beder, excited the Meccans to take up arms. Upon his return to Medina, he rehearsed the same verses among the lower sort of people and the women. Mohammed being told of these under-hand practices, said, one day, “Who will rid me of the son of Ashraf?” when Mohammed, son of Mosalama, one of the helpers, answered, “I am the man, O apostle of God, that will do it:” and immediately took with him Salcan son of Salama, and some other Moslems, who were to lie in ambush. In order to decoy Kaab out of his castle, which was a very strong one, Salcan, his foster-brother, went alone to visit him in the dusk of the evening; and, entering into conversation, told him some little stories of Mohammed, which he knew would please him. When he got up to take his leave, Kaab, as he expected, attended him to the gate; and, continuing the conversation, went on with him till he came near the ambuscade, where Mohammed and his companions fell upon him and stabbed him.

Abu Sofian, meditating revenge for the defeat at Beder, swore he would neither anoint himself nor come near his women till he was even with Mohammed. Setting out towards Medina with two hundred horse, he posted a party of them near the town, where one of the helpers fell into their hands, and was killed. Mohammed, being informed of it, went out against them, but they all fled; and, for the greater expedition, threw, away some sacks of meal, part of their provision. From which circumstance this was called the meal-war.

Abu Sofian, resolving to make another and more effectual effort, got together a body of three thousand men, whereof seven hundred were cuirassiers and two hundred cavalry; his wife Henda, with a number of women, followed in the rear, beating drums, and lamenting the fate of those slain at Beder, and exciting the idolaters to fight courageously. The apostle would have waited for them in the town, but as his people were eager to advance against the enemy, he set out at once with one thousand men; but of these one hundred

turned back, disheartened by the superior numbers of the enemy. He encamped at the foot of Mount Ohud, having the mountain in his rear. Of his nine hundred men only one hundred had armour on; and as for horses, there was only one besides that on which he himself rode. Mosaab carried the prophet’s standard; Kaled, son of Al Walid, led the right wing of the idolaters; Acrema, son of Abu Jehel, the left; the women kept in the rear, beating their drums. Henda cried out to them, “Courage, ye sons of Abdal Dari; courage! smite with all your swords.”

Mohammed placed fifty archers in his rear, and ordered them to keep their post. Then Hamza fought stoutly, and killed Arta, the standard-bearer of the idolaters; and as Seba, son of Abdal Uzza, came near him, Hamza struck off his head also; but was himself immediately after run through with a spear by Wabsha, a slave, who lurked behind a rock with that intent. Then Ebu Kamia slew Mosaab, the apostle’s standard-bearer; and taking him for the prophet cried out, “I have killed Mohammed.” When Mosaab was slain the standard was given to Ali.

At the beginning of the action, the Mussulmans attacked the idolaters so furiously that they gave ground, fell back, upon their rear, and threw it into disorder. The archers seeing this, and expecting a complete victory, left their posts, contrary to the express orders that had been given them, and came forward from fear of losing their share of the plunder. In the meantime, Kaled, advancing with his cavalry, fell furiously upon the rear of the Mussulmans, crying aloud at the same time, that Mohammed was slain. This cry, and the finding themselves attacked on all sides, threw the Mussulmans into such consternation, that the idolaters made great havoc among them, and were able to press on so near the apostle as to beat him down with a shower of stones and arrows. He was wounded in the lip, and two arrow-heads stuck in his face. Abu Obeidah pulled out first one and then the other; at each operation one of the apostle’s teeth came out. As Sonan Abu Saïd wiped the blood from off his face, the apostle exclaimed, “He that touches my blood, and handles it tenderly, shall not have his blood spilt in the fire” (of hell). In this action, it is said, Telhah, whilst he was putting a breast-plate upon Mohammed, received a wound upon his

hand, which maimed it for ever. Omar and Abubeker were also wounded. When the Mussulmans saw Mohammed fall, they concluded he was killed, and took to flight; and even Othman was hurried along by the press of those that fled. In a little time, however, finding Mohammed was alive, a great number of his men returned to the field; and, after a very obstinate fight, brought him off, and carried him to a neighbouring village. The Mussulmans had seventy men killed, the idolaters lost only twenty-two.

The Koreishites had no other fruit of their victory but the gratification of a poor spirit of revenge. Henda, and the women who had fled with her upon the first disorder of the idolaters, now returned, and committed great barbarities upon the dead bodies of the apostle’s friends. They cut off their ears and noses, and made bracelets and necklaces of them; Henda pulled Hamza’s liver out of his body, and chewed and swallowed some of it. Abu Sofian, having cut pieces off the cheeks of Hamza, put them upon the end of his spear, and cried out aloud, “The success of war is uncertain; after the battle of Beder comes the battle of Ohud; now, Hobal,* thy religion is victorious.” Notwithstanding this boasting, he decamped the same day. Jannabi ascribes his retreat to a panic; however that may have been, Abu Sofian sent to propose a truce for a year, which was agreed to.

