Life of Muhammad 00 Sell

Wellesley college l
,ry
THE
LIFE OF
MUHAMMAD
THE
LIFE OF
REV.
MUHAMMAD
BY THE
CANON SELL,
D.D., M.R.A.S.
FELLOW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS
AUTHOR OF 'THE FAITH OF ISLAM', 'THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE QUR'AN', 'BAHAISM', ISLAM: ITS RISE AND PROGRESS', 'THE RECENSIONS OF THE QUR'AN*, 'THE CULT OF 'ALI 'OUTLINES OF ISLAM'
*
',
THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY

FOR INDIA
LONDON, MADRAS AND COLOMBO
1913
PRINTED AT THE
S. P. C. K.
PRESS, VEPERY, MADRAS
1913
913
PREFACE
<
In
this
book no important subjects
in the life of the
Arabian Prophet have been overlooked, and some,

indeed, have been treated very fully.
I
have based
my
in
statement of facts upon original authorities and
my
deductions therefrom have tried to be

I
fair
and impartial. what has been

think
it
have given some prominence to

the
'
called
political
factor
',
as
has been too
much
overlooked.
liberal
Certain
modern Muslim
growing up
in
writers of the
school
now
India have produced defences (which
may
be termed apologies) of certain events of im;
portance
length.
these
have dealt with
at
considerable
have used the better authenticated Tradiit
tions, for, after all,
is
Muhammad,
revere.
as revealed in
his life
and character
in the Traditions,
whom
the
I
Muslim people know and

the late
For
this use
have the authority of so great an oriental scholar as on Islam has said

for
Emmanuel Deutch who in If we make

'
his
famous
article
use of the Sunna
our
purpose
"
no
one
will
blame
as
us.
This
call
"
Midrash
of
Muhammadanism,
we should
these traditional records of the Prophet's
sayings
VI
PREFACE
in
and doings, both
the
legendary and juridical
sense of the word, has, albeit in exalted tones and

colours often, told us
life.
much
of his outer
and inner
Used with the same
patient care with which

historian,
all
it
documents are used by the impartial

yields precious information.'
*
In order to save space
refer in the foot
notes,
to the
under the names of their respective authors,

f ollQwing
books
Muir, Life of
Mahomet
(ed.
London, 1861); D.
Koelle,
S.
Margoliouth,
Mohammad', Dr.
;
Mohammad
The
Rt.
and Mohammadanism
wa'l-Milul
At-Tabari, Tdrikhur-Riisitl;
(De Goeje"e Edition, 1882)

'All,
Hon. Syed Amir
The Life and Teachings of

;
Mohammad
Critical
(ed.
1891)
of
Maulavi
Cheragh
'Ali,
Exposition
Jihad
2
Muhammad
bin
Khavendshah bin Mahmud,
Raudatu s-Safd (ed. Lucknow, 1904); Baidawi, Commentary on the Our an (ed. Leipsic, 1848); and Mas'udi, Murujudh-Dhahab
(ed.
Paris,
1864).
in the
The Traditions recorded

1318), which gives
1
Sahihu'l-Btikhdti
are quoted from the Faidul-Bdri (Lahore ed. A.H.
them with an Urdu
translation.
Literary Remains of Emmanuel Dcutch (ed. 1874), p. 70. This author is commonly called Mirkhund, which name I use.
PREFACE
I
Vll
refer
to
them under the name Bukhari.
The
Traditions recorded in the Jdmi'u't- Tirmidhi (Luck-
now own
ed. 1903) are referred to
under Tirmidhi,
My
to
Historical Development of the Qur'dn (3rd ed,
S. P. C. K.,
London and Madras),

In the case of
in
full.
I
refer
as
I
H.D. Our an.

give the
all
the other books
names
have used the Madras
edition (a.H. 1274) of the Mishkdtu'l-Masdbih
The
quotations from Ibn

Life
Hisham
is
are
a
made from Muir's

guarantee of their
of Mahomet, which
I
accuracy.
all
I
have adopted Rodwell's translation for
verses quoted from the Qur'an.
have not given an exposition of the dogmas of

it
Islam, as
does not
fall
within the scope of this
work.
in
have dealt exhaustively with that subject
my
Faith of Islam (3rd ed. S. P. C. K., London
and Madras).
In other books
I
have already written on some of

In such cases
the subjects contained in this one.

I
have not hesitated to use passages taken from
such writings of
my
own.
EDWARD
Madras,
January, 1913.
SELL,
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I
THE STATE OF ARABIA
Idolatry of the Arabs Jews and Christians Influence of Foreign States Rome, Persia, Abyssinia Need of a leader National
reli...
PAGE
gion a bond of unity
...
...
CHAPTER
Birth
of
II
YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD

with the Ban! Sa'd Visit Death of Amina Life with
Muhammad Early
infancy
to
Life Madina
his grandfather,
Mercantile journey to Syria The Fijar war Employed by Khadija Personal appearance Marriage with Khadija The Hanifs Weak situation and Zaid bin
political 'All
'Abdu'l-Muttalib Abu Talib as guardian-
Haritha
...
...
...
...
CHAPTER
Mount Hira
First
III
THE CALL TO PREACH
Various forms of inspiration revelation Muhammad's alarm and
CONTENTS
Fits anxiety
or swoons The Fatra Nature of revelation Further revelations Various views as regards Muhammad's claims, Muir, Koelle, Macdonald, Geiger
PAGE
Early
converts,
Haritha,
Abu
Bakr Call
Khadija,
*Ali,
to
preach The
...
Zaid
bin
house of al-Arqam as a place of refuge
24
CHAPTER
IV
PERSECUTION AT MECCA
Persecution by the Quraish Dissembling allowed Emigration to Abyssinia Indifferto
the message of the ence of the Meccans Prophet Abu Lahab denounced Suggested Deputation Abu Talib compromise and recovery IncreasingMuhammad's of the Quraish Fresh converts, anger Quraish severely denounced Hamza, 'Umar Rising courage of the Muslims Muslims the boycotted Muslims seek refuge Distress the Muslims Death of Shi'b Khadija Marriage with Sauda Death of Ta'if Abu Talib Muhammad Ta'if The Jinn Failure of Persecution
to
fall
in
of
retires to
at
work
at
Mecca
...
...
...
47
CHAPTER V
PREPARATION FOR FLIGHT
Thoughts of departure Pilgrims from Madina Mus'ab bin 'Umair First pledge of 'Aqaba
CONTENTS
XI
Madina The Mi'raj Mus'ab's sucAnother annual pilgrimage cess at Madina from Madina Muhammad meets pilgrims Pilgrims accept him Second pledge of 'Aqaba Importance of Madina Order given Muhamto Muslims to depart from Mecca mad and Abu Bakr follow Revelations of ... the Meccan period ... ...
sent to
PAGE
69
CHAPTER
MADINA AND
Entry
into
VI
ITS
PEOPLE
in
Madina The position The Immigrants (Muhajirun) The Helpers (Ansar) Bani Aws Bani Khazraj The Hypocrites (Munafiqun) Christians JewsThe charter of Muhammad Position of the Jews Revelations concerning the Jews Change of Qibla The Ramadan Changing policy Resentment against the
political
Madina
fast
Jews
...
...
...
...
84
CHAPTER
VII
EARLY GHAZWAS AND SARIYAS

Attacks on Meccan trading caravans Sariyas of 'Ubaida and of Sa'd Ghazwas of Abwa,
of Buwat, of 'Ushaira Sariya of Nakhla Defence and criticism Battle of Badr Importance of the battle of Badr Discussion as to who was responsible for the battle Assassination of Abu 'Afak Attack on the
Xll
CONTENTS
Qainuqa' Assassination of Ka b ibn Conflicting views Ashraf and of Abu on assassinations Zaid bin Haritha captures a Meccan caravan Battle of Uhud Defeat of the Muslims Revelations explain cause of the defeat Assassination of Sufyan bin Khalid Sariya Bir Ma'una Attack on
PAGE
Bam
Raft'
of
the
Bam
Nadir
...
...
...
108
CHAPTER
Marriage with Zainab
of
VIII
SOME DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
social
Revelations approving Restriction of Prophet's conduct intercourse Victory over the Bam Mustaliq Marriage with Juwaira Scandal
the
...
about Ayisha
...
...
152
CHAPTER
Meccans attack Madina
IX
Failure of the attack Quraiza besieged Good conduct Bani Aws Their intercession the as umpire His Muhammad chooses Sa'd verdict Massacre of the Jews Criticism of cruel act Notes on the apologies
SUPPRESSION OF THE JEWS
Ban!
of
fails
for
this
appointment of the umpire
...
...
160
CHAPTER X
THE CONQUEST OF ARABIA
Expedition of Zaid against the Bani Fazara
CONTENTS
XUl
Punishment of the Bani 'Arniyya Desire Muhammad's dream about to secure Mecca the Pilgrimage Pilgrims start Not allowed
to at
Encamp Hudaibiya enter Mecca Treaty with the Meccans Oath Rulers other lands summoned accept Islam Mary the Copt Marriage with Umm Habiba Attack on Khaibar Marriage with poison the Prophet Safiyya Attempt Pilgrims perform the 629 Pilgrimage Hajj ceremonies Marriage with Maimuna Converts made Sariya of Muta Attack Abu Sufyan Subon Mecca Conversion Destruction of mission of Mecca Ghazwa Ghazwa of Hunain Ta'if Birth of Divisions of the of Hunain the sword Ghazwa Ibrahim The verse Christians Najran CompulTabuk sion Jews and Christians Submission of Ta'if Abu Bakr and the people make the Hajj 631 The Pilgrimage of Ceremonies the Hajj ImFarewell
of fealty of
to
to
PAGE
of
of
idols
of
spoils
of
of
of
of
of
'Alt
of
of
portance of the Hajj
...
...
...
176
CHAPTER
The Sariya
of
XI
CLOSING DAYS
Prophet Address to
Last of the the Companions The Muhajirun and the Ansar Injunctions to the Companions Abu Bakr directed say the
Usama
illness
to
xiv
CONTENTS
public
sins
The
prayers
The
grief of
Pardon the Prophet's death the angel coming Death Muhammad's Fatima
of of
of
... ...
PAGE
work, character and true position
221
VERSES CITED FROM THE QUR'AN
233
THE
LIFE OF
MUHAMMAD
I
CHAPTER
CORRIGENDA
Page
1
note
xiv
CONTENTS
Pardon of the Prophet's public prayers The coming of the angel of death sins Fatima Death Muhammad's The
grief of
PAGE
work, character and true position
...
221
...
233
THE
LIFE OF
MUHAMMAD
I
CHAPTER
The
the
THE STATE OF ARABIA

Arabs adored many gods. 1
of
The
belief in the
influence
the
Jinn was common; yet above
was the Supreme One,

tells
Jinn, above all the gods in the Ka'ba, there Ma'sudi Allah, the God.
us
that
in
the
'
days
of ignorance
',
as pre-
Islamic
also
called, Quraish proclaimed the Unity of God, affirmed the existence of one Creator, and believed in the
times
are
some
of
the
resurrection
whilst
others
denied
the
existence
2
of prophets and were attached to idolatry. Many of the people looked upon the idols as intercessors
with
the
of
one
God.
Still
the
doctrine
of
the
1
Unity
God was
not
altogether
unknown
Suratu's-Saba' (xxxiv) 43 and Suratu Ya Sin (xxxvi) 5 show that they lived in heedlessness and needed a warner. For further
information on the religion of the Arabs. of Islam, pp. 379-80.
See The Encyclopaedia
Mu ruju 'dh-Dhahab
(ed.
Paris,
1864), vol.
iii,
pp. 256-7.
THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD

the Arabs.
It
to
was not something new which
Muhammad
rant
of
it.
brought to a people hitherto ignoThe Arabs, however, were not a
pious people, and the fear of Allah and the reverence of their numerous minor deities degener-
ated into a form of fetish worship. tious reverence for natural objects
The
led
superstito the
separating off of certain places as sacred. they lacked in devotion to the gods was
What
more
'
original
than made up for by devotion to the clan. The religious society was the kindred group
all
duties of kinship were part of religion.' 1 Infanticide was common, polygamy was practised and the moral condition was low.
and
a tolerant people and and Christians were allowed to Zoroastrians, Jews In South Arabia some settle down amongst them. tribes were largely Christian and had bishops and Their Christianity was churches of their own. weak and gave place to Judaism. The Jews then began a bitter persecution of the Christians, and
of the Abyssinians, over to the successful help of their The Jews, co-religionists remained in the land.
this
The Pagan Arabs were
led
to
the intervention
who coming
however, were
in
still
a numerous people, and
it
is
said that there were twenty tribes of Jewish origin In many cases they seem to Madina alone.
allies of
have been clients (Ahlaf) or

1
neighbouring
p.
Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites,
47.
THE STATE OF ARABIA
Arab tribes, to whom they looked for protection. These Jewish communities were industrious and They wealthy, with some reputation for learning. were, in fact, the most cultured people in Arabia. Their influence was considerable, and this would
have been a source of strength to them,
if
only
they had had the wisdom to see how important united action was in resisting the attacks made upon them. They failed in this respect and so were easily overcome in detail. They formed a
very important section of the community in
city of
*
the
Madina.
Christians
',
The Jews and

people of the
book
were known as the and some of the more in-
quiring minds at Mecca, as we shall hereafter see, gained much information from them, though it
was information largely derived from Talmudic and Apocryphal sources. Such, then, was the religious position in Arabia at the end of the sixth
century.
At the same period there was a serious
loss of
political power, and it seemed as if Arabia would soon become the possession of its powerful neigh-
bours.
The
inter-tribal
feuds
and the lack
of a
strong central
government and Abyssinian domination.
led to
Roman,
Persian
Roman
influence
was
strong in Northern Arabia, and in the year a.d. 610, the emperor Heraclius sent 'Uthman, formerly a Hanif, and now said to be a Christian,

be governor of Mecca. He failed to win the to the acceptance of a foreign rule and
to leave the city.
to
Meccans soon had

Abraha
The Abyssinians had

their leader
at
established themselves in
built
Yemen and
magnificent
cathedral
San'a.
of Abyssinia expressed the wish that it should be made the centre of a national religion and thus become the rival of Mecca. This so
The king
luted the cathedral.

stroy the
enraged the Pagan Arabs that one of them polAbraha then resolved to de-
Ka'ba and
set out
with a large army to
He himself rode on an elephant. capture Mecca. The year in which this took place was afterwards
known
the
as
'
the
year
of
the
elephant
'.
It
was
which Muhammad was born. The were defeated, according to the Arab Abyssinians historians, by a miraculous interposition of Proviyear
in
dence.
It
is
said that a large flock of birds
came
flying from the sea coast, each one carrying three These stones, one in each foot and one in its bill. stones they threw down on Abraha's men, killing Abraha died on his way back every one they struck.
to
San'a.
notes on Suratu'1-Fil
Sale gives the Tradition in full in his (cv) which thus describes it
:
in
And he sent against them birds in flocks, Clay stones did they hurl down upon them. 3-4.
As a matter
1
of
fact,
pestilence broke out

1
the Abyssinian camp, probably small-pox.

It is said that
the
word
'
'
'
al-hazabat
translated
clay stones
',
THE STATE OF ARABIA
The Abyssinian power which had lasted for seventy-five years then came to an end, for the people of Yemen, seeing the weakened state of
foreign rulers, applied to the Persians for aid to expel them. They responded to the call and, after a victory over the Christians, remained Thus themselves as rulers in Yemen and Hira.
their
States had encroached on Arabian terriand apparently there was no sufficient power tory
foreign
to
resist
them.
basis.
national
movement
required a
central authority, a
religious
leaders,
commanding personage, and a The tribal factions, the lack of

of
the Ka'ba precluded the realization of these important conditions.
and the idolatry
was such that, if the was to be saved, a had to take place. The hour was ripe for change A leader was needed who could unite the Arab it. tribes on a religious basis, and still preserve their
position of affairs then political existence of Arabia
The
conservative superstitious reverence for the Ka'ba
and the Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Such was the position when Muhammad was of an age to understand it, and it is no discredit to him to assume that he was a patriotic Arab, desirous to see his native land freed from her enemies and thus made united and strong. It seems more than likely that
also means 'pustules', the legend [Syed Amir
p.
and
'Ali,
this
may have been
the origin of
(ed.
The Life of
Mohammed
1873),
in
26].
This explanation
is
assumes that the statement

fact.
the
Qur'an
figurative,
and not a record of the actual

had some considerable
in-
the patriotic sentiment
fluence in shaping his life's work, and that his first idea was to found a national religion as a bond of
strength
and
unity,
rather than a
universal
one.
He
certainly at times made it clear that he viewed Islam as a religion co-ordinate with the religious
late in his career
systems of Judaism and Christianity. Even quite he seems to have fallen back on
earlier principles,
words
for
we
read in the Qur'an these
And
if
God had
pleased
He
had surely made you
all
one people, but He would test you by what He hath given to each. Verily, they who believe, and the Jews
and Sabians, and the Christians whoever of them believeth in God and in the last day, and doth what is Suratu'l-Ma'ida right, on them shall come no fear.
(v)
73.
This sentiment, however, was not the ruling one,

of co-ordinate religions gave place in time to the narrower one of the supremacy of Islam.
for the idea
Thus
It is He who hath sent His Apostle with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may exalt it above every religion. Suratu'1-Fath (xlviii) 27.
Whoso desireth any other religion than Islam, that religion will never be accepted from him, and in the Suratu All next world he shall be among the lost.
'Imran
(iii)
79.
The
mad
special Islamic rites were not fixed till Muhamhad become a political ruler in Madina, and
practically achieved his patriotic purpose.
had thus
CHAPTER
Muhammad,
the son of
II

'Abdu'llah and his young wife Amina, was born at Mecca in the year A.D.
'Abdu'llah died at Madina before his son was born. 2 He left very little property, a house, some camels and a slave girl called Baraka, who became a faithful attendant of the child. In due course Amina gave birth to a son 3 and sent the good news to his grandfather 'Abdu'l-Muttalib, who
570. 1
took the infant to the Ka'ba, gave thanks to
God
and
1
called the child
Muhammad.
There are various opinions as to the exact date. M. Caussin it was August 20, 570. M. de Sacy fixes it at but Perceval's date seems to be fairly correct. April 20, 571 See Muir, vol. ii, p. 14.
de Perceval says
;
This
is
the generally received view, but
after the birth of the
Prophet
(Paris ed.), vol.
iv, p.
some say that he died See Ma'sudf, Murufu' dh-Dhahab There are doubts about it.' 130, who says
'
:
t
'
3 For the traditional accounts of the marvels said to have accompanied Muhammad's birth, see Mirkhund, vol. ii, p. 23-5. These are not to be taken as sober historical facts and the author himself says 'The events of his lordship's life up to the time of the opening of his breast are narrated in voluminous books, composed by authors of former and of latter times down to our own day but "Allah knows what is correct." w>V ^ *^) 4 This word, which means 'the praised', is derived from hamd,
:
' ;
1^

It
was customary
for
in
Mecca
for
ladies
of the
better classes to
and
put their infants out to nurse, few days only Thuweiba, a slave in the household of Abu Lahab, attended to the
a
child.
About
this
time,
at
several
women
of
the
Bani Sa'd appeared

tain
infants to nurse.
Mecca with a view to obThey were averse to tak-
ing a fatherless child, as it was from the father they expected a good reward, but at last a woman,
named Halima, consented
to
do
so.
Muhammad passed his early infancy among the When two years old he was weaned Bani Sa'd.
and taken
to see his mother.
Amina was
so deson,
life.
1
lighted with the healthy appearance of her that she sent him back again to his desert
Two
years more passed by,
when an
event hapIt
is
pened which thoroughly alarmed

difficult to arrive at
Halima.
the real historical facts, owing mass of legendary matter which has grown up around the circumstance. Briefly told the acOne day Muhammad was count is as follows playing with other children, when two men descended from the sky, bringing a golden platter full of snow-water, laid him down, opened his breast, took from it a small black grain, washed the wound
to the
:
and
not
filled
it
with
light.
They then weighed him

are varieties of
(vol.
it.
praise.
Ahmad and Mahmud
The name was

30), places this
uncommon.
ii,
1 A Tradition recorded by Mfrkhund event tw years later.
p.
against ten men, then against five hundred, and then

against five thousand, but his weight preponderated Then said one Leave him alone, he over all.
'
:
would weigh more than the whole nation.' * This is the substance of what is related with 2 many embellishments. Halima and her husband were frightened. He thought that the lad had a case. fit, which was very probably the They determined to take him to Mecca, and to let Amina know about the wonderful events which had hapEvidently she guessed what may have pened. been in the mind of Halima, for she said: 'Didst She thou fear that a devil had possessed him ? 3 then went on to explain that such a thing could not happen to a child whose birth had been attended with marvels so great. At Amina's request,
1
Mirkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 29.
iv,
2
3
See Muruju' dh-Dh ahab (Paris ed.) vol.
Îky
pp. 131.
<sJlc
cs^&j^
life
Muir, vol.
ii,
p.
21.
at
Later on in
when comfort was needed
a time of deep
depression, God's favour shown in thus cleansing his heart gave It is probable that the traditional consolation to Muhammad. accounts of this event were in the Prophet's mind and led to the
revelation
:
not opened thine heart for thee ? thee thy burden, which galled thy back?
(xciv) 1-3.
Have we
And
taken off from Suratu'l-Insharah
Did we not enlarge it so that it is, or that we might contain truth and the desires of thy people might give to it wisdom, and put far away the narrowness of
Baidawi's comment on this
'
'
'
ignorance.'
Vol.
ii,
p. 466.
10

to take the child
Halima consented
again, but
'
to to
the
desert
after
she had attended

occasionally
at this,
him one
year
more
sight.
his
lordship
disappeared
from
Getting alarmed
to
again mother.' *
him
Halima took Mecca and restored him to his

about six years old he
When Muhammad was

went with
tives in
mother to pay a visit to their relaMadina. The faithful nurse-maid Baraka

his
'
house
was with them. They stayed a month in the His maternal where Abdu'llah had died.
were,
no doubt, delighted to see Amina and her son, who long years after, when he came to reside in Madina, recalled with pleasure the
relatives
He rememberevents of his stay there as a child. ed the house in which he had then stayed with
his
mother. 2
The
recollection
of that visit,
and
the fact that he had relatives there

as his residence
may have been
some amongst other reasons why he chose Madina when he could no longer remain in Mecca. On the way back to Mecca Amina died at a place called Abwa'. This was a great
blow
thus
:
to
the lad.
He
refers
to
his
orphan state
Did he not find thee an orphan and gave them a home? Suratu'dh-Dhuha (xciii) 6.
1
Mfrkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 30.
Muddn'ju'n-Nabuwat,
vol.
i,
p. 497.

