254 LIFE OF MOHAMMED. 



throwing a handful of dust to encourage his sol- 

 diers, he soon beheld the tide of victory change in 

 his favour. The infuriated troops, with the imagi- 

 nary aid of 16,000 angels, inflicted a merciless re- 

 venge on the authors of their disgrace. 



Malec, with the wreck of his army, had retired to 

 Taif and shut himself up in that fortress, resolved to 

 defend it to the last extremity. This was a place 

 of too great importance to remain in the hands of an 

 enemy ; and from the vale of Honain, Mohammed 

 marched without delay to put an end to the War of 

 Idolatry, by effecting its reduction. Twenty days 

 were wasted in useless operations, and with reluct- 

 ance he saw himself compelled to raise the siege ; 

 but he retreated Avith an idle threat to return, ex- 

 horting his companions to trust in his never-failing 

 source of angeUc assistance. A voluntary submis- 

 sion, however, rendered a second attempt unneces- 

 sary. The terrified Thakifites expressed their 

 readiness to profess Islam on condition that their 

 goddess, Al Lattah, was preserved for three years, 

 and themselves exempted from the obligation of 

 prayer. But the Prophet was inexorable. Religion 

 without prayer, he told them, Avas worthless ; and 

 as for their idolatry, he could not tolerate it. for an 

 hour. 



The booty which this expedition placed at his 

 disposal amounted to 6000 captives, 24,000 camels, 

 40,000 sheep, and 4,000 ounces of silver. A halt 

 of thirteen days was employed in distributing the 

 plunder, for the impatience of his soldiers could no 

 longer be restrained. Instead of reproaching the 

 Koreish for their disaffection at Honam, he endea- 

 voured to secure their attachment and silence their 

 calumnies by a superior measure of liberality. Abu 

 Sofian alone was presented with 300 camels and 

 twenty ounces of silver, — a suspicion, had there 

 been no other, of his private instrumentality to the 

 conquest of Mecca. The same munificence was ex- 