When the enemy were retreated towards Mecca, Mohammed went to the field of battle to look for the body of Hamza. Finding it shamefully mangled, in the manner already related, he ordered it to be wrapped in a black cloak, and then prayed over it, repeating seven times, “Allah acbar,” &c. “God is great,” &c. In the same manner he prayed over every one of the martyrs, naming Hamza again with every one of them; so that Hamza had the prayers said over him seventy-two times. But, as if this were not enough, he

declared that Gabriel had told him he had been received into the seventh heaven, and welcomed with this eulogium, “Hamza, the lion of God, and the lion of his prophet.”

The Mussulmans were much chagrined at this defeat. Some expressed a doubt of the prophet being as high in the divine favour as he pretended; since he had suffered such an overthrow by infidels. Others murmured at the loss of their friends and relations. To pacify them he used various arguments; telling them, the sins of some had been the cause of disgrace to all; that they had been disobedient to orders, in quitting their post for the sake of plunder; that the devil put it into the minds of those who turned back; their flight, however, was forgiven, because God is merciful; that their defeat was intended to try them, and to show them who were believers and who not; that the event of war is uncertain; that the enemy had suffered as well as they; that other prophets before him had been defeated in battle; that death is unavoidable. And here Mohammed’s doctrine of fate was of as great service to him as it was afterwards to his successors, tending as it did to make his people fearless, and desperate in fight. For he taught them; that the time of every man’s death is so unalterably fixed, that he cannot die before the appointed hour; and, when that is come, no caution whatever can prolong his life one moment;* so that they who were slain in battle would certainly have died at the same time, if they had been at home in their houses; but, as they now died fighting for the faith, they had thereby gained a crown of martyrdom, and entered immediately into paradise, where they were in perfect bliss with their Lord.

In the beginning of the next year, Mohammed, hearing the Asadites had a design against the country about Medina, sent a party of fifty men to ravage their lands, who brought away a great number of sheep, and so many camels that every man had seven for his share. About this time, too, being informed that Sofian, son of Kaled, the Hodhailite, was raising men against him, he ordered Abdallah, son of Onais, a determined bravo, to go and assassinate him. Abdallah having performed this office, was rewarded by Mohammed with his walking-stick, which he carried about with him ever after, and ordered it to be buried with him.

Mohammed sent also Amru, with an assistant, to Mecca, to assassinate Abu Sofian; but the object of his visit being discovered, Amru, with his companion, was forced to flee, and returned to Medina without accomplishing his task. This year the prophet had a revelation, commanding him to prohibit wine and games of chance. Some say the prohibition was owing to a quarrel occasioned by these things among his followers.*

This year also, the people of Edlo and Al-Kara, having sent a deputation to desire the prophet to send some Mussulmans to instruct them in his religion, he sent with them six men, of whom they treacherously massacred three, and took the other three prisoners. Of the prisoners, one was killed attempting to make his escape; the other two were sold to the Koreishites, who put them to a cruel death.

In the fifth year of the Hejira, Mohammed, informed by his spies of a design against Medina, surrounded it with a ditch, which was no sooner finished than the Meccans, with

several tribes of Arabs, sat down before it, to the number of ten thousand men. The appearance of so great a force threw the Mussulmans into a consternation. Some were ready to revolt; and one of them exclaimed aloud, “Yesterday the prophet promised us the wealth of Cosroes and Cæsar, and now he is forced to hide himself behind a nasty ditch.” In the meantime, Mohammed, skilfully concealing his real concern, and setting as good a face upon the matter as he could, marched out with three thousand Mussulmans, and formed his army at a little distance behind the entrenchment. The two armies continued facing each other for twenty days, without any action, except a discharge of arrows on both sides. At length, some champions of the Koreishites, Amru son of Abdud, Acrema son of Abu Jehel, and Nawfal son of Abdallah, coming to the ditch, leaped over it; and, wheeling about between the ditch and the Moslem army, challenged them to fight. Ali readily accepted the challenge, and came forward against his uncle Amru, who said to him, “Nephew, what a pleasure am I now going to have in killing you.” Ali replied, “No; it is I that am to have a much greater pleasure in killing you.” Amru immediately alighted, and having hamstrung his horse, advanced towards Ali, who had also dismounted, and was ready to receive him. They immediately engaged, and, in turning about to flank each other, raised such a dust that they could not be distinguished, only the strokes of their swords might be heard. At last, the dust being laid, Ali was seen with his knee upon the breast of his adversary, cutting his throat. Upon this, the other two champions went back as fast as they came. Nawfal, however, in leaping the ditch, got a fall, and being overwhelmed with a shower of stones, cried out, “I had rather die by the sword than thus.” Ali hearing him, leaped into the ditch and despatched him. He then pursued after Acrema, and having wounded him with a spear, drove him and his companions back to the army. Here they related what had happened; which put the rest in such fear, that they were ready to retreat; and when some of their tents had been overthrown by a storm, and discord had arisen among the allies, the Koreishites, finding themselves forsaken by their auxiliaries, returned to Mecca. Mohammed made a miracle of this retreat; and published upon it this verse of

