202 LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 



a bride but sighed to be the mother of a male child. 

 The sole fruit of this union A/as Mohammed. His 

 father being then absent with the caravans in Syria, 

 to purchase a supply of provisions (for it was a time 

 of scarcity), died at'Medina on his return ; and whe- 

 ther this event took place before or two months 

 after the birth (according to Abulfeda), it appears 

 certain he never saw this wonderful infant. Cut off 

 in the flower of Ufe, his orphan child was left in the 

 cradle to the care of a widowed mother. Adversity 

 seemed to be his only patrimony; for Abdallah, 

 though of royal lineage, was poor ; and in the divi- 

 sion of his inheritance, the prophet's share was but 

 five camels, and an Ethiopian slave, named Baraca. 

 On the seventh day, the venerable Abdolmotalleb 

 made a splendid entertainment to the grandees of 

 his tribe ; and on this joyous occasion the infant 

 received the name of Mohammed, contrary to the 

 remonstrances of the Koreish, who would have pre- 

 ferred a name that was hereditary in the family.* 



Not content with the narrative of simple facts, 

 the credulous superstition of the Arabs lias thrown 

 a halo of wonders round the infancy of their apos- 

 tle. Though destitute of worldly wealth, his birth 

 was rich in prodigies. Like that of other great men 

 who have astonished the world, it was accompanied 

 by signs in heaven and miracles on earth. The 

 prophetic light that surrounded him served his mo- 

 ther for a lamp, and shone with a brilliancy that 

 illuminated the country as far as Syria : the sacred 

 fire of the Persians, which had burned without in- 

 terruption for a thousand years, Avas for ever extm- 

 guished ; the palace of Khoosroo was rent by an 

 earthquake, and fourteen of its towers levelled with 

 the ground ; events that prefigured the failure of the 



* This name is the past participle of the verb Hainad, and sig- 

 nifies the " praised," or "'most glorious." Islam, the religion 

 of Mohammed, and Moslem or Mussiilman, come from the same 

 root, eslam. which means consecrated or dedicated to God. 



