MOHAMMED. 



11 



suaded ten of the most considerable citizens of Mecca 

 to follow his example. They were all instructed by 

 Mohammed in tiie doctrines of the Islam, as the new 

 religion was styled, which were promulgated as the 

 gradual revelations of the divine will, through the 

 angel Gabriel, and were collected in the Koran. 

 Three^years passed in the quiet dissemination of his 

 doctrines : in the fourth, Mohammed invited his re- 

 latives of the family of Hashem to an entertainment, 

 openly announced to them his prophetic mission, and 

 asked which of them would undertake the office of 

 his vizier. All were silent, till the youthful Ali de- 

 clared his readiness to do so, and, at the same time, 

 his resolution to inflict vengeance on all who should 

 dare to oppose his master. In vain did Abu Taleb, 

 the father of Ali, dissuade them from the undertak- 

 ing. But, although he remained himself unconverted, 

 he did much to promote the new doctrines, by pro- 

 tecting Mohammed against his enemies, and afford- 

 ing him refuge in times of danger. On several oc- 

 casions Mohammed was attacked by the adherents of 

 idolatry with open force, and compelled to change 

 his residence ; but he often had the satisfaction of 

 converting his bitterest enemies. In the tenth year 

 of his prophetic office, he suffered a severe loss in the 

 death of Abu Taleb and his faithful Khadijah. De- 

 prived of their assistance, he was compelled to retire, 

 for a time, to the city of Tayef. On the other hand, 

 he was readily received by the pilgrims who 

 visited the kaaba, and gained numerous adhe- 

 rents among the families in the neighbourhood. At 

 this time occurred Mohammed's famous nocturnal 

 journey to heaven on the beast Alborak, under 

 Gabriel's guidance, respecting which the Ko- 

 ran contains some obscure intimations. In the 

 twelfth year, the Islam was also spread among the 

 inhabitants of Medina (Yathreb), several of whom 

 swore fidelity to the prophet, and proffered their 

 assistance. Mohammed now adopted the resolution 

 of encountering his enemies witli force. Only the 

 more exasperated at this, they formed a conspiracy 

 to murder him : warned of the imminent danger, he 

 left Mecca, accompanied by Abubeker alone, and 

 concealed himself in a cave not far distant. Here 

 he spent three days undiscovered, after which he 

 arrived safely - at Medina, but not without danger. 

 This event, from which the Mohammedans commence 

 their era, is known under the name of the Hegira, 

 which signifies flight. In Medina, Mohammed met 

 with the most honourable reception : thither he was 

 followed by many of his adherents. Mohammed 

 now assumed the sacerdotal and regal dignity, mar- 

 ried Ayesha, daughter of Abubeker, and, as the 

 number of the faithful continued to increase, declared 

 his resolution to propagate his doctrines with the 

 sword. The hopes of booty added new fervour to the 

 religious zeal of his partisans. Their first great 

 military exploit was the spoiling of a rich caravan, 

 led by Abu Sophian, the chief of the Koreishites, 

 with a strong guard. Mohammed surprised them, 

 with an inferior force, in the valley of Beder, and 

 inflicted on them a total defeat. He took a rich 

 booty, and a number of prisoners. Other successful 

 enterprises followed ; but, in the third year of the 

 Hegira. Abu Sophian, with SOOO soldiers, attacked 

 Mohammed with 950, on mount Ohud, not far from 

 Medina. A desperate conflict ensued, in which the 

 Moslems were utterly beaten, and the wounded pro- 

 phet hardly saved his life. This misfortune naturally 

 shook the authority of him whose pretended mission 

 from God should have secured him the victory. But 

 by attributing the fault to the sins of the Moslems, 

 by promising the slain a paradise provided with all 

 sensual enjoyments, and inculcating an unconditional 

 predestination, he succeeded in restoring his totter- 



ing credit. Good need had he of it in the following 

 year, 625, when Abu Sophian appeared before 

 Medina with 10,000 men. Mohammed prudently 

 limited himself to the defensive ; but the enemy rais- 

 ing the seige, after twenty days, on account of internal 

 discord, Mohammed, under the pretence of a divine 

 command, led his party against the Jewish race of 

 Koreidha, who had made common cause with the 

 enemy. After twenty-five days, the Jews were com- 

 pelled to surrender their chief fortress to the will' of 

 the conqueror, who took the most bloody revenge, 

 slaughtered between 600 and 700 men, and carried 

 away the women and children into captivity. Some 

 years afterwards, he also took Khaibar, the principal 

 seat of the Jewish power in Arabia, by which means 

 he completed the subjugation of this unhappy people. 

 It is probable that the many murders and cruelties 

 practised on his enemies were sufficiently justified in 

 the eyes of his followers, by his divine mission ; but 

 they must have been highly offended by the violation 

 of all right and decency, of which he was guilty in 

 his passion for Zeinab, the wife of bis emancipated 

 slave and adopted son Zeid, while a particular chap- 

 ter was introduced into the Koran, to give him power 

 to marry her ; this he did publicly, without regard to 

 a degree of relationship which the Arabs had hitherto 

 held inviolable. TlTis weakness, with respect to the 

 female sex, increased with the years and authority of 

 Mohammed. Besides the numerous wives, whom 

 he took at different times, he" indulged in several 

 transient amours, such as are forbidden in his own 

 laws, and always justified his incontinency by new 

 chapters in the Koran. That such shameless pre- 

 tences could have any effect rather proves the 

 credulity and fanaticism of the people than his own 

 talents of deception. At the same time, his doctrines 

 and authority gained ground among the neighbouring 

 tribes. The expeditions of his officers rarely failed to 

 produce a considerable booty. He was himself 

 almost worshipped by his partisans. His views, mean- 

 while, continued to expand, and, in the seventh year of 

 the Hegira, he sent a summons to the principal neigli 

 bouring princes, particularly Chosrou Parviz, king of 

 Persia, Heraclius, emperor of Constantinople, Mo- 

 kawkas, ruler of Egypt, the king of Ethiopia, and the 

 princes of various districts of Arabia, to embrace the 

 new revelation of the divine law, made through him. 

 The manner in which this embassy was received dif- 

 fered according to the power and pride of those to 

 whom it was directed. The more remote and powerful 

 gave no heed to it : on the contrary, the weaker and 

 nearer, who were informed of his increasing power, had 

 cause to fear his arms. It was of particular importance 

 to him no longer to be an exile from Mecca, the holy 

 city, which was in a high degree the object of the ado- 

 ration of the Arabs. He appeared, therefore, at the 

 head of 1400 men, with the ostensible purpose of 

 peaceably visiting the temple of Mecca. The Kore- 

 ishites opposed his entrance, and compelled him to a 

 treaty in the seventh year of the Hegira. For three 

 days only, he and his partisans were to be allowed to 

 pay their devotions, unarmed, in the kaaba ; on the 

 fourth day, he was to withdraw. H e succeeded, how- 

 ever, on this occasion, in converting three persons of 

 influence among the Koreishites, who had afterwards 

 still greater renown among the Moslems Caled, 

 Amru, and Othman. In the eighth year of the Hegira, 

 a Mohammedan army, under Zeid 's command, advanc- 

 ed against the city of Muta, in Palestine, where the 

 governor of the emperor Heraclius had murdered a 

 Moslem ambassador. Zeid was slain, and the defeat 

 of the Moslems was prevented solely by the courage 

 of Caled, who, on this occasion, obtained the appel- 

 lation of " sword of God." A breach of compact on 

 the part of the Koreishites gave Mohammed the 