That home he found with
'Abdu'l-Muttalib,
11
his kind grandfather
now
eighty
years
of
whom
the lad
was
still
nurse Baraka
had charge
:
a great favourite. of him,
age, with The faithful
and Tradi-
tion records that the old
man used
'
to charge her to
Beware lest thou let take great care of him saying of the Jews and Christians, him fall into the hands for they are looking out for him and would injure
him.'
extremely improbable that they knew about him, and the Tradition evidently anything
*
It is
arose from a desire to
show the
affectionate care
'Abdu'l-Muttalib bestowed on his grandson. Two years of his boyhood thus passed under the care of
head of the clan, occupied a commanding position and who, by his liberality, had won the esteem of his friends and neighbours.
one
who, as the
It
was
Then
his
grief
good training for the future leader. and sorrow came to Muhammad, for
grandfather
who
loved
him
so
well
passed
away.
'Abdu'l-Muttalib before his decease appointed his son Abu Talib as guardian of his grandson. Abu It is Talib executed his office kindly and well.
for
recorded that, 'on account of the great love he bore Muhammad, he could not allow him to be absent
for a single
from him
moment.
During the night
See Kdtibu' l-Wdqidi

ii,
p. 22,
and Ibn Hishdm,
p. 35,
quoted by
Muir, vol.
p. 29.
12

in the
he made him sleep by his side, and 1 fed him with delicious food.'
day he
twelve years of age Muhammad went with In his uncle on a mercantile journey to Syria. connexion with this journey the biographers re-
When
cord a marvellous event to show that

future
career
was
foreseen
at
monk,
called
Bahira,
Muhammad's They relate how once recognized Mu.
from a description of him given in a book Bahira questioned him in the monk's possession. I adjure thee by Lat and 'Uzza to answer thus
hammad
'
:
my
questions.'
Muhammad
then
'
replied
Do
not adjure by these for I hate them.' Bahira Then followed many I ask thee by Allah.' replied other questions and, as Bahira found the answers
'
:
me
correct,
he further searched for the
'seal of prophecy',
left
and
found a mark,
probably a cicatrice
after
cupping during his illness in his boyhood. This mark he declared to be a true sign of prophetship, and advised Abu Talib to send him home at once. A serious blood feud now broke out between the
3
Quraish
and the Bani Hawazin.
Muhammad was
Mfrkhund,
2
3
vol.
ii,
p. 30.
full
The
given by Mfrkhund, vol. ii, p. 31. Quraish were a branch of the Bani Kinana. Kinana had
account
is
from one of whom descended Fihr (b. a.d. 200), surnamed The word is derived from karush, Quraish (Muir, vol. cxcvi). to trade, because Fihr and his descendants were devoted to commerce. Syed Amir 'Ali, p. 61.
six sons
'
'

present
13
the battles, though he does not appear to have taken a very This war, known active part in the actual fighting. as the Fijar war, lasted some four years and was
his
with
uncles
at
some
of
finally settled
by the payment of
diyat,
or
blood-
money.
at the
It is probable that the contests for eloquence annual gathering at 'Ukaz and the varied
to
scenes of mercantile journeys were more attractive Muhammad than the episodes of the Fijar war.
Soon after 1 the conclusion of this war, a confederacy was formed at Mecca, called the Hilfu'l-Fuzul, for the maintenance of order and the execution of justice. There was no strong central authority in Mecca, able to punish wrong doers and to protect the innocent. Muhammad was a prominent member of this association, which appears to have done good and ? useful work. were carried In Mecca many trades on and on all imports a tax was levied. Its shopkeepers were prosperous and its merchants sent their caravans far and wide. The prosperity of Mecca largely depended on the safety with which these mercantile caravans could come and go a fact well
;
known
to
Muhammad.
with
great
knowledge
In later years he used this effect. Muhammad often
1 The K&tibu'l-Wdqidi (Muir, vol. month after the conclusion of the
i,
p.
10)
says
;
Fijar
war
it was formed Syed Amir 'AH
(p. 77)
2
places
it
after
at
Muhammad
Muhammad's marriage with Khadfja. one time entered into a trade partnership with
Al-Athir, quoted in Arnold's
Kais binu'l-Sa'ib.
Ishmail
p. 60.
14
accompanied these caravans and in this way he gained a good deal of desultory information, which was added to what he gathered from intercourse This contact with Arabians, Christians and Jews.
with different
men
in various lands
helped to create
or improve in him a knowledge of men, and the capacity to form a rapid judgement about them.
His time when not on these journeys was spent in tending sheep and goats in the surrounding region,
and thus he earned something

uncle.
for his
now needy
his
Abu Talib was
not
rich
man, and as
to
find
family increased it was necessary other more permanent occupation for his nephew so, when Muhammad was about twenty-five years
;
some
of age, his uncle told him that he was now poor. He then said Khadija bint Khuwailad, a wealthy
'
lady,
gives
her wares
of
to
several
individuals,
profit.
If
on
condition
requestest
thee.'
2
her
receiving to send
half
the
to
thou
will,
thee
trade,
she
considering thy great honesty, probably not refuse
The
for
request was
'
:
made and
in
due course Khaart inclined
dija replied
have heard that thou
commerce, and on
account of thy truthfulness,
good behaviour, uprightness and perfect honesty,

1
p. 500.
2
ajÛi o-n-^j^> ,JV* \y* Muddriju'n-Nabuivat, The Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 109.

vol.
ii,
vol.
i,
Mirkhund,
p. 32.

I
15
will give thee

1
double the property which

of the
en-
trust to other
with.'
men
Quraish
tribe
to
trade
a compact was made and in due course the caravan took the usual route to Syria.
Thus
2
how Muhammad on this jourmonk, named Nastur, and a both of whom, it is said, bore testimony to Jew his future career as a prophet. Though the marvelTradition
records
ney meet
;
with
lous events connected with this circumstance have
no historical value, there is no doubt Muhammad met many Christians and Jews on this journey, and received kindness at their hands which he afterwards gracefully acknowledged. 3
It
is
to
be
regretted
that
this
kindly feeling
was not permanent 4 and that the form of Christianity with which Muhammad was now brought into contact was one so debased and superstitious. Muir says Instead of the simple majesty of the as a revelation of God reconciling mankind Gospel
' :
to
Himself
through
zeal
His son, the sacred

of
dogma
with
of the Trinity the misguided

1
was forced upon the

Eutychian
traveller
and Jacobite
vol.
i,
See Mirkhund, vol.
ii.
32;
Muddriju'n-Nabuwat,
p. 500.
2 3
Mirkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 33.
Thou
(i.
them
shalt certainly find those to be nearest in affection to 'We are Christians.' This e. to Muslims) who say:
because some of them are priests and monks and because they are free from pride. Suratu'l-Ma'ida (v) 85.
4
Suratu't-Tauba
(ix)
30.
16
partisanship, and the worship of Mary was exhibited in so gross a form, as to leave upon the mind of Muhammad the impression that she was
a god, if not the third person and * the consort of the Deity.' The commercial result of this mercantile journey
held to
be
was very successful, and Khadija lost her heart to the handsome young trader who had attended She was possessed of a to her interests so well. considerable fortune, and was a lady of high charShe had received acter and pleasing manners.
and declined
offers of
2
marriage from
many
of the
Now through a faithful Quraish clan. she let Muhammad know of her preference
him.
servant
for
The
Traditions give a very
full
account of
habits,
Muhamdress,
his food,
mad's personal appearance, and the details of
his his
his
From daily life. them we gather that in the prime of manhood he was handsome, rather above the middle height, with
His head was large with a broad and open chest. a lofty brow, his jet black hair was slightly curly
and fell down were long and
to
his
shoulders.
finely arched,
eyebrows and the heavy eye-
His
lashes covered large black piercing eyes.

^luir, vol.
2
ii,
The nose
p. 19.
cl& jijj? u^f- iMj* ^-*r*^ 6jj& Jj-.* si^j Muddriju'n-Nabuwat, vol. i, p. 500. Tabarf, p. 1129 \^l= L*^ jLiy J^> j^;

was
aquiline,
17
the teeth white and regular, and a
long black beard added dignity to his appearance. He walked with His skin was clear and soft.
As a rule he was tacibut hasty step. and reserved, but in congenial company he turn could unbend and enter into the social pleasures of his friends. He was simple in his habits and He abhorred in the matter of dress and food. He was fond drinks but loved perfumes. strong
a
firm
of children,
sympathetic
with
those
in
trouble,
and kind and considerate to his friends and family. His passions were strong though he had the power of self-control. To his opponents, so long A handas they resisted him, he was vindictive. some man, kindly in disposition, except to his
foes
;
man
with a high resolve,
strong will
and a determination to achieve his purpose at all costs, it is no wonder that Khadija fell in love with him, and that the attachment of his followers was strong and lasting.
Khadija took her cousin Waraqa into her confidence and told him how on the journey just concluded a monk had foretold Muhammad's prophetship, and that angels had overshadowed him.
Waraqa then
said
'
:
If this
be true then
of
this
Muhamnation.'
mad
The
will
become
the
Prophet
his position
if authoritative, shows that already was such that a career out of the ordinary course was looked upon as probable. His
Tradition,
18
marriage with Khadija, the command of wealth, and the higher social position thus gained would
still
more prepare the minds

future
position
for
of his friends for
an
exalted
him.
The
marriage
child very happy was a son named Qasim, who died when two years Then came four daughters, Zainab, Ruqayya, old. Fatima and Umm Kulthum. The youngest child,
proved
one.
The
first-born
son
named 'Abd Menaf,
died in
his
infancy.
The
held
general esteem in which Muhammad is seen from the following incident.
was
The
walls of
the
violent flood,
Ka'ba 2 were seriously injured by a and it was necessary to rebuild them.

until the
The work proceeded harmoniously

were
black
raised
to
walls
such
be
height
in
that
the
famous
stone
could
placed
position.
its
Then
to
disputes arose, for each clan asserted
right
do such a sacred work.

1
So great and dangerous

is
On
Khadija once
children,
said they
the authority of 'Ali a Tradition asked about the present
condition
recorded stating that of her two
who
were
died
before
in hell,
The Prophet the days of Islam. but that her children born after Islam,
in paradise.
that
2
is,
his children,
ed.,
would be
Mishkdtu' l-Masdbih
(Madras
A.H. 1274), p. 23.
is an oblong massive stone building, eighteen paces fourteen broad and about thirty-five feet high. At the southlong, the black stone which is probaeast corner is the Hajru'l-Aswad
The Ka'ba
bly an
aerolite.
Its
existence
is
as
an
object of
relic
worship in an
of
iconoclastic religion
an anomaly and a
paganism in
the very heart of Islam.
3 O
a.
u o o
< E
19
was the dispute that for several days the re-buildAt last the Quraish ing was stopped altogether. met to settle the dispute. Abu Ummaiya then said: 'O Quraish hearken unto me!' My advice is
that the
shall be chosen to degate of cide the difference amongst you, or himself to place the stone. Just then Muhammad entered through
man, who chances the Bani Shaiba,
first
to enter in at the
the gate.
faithful
The
1
parties exclaimed
'
:
Muhammad
we
the
one (al-Amin) has arrived,

'-
abide by his
decision
It
was not easy
to give
one which
suc-
would
satisfy
all
the parties, but
Muhammad
ceeded well.
He spread his shawl upon the ground, placed the stone on it, and called for four men one from each tribe. Four men stepped forth, took
up the shawl, and conveyed the stone to the eastern corner of the wall of the Ka'ba, and so placed it
there that the pilgrims could easily kiss
it
as they
passed by on foot. We have already seen that Muhammad in his journeys had gained some elementary knowledge of Judaism and Christianity, and now in Khadija's house he was brought into contact with a small
body
.
of ardent
patriots
Uli
and reformers known as

6tt\
^^^\
\Xib
\\i &j\j
i,
ft
^L>
J^
Âcl
Jô
^J
Tabari, Series
.
vol.
iii,
p. 1138.
^*aA>w*
<?tz* \f"\
U*î
^_>b
0,\ j
J A
&**+&>
<*&*\
tf&A *x**~*
Mirkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 34.
20

1
the Hanifs.
faith'
The word Hanif means sound

the Qur'an
is
'
in the
and
in
2 applied to Abraham.
Zaid and his friends said that they wished to follow

the religion of Abraham, and to desire its adoption. It is supposed that Muhammad received this idea
from
them.
Madina, and
Certainly just before the flight to also in that city, he did assert that
the religion of Abraham was the true one, and that he was sent to confirm it and to urge men to But whefollow the faith of Abraham, the Hanif.
ther this view of the case
came
to
Muhammad's
or
mind from his Hanif friends in Khadija's home, was a much later development at Madina is a
3
subject on which scholars differ. The future careers of some of the leading Hanifs Ubaidu'llah ibn Jahsh accepted is interesting.
Islam but, when the Meccans persecuted the Muslims, he fled to Abyssinia and there embraced
Waraqa ibn Naufal, if he did Christianity; not actually embrace Christianity, was favourable
J
Muir
(p.
(vol.
mad
hammad
ii, p. 66) quotes from Sprenger's Life of MuhamTabarf informs us that when Mu100) the following first entered on his office, even his wife Khadfja had
' :
read the Scriptures and was acquainted with the history of the But this is taken from a Persian translation of Tabarf, prophets.'
and
2
is
.
not in the Arabic.

<JU-~i\3
It
reads thus
ÛîLo j*- j *>y sa>^ (*"H W*^? &*s<^ Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 129; Suratu Ali 'Imran (iii) 60, 89; SuraSuratu'n-Nahl (xvi) 121. tu'1-An'am (vi) 79, 162
&>
;
For a
full discussion
on
this point, see
The Hanifs
(C.L.S.).

to
it
2
;
21
'Uthman
to
bin Huwairis
establish
became a Christian,
and
sought Mecca. He
became
the aid of the
Roman
authority in Governor of the city by Emperor, but the Meccans
central
feared that 'Uthman's mild rule would bring them under the yoke of the Roman or Abyssinian
and so drove him away Zaid ibn Amr Hanif all his days. He protested the idolatry of the Meccan people, and against so roused their anger that he was obliged to leave the city and take up his abode at Mount Hira. After passing some time there in solitude and meditation, he died and was buried at the foot of the Mount. He had great influence over Muhammad, who then and ever afterwards held him in
sovereigns,
;
remained
high
esteem.
No
doubt
these
men, and others
like-minded, often held counsel together about the
degraded state of Arab society.

idolatry
failed relied
The abounding
situation
and the would be subjects

to
weakened
of
political
deep
regret.
'Uthman had
establish
central
;
on a foreign Power
authority, for he yet such central rule
was necessary. Obviously it must be more strictly national, and must recognize the central sanctuary of the Ka'ba as the unifying force. How to do
âbarf, quoted by Muir (vol. ii, p. 51) says that he had embraced Christianity, had read the Scriptures and had listened to Jews and Christians.
22
this
it

'
and yet abolish the idolatry connected with The Jews, the Christians, was the problem. the Magians, the Sabians, had all one thing which the Arabs had not, a legislator who had acted as a divine commissioner. None of the members of these sects hesitated a moment when asked what code he followed, or from whom it emanated
;
Moses, Jesus, Zoroaster, St. John the Baptist they would severally and immediately reply, but whom
did the worshippers of Hubal, al-Lat and al-'Uzza follow ? No one at all yet each nation ought
. . .
to have a leader.
for a prophet.'
1
Here then was an opportunity
The
preparation for his approach
was now drawing

with
close, and soon a prophet, personal force and great political sagacity, was to appear with a definite message to the
to a
much
Arab people.
Abu Talib was now very poor and Muhammad, who loved him very much, thought that it would
be a
relief to
him,
if
two
of his sons
were adopted
'Abbas,
a
posiin
by adopted
his wealthier relatives.

Ja'far,
rich uncle,
and Muhammad, now
tion of affluence,
took charge of 'Ali, a lad then five or six years old. Their affection for each other grew in strength as the years rolled on, and
Ali,
one of the
its
earliest converts to Islam,
became
one of
most renowned
1
leaders.
Margoliouth,
p.
73.

his
23
Another faithful follower was now received into

household.
tribe
the noble
Zaid bin Haritha, a member of of the Bani Kalb, when quite a
young child, one day was taken by his mother to pay a visit to her own tribe. On the way they were captured by some Arab robbers, who put the lad up for sale at 'Ukaz, when he was bought by Khadija. She presented him to her husband. Sometime after, Zaid's father chanced to hear of his son's welfare and came to Mecca to see him. Mu-
He gave Zaid permission to go or stay. elected to remain with his kind master. Delighted with his answer, Muhammad publicly declared that he should be his son and heir. The slave now
became a
free
hammad
man,
and was
called
shall
Zaid
bin
Muhammad.
was an
Later on, as
convert
we
see,
he had
to revert to his old
name Zaid
ibn Haritha.
He
and followed his master's early fortunes to Madina. There were many Christians in the tribe from which Zaid came and, though he had left his home when young, he doubtless was able to give some information about their views and practice to his master. He married
Muhammad's
faithful nurse Baraka.
CHAPTER
III
THE CALL TO PREACH

It appears to have been the custom of many of the Meccans in the month of Ramadan to retire
to
cave
in
Mount
Hira,
situated about three
has
miles from the city, to practise Tahannuth, which been described as a kind of penance. 1 In Mecca Muhammad had to conform to the worship
and al-'Uzza; here, where Zaid bin Amr meditated on higher and purer things, Muhammad
of al-Lat
could
and was
ibn
his
ponder over the many religious topics he friends had talked about. Mount Hira
also the permanent abode of the Hanif, Zaid Amr, and the prospect of intercourse with one whom Muhammad respected so much was doubt 1 Dr. Koelle, on the authority of Ibn Hisham, who comments on Ibn Ishaq's statement that Muhammad went to do penance, says that it was an Arab custom to pronounce the final letter of Tahannuth as f, i.e. Tahannuf, which would mean Hanifism. Thus, it would refer rather to the contemplation of, or the practice of the true faith ', which with Zaid and the Hanif s was pure Deism, as opposed to the idolatry of the Meccans (p. 62). In the Mishkdtu l-Mascibih (p. 842) Tahannuth is said to mean
'
worship.
THE CALL TO PREACH

less
if
25
an additional attraction to
time
of
the
thoughts
came
into his
In any case, it. was spent in ascetic observances, a more spiritual religion doubtless In doing this he was not domind.
ing something out of the common, but simply following a practice common with the more religious Quraish, 1 to whom a change from a confined
city
to
the purer
exercises.
mountain
It
is
air
was
suitable
to
for
religious
a mistake
pourtray
Muhammad
as retiring from his family, going forth
alone as an ascetic, and enduring
many
hardships.
2
The Khadija and his family went with him." cave itself was small but they could live near
The scenery around Mount Hira was wild. There was harmony between the desert scenes of external nature and the troubled chaotic elements of the spiritual world within.' Burckhardt thus describes it The country before us had a dreary
by.
'
'
aspect, not a single green spot being visible barren, black and grey hills, and white sandy valleys were the only objects in sight.' It is possible that the
;
exercises.
'
His grandfather Abu Muttalib used to go there for religious Al-Athir, quoted in Arnold's Ishmael, p. 62.
2 Every year the month of Ramadan, he spent with his family on the Mount of Hira' Syed Amir 'Ali, Life of Mohammed (ed.
1873), p. 33.
Mirkhund
(vol.
ii,
p.
38) describes
evil,
how
in terror
such as soothsaying or madness had come upon him, Muhammad went out from the cave to commit suicide, Khadija at once sent messengers to find
the
first
when
revelation came, lest
some
him, so she also must have been at
Mount
Hira.
26

:
reminiscence of this view suggested the words that on the mountains are Seest thou not tracks of varied lines, white and red, and others of a raven black. Suratu'l-Fatir (xxxv) 25.
. . .
One day when Muhammad
slept
in the
cave
Gabriel appeared in the form of a man and delivered this message commencing thus
:
Recite thou, in the name of thy Lord, Created man from clots of blood.
It
who
created
Suratu'l-'Alaq (xcvi) 1-2.
may
be well to introduce here an account of
the various forms in which the inspiration (wahi) of the Qur'an is said to have come upon him. The
Qur'an
is
written from
believed to be in the very words of God, all eternity on the preserved table
brought by Gabriel
in the
'
It was then in the month of (al-lauhu'1-mahfuz). Ramadan, on the Lailatu'1-Qadr the night of power
to the lowest
heaven and there
stored up Temple of Majesty ', from whence during a series of years the angel brought it, in smaller or larger portions as occasion required, to
Muhammad.
is
The modes
in
thus described
was brought the Muddriju'n-Nabuwat (pp.

in
which
it
508-10).
1. It is recorded, on the authority of 'Ayisha, that a brightness like the brightness of the mornAccording to some ing came upon the Prophet.
commentators this brightness remained six months, and in some strange way Gabriel through this brightness made known the will of God.
THE CALL TO PREACH

2.
27
1
Gabriel appeared in the form of Duhayya, one of the Companions of the Prophet, renowned At times the for his beauty and gracefulness.
angelic
nature
of
Gabriel
overcame
Muhammad,
This
who was
then translated to the angelic world.
happened when the revelation was one of bad news, such as denunciations or predictions of woe. When the message brought by Gabriel was one of consolation
and comfort, the human nature of the Prophet overcame the angelic nature of the angel, who, in such case, having assumed a human form, proceeded
to deliver the message.
3.
2
The Prophet heard

bell.
at times the
noise of
the tinkling of a
it,
He
alone could distinguish
and through it the words which Gabriel wished him to understand. When his ear caught the frame became agitated. On the sound his whole
coldest
day the perspiration,

roll
like
beads of
silver,
glorious brightness of his countenance gave place to a ghostly hue, whilst the way in which he bent his head show-
would
down
his face.
The
ed the intensity of the emotion through which he was passing. If riding, the camel on which he sat would fall to the ground. The Prophet one day,
1
The commentators bring

'
this alleged fact
forward as an
illustra-
tion of the verse,
And if we had appointed an angel, we should certainly have appointed one in the form of a man.' Suratu'l-An'am (vi) 9. 2 See Mfrkhund (vol. ii, pp. 36-8) for the traditional account of
what took
place.
28
when
reclining with his head on the lap of Zaid, heard the well-known sound. Zaid too knew that
something unusual was happening, for so heavy became the head of Muhammad that it was with the greatest difficulty he could support the weight.
4.
At the time of the Mir'aj, or night as-
cent
heaven, God spoke to the Prophet without the intervention of an angel. It is a disinto
puted point whether the face of the

seen or not.
5.
Lord was
God sometimes appeared

will.
placing his
in a dream, and on the Prophet's shoulders made hands
known His
6.
angels, having each six hundred and brought the message from God. wings, appeared 7. Gabriel, though not appearing in bodily the wahi form, and not delivering a verbal message
Twice
mode of
so inspired the mind inspiration
of the Pro-
phet, that the words he uttered under the influence This is technically called of Gabriel were divine.
ilqa,
to
and is said to be the degree of inspiration which the Traditions belong. It is said that Muhammad was honoured as no other prophet ever was, by sometimes receiving communications direct from the Treasury of below the throne of God. The first reveMercy'
'
lation
1
came
in the cave at
Hira.
When
Gabriel
On
this occasion,
he use
of
Gabriel is said to have taught the Prophet wadu, or ceremonial ablutions, and the proper way of
THE CALL TO PREACH

came and
'
'
'
29
said,
am
not
Recite \ His Lordship answered, Gabriel squeezed him so a reciter'.

his
hard that he thought

again said,
'Recite'.
death
was
near,
and
receiving the same anthe angel again pressed the body of his holy swer,
On
and prophetic Lordship. Thrice this was done, and thrice the command was given
:
Recite thou in the name of thy Lord who created Created man from clots of blood. Recite thou for thy Lord is the most Beneficent, Who hath taught the use of the pen,
!
Hath taught man
that
which he knoweth
not.
Suratu'l-'Alaq (xcvi) 1-5.
When Muhammad awoke

Then
from
his
trance
he
was much alarmed. Khadija, knowing what had happened., and hearing him say that he feared that he was mad, took him to Waraqa bin Nauful and said 2 O cousin, listen to Muhammad and hear what he is saying.' Waraqa replied: 'O! my brother's son what hast thou seen?'
'
:
making the
rak'at,
or prostrations,
in
the namaz.
The
ritual
has thus acquired the sanctity of a divine command.
Mudariju'ncould read for

is
Nabuwat,
1
vol.
i,
p. 505.
This of
itself
does not show that

'recite',
Muhammad
voice said,
xl.
the
word means
and
in the
'
cognate dialects
used for
crying out as a prophet.
Thus
cry?'
The
Cry
NH^
came
and
he
said,
What
shall
(Isa.
probably heard on his journeys some such he had met, and now in a time of intense emotion
Muhammad had phrase from Jews, whom

6).
it
to his
memory.
2
See Macdonald, Aspects of Islam,

i,
p. 65.
Tabarf, series
vol. hi, p. 1147.
30

'
told him what had happened. on hearing the account said This is Waraqa the Namus 1 which God sent down upon Moses.' In connexion with the curious phenomena just
:
Then Muhammad
described,
it
is
supposed that
Muhammad
suffered
some kinds of fits. Professor Macdonald That he was subject to fits of some kind says can be open to no doubt. That he was possessed
from
' :
by a Jinn for him, with his beliefs, an evil spirit was his first thought, and only gradually did he come to the conviction that this was divine inspi2 ration, and not diabolical obsession.' Margo-
The notion current among Christian liouth says writers that he was subject to epilepsy finds curious
' :
confirmation in the notices recorded of his experiences during the period of revelation.' 3 On the
other hand, Margoliouth points out that some of the severe signs of epilepsy biting of the tongue and
'
gradual degeneration of the brain

Muir,
' :
were
wanting.'
periods,
speaking of
Muhammad's
ecstatic
Whether they were simple reveries of prosays found meditation, or swoons connected with a morbid excitability of the mental or physical condition or in fine were connected with any measure
it
Namus
say that
2 3
*
is probably vofxo<; the Law; but commentators usually means Gabriel. Macdonald, The Religious Attitude and Life in Islam, p. 33.
Margoliouth,
Ibid., p. 46.
p. 46.
THE CALL TO PREACH

of supernatural influence Professor determine.' *
31
question as to
it would be difficult to Macdonald discusses the whether Muhammad had the means
'
of bringing on the ecstatic condition.' Muslim writers do not admit this theory of
fits,
yet the phenomena which accompanied the production of revelations needs some explanation. Waqidi
At the time of inspiration anxiety pressed 3 his countenance was troubled.' A Tradition, recorded on the authority of Abu Salma
says
:
'
upon him and
bin 'Abdu'r-Rahman, states

'
that,
when much
agi-
Cover me with a cloth. tated, he said to Khadija, Then they covered him with a cloth, and sprinkled
him 4 which seems to imply that a fit of some kind was coming on. Then followed a period known as the Fatra when no revelation came. The duration of the
cold water on
'
period of intermission probably lasted about three
was
though some authorities place it at less. It a time of deep mental depression, which is thus referred to His holy and prophetic Lordyears,
'
:
ship
became so melancholy that he intended on

throw himself down from the
several occasions to
1
Muir, vol.
ii,
p. 87.
The subject is discussed in Macdonald's The Religious Attitude and Life in Islam, pp. 68-9.
3
4c*j
*
^
Mjs
s\
6i
s-*^= <_r^
^^
jjb Îc Mishkatu'l-Musdbih,
Jy
Muir, vol.
ii,
p. 87.
Jji'JJ i^*)>3 cs^lai

p. 846.
32

Each
'
top of the mountain.
time, however Gabriel
appeared and said

other occasion
"
:
O Muhammad
*
thou art indeed
the Prophet of Allah."
It is said that,
on an-
when borne down with

of
sorrow, he
went out with the intention
committing suicide.
Then he looked up and saw Gabriel sitting on a throne, suspended midway between earth and heaven. He was much agitated and hastening home said 2 The reveCover me with a cloth.' to Khadija
'
:
lations then
re-commenced with the words

enwrapped
!
O Thou
!
in thy
mantle
Arise and warn
The Lord
magnify him
came
in
Suratu'l-Mudaththir (lxxiv) 1-3.
The
this
revelations
for,
regular
it,
succession after
as
Bukhari puts
'inspiration
became
warm'. 3
the
The general opinion is that Gabriel was medium of these revelations, though it is only
in the
once stated
Qur'an that
it
was
so.
Thus:
For it is he Say, who is the enemy of Gabriel. who by God's leave hath caused the Qur'an to descend
on thy heart.
are
Suratu'l-Baqara
to
(ii)
91.
Other references
:
the
revelation
of the
Qur'an
book
Verily, from the
Lord
of the worlds hath this
come down
Mirkhund, vol. ii, p. 38. 2 Sahihu'l-Bukhdri (ed Leyde,

3
1862), vol.
i,
p. 2.
^}\
^j*^
Ibid., vol.
i,
p. 16.
THE CALL TO PREACH

The
with
it.
33
Faithful Spirit (Ruh'1-Amin) hath Suratu'l-Shu'ara' (xxvi) 192-3.
come down
The Qur'an is no other than a revelation, One terrible in power (Shadidu'1-Quwa) taught
him.
it
Suratu'n-Najam
(liii)
4-5.
The Holy Spirit (Ruhu'1-Quds) hath brought it down with truth from the Lord. Suratu'n-Nahl (xvi)
104.
Baidawi in his commentary on these verses says that the Faithful Spirit, the Shadidu'1-Quwa, and the Ruhu'1-Quds all refer to Gabriel, and this is
the general view of the commentators. The use of the word taught in the quotation from Sura liii, and the use of the word recite
'
'
'
'
in Suratu'l-Qiyamat
(lxxv)
18-19,
it,
When we
recital,
have recited
afterwards
it
then follow
thou the
And,
verily,
shall
be ours to
make
it
clear to thee.
show
that the
Qur'an
is
entirely an
and that Muhammad was recited it, and simply recited what was to him, or in some other objective way made known Ibn Khaldun, one of the greatest of Musto him. lim historians, says Of all the divine books, the Qur'an is the only one of which the text, words, and phrases have been communicated to a prophet
velation,
objective rethe passive
recipient of
'
by an audible voice.
It
is
otherwise
with
the
Pentateuch, the Gospels, and the other divine books; the prophets received them under the form of ideas.' 1
1
Les Prolegomenes, d'ibn Khaldun
(ed. Paris, 1863), vol.
i,
p. 195.
34

to this the curious belief that the
Add
stood
eternal
and uncreated, 1 and
how
Qur'an is can be easily undersuch a mechanical view of inspiration

it
has tended
the
to hinder intelligent criticism,
and
to
bind Islam to the dead letter of a book.