the Koran, “God sent a storm, and legions of angels, which you did not see.”*

Upon the prophet’s return into the town, while he was laying by his armour and washing himself, Gabriel came and asked him, “Have you laid by your arms? we have not laid by ours; go and attack them,” pointing to the Koraidites, a Jewish tribe confederated against him. Whereupon, Mohammed went immediately, and besieged them so closely in their castles, that after twenty-five days, they surrendered at discretion. He referred the settlement of the conditions to Saad, son of Moad; who being wounded by an arrow at the ditch, had wished he might only live to be revenged. Accordingly, he decreed, that all the men, in number between six and seven hundred, should be put to the sword, the women and children sold for slaves, and their goods given to the soldiers for a prey. Mohammed extolled the justice of this sentence, as a divine direction sent down from the seventh heaven, and had it punctually executed. Saad, dying of his wound presently after, Mohammed performed his funeral obsequies, and made an harangue in praise of him.

One Salam, a Jew, having been very strenuous in stirring up the people against the prophet, some zealous Casregites desired leave to go and assassinate him. Permission being readily granted, away they went to the Jew’s house, and being let in by his wife, upon their pretending they were come to buy provisions, they murdered him in his bed, and made their escape.

Towards the end of this year. Mohammed, going into the house of Zaid,† did not find him at home, but happened to

espy his wife Zainab so much in dishabille, as to discover beauties enough to touch a heart so amorous as his was. He could not conceal the impression made upon him; but cried out, “Praised be God, who turneth men’s hearts as he pleases!” Zainab heard him, and told it to her husband when he came home. Zaid, who had been greatly obliged to Mohammed, was very desirous to gratify him, and offered to divorce his wife. Mohammed pretended to dissuade him from it, but Zaid easily perceiving how little he was in earnest, actually divorced her. Mohammed thereupon took her to wife, and celebrated the nuptials with extraordinary magnificence, keeping open house upon the occasion. Notwithstanding this step gave great offence to many who could not bring themselves to brook that a prophet should marry his son’s wife; for he had before adopted Zaid for his son. To salve the affair, therefore, he had recourse to his usual expedient: Gabriel brought him a revelation from heaven, in which God commands him to take the wife of his adopted son, on purpose, that for ever after, believers might have no scruple in marrying the divorced wives or widows of their adopted sons; which the Arabs had before looked upon as unlawful. The apostle is even reproved for fearing men, in this affair, whereas, he ought to fear God. Koran, chap. xxxiii.

In the sixth year he subdued several tribes of the Arabs. Among the captives was a woman of great beauty, named Juweira, whom Mohammed took to wife, and by way of dowry, released all her kindred that were taken prisoners. About the same time a servant of Omar, fighting with one of the helpers, occasioned a quarrel between the helpers and the refugees; whereupon, Abdallah, son of Abu Solul, a Medinian unbeliever, reflected upon the refugees, as a people that would encroach upon the Medinians, if the latter did not prevent it in time, as now they might easily do. These words being reported to the prophet, Omar, who stood by, would have had him send some one to strike off the head of Abdallah; but his zeal was checked by the prophet asking, “Will not people say, ‘What, may Mohammed put to death those that are with him, as he pleases?’” Presently after, the son of Abdallah, who had heard of the affair, came in, and said, “O apostle of God, I am told you

have some thoughts of condemning my father to death: if that be your intent, command me, and I will immediately bring you his head.” So well had this youth, who had embraced Islamism, been instructed in the humane doctrine taught in the Koran, chap. xlvii., in these words, “If ye meet with any unbelievers, strike off their heads, until ye have made a great slaughter of them: and bind them in strong bonds and give them their liberty freely, or take a ransom, until the weapons of war are laid down.” The apostle, who well knew when it was for his interest to appear merciful and placable, bade the young man be kind to his father, and not take anything amiss of him.

When Mohammed went upon any expedition, it was generally determined by lots which of his wives should go with him; at this time it fell to Ayesha’s lot to accompany him.* Upon their return to Medina, Ayesha was accused of intriguing with one of the officers of the army, and was in great disgrace for about a month. The prophet was exceedingly chagrined to have his best beloved wife accused of adultery; but his fondness for her prevailed over his resentment, and she was restored to his favour upon her own; protestation of her innocence. This, however, did not quite satisfy the world, nor, indeed, was the prophet’s mind perfectly at ease on the subject, until Gabriel brought him a revelation, wherein Ayesha is declared innocent of the crime laid to her charge; while those who accuse believers of any crime, without proof, are severely reproved, and a command given, that whosoever accuses chaste women, and cannot produce four eye-witnesses, in support of the charge, shall receive eighty stripes. Koran, chap. xxiv. In obedience to this command, all those who had raised this report upon Ayesha were publicly scourged, except Abdallah, son of Abu Solul, who was too considerable a man to be so dealt with, notwithstanding he had been particularly industrious in spreading the scandal.†

Mohammed being now increased in power, marched his army against Mecca, and a