It
all
is
universal
belief
that
Muhammad
in
words and deeds was divinely inspired by a subjective method, and that, therefore, such words and deeds form a Sunna, or divine rule
his
of faith
and
all
practice, for all
Muslims
in
all
lands
In order to enter intelligently into the history of the Prophet's life, and to understand his influence upon men it is necessary to
for
and
time.
bear in mind these two forms of inspiration objective in the Qur'an, the subjective in
the the
a
Sunna
*
both
forming
life,
for
those
who
believe
sacred rule of
and a standard
of practice.
The " Prophet " or " Apostle " [at different times he (Muhammad) employed both the Jewish and the
was the divinely appointed diccommunity if he were not obeyed divine vengeance would overtake the disobedient. This is the theory of the prophetic office which
Christian phrase]
his
tator of
pervades the Qur'an, wherein the doctrine is formulated that every nation had its divine guide and
that
1
Mecca before Muhammad's time had

was denied by the
Mu'tazilis.
none.'
This
See Faith of Islam,
{3rd ed.), pp. 212-17.

2
Encyclopedia Britannica
(1911), vol. xvii, p. 401.
THE CALL TO PREACH

It
35
may
be
convenient
position with
at
this
stage
to
give
some account
of the various views held as regards
Muhammad's
reference to his claim
to be an inspired apostle, and of his mental condition at this critical period of his life. There are
three
well-defined
views
taken
by
men,
good
oriental scholars,
who speak with

of time
authority on the
Sir
subject. 1. First
in order
stands
William
Muir, whose Life of Mahomet, first published in 1861, still ranks as a standard book on the subject.
be thus summarized. He was a man temperament and when meditating on great matters of religious moment, especially in his retirement at Mount Hira, was engaged in an
His view
may
of impulsive
earnest struggle for truth. 1 Brooding over the sad spiritual condition of his native land, he unburdened
mind in rhapsodies which often assume the 2 character of soliloquies. In these he reflected upon the state of Arabia and so was led to much distress
his
and perplexity of mind. have seen how the visions he saw, and the words he said he heard, so
affected his bodily frame, that he even feared that
We
they might
(Genii),
arise,
from the influence of the Jinn

evil
spirits.
or
from
Is
this
the
result
in
of
1
the
imagination
that
or
Suras
has
i,
it
any foundation
Muir considers
Such are Suras
c,
ciii
probably pourtray his
mental condition
2
at this time.
xci, xcii, xcv, ci, civ, cvi.
36
fact
?

Sir
W. Muir
thinks the latter possible.
He
(vol. ii, p. 96) to draw a parallel between the temptation of Jesus Christ, tempted to seek spiritual and lawful ends by unlawful means and Muhammad's temptation to make a comproIn Muir's mise between religion and the world. Muhammad fell, and the result was a opinion
then proceeds
'
politico-religious
combination
spirituality,
system, forming the very closest imaginable between worldliness and

evil.'
between good and
The
life
at
The view is then exhibits this tendency. tentatively put forward that Satan, for the purpose
Madina
of misleading
Muhammad, may have assumed

of light.
the
form of an angel
2.
Dr. Koelle, an oriental scholar who spent a long life in the east, does not endorse the above He considers that the patriotic sentiment view.
was a very important factor Islam, and argues with much

this view.
in
force
the inception of in support of
have already described the almost hopeless political state of Arabia at the close of As a matter of historic fact the sixth century. Muhammad did become the political ruler of Arabia
We
and freed
He his country from her foreign foes. succeeded as a patriotic Arab. The question is whether all this came about as an afterthought and as
an unseen
that
result, or
was
?
it
in the Prophet's
mind
at
the outset of his career
Is the popular conception
Muhammad
at
Mecca was
a religious reformer
THE CALL TO PREACH
37
on pure and simple, and then at Madina passed to the position of a secular ruler a correct one ?
Was he
a true, earnest,
first,
and honest
religious
and
social
reformer at
then, afterwards, intoxicated with
for wordly power, did he use his prophetical office ends? Koelle holds that there can be no such division in his career, and that from the first there
'The continuity in the Prophet's public life. ardent preacher, the zealous reformer, the austere
is
Prophet at Mecca, pleading amid annoyances and

oppositions for mere toleration and the bare recognition of his teaching, is in reality the seed and
the precursor of the military commander, the insatiable conqueror, the despotic autocrat of Madina.
In
both
in
cases
he
is
essentially
the
same man.
Only
plan,
3.
and
Mecca he is trying to succeed with his 1 in Madina he actually succeeds. The most exhaustive and the most philosophis
ical
view
gives
He
that provided by Dr. D. B. Macdonald. a full account of the position of the
kahins or soothsayers in Arabia at the time.
To
them men referred what was mysterious and obscure, and they were supposed to have power to
foretell
the future.
Their utterances were given

called saj', a
forth in a sort of
1
rhymed prose
;
word
See Koelle, pp. 3-17, 72-6 Margoliouth, in Mohammed apparently takes a somewhat similar view. 2 His views are lucidly set forth in The Religious Attitude
and
Life in Islam, ch.
i,
and
in
Aspects of Islam, lecture
ii.
38
also of

used of the cooing of a dove.
series
It
consists
of
short
;
without a fixed metre

all
rhyming together. form of the Our'an. Muhammad's first utterances 1 were in genuine kahin form and kahin spirit.
is, phrases prose, but it may be with rhymes, Now this is the literary
in
that
When
was
the prophetic spirit came upon a kahin he This was exactly for a time out of himself.
in
the state
which
his
Muhammad
often was,
when
of
giving forth
utterances.
Under the
in this
stress
intense emotion, having begun way, he had This identified him with the to go on with it.
kahin
class,
upon him
1
and naturally his opponents looked 2 as a kahin, but he had to make it clear
Qur'an these
their character
earliest
In Rodwell's
utterances stand
first
in
can easily be ascertained, though, The of course, the rhythm of the Arabic original is lost. short clauses of the earlier revelations, borne on a free gliding
this book,
'
and so
must have been clearly akin to the saj of the old soothsayers' {The Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 414). When the Quraish came to Abu Talib and requested him to restrain his nephew, this was one of the charges brought against him. They said he was a poet, a magician, a mad man. His defenders denied that his compositions were like the saj' of the soothsayers.
rhyme,
(Mudarijit'n-Nabuwat,
2
vol.
i,
p. 512.)
This shows that many did
recognize, in his style of composition, the saj' of the kahins.
Revelations came to rebut this accusation

'
thou then. For thou by the favour of God art neither soothsayer nor possessed.' Suratu't-Tur (lii) 29. Neither is it the word of a soothsayer.' Suratu'l-Haaqa (Ixix)
'
Warn
42.
THE CALL TO PREACH

that the influence exerted
39
of
upon him was that
an
angel.
What
was
raised
his
Muhammad
the
above
the
his
kahin
clan
care for
of
poor, and
doctrine of the unity
God.
God
himself, the
One, reveals himself through prophets and otherwise, and man in prayer can come directly to
God.
This
is
Muhammad's
'
great glory.
The
con-
clusion arrived at
is
this.
Muhammad was
not in
his beginnings a self-seeking, insincere
imposter
of that
we may be assured
a pathological
as a fundamental fact,
to
his revelations came him in trance and, like all trance mediums, he had strangely perverted ideas, but an imposter I am speaking of what he certainly he was not.' was in the beginning, what he was before temptation fell upon him, and he fell before temptation; what he was on one side of his character,
case,
'
He was
even through those ten years'

differ
(i.e.
at Madina).
These are the three main views.
The two
last
fundamentally as regards the dual aspects of Muhammad's official life, but are both worthy of
4.
serious study.
mad who was himself, convinced of He so fully worked himself
Rabbi Geiger's view is thus stated: Muhamseems to have been a genuine enthusiast,
'
his
divine mission.
this
into
idea
in
thought, in feeling and in action that every event seemed to him a divine inspiration. Everything
necessary to the attainment of his end stood out
40

There
one idea ruled no question here of design. Of the most fanatical minds there are occais
clearly before him, just because this
him.
course, in
and during these Muhammad deceived himself and others at times a2nbition and
sional lucid intervals,
;
love of
It
is
power were the incentives to

not
his actions.'
necessary
to
consider
the
views of
writers like
brilliant essayists,
Bosworth Smith and Carlyle. Though they were not oriental scholars and had no acquaintance with original sources of
is
information.
Carlyle's depreciation of the Qur'an as unfair as his glorification of the Prophet is
unreal.
During the Fatra, or a period of about three years when no revelations came, Muhammad was making
known
his views in a quiet way.
'
It is related
that
during three years his holy and prophetic lordship was secretly inviting the people to accept the immaculate law, and or
some professed Islam, one by one,

3
two by
\Va5 hat
two.'
The
aits
secret
nature of the pro-
Mohammed
p.
dem Jiidcnthum auf genommen

(ed.
(ed.
2
Bonn, 1833),
35.
Heroes and Hero-worship
1840), p. 77.
Mirkhund,
*
'
vol.
ii,
p. 41
***
ua>
ysJ )^*
***/
As
it
was obvious
to
in
claim autocracy,
the
that the claim to be God's mouthpiece was Muhammad employed the utmost caution
claim.'
?v!argoliouth,
in
mode of asserting his pedia Britannica (ed. 1911),
Encyclo-
vol. xvii, p. 401.
THE CALL TO PREACH
41
paganda may be inferred from the fact that the earliest converts were from the circle of his own family, dependants and friends, who were already
more
influenced by the teaching of the 1 His wife Khadija was the first convert. She was the first who believed Ibn Ishaq says in the revelation. in God in His Apostle and
or
less
Hanifs.
'
for whenever he Thereby God sent him comfort heard something unpleasant, or was grieved by con;
tradiction or charges of lying,
by her
when he returned
God comforted him home to her she cheered
him, made things easy for him, assured him of her faith in him and represented to him the talk
of
Khadija people as utterly insignificant.' from her connexion with Waraqa, and her knowthe
of
ledge
the
of
men who had
already opposed the

well
idolatry
the
Meccans, was
belief
accept a higher form of religion of the Meccans.

'Ali
prepared to than the popular

years
was now about

It
is
thirteen
or fourteen
old.
his
when Gabriel appeared to Lordship commanding him to perform the orirelated that,
sons with
two prayer flexions, 3 'Ali happened to see his Lordship engaged in prayers with Khadija, but as he perceived naught in front of them during
Tabari, series
2
1,
vol.
iii,
p. 1156.
Quoted by Koelle, p. 78. This shows that some e^*S^

.
ritual
had already been taught.
42

'
: '
and said 0, His lordship This is the religion which Allah, the Most replied has selected for Himself, and I invite thee High, to believe in Him who has no partner.' According to one Tradition 'All became a Muslim at once; according to another he said that he must first
their prostrations, he was astonished Muhammad what art thou doing ?
'
Then 'AH meditated morrow embraced Islam. on it one night and on the In after years 'All became one of the most devoted
consult his father
Abu
Talib.
followers
of
Muhammad, and
valiant
warrior.
He
and
rose to the dignity of being the fourth Khalifa, is now idolized and almost worshipped by a
Muslim world. 2 was now a free man and the He owed much to son of the Prophet. adopted Muhammad and for this he was very grateful. His entire dependence on him is seen by the submissive manner in which in later years he allowed his wife Zainab to be taken from him by the
large section of the Zaid bin Haritha
Prophet. The next convert,
Abu Bakr, 3 was
in
more
J Abu Talib is reported to have said: 'Well, my son, he will not invite thee to aught but that which is good wherefore thou Ibn Hisham, p. 66, quoted by Muir, art free to cleave to him.'
;
vol.
2
ii,
p. 99.
{
See al-Khulafa iC r-Rdshidun (C.L.S.), pp. 43-59; The Cult
of 'Ali (C.L.S.). 3 His proper name was 'Abdu'llah bin 'Uthman, but after Muhammad married his daughter 'Ayisha, the only virgin wife of the
THE CALL TO PREACH
43
independent position. He was two years younger than Muhammad, and lived in the same quarter
of the city as Khadija, and so must have been well acquainted with the Hanifs and their views. In this respect he was prepared for the reception He was an intelligent man, a successof Islam.
ful
merchant, kindly in disposition and charitable

the poor.
famous for his pleasing works and laudable qualities, and manner, good there was no one in Mecca equal to him in his The Quraish were his intimate friends. hospitality. associated constantly with him, and consultThey ed him in their greatest difficulties.' 1 The adhesion of such a man to his cause was of the highest importance to Muhammad, whose love for and reliance on Abu Bakr continued to the end of his days. Abu Bakr was an active though man. He began at once to proselytize, prudent
to
He was
'
but in
cautious
only with those in
whom
manner, for he communicated he could place confidence,

mission was that in
a
The
result
of the
or so five converts were made,
more or
less
year con-
nected by family
ties
with the Prophet.

of
Sa'd bin
Abu Waqqas was
Amina, and so a nephew cousin of Muhammad Zubair bin al-'Awwam was a nephew of Khadija Talha bin Ubaidu'ullah
a
;
Prophet, he was called Abu Bakr, the father of the virgin also received the name of As-Siddiq the true.
'
'.
He
Mirkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 40.
44

;
afterwards a famous warrior, was related to Abu Bakr 'Uthman bin 'Affan, a grandson of 'Abdu'lMuttalib, married
mad
Ruqayya the daughter of Muham'Abdu'r-Rahman was a wealthy merchant,
and so probably well acquainted with his fellowmerchant Abu Bakr. These were followed by
others,
to
the
number
slaves,
of
about
1
forty,
including
the
converted
Bilal,
Amr
ibn
Fuharra,
Mas'ud and Khubab. foreignhad some sort of acquaintance with Christianity and Judaism, and were anxious to seek in a new non-idolatrous religion freedom
'Abdu'llah ibn
these
ers
As
slaves
from servitude.
It is said that
the order of God, 'arise and warn','
now came, and

a more
that the missionary propaganda took The believers met, active and wider form.
in the
though as yet as a secret Society,

al-Arqam, a recent convert.
slope
of
It
house of
Mount
Safa,
was situated on the Muhammad removed to it
about the fourth year of his mission, as a place where he could carry on his work peacefully and
without interruption.
1
It
was
far
more
suitable for
famous
Bilal
as the
2 3
first
was a tall dark man with a powerful voice. He Mu'adhdhin, or caller to prayer, in Islam.
(lxiv) 2.
is
Suratu'l-Muddaththir
Tirmidhi
(vol.
ii,
p. 390) states that
when Muhammad and
his
Companions were hiding in Mecca, the idolaters used to hear them sent reciting the Qur'an, and mocked and abused it and Allah who
it.
Then came
'
the verses
Say: Call upon
God
(Allah), or call
upon the God
of
Mercy
THE CALL TO PREACH

rooms
45
meetings, for which publicity was not required, than All in the crowded city would have been.
inclined
to
who were
certain
and received teaching. amount of mystery kept up by Muhammad. It is said he habitually wore a veil, and this practice
at the
Islam were brought there There seems to have been a
may have begun

seances, of
time of these
mysterious
which it served to enhance the solemnity. Scrupulous care was bestowed by him on his person; every night he painted his eyes and his body was at His hair was sufall times fragrant with perfume.
fered to
grow long
till it
1 reached his shoulders.
It
seems evident that

attempt to incite a
in these gatherings there

spirit of
was an
in the
wonder and awe
minds of the neophytes. Soon after Muhammad had sought refuge in the house of Arqam, Jabr and Yasar, both Jewish slaves, became converts, followed by Suhaib, a Greek slave, to whom some time before freedom had been
From these men Muhammad much scriptural information. At gained

given.
doubtless
all
events
(Ar-Rahman), by whichsoever ye will invoke him. He hath most excellent names. And be not loud in thy prayer, neither pronounce it too low but between these follow a middle way.' Suratu Bani Isra'il (xvii) 110.
;
When
Rahman
x
!
the Meccans heard
Muhammad saying Ya Allah they thought he was calling upon two gods.
p. 105,
Ya
Margoliouth,
References
are given
to
the original
authorities for these details.
46

it
the Meccans believed
to be so,
:
charge a revelation
came
and
to rebut the
also know what they say, surely a certain person teacheth him, but the tongue of him at whom they hint is foreign, while this Qur'an is in plain Arabic. Suratu'n-Nahl (xvi) 105.
We
Muhammad
Arqam
probably
stayed
in
the
house of
for about
two
years.
CHAPTER
Some
IV
authorities say that the words 1 relations of nearer kin' constitute the
: '
Warn
thy
first
call to
Be that as it may, the a more open propaganda. believed that he had now a divine comProphet
mand
to
make
his appeal to the people generally.
This appeal, made by a man who had now about one hundred followers, roused the anger of the
Meccans.
The
national religion
was attacked
their
gods whom they worshipped were declared to be no gods. The material prosperity of Mecca as the
religious centre
depended on
its
pagan institutions
but these innovators prayed towards Jerusalem and not in the direction of the Ka'ba. National feeling,
ancient superstition
to his credit be
and vested
interests,
sect.
all
rose
in hostile array against the

it
new
Muhammad,
moment
said,
did not avoid the conflict,
though,
as
we
shall
presently see, for a
he
fell.
The Quarish now began

poorer
Muslims and
1
the
to persecute some of the slave converts. They
Suratu'sh-Shu'ara' (xxvi) 214.
48

Muhammad's
converts.
1
urged against
of
claims the low estate
some
of his
at
Muhammad was much

his
distressed
the
sufferings
to
humble followers
were called upon
them
learnt
to
dissemble
endure, and even encouraged in order to escape torture.

bin Yasir weeping, and
'
:
One day he saw 'Ammar
from him the following story Oh Prophet, would not let me go till I had abused thee they and spoken well of their gods.' Muhammad said But how didst thou find thy heart ? He replied Sincere and steadfast in the faith.' Then,' said
:
'
'
'
they repeat their cruelty, repeat 2 This permission to disthen also thy words.' semble was confirmed by a revelation said to have
if
Muhammad,
'
been delivered now
Whoso, after he hath believed in God, denieth Him, if he were forced to it, and if his heart remain steadfast in the faith, shall be guiltless. 3
Suratu'n-Nahl
(xvi)
108.
1 Then said the chiefs of the people who believed not, see in thee but a man like ourselves and we see not who have
' '
We
followed thee, except our meanest ones of hasty judgement, nor

see
we any
'
excellence in you above ourselves.
Nay, we deem
you
2
liars."
Suratu
Hud
(xi)
29.
Tafsir of 'Abdu'llah bin 'Abbas and the Khuldsatu' t-Tafdsir

ii,
where the story of the persecution is told. The Commentators add the words in italics to complete the free from this wrath '. ^Sfe sense. Thus (Khu<j*\ ^b ^y>
(vol.
3
p. 578)
^y
ii.
'
Idsatu't-Tafdsir,
'
vol.
p.
578.)
^^^
&J*&J\y
,^
^ u*\
For him there
is
no calling
to account'.
Maulavi Hafiz Nadhfr
Ahmad Khan's Urdu
translation.
Though
that only
is
49
five
the persecution was relentless, it is said It converts returned to paganism.
probable that
'Ammar.
many acted on Muhammad, being
the advice given to
unable
to
protect
them, advised them to emigrate to Abyssinia, where they could live in peace.
He
described
it
as a country
where no one
is
wronged, as a land of honesty, and advised them to So in the fifth year of the Proseek refuge there. phet's mission a small party of eleven men and four
women 1
This
is
set
forth
kindness by the Abyssinian
and were received with much ruler and his people.

first
known
as the
little later
on,
when
emigration to Abyssinia. there seemed some hope of a

;
compromise with the Quraish, they returned but, as all attempts at peace failed, they and other refugees from time to time found a home in Abyssinia.
In
all
about eighty-three people emigrated.

indifference of the
The
2 message embittered him.
Meccans There
to the Prophet's
is
also a
marked
difference in the revelations
now
delivered.
He had
described
1
God
1,
as the
vol.
iii,
most beneficent, the Lord to

p. 1181.
Tabarf, series
They taunted him by saying God had forsaken him.

:
Then,
the
according to
words
TirmidhJ
(vol.
li,
p.
469),
Gabriel
brought
Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee, Nor hath He been displeased. Suratu'dh-Dhuha
At
this
(xc)
3.
period of depression this Sura and Suratu'l-Inshirah (xciv) were revealed for his consolation; and Suratu'l-Kafirun (cix) and Suratu'l-Ikhjas (cxii) were addressed to the people.
50

is
be magnified, whose will

east
of
absolute
the
Lord
;
of the
compassionate, king of the day of reckoning God the One, God the eternal, who begetteth not and is not God, the mercibegotten, like whom there is none.
merciful,
;
and west, there men, the Lord
is
no God but
the
He
the
Lord
of
world,
ful,
the absolute ruler, the judge of men at the last day, the unique, had been the burden of his mes-
Now it takes the more personal form of denunciation of his opponents, a more distinct attitude of hostility to idolatry, and a more prominent
1
sage.
pronouncement
leaders of the
of his
own
claim to be heard. 2
The
:
opposition,
according
to
Baidawi,
were Walid bin Mughaira, who is referred to thus Leave me alone to deal with him. I will lay grievous woes upon him. We will surely cast him into hell -fire, And who shall teach him what fire is ?
It
leaveth nought,
17, 26-9.
it
Blackening the
11,
skin.
spareth nought, Suratu'l-Mudaththir (lxxiv)
a sister of
His uncle *\bu Lahab, instigated by his wife, Abu Sufyan, 3 was another bitter opponent. They are thus denounced
:
Let the hand

self perish.
of
Abu Lahab
perish
and
let
him-
Suras xcvi. 3 Suras cxi

;
lxxiv. 3, 34
;
lxxiii.
cxiv.
2-6
;
i.
1-3
;
cxii.
1-4.
2
3
civ
cvii
Ixviii. 2, 10, 40,
51-2
xcvii
lxxxvi. 13-14.
to
Abu Sufyan was Muhammad.
the leader of those Meccans -who were hostile
51
His wealth and his gain shall avail him not, Burned shall he be at the fiery flame And his wife laden with lire -wood On her neck a rope of palm fibre. l Suratu'l-
Lahab (cxi) Akhnas bin

ferred to thus
1-5.
Sharif, according to Baidawi,

:
is
re-
to every backbiter, defamer Verily he shall be flung into the crushing fire And who shall teach thee what the crushing fire is ? It is God's kindled fire, Which shall mount above the hearts of the damned. Suratu'l-Humaza (civ) 1, 4-7.
Woe
For all his opponents most exquisite and nued torture is prepared
:
conti-
will in the end so oft as their skins shall be well burnt, we will change them for fresh skins, that Suratu'n-Nisa' (iv) 59. they may taste the torment.
Those who disbelieve our signs we

:
cast into the fire
A number
to
listen,
of persons are referred to as
refusing
become so obdurate that, 2 even after punishment, they would be unconvinced. Naturally the Meccans became more and more irriIn vain they denounced him as an imposter, tated. 3 a poet, a soothsayer (kahin). Clearly some other method must be employed.
and
to have
Some
1
of
the
emigrants
to Abyssinia
returned
burning.
2
9
Verse four may mean that in hell she would get wood for the See Baidawi, ad loc. For other interpretations, see
p.
H.D. Qur'dn,
13,
(vi)
note
25-6.
1.
Suratu'l-An'am
Suras xxv. 5-6
;
See also Suras xciv

57
;
viii.
49.
Ixxvi. 19, 28,
xxxvi. 60
lii.
29.
52
after

a few months,
in
hoping that peace would be
made
be inclined to
desire to see
land,
Mecca, for the Quraish seemed now to make a compromise. They had no
Meccans going
to reside in a foreign
under the protection of a
Christian
ruler,
whose patronage seemed likely to give political power to Muhammad's cause. On the other hand,
Abyssinian influence might prove too strong even for Muhammad and so both the Quraish and the
A compromise, if possible, mutual advantage. The Quraish, therefore, selected 'Utba bin Rabi'a, a learned man and a poet, to go and reason with Muhammad. He
Muslims might would clearly be
suffer.
of
O Muhammad, a Prophet and said has arisen among the Quraish. Thou great calamity hast denounced their gods as vanities, hast endeavwent
to the
' :
oured to seduce the people from the religion of

their
hast disgraced us amongst the and hast considered our wise men to be fools. Arabs,
forefathers,
If
thou art ambitious

ruler.'
1
thee our
we shall unanimously make They then offered material induce:
ment, but
Muhammad
recited the words
resisted all such offers
and
revelation from the compassionate, the merciful book whose verses (signs) are made plain, an Arabic Qur'an, for men of knowledge Announcer of glad tidings and charged with warnBut most of them withdraw and hearken not ings
;
! :
A A
]\lirkhund, vol.
ii,
p. 44.
^^j y cÛS"
t_a5o
<^^*^> Ûj ÛJli
53
And they say, 'our hearts are under shelter from thy teachings, and in our ears is a deafness, and between Act as thou thitikest us and thee there is a veil. best. Siiraverily shall act as ive think right} tu'1-Fussilat (xli) 1-4.
We
recommended
'Utba reported the result of the interview and that Muhammad should be left alone
:
but the Quraish declared that witched 'Utba with his words.
Muhammad
had be-
Then another plan
was adopted.
prince
They
:
with this address
sent a deputation to Abu Talib Thou art a chieftain and a

'
among the Quraish. Mete out justice to us Prohibit him from against thy nephew Muhammad. reviling our gods and we shall leave him to his own Abu Talib sent for Muhammad and said to god.'
him
'
All thy people ask for justice
and that thou
shouldest not malign their god, on condition that 2 The they will likewise abandon thee to thy god.'
I am Prophet replied inviting them to something better than that, and on account of which the Arabs
' :
will
obey them and

3
will also
Persia.'
1
Abu Jahl
in
italics
said
are
' :
What
in
become the masters of is it that we may

the
text,
The words
not
Baidawf
in their
place,
supplies the words, 'on thy religion';
'on our religion'.

^li.
Lîj
*^^
~l
Mirkhund,
s
vol.
ii,
p.
44.
i,
The
p.
full
account
is
given in
the
Muddriju'n-Nabuivat,
Tirmidhf
(vol.
ii,
vol.
506.
effect.
p. 427) also
records a Tradition to this
The words were
evidently intended to
show the Quraish
that the
54

it
do
ten times over

is
'
Muhammad
'
replied
Say
there
no god but God.'
The Quraish cursed him
and declared that they would not abandon their gods, They warned Abu Talib that things could not go on as they were, and he himself realized that either he must become a Muslim or restrain his nephew. He begged Muhammad not to cast upon him a burden greater than he could bear, but Muhammad was firm and declared that he could not give way. The
necessity of thus resisting his uncle's earnest entreaty caused him grief, and he wept when he turned aside
to depart.
Then
the ties of clanship and of affection,
and perhaps also of dependence for Muhammad was rich and he was poor, exerted their sway and Abu Talib said Depart in peace, my nephew, and For, by the Lord, I say whatsoever thou desirest. 1 will not, in any wise, give thee up for ever.' Though he was often abused and annoyed, Muhammad does not seem to have suffered personThe poweral injury as his humble followers did. ful protection of his uncle preserved him from
'
bodily harm.
way
The
position,
though
it still
remained
freedom and supremacy was to embrace the view of those who consider that the political factor was an important one in the inception of Islam. Margoliouth (p. 124) remarks that Muhammad could have secured
to attain political
Islam.
They strengthen
'
his
own
safety
to
by
taking refuge in
a Christian country, but his aim
was not
1
be a subject but a sovereign, and so he made no such
mistake.'
Muir,
p. 164.
He
quotes from Ibn Hisham,
p. 71.
acute,
55
seemed
at
one time
likely
to
become
less
strained.
bin
to
Rabi'a to
The Ouraish had offered through 'Utba make a compromise. Here seemed
a
be a
chance of reconciliation and of gaining,

in
though
modified
form,
some assent
to
the
claims of Allah.
So the story goes that one day

a group of the leading
Muhammad came upon

of
in
men
Mecca near the Ka'ba. He joined them and a friendly manner began to recite the opening
of
verses
Suratu'n-Najm
(liii).
It
began with a
:
strong assertion of his
own
position
By
the Star
when
Your compatriot
it setteth erreth not, nor
is
led astray
Neither speaketh he from mere impulse, The Qur'an is no other than a revelation revealed to him, One mighty in power taught it him. 1-5.
Referring then to certain mysteries which
had
been revealed to him, he went on to speak of the
Meccan
idols:
Do
And
you see al-Lat and al-'Uzza

the third idol besides.
And Manat
19-20.
to
then came words
meant
reconcile
the
deepened interest and who now, with much astonishment and pleasure, heard the words
Quraish,
:
who were
listening with
These are the exalted Females
And
1
verily their intercession
is
to
be hoped for
Muslim
historians
and commentators either
try to explain this
56

The
closing words of recited it, are

:
the Sura, as
Muhammad
62.
Prostrate yourself then to
God and
worship.
With one accord they all did so. It was a remarkable scene. The Quraish were delighted and Now we know that it is the Lord alone that said,
'
and taketh it away that createth and These our goddesses make intersupporteth. cession for us with Him, and as thou hast conceded unto them a position we are content to follow thee.' 1 But Muhammad soon awoke to the fact that he had made a mistake and that he must at once retire from the false position he had taken up. He saw that the people still worshipped idols and that his concession had done no practical good. Then, according to the Traditions, God consoled him by
giveth
life
;
as a
mere magical
effect
produced by Satan on
'
the ears of the
audience, or they deny the truth of the whole thing, and say it is When he reached the noble verse: an invention of the Zindiqs.
'Do you
infidels
see al-Lat
it
and al-'Uzza and Manat the third

'
besides,'
then Satan found

to
possible to cause the stupefied ears of the hear these words These are the exalted females
:
'
and verily their intercession is to be hoped for (see Koelle, p. 281 and Wherry's Commentary of the Qur'dn, vol. iii, p. 167, in which references are given to many commentaries). Syed Amir 'Ah' admits the lapse and says What wonder that a momentary thought crossed his mind to end the conflict by
'
:
making a
(Series
1,
slight concession to the bigotry of his

vol.
iii,
enemies
it
'.
Tabari
to the
p.
1192) takes the view that
was due
influence of Satan.
1
Muir, vol.
ii,
p. 151.
57
the revelation of words showing that former prophets had been likewise tempted of the devil
:
We
have not sent an apostle or prophet before thee,
among whose desires Satan injected not some wrong desire, but God shall bring to nought that which
Satan had suggested. Suratu'1-Hajj (xxii) 51. And, verily, they had well-nigh beguiled thee from what we revealed to thee, and caused thee to invent some other thing in our name. Suratu Bani Isra'il
(xvii) 75.
When God
Muhammad,
revelation
it
had thus restored the confidence of

is
said that
He
idols,
it
sent
him the
:
true
is
the text,
concerning the as we now have

see al-Lat
and that
the Qur'an
this
in
Do you
and al-'Uzza
And Manat the third idol besides, What? shall ye have male progeny and God female?
This were indeed an unfair partition, These are mere names and your fathers them such. 19-23.
named
The Quraish were very angry and said: 'Muhammad hath repented of his favourable mention of
the
He
rank held by our goddesses before the Lord. hath changed the same and brought other
in
words
people
their
stead.'
So
they
to
1
persecute
the
faithful
up the with still more

stirred
have honour be it said, he now and for evef broke with idolatry and began to declare the punishment due to idolaters.
vigour.
However
weak
Muhammad may
to his
shown himself
in this matter,
See Ibn Sa'd,
p.
137,
quoted by Muir
(ed.
1912), p. 82.
58

in a
So
Sura of
:
this period
we have
:-
He said worship ye what ye carve When God hath created you and what
Fain would they
plot against him, but
ye make ? we brought
them
low.
Suratu's-Saffat (xxxvii) 93-4, 96.
The news
and
of a possible peace
between the Ouraish

the
fugitives to
Muhammad
was
caused
return from Abyssinia, but

affairs
many of when
the true state of
realized, a
second emigration took place.
About eighty-three Muslims by degrees went away, amongst whom were Ja'far the brother of 'Ali, and Muhammad's own daughter Ruqayya, with her husband, 'Uthman bin 'Affan. In the sixth year of his mission, Muhammad Hamza bin 'Abdu'lgained two notable converts.
Muttalib, an uncle of the Prophet, had long resisted One day he heard that Abu Jahl had his claims.
been insulting his nephew. The family honour was touched, the tribal sentiment came into play, and so Hamza went off to the Ka'ba and found Abu
He Jahl sitting there with some of the Quraish. rushed on him, saying 'Ah thou hast been abusing
:
!
him, and
him
follow his religion then (here striking 1 This cona blow) return that if thou dare.'
I
;
version to Islam,
made
in a
moment
of excitement,
was followed up by a
to
deliberate pledging of himself

'
Muhammad.
repeated the
1
The Raudatii's-Safd creed and then broke Abu

p. 78,
says
He
Jahl's head
p. 167.
Ibn Hisham,
quoted by Muir,
vol.
ii,
in seven places.'
l
59
The motive
;
for his conversion
was not very Muslim and a
high
but
he
became
staunch
valiant warrior.
little later
on followed the conversion of 'Umar
He was a very bitter opponent of binu'l-Khattab. the Muslims and, according to the Traditions, was selected by the Quraish to murder Muhammad.
The accounts are given of his conversion.' He was instatements may be thus summarized.
Many
formed that his sister Fatima and her husband He surprised them Sa'id bin Zaid were Muslims. reading the Suratu Ta Ha (xx) and in his anger attacked Sa'id and wounded his sister in the face. She then defied him and said We believe in God and His Prophet now do thy worst.' When 'Umar saw the blood on his sister's face, his anger passed away and, regretting what he had done, he asked to see what they were reading. He was reminded of the verse Let none touch it but the
'
:
:
'
purified.'
Having performed the ceremonial ablu'
tion he began to read the passage before them, and was so touched by its perusal, that the padlock
of carelessness of his breast's treasury "
and he
said,
Muhammad
is
was opened, There is no god but Allah, and the Apostle of God." The Prophet
'
Mirkhund, vol. ii, p. Mirkhund, vol. ii, pp. 43-9.

Suratu'l-Waqi'a
(lvi) 75.
48. *"
&**.
&^W
o*tP ^ J*tf^
60
received
him kindly and gave thanks to God for 'Umar's conversion. Muhammad and his friends then went in a body and marched round the Ka'ba,
leading the way with a drawn sword in his hand, to the consternation of the Quraish who said
'Ali
:
'We
!
sent
him
(i.e.
'Umar)
to kill
Muhammad and
lo now he follows him.' 'Umar was closely related to the reforming party, for his brother-in-law Sa'id was a son of Zaid the Hanif. He knew well what
was going on and the principles which underlay the new movement, and no doubt saw its growing From his early associations, he must have power. had more sympathy with Deism than with idolatry. He belonged to a humble clan and so he had, something to gain now by the equality which Islam
1
promised.
delight
his
in
Years
after,
when
Khalifa,
he took a
thanking
illustrious
humiliating the aristocrat Abu Sufyan, God that through Islam a member of
would account for his conversion with the embellishments which Tradition has added to it. However, as Mirkhund says, by his aid the arm of the religion was strengthened and by his accession the believers were comforted.' 2 The courage of the Muslims now rose; it was no longer necessary to abide in the comparative
All
this
'
humble familv could 'Abd Manaf '}
command one
of
the
Azraki, p. 448, quoted by Margoliouth, p. 105.
M]'rkhund, vol.
ii,
p.
49.
retirement of Arqanr s house
:
61
they assembled at the
The
'
Ka'ba and openly performed their rites of prayer. denunciations of the Quraish became more
fierce. On the part of the Muslims, the idols were less displeasing to Allah than the His own worship was a matter of less idolaters
and more
concern
than the recognition of his messenger.' * Muhammad threatened the city of Mecca with venge-
ance,
and said that a sudden calamity would come a but the Meccans felt no fear and showed upon it no signs of repentance. Still, it was desirable to stop this constant denunciation of themselves and
;
their ways.
The
Quraish, therefore,
now determined
to
use another method, that of excommunication.
Abu Talib and his brothers (except Abu Lahab) and the members of the clan Hashim, whether
converts or not, stood by Muhammad so the feud became a party one the clan Hashim against the rest of the Quraish, who now made a solemn
league and covenant which, was duly sealed and hung

'
when put
up
in
into writing,
the
Ka'ba.
It
that they would not marry their women, nor their own in marriage to them (i.e. Muslims); give that they would sell nothing to them nor buy
stated,
aught
every
from
kind
them
that
dealings
with
them
of
should
cease.'
Abu Talib with
the
Suratul-Hijr
Wellhausen, Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. xvi, p. 550. (xv) 4-6; Suratu'sh-Shu'ara' (xxvi) 201-2.
62

1
Hashimites
and the Muslims then
retired
to
mountain
fined
pass,
known
as the Shi'b, a
quarter of the city in Hashim and the Bani Muttalib usually dwelt, and remained there two or three years. Whilst thus
narrow conwhich the Bani
excluded from
intercourse
with the
men
of
the
Prophet were confined to city, attempts to convert the members of his own clan,
the efforts of the
who though
they did not believe his message, yet

It is
probable that now the words came which directed him to turn from the
loyally protected his person.
unbelievers
Turn away then from them and thou

incur reproach
shalt
will
not
Yet warn them, for

the believers.
in
truth,
warning
profit
Suratu'dh Dhariyat (li) 54-5. But warn thy relatives of nearer kin, and kindly lower thy wing over the faithful who follow thee. Suratu'sh-Shu'ara' (xxvi) 214-5.
When
the
the
boycott
their
was
rigid,
the
distress
of
was severe, and food could be obtained it was very dear. when At the time of the pilgrimage, when there was a truce, Muhammad could go forth and preach to the various tribes that came to Mecca, and to Abu those whom he met in the adjacent fairs. Believe him Lahab followed him about, saying
Muslims and
friends
'
not,
1
he
is
a lying renegade.'
the only
The
of the
tribes
clan
taunted
Abu Lahab was
member
Hashim who
did not go.
him with the words,
people should know
'
63
Thine own
; '
kindred
and
thee best
?
wherefore do they
not believe and follow thee
Then
if
the Prophet,
willedst,
it
sad in
would them
idols,
spirit, said: not be thus.'
'Oh Lord
1
thou
to
Still
he continued to invite
give
to
worship Allah alone,
up
their
who
believed
and promised and
impenitent.
Thus
the joys of paradise to those the torments of hell to the
And theirs shall be the Huris with large dark eyes, like pearls hidden in their shells. Of a rare creation have we created the Huris
And we
created
them ever
shall
virgin.
How
hand
!
wretched
be the
people
of
the
left
Amid scorching blasts and in scalding And in the shadow of a black smoke
Not
(lvi)
water,
cool, and horrid to behold. 22, 34-5, 40, 41-4.
Suratu'l-Waqi'a
to
Some
propriety
of the Quraish
of
now began
some
doubt
the
punishing
the whole of
the clan of
Hashim
for the apostacy of
of its
members.
of
They brought The Traditions ban.

interposition,
about
the
formal
removal
the
trace
this result to divine
and say that the parchment on which the ban was written, and which had been suspended in the Ka'ba, was now almost destroyed by Then followed a period of repose and insects. liberty in which, however, two heavy domestic
sorrows
1
fell
upon Muhammad.
li,
Katibu'l-Waqidi, p. 41, quoted by Muir, vol.
p. 182.
64

Muhammad
of his mission
had now entered on the tenth year and before it ended, his loving wife Khadija had passed away. She had been a true and faithful wife. She had put him into a position of affluence, had brought him into contact with some of the most thoughtful men of the age, and had had perfect sympathy with him in his mission. Muhammad revered her memory and his encomiums on her at times roused the jealousy of some of her successors. A few months after Khadija's death Muhammad married Sauda, the widow of a convert who had
died
in exile
in
*
Abyssinia.
According
to
the
RaudatiCl-Ahbdb
he
:
was
"
now much
dejected,
when
again take?'
?
a
'
friend
said
He
'If
'
replied
Why do you not Who is there that I

for
marry
could
is
;
thou
wishest
'Ayisha,
and
if
the daughter of thy thou wishest for a woman there
virgin friend Abu

is
there
Bakr
Sauda,
who
believes in thee.'
'
He
solved the dilemma by
'Ayisha was now saying, The actual marriage with six or seven years of age. She grew her took place three years later on.
Then
ask
for
both.'
up a very strong-minded woman, and had

1
great
Quoted by Koelle,
p. 19.
It will
be seen that the reason given
Sauda was the dejection of the Prophet, and not the modern one that it was his duty, even at personal inconSee Syed Amir venience, to marry the widows of his followers.
for the marriage with
'All,
p.
332.
65
1 power over her husband who was devoted to her. After his death she had much political influence. She was a great Traditionist, for it is said that she reported 1210 Traditions from the mouth of
the Prophet.
The death
loss.
of his uncle,
Abu
Talib,
was another
His uncle, an unbeliever though he great remained, had been a true kinsman to him and had protected him in many dangers. He had borne
the sufferings of the boycot rather than desert his nephew, with whose religious views he could not
agree.
support of
to be
He was a noble unselfish man, and his Muhammad shows that he believed him sincere even though mistaken. On his deathof to
his
bed he commended him to the protection of the
members
family.
his
It
is
said that
his
Muhamdeath
to get 2 the kalima or Muslim creed, but he derespect clined, saying that if he did so, people would say he was frightened. Tradition reports 3 that Mu-
mad
tried
uncle
before
hammad
'
said,
I
By
Allah,
shall
pray
so,'
for
his
pardon he continued so to pray until this

vealed
1
:
until
am
forbidden to do
and that verse was re-
He
said that
inspiration never
when came
in
company with a woman, except

him.
'Ayisha,
to
Mishkdtu' l-Masdbih,
2
3
p. 926.
Bukharf, part xv, p, 76.
Mfrkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 52.
66
It is

the
not for the Prophet or the faithful to pray forgiveness of those, even though they be of kin, who associate other beings with God, after it hath been made clear to them that they are to be the inmates of hell. Suratu't-Tauba (ix) 114.
for
Residence
in
Mecca now became very

followers
difficult.
Muhammad's
were
in
devotedly
attached
to him, but they
were few
number, and there had
been no notable conversions since those of 'Umar

It is true that his family protected him, but this imposed restrictions on him, for they were not prepared to give him the freedom Abu Talib had done. The prospect was gloomy in
and Hamza.
The Meccans were very proud and They had reviled and mocked him and even charged him with imposture. Thus
the extreme.
remained obdurate.
By
And And
the
infidels are
In sooth the Qur'an full of warning absorbed in pride, in contention with thee.
!
Suratu Sad (xxxviii)
1.
'
the infidels say, The Qur'an is a pious fraud of his own devising, and others have helped him with
it.'
Tales of the ancients that he hath they say, put in writing and they were dictated to him morn and even.' Suratu'l-Furqan (xxv) 5-6.
!
'
So
His
the Prophet
left
Mecca
miles
slave
for Ta'if,
ated
about
faithful
seventy
freed
of Ta'if
to the
east
a city situof Mecca.
Zaid accompanied him.
The people
a fact
were jealous of the Quraish, apparently known to Muhammad when, as
Ibn Ishaq says, he asked their leading
67
'
men
to aid
and protect him against his own tribe, hoping they would receive his revelation '; 1 but thev too were devoted to their idols and had no wish to give them up. Years after they fought bravely against
Muhammad. 2
After ten days, he was stoned and so, wounded and weary, he had to flee from the city. About half-way on the return journey he halted in the Excited by all he had gone valley of Nakhla. through, saddened at the rejection of his message by men, he saw in imagination crowds of Jinn (Genii)
embracing the
was revealed
faith.
Then
the Suratu'1-Jinn
(lxxii)
Say, it hath been revealed to me that a company of Jinn listened and said: 'Verily, we have heard a marvellous discourse (Qur'an). It guideth to the truth, wherefore we believe in it.'
1-2.
When
Him,
the servant of God stood up to call the Jinn almost jostled him by their crowds.
upon
19.
The conversion
of the Jinn, though doubtless a consolation to the Prophet, did not do away with The prospect the necessity of gaining human aid. of obtaining that in Mecca was now small; he dared
not
return there without a
promise of protection
the chief of
give
it.
Abu Talib was dead, and, the Bani Hashim was not so ready to
now
that
At
Quoted by Koelle, p. 102. G haz xv as and San'yas (C.L.S.),
pp. 76-8.
68

lengthened negotiations, a leading citizen 'Adi, undertook to be responsible for
last, after
Mut'im bin
It is most probable that this was given on condition that he should protection now confine his proselytizing work to the strangers who came to Mecca. He His work at Mecca was not successful. had on his side high family connexions, relationship
his personal safety.
with guardians of the Ka'ba, wealth, many personal virtues, indomitable patience, uncompromising
fearlessness
as
rule,
and
fervid
eloquence
yet
Mecca was complete. The work must commence anew with other men and under other
the failure at
conditions.
CHAPTER V
Muhammad now
lived
retired
life
at
Mecca,
unmolested, but apparently not allowed to carry on an active propaganda. When the time for the
annual pilgrimage came round

various tribes
at
many Arabs from
came to Mecca and to the fairs held 'Ukaz and other near places. As the citizens of Mecca and of Ta'if remained obdurate, Muhammad turned his attention to these wayfarers, J and
though Abu Jahl tried to prevent their listening 2 to him, he yet managed to deliver his message and to exhort them to embrace the true religion but
without success at
Already thoughts of departure from Mecca seemed to have entered into the
first.
1
Tabari, series
I do not wish to force you Only permit any one who approves of my invitation (to the Faith) to receive it and protect me from being killed, that I may recite to you the book of Allah.'
:
To
1, vol. iii, pp. 1204-6. the chiefs of the tribes, he said
'
to anything.
Ua ^ ^y
Ju
J^
JO-~i &>
\ pi&~*
c^jCO
vol.
\j j\
f^y &*r^>
Ua j\
.
Mirkhund,
ii,
p. 59.
/*jW*
70

support
in
Prophet's mind, and to have found the revelation which now aptly came
Follow
then that which
hath
thee by thy
Lord
there
106.
is
been revealed to no God but He and

!
withdraw from those who

Suratu'l-An'am
(vi)
join other gods with
Him. 1
This was soon rendered possible, for a few members of the Khazraj tribe came from Madina as pilgrims. They met with Muhammad and expressed themselves favourable to his views,
to
and he propounded them the doctrines of Islam and recited portions of the Qur'an. There were many Jews at Madina, some of whom may have been amongst those persons who came to the great fairs, for they are referred to in a revelation of this period
:
If (this Book) be from God, and ye believe it not, and a witness of the children of Israel witness to its conformity (with the Law) and believe, while ye
proudly disdain it ... people guilty of such

(xlvi) 9.
Ah
a
God
wrong.
guideth not the Suratu'l-Ahqaf
The commentator Baidawi and Mu'alim
say the witness was a learned Jew, called 'Abdu'llah bin Salam of Madina. Kabir says he was a Jew of
Madina. 3
It
was known
that the
Jews were looking
1 This is usually considered to be a Madina Sura, for verssninety-one charges the Jews with corrupting the Scriptures, a It was, however, favourite charge at Madina, but not at Mecca.
common
to put into earlier Suras verses revealed later on anyhow verse one hundred and six is a clear call to the Hijra, or flight
;
from Mecca.
2
Khulasat't-Tafdsir.
vol. iv, p. 201.

forward to the advent of the
71
Messiah, and the Bani Khazraj, thinking that Muhammad was their, coming prophet, wisely sought to forestall the Jews
1 Owing to the discord and winning his favour. dissensions in Madina, they could not promise him adequate protection there now, but promised to tell the people about him, and to return the next This they did year with a report on the situation.
in
and when they returned a year after there were twelve Ansar with them, ten of the Bani Khazraj and two of the Bani Aws. They took the following oath of obedience to Muhammad and his teaching We will not worship any but the one God we will not steal neither will we commit adultery, nor
: 1
:
kill
our children
will
we
will not slander in
any wise
and we
that
of
is right.'
2
not disobey the Prophet in anything This is known as the First pledge
'
'Aqaba'.
It
contained
it
no promise to defend
called
the
Prophet, and so
',
is
the
'
Pledge of
Women
as being the only one woman ever took. Muhammad sent back with them an earnest, tactful
to lead in prayer,
man, Mus'ab bin 'Umair,

1
'
and
to
When
the Jews used to fight with the idolaters at Madina,

:
they would say
"A
prophet
is
about to arise
his time
draweth
Him shall we follow.'' So when Muhammad spoke with nigh. " the pilgrims of Madina, they spake one with another Know surely
:
that
the same prophet whom the Jews are wont to threaten us with, wherefore let us make haste and be the first to join him."
is
'
Ibn Hisham, p. 149. Tabari, p. 161, quoted by Muir, vol. ii, 2 This is the name of the secluded place where they met.
p. 211.
12
teach such portions of the Qur'an as were needed for the namaz, or the prescribed public prayers. The year which passed before the men of Madina
The means of returned, was one of much anxiety. the Prophet seem now to have been straitened, but any despondency amongst his followers was allayed
by the words
:
We we
will provide for thee.
ask not of thee to rind thine own provision Suratu Ta Ha (xx) 132.
In this depressed state of mind, 1
when
the result of
thirteen years work in Mecca seemed likely to lead to nothing but practical banishment, Muhammad
dreamed
least,
dream, and passed

at
in
imagination, at
Jerusalem, where angels, and prophets met him, and from thence patriarchs to the highest heaven and the presence of God
to
the temple
Himself.
It
is
referred to thus
Glory be to Him who carried His servant by night from the sacred temple (of Mecca) to the temple that is more remote, whose precincts we have blessed, that we might show him some of our signs. Suratu Ban!
Isra'il
(xvii)
1.
This event has afforded to the imagination of the 2 Traditionists ample scope for the most vivid descriptions of what the Prophet saw and heard.
manifestly unfair to look upon these extravagant embellishments as matters of necessary
It
is
1
See Tirmidhf, vol.

See Mfrkhund, vol.
ii,
p.
386.
ii,
pp. 55-6.

belief.
73
The most
intelligent
members
of the
modern
1
school of
Muslims look upon the Mi'raj as a
vision,
less this vision, or
though the orthodox condemn such a view. Doubtdream, cheered the Prophet, who was further assured that whether he lived to
coming woes, or passed away before they came, success would ensue, for unto God 2 Thus he was enshould the unbelievers return.'
see part of the
couraged, and, in full face of expressed his confidence in

revelation
:
all
his difficulties, he
his
cause
in
this
Whether we take thee off by death, surely we will avenge ourselves on them Or whether we make thee a witness of that with
;
which we threatened them, we will surely gain the mastery over them. Suratu'z-Zukhruf (xliii) 40-1. At this time matters remained quiet at Mecca.
was no longer aggressive and the Quraish The Apostle also had their opposition. revelations for thus leaving the support of some Thus the Meccans alone.
Islam
relaxed
:
Follow thou that which hath been revealed to thee by thy Lord there is no god but He, and withdraw from those who join other gods with Him. Had God pleased, they had not joined other gods and we have not made thee a keeper with Him
: :
over them.
1
'All
that
Muhammadans must
saw himself
Syed
believe
in
respecting the
is
that
2
the Prophet
to Jerusalem.'
vision,
Mi'raj transplanted from

vi, p. 34.
Mecca
Ahmad Khan, Essays
Suratu
Hud
(xi)
77.
74

Revile not those
lest they, in their
whom they call on beside God, ignorance, despitefully revile Him.

116-18.
Suratu'l-An'am
(vi)
This does not mean that

his
Muhammad
his
had changed
views,
or faltered
in
plans.
He
believed
in eventual success
lief
and found warrant

:
in the following revelations
for his be-
Other apostles have been scoffed at before thee but that (doom) at which they mocked encompassed the scoffers. Suratu'l-Anbiya' (xxi) 42.
;
believed not said to their apostles, Forth from our land will we surely drive you, or to our Then their Lord revealed religion shall ye return.' we will certainly destroy the wicked doers, to them, and we will certainly cause you to dwell in the
'
They who
'
land after them.'
Suratu Ibrahim
(xiv)
17.
Have
they drawn tight their
toils (for thee).
We
too will tighten ours.

until the
Wherefore let them alone to plunge on, and sport, day with which they are menaced. Suratu'zZukhruf (xliii) 79, 83.
(vol
ii,
Muir
p.
228)
has well described the Pro-
phet's present position
and attitude
at
; ;
'
:
Muhammad
waiting in the bay to outward appearance still expectation of victory and with his little band as it were in defenceless, the lion's mouth; yet trusting in His almighty
thus holding
his
people
power whose messenger he believed himself to be, resolute and unmoved presents a spectacle of in the Sacred Records by sublimity paralleled only
;
such scenes as that of the Prophet of Israel when he " I, even I only am left"/ complained to his Master,
75
Meanwhile, Mus'ab met with considerable sucTwo notable converts were Usaid cess in Madina. In due time and Sa'd, both of the Bani Aws.
the conversion of the whole clan followed.
When
the next period of pilgrimage came round, Mus'ab was able to give a good account of his mission.
On
the last night of the pilgrimage,
Muhammad
met his Madina converts. Seventy-three men and two women were present. Muhammad gave them an address and asked them to pledge themselves to defend him. This they did, and this pledge is known as the Second pledge of 'Aqaba The nature of the compact will be seen from what follows. Muhammad said Swear that you will preserve me from everything from which you preserve your own wives and children.' One of the
'
'.
leaders
'
replied
Yea,
by
Him who
hath
sent
as our bodies
!
thee a Prophet with truth, we shall protect thee receive our allegiance, O Prophet we are the sons of war and Allah of God By
:
!
arms which we, the valiant, have inherited from the valiant.' Another said O Apostle of God, there are ties between us and others,' meaning which now we shall have to tear asthe Jews, but if we do this and God gives thee under victory, wilt thou then leave us again and return Muhammad replied Your to thy own home ? blood is my blood what you shed, I also shed you belong to me and I belong to you I fight
of
' : '
; '
men
'
76
whomsoever ye fight, and I make peace with whomsoever ye make peace.' 1 This shows that
the politico-religious development of his system had now advanced a stage farther in the Prophet's mind, and his long-felt desire to unite the Arab people in a political whole seemed nearer its fulfilment. This compact was a civil and political one, defensive and offensive, based on the rejection of idolatry, acceptance of Islam and obedience to
t\\e
will
of
the Prophet.
On
the
first
pilgrimage
sympathizers from Madina had only to avow the fealty of women but on the second, when
his
;
such
further progress
had been
made
that
their
seventy, they had to promise the fealty of men and warriors. This compact is not a change of front, it simply embodies the growing development of the principles of Islam from the first, and forms a definite starting point for the national and foreign conquests it was now about
to enter upon.
number exceeded
The citv of Yathrib was not unknown to Muhammad. His grandfather and his great grandmother were natives of the place, and in it his father was There was a good deal of rivalry between buried. Yathrib and Mecca, and a man despised in the latter place would not thereby be at a disadvantage in the former. Then, for more than one hundred years, there had been a blood feud between the
1
Ibn Ishaq quoted by Koelle,
p.
325.

men
of the
77
two great tribes who dwelt in Yathrib, there was a disposition to put a stop and just to these dissensions by selecting some one person Hence the soil of Yathrib was as a king or ruler. In a healthy comfor Islam. thoroughly prepared of Mecca it gained no hold like that munity but in one that was ailing from long years of 1 There was civil strife, it could spread apace.' also a strong Jewish colony there which prepared The people of Mecca the w ay for religious reform. were utter materialists and could not rise to the
now
'
spiritual part of the Prophet's teaching.

it
In Yathrib
was
made
Long intercourse with Jews had such subjects as the unity of God, revelation
different.
through
familiar
prophets and a future

to
life
more or
city.
less
the
inhabitants
of
the
Islam
owes much
passing
to Yathrib.
away
as a
his
disowned by
It saved Muhammad from mere enthusiast, rejected and own people. It became the real
'
birthplace of Islam, the cradle of its political power and the centre of its conquests throughout Arabia.'
the thus justly named al-Madinatu'n-Nabi, and its converts are truly city of the Prophet ', termed the Ansar, or helpers of Islam.
'
It
is
The
Ra'd
last
Sura delivered at Mecca

It
is
the Suratu'r-
deals entirely with the Quraish and is (xiii). It has the Prophet's last word there with them.
Margoliouth,
p.
198.
78

it
been well called the 'Chapter of Apologies', as

gives reasons
When
Thou
why the Prophet did not work miracles. they asked for a sign he was told to say, The unbelievers said art a warner only.'
they would not believe, unless a sign were sent to him by God. No sign was given but the message
came
Say,
God
He
Whom
will guide to
will mislead whom He will, and Himself him who turneth to Him. 27. God causeth to err, no guide shall there
truly
be for him. Chastisement awaiteth them in this present life and more grievous shall be the chastisement of the
next.
33~4.
Thus,
with words
of eternal fire
of warning, and threatening and everlasting punishment on those
who
rejected his claims, the Prophet left the city in which for thirteen long years he had preached and
pleaded in vain. A few days after
this,
Muhammad
'
gave
the
command
Madina
to
his
followers
saying
Depart unto
Lord hath verily given you brethren in that city, and a home in which you may find * In the course of two months nearly all refuge.' had emigrated. The Quraish were very much confor the
cerned at
all
this and, as
Muhammad
still
remained
behind, were
much
perplexed at the state of affairs
and wondered what would come next. They determined that a deputation should wait on him but
; J
Muir, vol.
ii,
p.
243.

some plot, joined Abu Bakr and,
he, fearing
city.
79
'All
away from his house, as night drew on, left the made people believe that he was still in
stole
The action the house and so facilitated his escape. of the Quraish is recalled to mind and referred to
in
plotted against thee, to detain thee prisoner, or to kill thee, or to banish thee they plotted, but God plotted, and of Suratu'l-Anfal (viii) 30. plotters God is the best.
:
an early Madina Sura And call to mind when the unbelievers

:
In
late
Meccan
Sura,
Muhammad
refers
to
a plot against the Prophet Salih and points out that the result of such opposition was that the Prophet's opponents were all destroyed and their houses
laid in ruins.
The
hint,
however, was
lost
upon the
Meccans.
Abu Bakr and Muhammad took

cave
for
three
days
until
the
refuge in a search was over.

the
Many
years after the Qur'an thus alludes to
miraculous interposition of
Prophet
God
in
protecting the
God
assisted
him formerly, when the unbelievers
drove him forth in company with a second only, when they two were in the cave. God strengthened him with hosts ye saw not, and made the words of those who believed not the abased, and the word Suratu't-Tauba (ix) 40. of God was the exalted.
The
'
second of the two
'
thani
athnain
became
one of the honourable

1
titles of
Abu Bakr.
Suratu'n-Naml
(xxvii) 51-3.
80

Muhammadan
Traditions
record
many
miracles
1 On leaving the connected with these three days. 2 cave, the travellers arrived in due course at Madina.
The
It was now complete. the Hijra Flight showed that the Prophet's work in Mecca had ended in failure. The Meccans saw that the adoption
would lead to a civil despotism based on religion, and this they were not prepared to In Madina the prospects were far brighter. accept. The expectation by the Jews of a Messiah had
of his system
caused the idea of a coming prophet to be common. Tribal feud and faction had worn the people out,
and they were really glad of some one with authority The way was preparto be a ruler amongst them. ed for the setting up of the politico-religious system, which the Prophet had so long meditated upon and so much desired. Muhammad's failure in Mecca was that of the Prophet, and his triumph in Madina
'
that of the Chieftain
and the Conqueror.'

to
Before passing on
the consideration of
the
*They
2
are recorded in the

vol.
ii,
Raudatu's-Safd
(vol.
ii,
pp. 65-6),
and by Muir,
for
p. 257, notes.
remained in Mecca were unmolested and when they were ready to depart no attempt was made to detain them, though they might have been kept as hostages. The Quraish seem now to have behaved with consideration to the persons of those who remained behind. Afterwards when their caravans of merchandise were
The families some weeks.
of
Muhammad and of Abu Bakr
All
looted, they naturally

3
became more
hostile.
It is
computed
to
have taken place on June
20, a.d. 622.

Prophet's work
in
81
Madina we may briefly note a few points in his Meccan career. During the Meccan period the Qur'an was made up of arguments in refutation of idolatry and of fierce denunciations of the unbelievers, whose future life was depicted
as
deals nobly with God's attributes of omnipotence, omnipresence and
It It strives in
one of unutterable woe.
unity.
men
realize that the glories of nature are

tries to
impassioned language to make His handi-
work,
show them that He rules amongst men and will mete out justice to the gainsayers, 1 and gives vivid and realistic pictures of the joys of It contains legendparadise and the pains of hell. stories of preceding prophets, and strong asary sertions concerning Muhammad's claims and its
own
divine nature.
limited
;
The
positive precepts are
still
very Islam are not yet fixed in their rigidity. The Jews afterwards opponents at
not seem to have been so in Mecca.
the social
system and the laws
of
Madina do
Indeed,
Mu:
hammad
and
appealed
to their belief in his revelation
to their witness to
him
as a proof of his claims

the
to
it
Thus have we
thee
:
sent
it.
down
Book (Qur'an)
and they
to
to
whom we
have given the Book
(Taurat) believe in
Suratu'l-'Anqabut (xxix) 46.
They
whom we
gave the Scriptures before

it
(Qur'an) do
(xxviii) 52.
believe in
(Qur'an).
Suratu'l-Qasas
*Yet the Muslim view of God is defective. See The Muslim Idea of God (C.L.S.) and The Faith of Islam, p. 181.
82

objection to his denunciations against
They had no
idolatry, and his testimony to the unity of God. At present he Differences were to arise later on. was friendly both with them and with Christians. 1
the city with destruction; were incredulous. They demanded but the Meccans
a miracle one.
3
Muhammad threatened
and refused to believe in him till they saw had no such credentials, but he revelations to show that this absence of brought power was part of God's plan, and asserted that 4 When even a miracle would not convince them.
Muhammad
further pressed on the point, he declared that the Qur'an itself was a miracle. It came down from
heaven,
was the best
of recitals,
unequalled,
for
none whether men or Jinn could produce anything 5 like it. He challenged any one to produce a Sura One man, Nadhir ibn Haritha, tried so as good.
to do.
it
It
was a dangerous task
to undertake for
called forth a severe sentence on

6
him and
finally
his death.
Another objection was that it was revealed in portions at a time and, if stored away on a wellguarded tablet ', why could they not have it all
'
at once.'
1
The
reply
is
2
3
Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 59. Suratu'sh-Shu'ara' (xxvi) 208-9; 201-3; Suratu'1-Hijr (xv) 4-5. 13-15. Suratu Bam Isra'il (xvii) 92-3. Suratu'1-Hijr (xv) 8
;
6 7
See Al-Qur'dn (S.P.C.K., 3rd ed.), pp. 58-66. Baidawi, vol. ii, p. 112; Margoliouth, p. 135. Suratu '1-Furqan (xxv) 34.
83
have parcelled out the Qur'an into sections, that thou mightest recite it unto men by slow degrees, and we have sent it down piecemeal. 1 Suratu Bani Isra'il (xvii) 107.
We
And
so throughout the years at
Mecca the contro-
versy rolled on,
and
Muhammad became more and
more the object of personal dislike. He, too, seems to have become weary of constant opposition and 2 of continual controversy." It was time to leave the Meccans severely alone.
1
Baidawf explains
'
'
'
circumstances
obviously a veryconvenient arrangement. 2 This weariness he was relieved of later on at Madina by an

order to pay no attention to mere gainsayers When thou seest those who busy themselves with cavilling at our signs, withdraw from them, till they busy themselves in some other subject. Suratu' 1- An 'am (vi) 67.
:
^^j&n
piecemeal
v__~_-,
as
'
meaning
according to the
^lc w hich was
CHAPTER
MADINA AND
On
ITS
VI
PEOPLE
the way to Madina, Muhammad halted at Kuba, which he reached on Monday, the eighth day of the month Rabi'u'l-awwal of the year a. h. 1.
He
as
there laid the foundations of a mosque, 1 famed the first in Islam for public worship. On
Thursday 'All joined him, and on the following day the whole party proceeded to Madina. On the way he halted in a valley, where the Bani Salim dwelt, A mosque and there held the Friday service. has since been erected on this spot, to commemorate
this event.
It
is
called the Musjidu'l-Jum'a
the
Friday mosque.
Since then Friday has been the

for the
On great weekly service. appointed day this occasion he preached a sermon on Islam, the 2 The people came out first he preached in Madina. to welcome him and many pressing invitations were
made, requesting
ûratu't-Tauba
Tabarf, series
(ix)
him
109.
to
alight
from his camel
1, vol.
iii,
p. 1257.
The sermon
vol.
ii,
is
and also
in the
Ndsikhu't-Tawdrikh,
part
i,
given by Tabarf p. 40
MADINA AND
ITS
PEOPLE
85
and accept hospitality. He did not wish to give offence by preferring one offer over another and
so
discreetly
said
'
The
decision
rests
with the
camel,
make way
for her, let her

it
go
free.'
The
arrived at a large open on the eastern side of the city, and there courtyard 1 sat down in order that the Prophet might alight.
camel went forward until
Abu Ayyub,
the owner of an adjoining house, kindly

at
placed rooms
Muhammad's
disposal,
until his
quarters and the mosque could be erected on the open ground now to be purchased from its owners. The land required belonged to two orphan Zaid was boys and was purchased from them.
own
now
all
sent to conduct the
family from
Mecca
to
members of the Prophet's Madina and in due course
safely arrived.
each
There was no central government at Madina, for tribal group exercised authority over its own members. Tribal disputes and feuds were common and Muhammad did wisely to hold aloof from all
parties,
residence.
when he selected his The construction of
separate place of a mosque and of
apartments for himself and his family occupied him for some months. On the open ground to the
north a place was set apart for the poorer Muslims
who had no home

Îbn Hisham,
s
own. The buildings were simple and the mosque was not large, but it
of
their
p. 172,
1,
quoted by Muir,
iii,
vol.
iii,
p. 11.
Tabarf, series
vol.
p. 1259.
86
is

a famous
house in Islam, for here the daily were held and the great Friday one, when services the Prophet gave advice on social duties, the cour-
and preached and delivered messages which he said he had received from heaven. It
tesies of life
was a house
of prayer,
an audience
hall, a
council
chamber, in which embassies were received, and from which administrative orders were issued.
Soon after this Muhammad lost bv death two most devoted adherents Kulthum who had entertained him at Kuba, and As'ad bin Zarara who had been elected leader of the Bani Najjar, when
;
at the
second pledge of 'Aqaba they declared their
fealty to the Prophet.
lived with As'ad in
worked hard
Najjar asked
in
The missionary Mus'ab had Madina, and together they had The Bani the cause of Islam.
to appoint fact that
Muhammad
2
successor
to their deceased chief.
The
he appointed
is a testimony not only to his but also to his desire now to gain growing influence, as much political authority as possible.
himself to the office
There were at this time four people in Madina with whom
distinct classes of
Muhammad
had
with,
much
to
do.
First
of
all
come the Immigrants,
called the Muhajirun,

1
who came from Mecca

;
Suratu'n-Nur
(xxiv)
27-8
60-2.
Ndsikhu't-Tawdrikh,
vol.
i,
part
ii,
p. 50.
MADINA AND
or inmediately after, the
ITS
PEOPLE
87
Prophet.
Muslims who
had p-eviously left Mecca owing to the persecutions and had taken refuge in other places, now came to Madina and were also called Muhajirun. They were a band of men entirely devoted to the cause of Islam, and bound to it by personal attachment to its founder. The Prophet could always rely on their support and aid. They were specially
there,
favoured
To those also who after their trials fled their country, then fought and endured with patience, verily, thy Lord will in the end be forgiving and Suratu'n-Nahl (xvi) 111. gracious.
Next came the Helpers, known as the Ansar. They were natives of Madina, who had accepted Islam before the Hijra, and also those who after it did so. They had not made the sacrifices the had done, nor had they borne the Muhajirun persecution which the earlier Muslims had endured, but in taking the pledge of 'Aqaba they had run some risk of offending their fellow-citizens and
The climate of Madina did not jirun who longed for their native
some extent compromised themselves. suit the Muha1 and so in air, order to induce them to stay it was thought desirable to bring them into close union with the
had
to
ill
Prophet that her father was veryand 'imir were cursing the infidels of Mecca for having driven them from that city. Muddriju'n-Nabuwat,
1
'Ayisha reported to the

Bilal
and that
ii,
vol.
p.
546
88
Ansar.
the
A compact of fraternity was made betveen two bodies, 1 and about fifty men from each party entered into a bond of brotherhood so close
that in the event of one dying the adopted brother became his heir. 2 This custom lasted about a
year and a half
when it was no longer needed. The Muhajirun were the men on whom Muhammad
could best rely in case of difficulty, bat they were in poor circumstances. This fraternal bond was
a wise regulation, raising the Muhajirun above the fear of actual destitution, and thus ensuring their
continued residence in Madina.

Khazraj, between whom there has been constant feuds. Some of the Bani
The two principal Arab the Bani Aws and the Bani
tribes in
Madina were
Aws and more
of the
Bani Khazraj became Muslims
and their ancient jealousy somewhat abated. The mutual submission to a new leader helped to make matters more peaceful, but many of them were
not very loyal.
The
other
members
of these tribes
remained neutral.
They
Muhammad.
5
He had
p. 179,
did not actively oppose been invited to come, and
See Ibn Hisham,
quoted by Muir,
vol.
iii,
p.
17 (ed. 1912),
p. 175.
2
This
is
referred to in the words
and fled their homes Verily, they (Muhajirun) and spent their substance for the cause of God, and they who have taken in the Prophet and been faithful to him (Ansar) shall be near of kin the one to the other. Sdratu'l-Anfal (viii) 73. See H. D. Qur'dn, p. 95, note.
believed,
who have
MADINA AND
there
ITS
PEOPLE
89
was thus an honourable obligation to let him remain in peace. Yet, as they saw power more and more passing into his hands, a spirit of jealousy arose. 'Abdu'llah ibn Ubbay, a chief of the Bani Khazraj,
found hopes of aspiring to supreme destroyed by the advent of Muhammad.
his
power
con-
siderable party, sceptical of the Prophet's rule
and
unfriendly to
it,
rallied
round 'Abdu'llah, but they
could not
for
growing strength of Islam, soon the whole city was nominally Muslim.
arrest
the
Privately
for
many men had

the
doubts, and
felt
that they
had been over hasty

its
in their procedure,
which had
result
abdication
of
their
own
tribal
leaders
to
from power and their entire submission All such men are called the foreign ruler. or Munafiqun, and are described by Hypocrites, Ibn Hisham 1 as 'certain men of the Aws and
a
Khazraj
who were
in
reality
little
removed from
the idolatry of their fathers and rejection of the true faith, only that Islam had by its prevalence overpowered them the mass having already gone
over to
took
these
on,
1
it
it. So they ostensibly joined Islam, and as a shield unto them from death a but in
;
secret they
were
his
traitors.'
For a considerable time

increased,
men when
exercised an adverse influence, but later
power had
Muhammad
p. 182.
Ibn Hisham, p. 351, quoted by Muir, (ed. 1912) Thus early, on the testimony of the Muslim
.
historian, does
force seem to have been a factor in conversion
90

denounced them, bringing forth revelations
purpose
:
sternly
for the
the Hypocrites come to thee, they say, bear witness that thou art the sent one of God.' God knoweth that thou art His sent one, but God bsareth witness that the Hypocrites do lie..
When
'
We
Their faith have they used as a cloak, and they turn aside others from the way of God. Evil are all
their doings.
These are they who say to you of Madina, Spend not aught upon those who are with the Apostle of God, and they will be forced to quit him.' Yet the treasures of the heavens and of the earth are God's. But the Hypocrites have no understanding.
say, 'if we return to the city, the mightier But assuredly drive out the weaker from it.' might is with God, and with the Apostle, and with the faithful. Yet the Hypocrites understand not. Suratu'l-Munaiiqun (lxiii) 1-2 7-8.
'
They
will
There were verv few Christians in Madina. man Abu Amir, who had travelled a good
seems
to
One
deal,
have
Muhammad
given up pagan practices before had anything to do with the people of
Madina. He professed to be a teacher in religion and naturally looked upon Muhammad as a rival. He retired to Mecca with about twenty followers. After that city came into the possession of Muham-
mad
died.
he went to Ta'if and thence to Syria where he Christians thus formed no party in Madina.
The Jews, however, were a very large and important community and soon after he had settled down
in
Madina,
Muhammad
included them in a treaty
MADINA AND
of
It
ITS
PEOPLE
91
mutual obligation with the Muhajirun and Ansar. was intended as a constitution for all his fol-
lowers,
and as
a treaty offensive
and defensive
for
those Jews, who whilst not embracing Islam might, for warlike purposes against a common enemy, aid The cost of the Muslims, or be aided by them.
blood-money, ransoms, and other expenditure involved was to be borne by each tribe which incurred whether Muslims or Jews. The substance of it,
the treaty, as translated by Muir from Ibn Hisham, l is as follows
:
'
In the
!
Name
of
God, the
All
Compassionate and
Merciful
1
The
charter of
Muhammad
the Prophet between
the believers of the Quraish and of Yathrib, and whosoever else joineth himself unto them, and
striveth with
them
for the Faith
verily,
thev are
a peculiar people, apart from the rest of mankind.
The Muhajirun, according

shall defray the price of
selves,
to
their
several
clans,
blood shed
among them-
and
shall
ransom honourably
The Bani
the same
;
'Auf, according to
their clans,
their prisoners. shall do
and so with the Bani Saida, Josham,

etc.,
Najjar, Nabit, Aws,

clans.
each
according to their
Whosoever
is
rebellious, or seeketh to spread
1 As no copy of the original can be found, Muir considers that Ibn Hisham' s account was transmitted by memory, (Muir, vol. hi, pp. 31-4). Syed Amir 'Aif also gives the substance of the treaty, which he highly eulogizes, pp. 139-41.
92

amongst the
believers,
iniquity, enmity, or sedition,
the hand of every man shall be against him, even if he be the son of one of themselves. No believer
shall shall
be put to death for killing an infidel nor infidel be supported against a believer. any
;
Whosoever of the Jews followeth us shall have aid and succour they shall not be injured, nor shall
;
any enemy be aided against them. not be granted by any unbeliever
Protection shall
1
to the Quraish
of Mecca, either in their persons or their property. 2 Whosoever killeth a believer wrongfully shall be
liable
to
retaliation
the
Muslims
shall
join
as of
one
man
against
the
murderer.
The
curse
God, and His wrath in the day of judgement, shall rest on the man that shall aid or shelter him.
r
The Jews
shall
contribute with
the
Muslims,
attached
so long as they are at war with a The several branches of the Jews
those
common enemy.
respectively to the Bani 'Auf, Bani Najjar, Bani Aws, etc., are one people with the believers.
The Jews
Muslims
:
will
maintain
their
own
religion,
the
As with the Jews, so with their adherents excepting him who shall transgress and do iniquity, he alone shall be punished and his
theirs.
this refers to those persons in Madina not yet professed Islam, but who are thus indirectly brought into the covenant. Vol. iii, p. 33. 2 The attack on the mercantile caravans seems to have been thus
1
Muir suggests that
who had
prepared
for.
MADINA AND
family.
ITS
PEOPLE
93
mission of
No one shall go forth Muhammad. None

his lawful
shall
but with the perbe held back
from seeking
cessive.
The Jews
shall
revenge, unless it be exshall be responsible for their
own
if
expenditure, the
Muslims
to
for
theirs.
Each,
the
attacked,
come
the
assistance of
and inviolable for all that join this treaty. Strangers, under protection, shall be treated on the same footing as their but no stranger shall be taken under protectors
other.
shall be as sacred
;
Madina
protection save with the consent of his tribe.
New
questions and doubts,
likely
to
produce
danger, shall be referred for decision to
and God and

evil
Muhammad
1
His Prophet.
Evil
War and
man and
sums
peace shall be
the Oppressor
the
result
made in common. And none but the

shall
change the conditions of

writer
'
:
this charter.'
A modern
of the
thus
the
up
as
compact
It
constituted
Muhammad
much
the
nation, magistrate by prophetic functions as by a virtual compact between himself and his people,' * and thus, we may add another great step forward was taken in
his
chief
of
the
political
aspirations
of
the
Prophet.
It
This
in
treaty
of
Madina
marks
in
distinct
city.
advance
Muhammad's
custom
of the
position
that
was the
Arabs to bring hard questions and

iSyed Amir 'AH, p
141.
94
disputes to the notice of a kahin or soothsayer, when ordinary means failed to bring about a solution.
Muhammad
of his
There were plenty of quarrels in Madina. by his claims, and also by the force
personality, soon acquired even a greater
own
influence than the ancient

for
kahins ever possessed,
authority was becoming political as well His decisions must have been sought as religious.
his
he found it possible even thus early to the law, with every prospect of being able lay new to enforce it, and to advance the claim that
after,
for
down
'
questions
and doubts, likely to produce evil and danger, shall be referred for decision to God and Muhammad His Prophet.' It is probable that
his decisons
were
wise, for he understood
human
and was a man with a purpose and a policy. judgements would have ruined His work at this time was beneficial. his prestige. In the place of lawlessness and disorder he introduced law and order. Religion played an
nature,
series of foolish
wealth.
important part in the creation of the commonIn Mecca it had been more individual
now
became more corporate but it was the watchword and battle-cry. The prayers took the
'
it
form of military exercises, they were imitated with

the
greatest
the example fact, the great
precision by the congregation after of the Imam. The mosque was, in

of
exercising ground was there the Muslims acquired the
Islam.
It
esprit de corps
MADINA AND
and
rigid
1
ITS
PEOPLE
distinguished
in the
95
their
discipline
which
armies.'
The
shows
for
position accorded to the

that, at this stage,
Jews
to
Muhammad
them.
They were known
compact had some use the Arabs as
revelation.
the people of the Book, the depositaries of divine Muhammad also believed this and said
that
1
he
of
was
simply
',
reintroducing
their
the
ancient
Faith
Abraham
great
ancestor.
He
seems to have expected that the Jews would admit the divine origin of Islam, and acknowledge him as
a prophet sent by God, at least, for the Arabs. He declared that his advent had been foretold in the
Law.
as
refer to
He gave them
them
:
religious liberty
is
confederates.
It
probable that
and used them these words
Dispute not unless in kindly sort, with the people Book save with such of them as have dealt 1 9 wrongfully with you. Suratu'l-'Anqabut (xxix) 45.
of the
;
Another important verse revealed about

is
1
the following
2
this
time
Wellhausen, Eucyclopcsdia Britannica, vol. xvi, p. 553. This a late Meccan Sura, but Noldeke considers that this verse is a Madina one. It has caused much perplexity to the
commentators. Husain says it refers only to those who were connected with Muhammad by treaty, or who pay the jizya,'
or poll-tax,
i.e.
'
are
.
Dhimmfs.
Jt^* &>')$. b S>\ U"& J^ \<3 <J..oL~ b This interpretation would seem to show that the verse was revealed at Madina, after the compact had been made. See
a?\ i.3.S
H.D.
Our'rin, pp. 10-13.
96

Let there be no compulsion
in religion.
l
Suratu'l-
Baqara
It
is
(ii)
257.
very
important to remember the date
when
these verses breathing forth a tolerant spirit were

revealed, always bearing in mind Baidawi's words (ante p. 83) that the revelations came 'according to
the circumstances
'.
There can be no doubt that
Muhammad was now

ance of the Jews.
age of
this,
He
very anxious to gain the allegiclearly saw the great advant-
and so
side.
in several
ways he strove
to
to
win
them
Jerusalem in the Feast of the prayer, so did he; they observed Atonement on the tenth day of the month by sacrifice and fasting, he ordered his followers to do the
to his
They turned
same.
Thus a Jew in passing over to Islam found A few joined no change in two great practices. Muslims permanently. The Jewish converts at the
i
^jJ\
^-i b\j>\
It is said
that this does not touch the general
law about the enforcement of the jizya, or poll-tax, of imprisonment and of the death penalty for renegades but refers to the special
;
case of two
Christians
who
{Khuldsatu't-Tafdsir, vol i, of an Ansar, who had become fire worshippers, whom Muhammad would not allow to be coerced he further adds that, apart from
:
not wish to become Muslims Husain refers it to two sons p. 202).

did
the special case, it applies only to those Jews and Christians who pay the jizya and that as regards pagan Arabs, it is abrogated
by the
(ii)
[Suratu'l-Baqara O Prophet abrogated by the verse contend against the infidels and the hypocrites and be rigorous It thus appears that no with them' [Suratu't-Tauba (ix) 74].
verse,
.
'
Kill
them wherever ye
it is
find
them
'
'
187]
Baidawi says
general principle of toleration
is
laid
down.
MADINA AND
this
ITS
1
PEOPLE
They were
97
useful
time
numbered
for
seven.
to
Muhammad,
about
the
they could give him

that
in
informa-
tion
led
Old Testament
him
to
believe
them
Scriptures which there were
prophecies
his witnesses.
religion,
to himself. They are called The Prophet commended the Jewish and to those Jews, who believe in God
relating
day and do what is right a reward But the great body of the Jews held promised. The Messiah for whom they looked was aloof. to be one descended from the house of David.
and the
is
last
It was, perhaps, unfortunate for the Jews that those Arabs, who refused to accept Muhammad's teaching or obey his rule, seemed inclined to
It naturally caused them to be support the Jews. looked upon with some amount of suspicion. Their
position
was one
of
some
difficulty.
They could
not, in the light of their greater
knowledge of the
Some of Scriptures, admit Muhammad's claims. the x\rab clans had in the past protected Jewish
tribes,
who were in the position of allies (ahlaf) and had received from their Arab friends such aid as was due to them in that position. Such a bond of union was dangerous to Muhammad, for as
Islam grew as a
give
political
system
all
else
had
to
way. Muslims, but

1
It
is
true
even
some Jews became amongst them there were

that
p. 229.
Isabah,
ii,
p. 231,
quoted by Margoliouth,
98

1
were amongst the Arab converts. The enmity of the Jews was more dangerous to Muhammad than that of the idolaters,
Munafiqun,
just as there
for these could only hurt
him
in
whereas the Jews could

that
It
criticize his claims
war and politics, and show
the previous Books did not support them. was now necessary to discredit them by a long series of revelations setting forth their guilt and folly and by accusing them of dishonesty in tam-
pering with the sacred Scriptures

tion
came
so the revela-
Know they not that God knoweth what they hide, as well as what they bring to light. But there are illiterates among them who are unacquainted with the Book, but with lies only, and have but vague fancies. Woe to them who with their own hands transcribe the Book corruptly, and then say, This is from God,' that they may sell it
'
for
some mean
price
Woe
!
their
hands have written gains they have made

!
to them for that which and woe to them for the
they say, Hell fire shall not touch us, but for a few days.' Say, have ye received such a promise from God ? for God will not revoke His promise, or speak ye of God that which ye know not ? But they whose gains are evil works, and who are environed by their sins they shall be inmates of the fire, therein to abide for ever. Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 72-5.
And
'
They
are thus referred to
'
but
with the faithful, they say, believe,' are apart one with another, they say, 'Will ye acquaint them with what God hath revealed to you, that they may dispute with you.' Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 71.
they
fall in
When
We
when they
MADINA AND
:
ITS
PEOPLE
99
They asked for a miracle To those who say, Verily God that we are not to credit an apostle
'
hath enjoined us until he presents
us a sacrifice which
fire
out of heaven shall destroy. 1
Suratu Ali 'Imran
(iii)
179.
in
Muhammad
their
at
:
demand
once
the next verse replied to
Say, already have apostles before me come to you with miracles, and with that of which ye speak,
wherefore slew ye them. 180.
The commentators say that these last words refer to Zachariah and Yahya (John the Baptist), and
so
Muhammad
argues that,
if
their forefathers slew
prophets of old
why
risk.
with miraculous powers, should he perform a miracle and run the same
did not accept the theory that the Old Testato Muhammad and are thus
:
who came
They
ment bore witness

reproved
Believe ye then part of the Book and deny part ? shall be the meed of him among you who And on the day doth this, but shame in this life ? of the resurrection they shall be sent to the most cruel of torments, for God is not regardless what
But what
Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 79. ye to whom the Scriptures have been given believe in what we have sent down (i.e. Qur'an) confirmatory of the Scripture which is in your hands, ere we efface your features, and twist your head round backward, or curse you. Suratu'n-Nisa' (iv) 50.
ye do.
See note on this
in
H .D.
Quran,
p. 109.
100
THE LIFE OF MUHAMM

are accused of hiding the testimony of the
:
They
Scriptures
Who
(ii)
is
more
in
fault
than
he
who
concealeth
the witness which he hath from

134.
God ?
Suratu'l-Baqara
truly are there among them who torture the Scriptures with their tongues, in order that ye may suppose it to be from the Scripture, yet it is not from and they say, This is from God,' the Scripture and they utter a lie against yet it is not from God God, and they know they do so. Suratu Ali 'Imran
And
'
(iii)
72.
all
In the latest Sura of
we have
They shift the words of Scripture from their places and have forgotten part of what they were taught. Now is our Apostle people of the Scriptures come to you to clear up to you much that ye concealed of these Scriptures, and to pass over many things.
Now hath a light, and a clear Book come to you from God, by which God will guide him who shall follow after His good pleasure to paths of peace, and will bring them out of the darkness to the light, by His will and to the straight path will He guide them. Suratu'l-Maida (v) 16, 18.
;
The change
tering
in
all
these verses
is
not that of but
al-
the written text of the Scriptures,

its
of
hiding
truth,
allusions
to
by which Muhammad meant himself which he asserted were conIt is
tained therein.
themselves
are
not stated that the Scriptures so corrupted as to cease to be
See H.D.
Quran,
p. 113, note.
MADINA AND
ITS
PEOPLE
101
Indeed the evidence of the Qur'an genuine. is all the other way
:
itself
Verily we have sent down the law (Taurat) wherein Suratu'l-Ma'ida (v) 48. are guidance and light.
Muhammad
tance
of
in
the
other places even urges the imporstudy of the Jewish and Christian
:
Scriptures thus
But, if the people of the Book believe, and have the fear of God, we will surely put away their sins
from them, and will bring them into gardens of delight; and if that they observe the Law and the Evangel, and what hath been sent down to them from their Lord, they shall surely have their fill of good things from above them and from beneath their
feet.
Say,
people of the Book, ye have no ground
to stand on, till ye observe the and that which hath been sent
Law, down
the Evangel
to
you from
your Lord.
Suratu'l-Ma'ida
to the
(v) 70, 72.
Here obedience
Old and
is
New
Testaments,
as well as to the Qur'an,
inculcated,
which would
not have been the case had the text of the former
Books been tampered with.

been, according to
In
fact,
no Books have
testimony, as
:
Muhammad's own
given
in the
Qur'an, so well safeguarded
truth,
to thee have we sent down the Qur'an with confirmatory of previous Scriptures and their 1 Suratu'l-Ma'ida (v) 52. safeguard.
And
The word
\\
for safeguard ^-*tj*
is
'
called 'a guard'. is*~.iU&^
j*j
a: ,.*
ts*fe*W* &
*^
all
j>
guard over the Books pro,
tecting
them from change.' (Tafsir-i-Hasaitii

:
vol.
i,
dawi says
'Guardian over
the books.'
f ^m\*\
p. 148.)
BaiUJi.
^Îc
102
It is clear from this that the Scriptures had not been corrupted before the time of Muhammad for the Qur'an confirms them they cannot, from a Muslim standpoint, have been corrupted since for
:
been sent to be their safeguard, their guardian'. If then the Scriptures have been since, the Qur'an has failed of its purpose corrupted
the Qur'an
*
has
and has not been their safeguard. The fact is, that Muhammad had no real doubt about the authenticity and genuineness of the Scriptures, but, when he had no further use for the Jews, it was necessary
to discredit them.
It is instructive to
note that
all
these passages about the perversion of the meaning of the Bible and the charge of concealing its predictions were revealed at Madina, and not at
Mecca.
The Jews having been
thus rebuked and set aside
as no longer likely to be useful or necessary, there was no object whatever in assimilating the customs
and practices
of Islam to those of
Judaism
so the
Qibla (i.e. should be said) was
the direction towards which the prayers
now changed back
again from
Jerusalem to Mecca and, as usual, a revelation came It is immediately precedto authorize the change. ed by a long passage in the second Sura to show that
the Ka'ba and the religion of x^braham, of which Islam is declared to be the revival, is better than
the Qibla of the Jews and Judaism.

tians, too,
The
Chris-
have a hint given them in the expression
MADINA AND
'
ITS
PEOPLE
1
103
in
The baptism
of
God have we
received,'
that
the reception of Islam consists the true regeneration of man. Then the change of the Qibla is stated in the verses openly
:
appointed the Qibla, which thou formerly hadst, only that we might know him who followeth the Apostle from him who turneth on his heels. The change is a difficulty, but not to those whom God hath But God will not let your faith be fruitless guided. for unto man is God merciful, gracious. have seen thee turning thy face towards every part of heaven but we will have thee turn to a Qibla which shall please thee. Turn then thy face towards the sacred Mosque and wherever ye be turn your face towards that part. Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 138-9.
We
We
The
with
that
Traditionists
this
relate
in
many
stories
connected
event
'
when he found
;
Gabriel
the Prophet's life. One is, the Jews obstinate he said to Gabriel would that the Lord might
!
change the direction of my face at prayer away from the Qibla of the Jews.' Gabriel replied, I
'
am
but a servant, address thy prayer to God.' 2 The Ramadan fast also was now substituted
for the
one hitherto kept simultaneously with the

fast.
3
Jewish
a
Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 132. See H.D. Quran, p. 118, note. Waqidi, p. 46, quoted by Muir, vol. iii, p. 43. 3 The change of the Qibla and the appointment of the Ramadan fast were made in the second year at Madina, about seventeen or eighteen months after the Hijra. Other changes were also made [See Rabbi Geiger in Judaism and Islam (S.P.C.K., The law laid down in Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) Madras), pp 157-9.]. 230 is opposed to Deut. xxiv. 1-4. See H D. Qur'dtt, pp. 122-3.
104
As for the month Ramadan, in which the Qur'an was sent down to be man's guidance, and an explanation of that guidance, and of that illumination, as soon as any one of you observeth the moon let him set about the fast. Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 181.
warning is given to the Jews in Those who conceal aught that we have sent down, either of clear proof or guidance, after what we have so clearly shown to men in the Book, God
stern
:
shall curse
them, and they Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 154.
who
curse shall curse them.
The breach
7
between
Muhammad
and
the
Jews
was now complete.
They
did not admit his claims.
They were conservative upholders of their revealed Law, and of the customs based on the interpretations He was now inclined to the old Arab customs, of it.
even
made changes
retaining the pagan ritual of the Hajj, and for the express purpose of abolishing
from Islam all resemblances to Judaism. We shall see later on how this growing coolness on Muhammad's part passed on to bitter hatred and persecution.
Coincident with this rejection of the Jews is the attempt to conciliate the Meccans by sanctioning the pilgrimage to the Ka'ba
:
Accomplish the pilgrimage and the holy places in honour of God. 192. (ii)
the visitation of
Suratu'l-Baqara
This could only be done by conserving as much of the old Arab ritual as possible, and, pagan though
it
was, he produced a revelation for the retention

it
:
of
MADINA AND
Verily, Safa
ITS
PEOPLE
105
and Marwa are among the monuments whoever then maketh a pilgrimage to the temple, or visiteth it, shall not be to blame if he go 1 round them both. Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 153.
of
God
The second
Sura, Suratu'l-Baqara, shows
how
the
policy of the Prophet was now changing, and how the revelations were timed to meet the exigencies
of the varying
all this
social
and
political
situations.
In
Muhammad showed
himself a
man
;
of insight,
quick to observe the signs of the times a man with a clear purpose before him, towards the attainment
which he displayed administrative talents of a high In this respect he was a great man. Judging the signs of the times he now saw that war with by the Meccans must sooner or later come, and he
of
order.
began to prepare his people for it by stimulating their zeal and courage by reciting examples from
Jewish history Think ye to enter Paradise, when no such things have come upon you, as on those who flourish before you? Fight for the cause of God. Suratu'l-Baqara (ii)
:
210, 245.
The Jewish wars are described with the object of 2 shewing how men of old fought for the Lord. The second year at Madina, then, saw many changes the fast of Ramadan made obligatory the
;
It is
possible that these verses were revealed later on,
when
the
;
pilgrimage to Mecca was made, and are interpolations here but that does not alter the fact of the compromise with paganism.
first
2
Sr.ratu'l-Baqara
(ii)
247-52.
106

sacrifice,
'Idu'd-Duha, or feast of
form with the
ritual of the
now made to conMeccan pilgrimage and

:
so differentiated from the Jewish Day of Atonement, which formed the model for the ceremony at first
the Ka'ba appointed as the Qibla, and the adhan or call to prayers adopted, instead of the bell of the
Christians.
dislike
to,
All these changes marked the growing and the sense of independence of, the
Jews.
The
daughter of
Muhammad
Fatima, marriage of 'Ali with took place this year.
the
We must now go back a little and consider the economic condition of the Muhajirun in the early
days
of
their
stay
in
Madina.
We
his
haye
seen
his
{ante p. 85) poorer followers
how Muhammad
built quarters for
and fed them from

not settle a
own
table.
marriage gift upon Fatima, and had to sell his coat of mail in order to provide funds with which to give her some
Even
'Ali
could
Abu Bakr was sent by the Prophet presents. to borrow a loan from a Jew, called Pinhas saying, ' The Jew will lend to God a good loan.'
Who
If God requires a loan he must tauntingly replied be poor', Abu Bakr then struck him, saying, 'Were
' :
it
not for the covenant between us,
had cut
off
&6 oô
s->^==- ((_5^) <^)
]m
c^* *^ \>^ t^*
^ ^T*f
<s-~~-^
Jj-~*j *&?*>
Mfrkjuind,
'Ali also told
vol.
ii,
p. 74.
that his indigence was He also explained his poor ... marriage. oJu>) (o.^ >U circumstances to the Prophet. Nasikhii't-Tawdrikh, PP- 43-4.
Abu Bakr
iS)** c?* a barrier to the
JU
MADINA AND
ITS
PEOPLE
107
thy head.' The Jew complained to the Prophet but got no redress. When Muhammad married 'Ayisha,
there
feast. Margoliouth (p. 235), each statement by a reference to original supporting Muslim authorities, gives in detail a lucid account
was no marriage
of the poverty
and
distress in
now
to
were.
In order to earn a
little
;
which the Muslims food some had

whilst
undertake
the
menial
occupations
of
others
earned some money in trading.

in
all
Muhammad
people.
shared
privations
his
Charitable
persons used to invite the Prophet, when they saw, his face pinched with hunger. Months used to pass,
without any fire being lighted in 3 their dwelling, their food being dates and water.' Oppressed with this grinding poverty, the true
said
'
'Ayisha,
Believers naturally
Jews from
security, of debts.'
8
whom
some resentment against the nothing was to be had without

felt
who were
merciless about the recovery were comparatively wealthy, but They
were not disposed to give away their means to support the Muhajirun. They treasured up for themselves a day of wrath, when the Muslims found
power
l
to retaliate.
p. 349),
Madina they had only

2
Tradition recorded by Tirmidjii (vol. ii, dates and barley to eat.

psdtdJ^
.
says that
\+i\
i,
iti
-*U~J\ AJ^.wk>
(*fr*i*le>
Margoliouth,
Ibid., p. 237,
p. 236.
vi, 71.
The quotations
are from Tirmidkf,
203
and from Musnad,

3
quoted from Musnad,
iii,
423.
CHAPTER
A few
to
VII

months' residence in Madina brought home
the
mind
of
his
of the
Prophet the distressed con-
dition
which
in
people, lay before them.
and the
to
hopeless
The constant
tribal
prospect feuds
Arabia would seem
have raised the act of
capturing caravans of merchandise above that of mere robbery. It became the natural result of
a dispute.
tion
to
This
is
the
most charitable construcaction

of
put
on
the
forthcoming
the
Prophet.
The Meccans
sent forth trading caravans.
needed property badly. Here was a very good way of obtaining it. This is, at least,
a
earlier
Muhammad
Prophet's Later on, when the Meccans became alive to the danger their commerce was in, and took active
it,
possible reason for the raids made under
commencement
the
of
the
orders.
measures to protect
of
tions.
1
the
a defensive nature.
*
wars were sometimes There were many expedi-
An
expedition
;
commanded by
a Ghazwa
lieutenants
an expedition placed
the Prophet in person was called in the charge of one of his
was called a Sariya.
109
There was nothing seriously wrong from an Arab point of view in one tribe attacking the property Muhammad did nothing more than of another. other Arab chief, and such he now was, would any have done so there seems no reason to ignore the historic fact that the Muslims began the strife of arms, that they, and not the Meccans, were
;
the
first
to seek
it
;
for plunder.
The former
This
is
needed
the latter
did not.
sorely a simple
explanation of the fact and nothing is gained by 1 In some way or other means of sustedisguising it.
nance had to be provided, and so on the seventh
day
of the
month Ramadan,
Madina,
'Abdu'l-Muttalib
2
that
is,
seven months
after his arrival in
Muhammad
to
Hamza
bin
the
appointed charge of a
small expedition.
'
The reason
for this expedition
1 A Muslim writer thus concludes an eloquent defence of the This man was now compelled by the necessities Prophet's action of the situation, and against his own inclination, to repel the attacks of the enemy by force of arms, to organize his followers for purposes of self-defence, and often to send out expeditions to
:
anticipate treacherous
p. 144).
and sudden onslaughts' (Syed 'Amir Ali, As a matter of historical fact, the expeditions were sent
Tirmidhf distinctly says forth for the purpose of obtaining booty. that before the battle of Badr, the Prophet had sent out to take the
caravan of the Meccans
who went
forth to protect
it.
(Jami'u't-
Tirmidhi, vol. ii, p. 374.) The truth is that the older writers state the facts as they were, and see nothing incongruous or unusual in them.
Muhammad appointed capturing a caravan.

2
Hamza
for
the
express
purpose
of
Ndsikhu't-Tawcirikh,
vol.
ii,
pare
i,
p. 75.
110
is

been as follows
' :
said to have
When
it
came
to the august hearing of his Lordship that a number of the Quraish were just returning to Mecca
from a commercial journey from Syria, he prepared a white banner and ordered Hamza to hasten with
thirty
1 This Muhajirun to capture the caravan.' was unsuccessful. expedition The historians say that he specially exempted the
Ansar from taking part
in this
Sariya, because he
thought they would not aid his cause unless the enemies attacked Mecca itself. The undertaking in the first and second pledges of 'Aqaba (ante pp. 71,
75)
was
seems
to
to defend the Prophet, have had that in his
and the
fact that
he
tinct proof that this

offensive.
It
mind now is a diswas not defensive but Sariya

step in a declaration expeditions, the Sariyas of
first
was the
small
of
war.
Two
'Ubaida and of Sa'd, followed, but
in neither case
was
that
any
booty
2
obtained.
It
was thought well

be obtained for
divine sanction should

so,
it
now
these expeditions,
came
in these
words
O Prophet contend against the infidels and the hypocrites and be rigorous with them. Suratu't-Tauba
(ix) 74.
Mfrkbund,
*
vol.
ii,
p. 76.
J^b6.
NdsiUhiit-Tawdri%k,
vol.
ii,
part
i,
p. 74.

These expeditions means of sustenance
entirely failed
for
111
the
to obtain
;
but they accustomed his followers to warlike methods, and enabled him to make agreements with Arab tribes
the
Muslims
on the great caravan routes.

altogether lead the next
as
useless.
So they were not

thought
It
is
Muhammad
well
to
expedition in person.
of
known
the
Ghazwa
pursuit of Its missed.

fact that
Abwa, and was as usual in a Quraish caravan which was again

chief
interest,
Muhammad
a
to
however, lies in the made a treaty with the Bani

the
Dhamra,
returned
branch
Madina.
of
Quraish,
and
first
then
made with
caravans
treaty a pagan tribe. Obviously, if the Meccan were the object of all these raids, it
This
was the
was a
politic act to secure
of the tribes through
whose
the neutrality, at least, territory such caravans

the
for at
would pass. A treaty with merchants was not sought

distress.
richer
this
Meccan
time of
of
The
is
justification
of
this
:
procedure
found
in a revelation
difference
God doth not forbid you to deal with kindness and fairness towards those who have not made war epon you on account of your religion, or driven you forth from your homes. Only doth God forbid you to make friends of those who, on account of your religion, have warred 1 and have driven you forth from your against you,
(^6^0* fi^fi^* <Ji^ Literally 'those who killed you on account of religion As it is connected with the exodus from
'
112

:
homes, and have aided those who drove you forth and whoever maketh friends of them are wrongdoers. Suratu'l-Mumtahina (lx) 8-9.
other Ghazwas, Buwat and 'Ushaira, were equally unsuccessful, but in the latter one a treaty was concluded with the Bani Mualij, which ren-
Two
dered another Arab tribe
neutral
in
the conflict
failures
with the
obtain
of the
Meccans.
These successive
to
to
any booty tended
lessen
the
prestige
of the Jews,
It
Prophet, and to expose him to the taunts so other tactics had to be adopted. was a time-honoured custom amongst the Arabs
in
that
a sacred
month
there should be a
truce
between the hostile tribes. Men could go about then unarmed and at peace. Obviously an armed force which set this custom at defiance had a 1 good chance of success. The Sariya of Nakhla
was made under these favourable conditions. An expedition was sent forth to capture a Meccan The leaders had some doubt about the caravan.
lawfulness
of
the
procedure,
but
fear
lest
the
2
Meccans should escape overcame their scruples. The attack was successful and this raid is famous as being the first in which booty was obtained.
Mecca,
it
must
fact,
matter of
1
since
refer to the persecutions in that city, for, as a the Hijra the Meccans had as yet made
no war on the Muslims. For full details of it, see Ghazwas and Sariyas (C.L.S.),
pp. 7-12.
2
MuddrijiV n-Nabuwat, pp. 556-7.

This breach of Arab custom needed some
tion
113
and so the revelation came

will
'
justifica-
ask thee concerning war in the sacred To war therein is bad, 1 but to turn aside from the cause of God, and to have no faith in Him and the sacred Temple, and to drive out
They month
:
say,
its
people,
is
strife
(ii)
is worse in the sight of God; and civil worse than bloodshed.' v Suratu'l-Baqara
214.
This sanction was enough. The booty so much needed was divided and the prisoners put up to Henceforth all the year round Ghazwas ransom.
and Sariyas could go on. No longer was there any close time for Meccan merchants.
With
it is
reference to these expeditions in the

of
first
and second year

only
Muhammad's
rule at
Madina,
fair to state that a
learned Indian Muslim,
He speaks discredits the accounts given of them. of them as the alleged interception of the Quraish
caravans.
Of the three Sariyas of Hamza, 'Ubaida, and of the four Ghazwas of Abwa, and Sa'd 'Ushaira and Nakhla he affirms that the Buwat, not corroborated by statements about them are The acauthentic and trustworthy traditions.' counts are, however, given by Muslim historians of
; '
Baidawi
(vol.
i,
p. 114)
says that
it
is
generally held that this
has been abrogated by the Ayatu's-Saif, or 'verse of the sword', Kill the polytheists wherever ye shall find which reads thus
'
:
them.' Suratu't-Tauba
2
(ix) 5.
See also Suratu'1-Hajj
(xxii)
40-1
Cheragh
'All,
pp. 29-30.
114

At the same time, historical criticism
but details, even
if
repute.
show
doubt
that, as regards certain details, there

;
may may be
some
basis of fact.
The
exaggerated, must rest on expeditions themselves are
not matters of imagination. Chera gh 'All himself admits that the biographers Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham,
Tabari, Ibn Athir in the Kdmil, and Halabi in the
InsauniCl-Aiyun refer to the Sariya of Nakhla. Another objection is that there is an internal
improbability.
It
is
said
that the
inhabitants of
Madina had pledged themselves only to defend the Prophet from attack, and not to join him in any
aggressive step.
Therefore, it seems impossible that should have allowed Muhammad to take any they
aggressive steps against the Quraish which might involve them in great trouble. Now, it is true that
there was such a compact between the Muhajirun and the Ansar but, as a matter of fact, the Ansar
;
did take part in aggressive conflicts.

of
In the battle
Badr and
;
wars
for before that
thereafter they freely joined in all time the Prophet had given
many
revelations
about warfare and the terms of
the treaty were tacitly set aside. too able and too determined a
The Prophet was man to be turned
aside by the opinion of a few Ansar from any line That they had suffiof policy he might adopt. cient influence to restrain him from making raids
is
only an hypothesis.
it
says
Indeed, Cheragh 'All only seemed impossible that they should allow it.

It
115
surely seems
it,
more impossible that they could
prevent
after
and, as a matter of fact, they did not.
The Muslims were now encouraged, and soon

an attempt to capture another caravan resulted in the important battle of Badr, a brief account 1 The immediate cause of of which I now give.
the battle was the desire of a rich caravan on
its
Muhammad
to capture
2 way from Syria to Mecca. A band of three hundred and fifty men went forth from Madina, of whom eighty-seven were Muhajirun and two hundred and thirty-six Ansar, for they were no longer restricted to defensive
warfare.
he
left
Quraish leader, before Syria had heard rumours of the intended

to
Abu Sufyan,
the
raid
and had sent
Mecca
for
help.
He
also
Badr lay hastened the departure of the caravan. on the usual route, but Abu Sufyan rode on ahead
Limitations of space prevent a full description of this important The reader is referred to The Battles of Badr and Uhud (C.L.S.), in which I have given a full and exhaustive account.
1
battle.
'
When
it
was known
to the
Prophet of
God
that a caravan of
the Quraish was leaving Mecca, he called his Companions together with "the intention of it' (<^?^ u*i JU5*?> *- e * g ettm g it).
-
Maghdzi u s-Sddiqa.
Rasiil), p. 9.
'
'
'
(Urdu translation of Waqidi's MagJuizi u'r'

:
The cause was this. The eminent Traditionist, Bukharf says His Excellency called the people to meet Abu Sufyan, in order that they might loot the properties of the Quraish which was with him.'
Faidu'l-Bdri, part
xvi,
p. 9.
116
Muslims had been changed the route and got He also sent word to the the caravan safely away. 1 relief party that their services were not needed. 2 It was against his desire that the battle occurred. Some of the Meccans wished to return home, but Abu Jahl held that they should go forward and
to that place and, finding that
reconnoitring there, he
refresh
themselves
rest
at
Badr.
Some
returned
to
:
Mecca, the
*
Now,
if
went on with Abu Jahl who said Muhammad and his Companions think
they will gain a victory over us like the victory at Nakhla, they are mistaken, we will show them
that
a
we can
demonstration
It protect our caravans.' in force, in order to
was to be show that
these continued attempts to raid peaceful mercantile caravans must cease and there was much justification for
it.
having heard that the caravan would be protected took counsel with his followers as to the course to be pursued under the altered circumstances.
Muhammad
They decided
to
march
forth,
and very
wisely at once secured a good strategic position at

Mirkhund, on the authority of Waqidi, supports this statement. The reason of the sent a message to the Quraish saying people's leaving the sanctuary (Mecca) was to prevent their goods being plundered, but as now Allah the Most High, has granted
1
He
'
safety to the caravan,
it
will
be proper to return,' yUs*

107.
vol.
2
ii,
p. 81.
<*s~iS Job
\\i
S\*S p.
\j
q)\*)\
^^" <^^
&y^^
Encyclopedia of Islam,

Badr.
117
We
may
pass over the details of the tight
and the single combats. The Traditionists record many wonderful events, saying that Gabriel and Mika'il, clothed in white, stood on either side of
Prophet, whilst Israfil brought the welcome 1 The result was that the aid of a thousand angels.
the
Meccans
lost
the day.
After the battle was over
Muhammad inquired whether Abu Jahl was dead. A servant went forth and saw him wounded but still alive. He then cut off his head and took it
to the
is
Prophet
in
all
who
is
more acceptable
Arabia.'
to
2
reported to have said me than the choicest
; :
It
red
camel
day following the victory Muhammad the booty to be produced. Those who had pursued the enemy and exposed their lives in defeating their opponents claimed the whole, or the larger portion those who had remained on the field of battle for the safety of the Prophet
On
the
ordered
all
and
of the
Ansar,
1
camp also who had acted

(viii)
laid claim to a share.

all
The
through as the Prophet's
Suratu'l-Anfal
9.
Waqidf quoted by Muir, vol. iii, p. 108. The Maghdzi'u'sSddiqa, p. 27, gives the same account from Waqidf.
Ibn Mas'ud relates
of his wounds.
how
the
man found Abu

off his
He
then cut
Jahl about head and took it
to die to
the
Prophet and said: 'This is the head of Abu Jahl, the enemy of God'. 'His Excellency stood up and praised God who had Faidu'l-Bdri, part xvi, pp. 19-20. given such glory to Islam.'
118
body-guard, also required some consideration. The dispute became so hot that Muhammad had to
interpose with a revelation and to declare that, as God had given the victory, to Him the spoil
belonged
They
will
the spoils
question thee about the spoils. Say: are God's and the Apostle's. Therefore,
settle
fear God and obey God and

lievers.
this
among
if
Apostle, Suratu'l-Anfal (viii) 1.

a
rule,
all
his
you
and yourselves are true be;
Soon
after
which
:
given to cover
such cases
is
still
in
force,
was
When ye have taken any booty, a fifth part belongeth to God and to the Apostle, and to the near of kin, and to orphans, and to the poor, and to the wayfarer, if ye believe in God, and in that which we have sent down to our servant on the day of
1
discrimination, Suratu'l-Anfal
the day of the meeting of the hosts.

(viii)
42.
The booty was
on these principles, Muhammad receiving, over and above his share, the camel of Abu Jahl and the sword dhu'l-faqar
finally divided
which he gave to 'Ali. Muhammad was accused by the Munafiqun of having taken a beautiful red vestment for himself. Then this verse came
:
It
is
f
not
the
Prophet
(iii)
who
will
defraud
you.
Suratu Ali 'Imran
155.
The
battle of
Prophet's career.
1
Badr was a turning point in the Defeat would have been almost
Yaumu'l-Farqan, i. e. the day of the battle of Badr. See Tirmidjii, vol. ii, p. 341 and H. D. Our an, p. 144, note.

ruinous to his cause
declared
;
119
whereas success, gained as he
by
the miraculous interposition of God,
The die was materially strengthened his position. now cast, and his followers were committed to a
Islam long and active struggle with his opponents. must now stand or fall by the arbitration of the
sword.
The importance
of Traditions
of the battle
is
seen in the
full
accounts given by the historians, and the vast mass which has grown up around it. One
thing which strikes the reader of these narratives is that there was really no reason to give such promi-
nence to divine interposition. The Meccans had started out a thousand strong, but many had returned when they knew that the caravan was safe, and
amongst those who remained there were numbers who only did so owing to the vehement words of Abu Jahl. The tactics of the Muslims were superior
to those of their foes.
Thev secured
of
the kev of the

all
the wells. by getting possession They had been the aggressors they had come forth with the full intention of righting, though the}* had
position
;
anticipated meeting only the guard of a caravan. Defeat would have been fatal to their cause. On
the one side was an army, placed in an inferior position, containing many brave men, but also many
who would
side
rather not have been there.
On
the other
was a small compact force, thoroughly united in spirit, and enthusiastically devoted to its leader.
120

numbers was and moral force. purpose
deficient in
fully
What was
in unity of
made up
are
sufficient
natural
causes
to
account
Clearly there for the
victory of Badr.
question which arises is this Who was responsible for the battle of Badr ? There is
The
next
no sufficient evidence to show that, after Muhammad's flight from Mecca, the Quraish as a body had been aggressors. Probably they were only too glad to get rid of one who, from their standpoint, was a troublesome citizen, a contemner of their ancient customs and worship and if so they would have left him and his followers quietly
;
alone at
Madina.
But, as
this.
we have
already seen,
About a year after his arrival at Madina, Muhammad started on his first warlike expedition to Abwa in pursuit of a Meccan A second and third caravan but failed to find it.
expedition followed, both with the definite object of capturing rich caravans. These, however, were
failures.
what happened was
A
in
who was
fourth was in pursuit of an Arab chief alliance with the Quraish, but their
complicity with his supposed misdeeds is not shown. Other expeditions were sent out under some of
Companions. These were simply marauding parties, which consisted entirely of the Muhajirun, and not of the Ansar, sent forth to loot the rich caravans of the Meccans. They too were failures, for the Meccans were on the alert and carefully
the

avoided
121
any conflict. The Ansar joined in the Badr and this has been urged as a proof that it was a defensive operation but the facts show that it was not originally planned as a defensive
battle of
;
action.
Moreover, by that time the martial spirit had pervaded the whole Muslim body, and the original compact restricting the aid of the Ansar to defensive movements seems to have been lost This was quite natural for, sight of or ignored. when the compact was made, these continual raids
on caravans could not have been foreseen.

old historians feel no difficulty in giving a simple straightforward account of these raids, and the idea that the propriety of a course of action,
The
such as the Muslims adopted as aggressors, should ever be questioned, or indeed was even open to
question,
did
not
apparently
enter
their
minds.
Modern Muslim writers in India, however, do assume the position of apologists for, or defenders Thus one describes the of, the Prophet's actions. advance of the Meccans to Badr as a raiding to expedition to the very vicinity of Madina
'
destroy the Islamites and to protect one of their caravans bringing munitions of war '} If this
statement about
It
No historical authority is given for the munitions of war'. On the other hand, we know there were 1,000 camels and 'valuable goods' (\^>
1
Syed Amir
'Alf (p. 145).

'
q\J> &**)
was a caravan containing the property

'
'
described as a
great property
J V*^) [jz-^ JV*^) (Muddriju'n-Nabuis
of the Quraish (^J^.>i
wat,
p.
557).
Nothing whatever
said
about munitions
of
122

that
means
brought
not
the
'
munitions of war
it
'
were
being
for this attack,
is
not
consistent with
the historical facts which are that the caravan was
coming
it
to
Madina,
but
from
as
fast as possible,
veying the usual articles of munitions of wai. It is also
was hurrying away and that it was conmerchandise and not

a
fact
that
the
until
Meccans did not send out

they
a relieving force
had laid his plans to attack their caravans. Their expedition was one for the simple intention of showing that purely 1 they were prepared to try to protect their property, and to show the Muslims that this constant raiding must be stopped.
that
knew
Muhammad
Whether, now that the caravan was

is
safe,
it
would
have been better to have rested content with that

a question they were best acquainted with. Nodoubt they thought that they could, owing to their
war.
Had
they been there, the historians would certainly have

it
proclaimed
caravan.
1
as a
justification
for
the
proposed raid on the
Tirmidhf
:
which says
quite
.
is
clear on this point.
He
records a Tradition
AJfc^xJ
^y^T***
(j~>
ew^vcii v**^
:
"AjjJ
gyS*
W>\
T*^
Which
'
the
Urdu
translator renders as
>
c_\)^
<=
d^
:
He went forth with the intention (of taking) the caravan the Quraish went forth also to protect their caravan (vol. ii, p. 374). This entirely disposes of the defence set up, and for which no
'
authorities are given in

p. 145.
The Life and Teachings of Muhammad,
123
superior numbers, chastise the Muslims, and so insure their commerce from future molestation, and
it
hard to say that they were wrong. distinguished Muslim scholar throws the blame The Quraish would on the Meccans. He says have taken every strong and hostile naturally
is
'
measure to persecute the fugitives.' * This is an sumption and its correctness is not proved.
this verse
is
as-
In
order to show that the Meccans were the aggressors,
quoted
dealt
(viii)
If they seek to deal
have already
Suratu'l-Anfal
treacherously with you, they treacherously with God before.

72.
But
this
verse
it.
was revealed
after the
battle
and
to justify
It
does not, therefore, contravene the
accuracy of the historical statements.

It is said that Muhammad had tried to pacify the Meccans, and that this proves that he was not the aggressor and this verse is quoted
:
ye desired a decision, now hath the It will be better for you, if ye Suratu'l-Anfal (viii) 19. give over the struggle.
Meccans
If
decision
come
to you.
But
this revelation also
came
after the battle,
and
so only proves that Muhammad then wished for a truce. It does not deal with the question as to
who was
lities.
responsible for the commencement of hostiThis writer takes up a much stronger posi-
tion
when he
admits,
1
for the
'Ah', p. vi.
sake of argument,
Cheragh
Ibid., p. 33.
124
that the marauding expeditions were actually made by the Muslims, for the purpose of waylaying cara-
vans and not

the
in
self-defence.
He
to
argues that, as
ill
Muslims had
been,
owing
treatment,
compelled to leave Mecca, there was from the day of the Hijra a state of war between the Muslims
Madina and the Quraish in Mecca, and that, it was quite lawful on the part to seize and appropriate all the of the Muslims property of their enemies whenever and however
in
such being the case,
This argument, at all events, could get it. the historical sequence of events, even accepts
they
though the deduction from them may be open to

question.
The Prophet returned

prisoners with him.
at
to
Madina, bringing many

(viii)
Suratu'l-Anfal
time,
was pro-
showing how the Lord bably given been on their side, how a gracious provision had awaited the believers how a few would vanquish many how those who turn their backs in the day of battle would abide in hell and how the unbeThe lievers would taste the torture of the burning. Many of the rejoicing, however, was not universal.
this
; ;
amongst the Meccans were parents of the Muslims and among the prisoners were their kinsThe Jews were not at all pleased. They were folk. clever satirists, and 'Asma bint Marwan of the tribe
slain
of the Bani
folly
Aws composed
people
of
verses, setting forth the

in
of
the
Madina
receiving
and

protecting one
his
125
amongst passed on from one

at them.
who had slain some of the chief men own people. These verses were soon
to another, until they reached
the ears of the Muslims,
who were much
incensed
Already there were in
Madina men ever

people
ready to show zeal in putting undesirable 1 out of the way and now 'Umair, a blind
man
of
the same tribe entering 'Asma's house, removed a sleeping infant from her side and stabbed her with
his sword.
The
next morning
said to
'
Muhammad
him:
2
seeing
'Umair
thing
replied
in
in the
mosque
'Hast thou
slain the
daughter of
Marwan
killing
against
:
me
for
Yes, is there anyher ? The Prophet
two goats would not butt each other the matter,'' in other words, it is of no conse'No,
quence. A few months after a similar case occurred.
An
aged Jew Abu
'Afak was active in his opposition to the Muslims and composed satirical verses which
annoyed them. According
to Ibn
'
:
Hisham 4 Muham-
used the expression Who will rid me of ? A convert seized the oppor5 The Jews were tunity and slew the old man.
mad
this pestilent fellow
'
now
l
very
much alarmed and had good

,
reason to be
Ndsikhu 't-Tawdrikh
'
:
vol.
ii,
part
i,
p. 132.
Muir, on the authority of Ibn Hisham says that
Muhammad
a proverb.
had said
3
*
who
will rid
I
me
of this
woman
'
vol.
iii,
p. 131.
q)\jZ- \$*i
cî ^
The words used were apparently

133.
ii,
,
Quoted by Muir, vol. iii, p. 5 N a sikhu' t-Tawdrikh vol.
part
i,
p. 135.
126
for

the
so,
Ghazwa
of
the
Bani Qainuqa' soon
followed.
Arab allies (ahlaf), 1 the Bani Khazraj, had embraced Islam, and the ties of the new religion were stronger than the old ones of
Their
ancient
amity
thus
offered
and
alliance.
The
as
Bani
other
Qainuqa'
were
tribes
isolated,
and,
the
Jewish
them no assistance, they were open to attack. So about a month after the battle of Badr an
opportunity arose for picking a quarrel with these

Jews.
1
The
story as given b}
Bukhari and Muslim
The word
I
halif (the plural

'
'
forms are Ahlaf and also Hulafa')
has a technical meaning in its conIt is sometimes translated as nexion with the Jews and the Arabs. and means one who is under the protection of another. client
\hich
translate as
ally
'
'
following statement will make it clear and explain my use At this time, the Jews in Madma were clients of the term.
The
Bani Aws and the Bani Khazraj. The Jews had Madina before the Christian era and before the arrival from Yemen of the two Arab tribes the Aws and the Khazraj. The Jews owned lands and were rich and prosperous. The Arabs had
(ahlaf) of the
settled in
few
possessions and were poor, until by an act of treachery they gained the upper hand and depressed their Jewish neighbours. The Jews then looked upon the Arabs of these two tribes as
and protectors. If a Jew sustained an injury from an Arab, he would appeal not to his own Jewish leaders but He did this to his Arab patrons and rarely did so in vain.
their patrons in his capacity of a halif or client. Unfortunately for the Jews, Islam broke up this special and most useful tie of comradeship
and
of
alliance,
and
left
them
of
helpless.
For a good description

Zaydan,
ii,
the various kinds

;
clients,
;
see
Umayyads and
123,
'Abbdsides, pp. 15-20 s Bukhari, vol. ii,

Margoliouth,
p. 281.
52-71
p.
113-9.
270;
Muslim,
p.
quoted
by

is
127
that
poor,
*Ali, wishing to marry Fatima and being He was intended to commence trading.
promised help by some of the Qainuqa' merchants, but Hamza, seeing the camels standing ready for their loads, slew them and made a feast for his
friends.
'Ali
his
loss.
complained to Muhammad Muhammad came and found his

'All's loss
about
uncle
Hamza
drunk.
Altogether the position was most
unseemly.
was
great, yet his marriage

in
was much
to be desired.
The means were found
the plunder soon to be obtained. Another story is that a Muslim

insulted
in
woman was
which
is
the
bazaar of the goldsmiths,

1
led to a quarrel and loss of life. that the Bani Qainuqa' boasted that,
It
if
also said
the
they had been he would not Badr, Prophet's opponents have gained his victory so easily. 2 They were also
at
accused of having broken a treaty and so according

to the Muddriju'n-Nabuwat, the revelation
If
came
their treaty to
thou fear treachery from any people, throw back them as thou fairly mayest, for God
Suratu'l-Anfal
(viii)
loveth not the treacherous.
60.
Islam, were besieged for They fifteen days, defeated, expelled from their homes, and all their property was confiscated. At first
refused to accept
it
was intended
1
to execute
them
all,
but 'Abdu'llah
when
Ibn Hisham,
is
p. 256,
full.
ii,
quoted by Muir, vol.
iii,
p. 134,
the
story
2
given in
Mirkhund,
vol.
p. 99.
128
ibn Ubbay, their old Khazraj patron, interceded for them so the Prophet cursed them and the milder
;
1 punishment was substituted.
'Abdu'llah
was
as
yet too formidable a person to be turned into an enemy but it is to him and not to the Prophet This was the first that thev owed their lives.
;
serious
attack upon the Jews, who now had no reason whatever for showing any loyalty to Muhammad. 2 They failed to combine in these early days,
and were beaten in detail. Soon the time came when no opposition on their part, even though a combined one, could be successful. Soon after the banishment of the Bani Qainuqa' came the murder of another Jew, Ka'b ibn Ashraf, He was distressed of the tribe of the Bani Nadir. His the victory at Badr and went to Mecca. by poems on the Meccans who had been slain were
highly approved there, but
it
made
soon
his return
to
Madina dangerous. be known, saying,
Muhammad
'
let his dislike
punish the wickedness of ibn Ashraf, because he has insulted God and His
will
'
Who
'
Having cursed them he abstained from
their slaughter
Muddriju'n-Nabuwat, p. 2 Muhammad had been

uenses, but
580.
in the habit of
employing Jewish aman-
now he appointed an
intelligent youth, a native of
with
Madfna, Zaid ibn Thabit as Hebrew and Syriac and

recension of the Qur'an.
his secretary.
in after years
He was acquainted was employed in the

!
129
to
Prophet.' the call.
Muhammad
bin
Muslama responded
visit
His plan was to
his confidence
by speaking
evil
Ka'b and to gain of the Prophet, who2
of proceeding.' He gave then selected Abu Naila, a foster brother of Ka'b, and others as his fellow-conspirators. Abu Naila went on in advance and represented to Ka'b the
his consent to this
mode
great
poverty they were

rule,
now
for a
in
on
account of
Muhammad's
and
asked
first
begged
supply of provision
offered to leave
for their
some security with him. Ka'b, wives and then for their children.
Finally they agreed
a late hour
They
declined to give either.
to pledge their
weapons and appointed
of the evening for so doing. They reported this to the Prophet who, late in the evening, went some
way with them, bid them God-speed and returned home. Ka'b came out of his house when Abu
J^-m ^
<m
^^x> (^ ^- A &Z
vol.
^S
c^jls^ L*
\\
iSjiA ^>\
yit
& u>
*&
Mirkhund,
ii, î^-j \3*\ *\ Bukharf records a Tradition to a similar effect Who will destroy Ka'b ibn Ashraf who without doubt has given God and His
' :
p. 107.
pi'ophet
<5J
much
6&\
trouble.'
ju>
; ^
^S\
&\i
îjit$\
y* wot^si ^*L>
that
6tt\
Jy
JU
part xvi,
p. 75.
Abu Da'ud and Tirmidjii record Mu'adh to kill Ibn Sa'd.
Muhammad
sent Sa'd bin
Faidu'l-Bdri, part
2
xvi, p. 74.
ii,
Mirkhund,
vol.
p. 107.
130

when they reached the appointed the conspirators, instead of giving meeting weapons, used them to slaughter a defence-
Naila called, and

place of up their
less
man. One of their number, Haritha bin Mu'adh, was accidentally wounded by a blow aimed at Ka'b. When the Prophet saw the head of Ka'b, he thanked God, and then put a little saliva from his blessed mouth upon the wound of Haritha, which was thereby immediately healed.' 1 Not very long
'
after another case occurred.
Abu Ran' possessed
fortress near
Five
men
Khaibar and had aided the Meccans. went to kill him. One of them by a
stratagem obtained access to the house and slew Abu Ran' whilst he was sleeping. The Prophet was 2 Bukhari distinctly says glad' when he heard of it.
8 the Prophet sent the men. There is no dispute as to the fact of these assassi-
nations, though Tradition may have embellishments of some of the details.
added
to the
What
judge-
One view upon them ? is that they were murders dictated by fear or jealousy and that there is no justification whatever The modern defence 4 for Muhammad's for them.
ment
is
to
be
passed
Mirkhund,
loj^
vol.
ii,
p. 101.
Ibid, p. 102.
0* 5W;
>je-tt
&\)
^J>}
i**l*
*&\
Jj~j
**-*!,
Part xvi,
pp. 79-80.
The Urdu
*
'
translator
interprets this as
sent to
kill
the
Jew
',
Cheragh
'All,
pp. 61-76.

part in
131
that the narratives especially when they record his approval are untrustworthy ; and second, if they are correct, that the assassiis,
them
first,
nations
were
justified
on the ground that these
persons were traitors to the State, that there existed no legal court before which they could be brought. In the absence of a State executioner any indi1
vidual might
*
become the executioner
of the State.'
The exigencies of the State required that whatever should be done, should be done swiftly and noiselessly upon those whom public opinion had
The political necessity arraigned and condemned.' is thus set forth The existence of the republic and
'
:
the maintenance
of
peace
and order within
the
city depended upon the prompt execution of the sentence upon the culprits before they could rally
their
clansmen round them.'
Such are the conflicting views but the conclusion to be arrived at seems to depend upon the stand;
If point from which these transactions are viewed. we look upon Muhammad, as Muslims do, as a
divinely sent Prophet, commissioned to bring to all mankind a higher order of religion, of peace and of
purity than ever before existed, a religion to supplant Judaism with its limited national and exclusive
spirit, to
supersede Christianity with its wider outlook and universal sympathy if Muhammad was sent
; 1
Syed Amir
'All, p. 162.
Ibid., p. 163.
132
to do so great a work, to be the highest example of what a true and holy Prophet should be, to be the
great teacher whose actions were to form the Sunna a divine rule of practice for all believers, to be the
ideal
men, then surely it might be expected that subterfuge and fraud would be far from him, that not even for political ends would he allow life to be taken, except in open conflict and in the light of day.
for all time
for all
man
and
On
as an
the other hand,
if
we
look upon
Muhammad
all
Arab
chief, as a leader not of a clan but of a

fast
community which was

the
absorbing
clans,
as
founder
of
his prestige as a
earthly commonwealth using religious reformer to make it strong,
an
and
his
;
revelations
if,
to
claims
in
short,
support and enforce his the view is correct that the
was an important factor in his and that he now saw the probability of work, realizing his great national ideal of making Arabia independent, united and free in such a case, the
national sentiment
life's
;
defence does
justifies
explain,
in
its
though perhaps method, the execution
it
of
hardly these
troublesome Jews.
After the expulsion of the Bani Qainuqa',
Mu-
hammad's power It was a time of

of
at
Madina continued
to increase.
a fruitless
repose, only broken raid by Abu Sufyan.
by the alarm
Muhammad
three small expeditions against some Arab tribes, allies of the Quraish, but they were
in reply
made

unsuccessful
133
and no booty was gained.
old plan of attempting to
So the capture a caravan was

in great
adopted.
The Meccan merchants found themselves

difficulty
as
Syria.
They saw
route
regards that their trade would be ruined
safe
commercial route to
by
Muhammad and
his followers, that the ordinary

;
was now closed to them that, if remained quiet and sent no caravans, they they would be living on their capital and soon come Then Asud bin Muttalib recommended to ruin. them to try the eastern route to Syria by way of After some discussion, a guide having been 'Iraq. found, this plan was adopted and a large and rich The news of caravan of merchandise was sent.
western
change of route reached Muhammad at Madina, and he at once sent Zaid bin Haritha with a hundred horsemen in pursuit of the caravan. It was taken, and all the goods to the value of one hundred thousand dirhems, with two prisoners, were 1 brought to Madina where the spoil was divided. The prisoners were told to accept Islam, which they did, and in the words of the historian thus saved their lives from the grasp of death.' The defence for this raid is that it was almost certain that the Meccans would not leave the Muslims
this
'
alone
but
it
either did not

1
also equally proves that the Muslims want peace, or that the Arab love
p. 585.
Muddfiju'n-Nabuwat,
134

overcame
the
that
their prudence. It was clearly Meccans could now no longer remain quiet. Their very existence as a commercial community was in danger. The Badr route was unsafe and now the eastern one was within the reach of the Muslims. The immediate cause of the battle of Uhud was the unprovoked
of looting
manifest
capture of the caravan of the merchants of Mecca. It is not fair, or even historically true, to cast all the blame on the Meccans.
showed the Meccans that, if they were not ready to fight, the Muslims were. Abu Sufyan, 'Akrima and others had little difficulty 1 in collecting money to equip an expedition, and of three thousand men was raised and an army
Zaid's successful raid
After a placed under the command of Abu Sufyan. march of ten days, the armv arrived near Madina
chamber of the Prophet the question whether the Muslims should adopt offensive or defensive tactics was eagerand encamped
at
Uhud.
In the council
ly
debated.
The former
policy
finally
:
prevailed.
'
The Prophet ascended the pulpit and said

forth
in
is
the
name
if
of Allah, the
March Most High, for

2
you be steadfast.' Uhud was only a short distance away Though from Madina, yet the road was bad and a guide was Abu Hashma Haritha safely conducted needed.
victory
yours
Suratu'l-Anfal
(viii)
ii,
36
p.
is
said to refer to this.
Mirkhund.
vol.
105.

the
135
Prophet and his army to the position which they wished to occupy. The Muslim army was one thousand strong and contained one hundred
men who wore armour.

one horse was present.
of
battle
It
had no cavalry,
for only
On
arrival
at
the
field
the
'Abdu'llah ibn Ubbay, the leader of Munafiqun, who was much displeased at the rejection of his advice to remain in Madina, turned
retired with three
hundred men. 1 It is said two troops which occupied the flanks wavered and were about to join him, when the Prophet, according to some authorities, gave forth this
away and
revelation
thought and
trust.
two troops of you became full of anxious lost heart, and when God became the In God, then, let the faithful protector of both
!
When
God had already succoured you at Badr, when ye were the weaker Fear God, then, that ye may be
!
thankful.
the faithful, Is it not enough for you that your Lord aideth you with three thousand angels sent down from on high ? Aye but if ye be steadfast and fear God and the foe come upon you in hot haste, your Lord will
didst
Then thou
'
say
to
'
help
you with five 'Imran (iii) 118-21.
thousand
angels.
Suratu
Ali
This exhortation had its effect and the Bani Salima and the Bani Haritha regaining their courage stood
firm.
The
defection of
'Abdu'llah
ibn
Ubbay
is
Bukhari, part
xvi, p. 96.
136

:
attributed to Satanic agency
truth it was Satan alone who caused those to fail in duty who turned back when the hosts met. Suratu Ali 'Imran (iii) 149.
Of a
you
of
The
loss
of
three hundred warriors was
serious,
but the seven hundred
who remained were
brave
and faithful men, ready to die in what they believed was the cause of God and of His Apostle. They were not disheartened at the superior numbers of
the enemy.
Muhammad
facing
in
took up his position with judgement, The hill of the direction of Madina.
of a
Uhud, a rugged spur

for three
mountain chain, extended
or four miles into the valley. It is so isolated from the other hills that it almost stands
alone.
Thus
his rear
was protected, except

this
at
one
pass Muhammad posted of his archers, under 'Abdu'llah bin Jubair, fifty with strict orders not to move until he told them
opening.
To guard
Meanwhile Abu Suf} an arranged his forces. Many single combats ensued and for a while success was with the Muslims. The Meccan cavalry had tried in vain to turn the flank of the Muslims, for the archers kept them at bay. All would have gone well, if the troops had remembered the Prophet's injunction to be steadfast but the Meccan camp being left unguarded, the desire to plunder it became so strong
to
do
so.
ûkhari, part
xvi, p.
90.

that the
137
commanders could not
control their men.
archers, seeing that looting was going on, in spite of all their leader could do, disobeyed the
in
The
Prophet's order, and left their important position order to engage in the same operation and so
Khalid, the leader
secure their share of the booty. of the Meccan cavalry at once
came through the
pass, and appeared at the rear of the now disorganized Muslim army. The rest of the Meccans, seeing this, reformed their ranks and pressed on the Muslims who now fled in all directions. Then
was a slaughter grim and great. 1 A stone wounded the Prophet in the cheek and four of his front teeth were knocked out. He fell to the and the cry went up that he was slain ground but he was only stunned and soon came to himAs the blood was being washed off, he said self.
there
;
:
'
How
shall
the
people
prosper
that
have
thus
treated their Prophet, who calleth them unto their Lord ? Let the wrath of God burn against the
men
dawi
with blood.'
that have besprinkled the face of His Apostle 2 He also cursed Abu Sufyan. 3 Baisays the following verses were then revealed:
Muhammad is no more than an apostle; other if apostles have already passed away before him he die, therefore, or be slain, will ye turn upon your
:
heels.
1
'Ayisha and
Umm
ii,
Salma were present and gave the wounded

iii,
water to drink.
2
Waqidi,
p.
Bukharf, part ii, p. 186. 242, quoted by Muir, vol.

p. 339.
p. 175.
Tirmidhi, vol.
138
No one can die except by God's permission, according to the Book that fixeth the term (of life). Suratu Ali 'Imran (iii) 138-9,
This was intended to allay the consternation which the report had spread amongst the Muslims. After the battle, the Meccans, in accordance with
the usual indecisive results of Arab warfare, failed
to
pursue their victory and so retired to Mecca.

in
The Muslims then went
search of their killed
and wounded. When Hamza's mutilated corpse was brought in, Muhammad was very much grieved and said that, if God gave him a victory, he would mutilate seventy Meccans in the same manner.
Then
Gabriel brought this verse
If ye make reprisals, then make them to the same extent that ye were injured; but if ye can endure patiently, best will it be for the patientlv enduring.
Suratu'n-Nahl (xvi) 127.
The
intention of the Prophet was clear, and the commentators allow that retaliation was permitted
only that
should be 'to the same extent', i.e. on one person, not on seventy. Still they admit that Muhammad exercised a wise forbearance in
it
following the last clause of the verse and in doing

nothing.
The
battle of
Uhud was
looked back upon with

visited
peculiar interest.
'
The Prophet
the
place
every year and blessed the martyrs buried there, Peace be on you for all that ye endured, saying
:
For a Tradition on
this verse, see Tirmidhi,
vol.
ii,
p.
375.

c
139
and a blessed future.' Fatima said that one day Peace she went to Uhud and said at the graves be on thee, O uncle of the Prophet and the reThe names of sponse came, On thee be peace the martyrs are all recorded, and their memory is
;
',
'
'.
kept very precious. about them. It is
Marvellous
said,
stories
are
that
told
their
for
instance,
souls are in the bodies of green birds 1 and that they enjoy even in paradise
which dwell
now
the
at
full
pleasures of
Last Day
paradise, that they will rise with their wounds shining red,
the
aroma
like
musk proceeding
therefrom.
and an But not-
withstanding the halo of glory which Tradition has cast around the men who fell at Uhud, the defeat
cause.
was, at the time, a very serious blow to the Prophet's It required all the adroitness and skill, of
to avert
which he was such a master,

danger than the
Revelations
greater
loss in battle of seventy followers.

in
now came
came
abundance
to explain
why how
Still,
this defeat
it
was
to test their constancy, and the result of their own disobedience.
of
the broad fact remained that the victory Badr had been extolled as a signal mark of God's good pleasure. Ought not, then, this defeat to be looked upon as an equally clear sign of the The position was so serious divine displeasure ?
that
many
verses
in the
Suratu
ii,
Ali
341
;
'Imran, the
H.D. Qur an,
1^,6. j*L p. 159.
vol. (+%=^)^ Tirmidiu,
p.
see
140
third Sura, are devoted to explanations concerning it. I give a few now by way of illustration.
The murmuring
of
'Abdu'llah
:
others are met by the verse
ibn
Ubbay and
infidels,
ye who believe
their
be not like the
who
by
said of
brethren
when they had

'
travelled
land or had gone forth to war, Had they kept with us, they had not died, and had not been slain !' God purposed that this affair should cause them heart sorrow. God maketh alive and killeth, and God beholdeth your actions. Suratu Ali 'Imran (iii) 150.
The
fatal
move
of the archers
from
their assigned
for
position,
and the blame

:
defeat are thus described
laid
upon them
the
Already had God made good to you His promise, when by His permission ye destroyed your foes until
your courage failed you, and ye disputed about the order, and disobeyed, after that (the Prophet) had brought you within view of that for which ye longed. Some of you were for this world and some for the next. Suratu Ali 'imran (iii) 145~6.
was in their hands, but the order to stand steadfast was not obeyed and defeat followed. The battle was a test of the obedience of the Muslims and of the soundness of their belief
victory
:
The
We
among
alternate these days of successes and reverses men, that God may know those who have
believed.
That God may test those who believe and destroy the infidels. When a reverse hath befallen you, the like of which ye had before inflicted, say ye, whence is this ? Say ' it is from yourselves, For God hath power over all
'
'
things.'
141
That which befell you on the day when the armies met was by the will of God, and that He might know the faithful, and that He might know the hypocrites.
SuratuAli 'Imran
(iii)
134-5, 159-60.
They were
for
:
not to be disheartened at the result,
a prophet hath combated those who had Yet were they not daunted at what befell them on the path of God, nor were they weakened, nor did they basely submit.
with them
How many
many myriads
As
to those
respond to
who after the reverse which befell them, God and the Apostle such of them as do
good works and fear God, they shall have a great reward. Suratu Ali 'Imran (iii) 140, 166.
of the Prophet is seen in words from a Sura which was delivered after the battle of Uhud. They give a stern rebuke to all those who were faint-hearted:
The hopefulness
taken
He
it
is
who hath
sent
His Apostle with guidance

though they hate
it
and the
religion of truth, that,
it
who
join other gods with
God,
He may make
Suratu's-Saff
victorious
over every other religion.
(lxi) 9.
Thus, though Islam had met with a reverse,
all
would come
right
and
finally
it
would become the
one universal religion which all would accept and The Meccans, on their part, were pleased obey. with the victory they had gained and the news of it when spread abroad stirred up a spirit of opposition on the part of some of the Arab
tribes.
The
close attention
which the Prophet paid
to this
subject, the
many
revelations he put forth regarding
142
it,
the anxiety he showed to prevent any defection amongst his followers in consequence of it all these
things show
how important an
the career
of
episode this defeat at
Setting aside the marvels with which Tradition has enriched
Uhud was
in
Muhammad.
Uhud, and passing over the alleged divine interpositions, and dealing with them simply as historical events, the conclusion, as we have already stated, seems to be that the immediate cause of the battle of Badr was Muhammad's attempt to capture a Meccan caravan, and of the battle of Uhud his successful Whatever may have been the state seizure of one. of feeling between the men of Mecca and the men of Madina, it does not appear that in these two conflicts the former were the original aggressors.
have no accounts given by the Quraish. All our information comes from Muslim sources, but even then an impartial student may be led to have
the accounts of the battles of Badr and of
We
some sympathy
They had to fight commercial community, and for freedom to carry on their daily business. These two battles were, from the standpoint of the men of Mecca, wars of defence and the Muslims
for their very existence as a
for the
Meccans.
were clearly the aggressors.
Uhud Muhammad passed two but when the fourth year of the peace, Hijra opened he heard that Tulaiha, the chief of the Bani Asad intended to make a raid on Madina.
After the defeat at
in
months
143
The Prophet anticipated it in what is known as the Sariya of Abu Salma and was successful. Then the Bani Lahyan under Sufyan bin Khalid
Muhamtook up a threatening attitude at 'Urna. mad sent 'Abdu'llah bin Unais with instructions
to put Sufyan out of the way. reached the camp of Sufyan, he
When
tribe,
'Abdu'llah
represented that
he was a member of the Khuza'i
and that
he wished to join the expedition against Muhammad. He was allowed to do this, and when Sufyan
was asleep he assassinated him and escaped with Muhammad and the head of his victim to Madina.
'
Companions were pleased with the killing of It is said that 'Abdu'llah that enemy of God.' went as a spy and that Muhammad had no rethe
l
but it is distinctly stated sponsibility for his act he was sent for the purpose by the historians that
;
'of killing Sufyan and to clear the plain of the religion of Islam from his wickedness and mischief.'
3
This assassination broke up the opposing force

at
'Urna, but it was a cowardly way of meeting enemies, and it set an example which the Arabs were It was a game at which two not slow to follow.
Mir&hund,
2
vol.
ii,
p.
118.
Cherdgh 'AM,
p. 69.
M uddriju 'n-N abiiwat
p. 618.
j&ajZ
^\i
^ ôL-i
yb
144
could

play,
*
as
Muhammad
after the
soon
discovered,
for
murder of Sufyan, the how, Waqidi men of the Lahyan tribe went to the 'Adhl and the Qara tribes and instigated them to request Muhammad to send persons to instruct them in the tenets of Islam, as they wished to become Muslims. They further suggested to the Bani 'Adhl and the Bani Qara that, when the teachers arrived, they might slay those who had killed Sufyan, and make prisoners of the rest and sell them to the Quraish. The deputation was sent,
relates
and
in reply to its request for teachers
Muhammad
allowed seven
arrived
at
men
well
to of
go.
In
the
Raji',
due course they where they were
attacked by some armed men of the Bani Lahyan, who slew three Muslims and took three prisoners.
In the same month,
affair
May
A.D. 625 another serious
happened. It is known as the Sariya of Bir Ma'una. The chief of the Bani 'Amir, Abu Bira, requested Muhammad to send teachers to his
people.
As the Bani 'Amir were
allies
of
the
Quraish, Muhammad felt some hesitation in comHowever, on receiving plying with this request.
assurances of their safety, he agreed to send seventy men, a large number, if nothing but teaching was
intended.
1
The
old chief
,
Abu Bira had
resigned his
Maghdzu' s-Sddiqa' s p. The latest opinion on this

p.
267.
affair is
Islam,
723.
It is
that
Muhammad had
given in the Encyclopcedia of been asked to aid one
side in a tribal dispute
and sent seventy horsemen.
They were

leadership
145
to his nephew 'Amir ibn Tufail, an avowed enemy of the Muslims. The result was that bv a most deceitful action all but two of the Muslims were slain. Muhammad received the news with much concern and w as alarmed at this
7
gross
act
of
treachery,
for
such
it
was.
It
so
happened that two men connected with the Bani who were under the protection of Muhammad were met by 'Amru bin Amaiya, one of the two Muhammad survivors, and were slain by him. was vexed at the murder of these men and accord2 ing to statements made by Waqidi, Tabari* and
'Amir,
1
for
Mirkhund, them.
he paid at once the diyat, or blood-money

led to an attack
These events now
on the Bani
Nadir, a Jewish tribe who were clients of the Bani 'Amir. Muhammad claimed from them the blood
money (diyat) he had recently paid. Accompanied by Abu Bakr, 'Ali and Talha he went to them The Bani for the purpose of obtaining the diyat.
4
defeated and to cover up an unfortunate campaign, the TradiIt is doubtful if there tionists invented the story given by them. were then in Madina, seventy Qurra', or Qur'an Readers. Again
Muhammad
entered into a compact with 'Amir ibn Tufail to pay
the diyat for the two men murdered, which seems to the killing of the seventy was done in open warfare.
show
that
Quoted
3
in
'
Maghrizi u's-Sddiqa
&\tf
p. 301.
-Quoted by Muir,
Jk>L.j ytA.>\
vol. hi, p. 208.

\j
fi
eÔ
Mirkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 119,
Mirkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 119.
10
146

lost
one of their Rabbis, Ka'b ibn Ashraf, recently been assassinated, and they may very naturally have thought that Muhammad should
Nadir had
who had
pay them the diyat
them
no
to
they received him and his friends courteously but he suddenly departed and returned to Madina, giving as his reason for so doing
part.
;
pay However,
for a
for it, instead of expecting matter in which they had taken
that he had been informed by Gabriel that treachery and danger were imminent. The Traditions go into
we have only the Muslim not any Jewish statements about it. There is no reference in the Quran to any such throws considerable doubt plot, and this omission
some
details about this, but
version and
upon the story. All that Suratu'l-Hashr (lix), the Sura which specially deals with this affair, says is to be found in the fourth verse which states that they Muhamset them against God and His Apostle.' mad's followers soon joined him in Madina and this
'
verse
was then revealed
believers, recollect God's favour upon you, when certain folk were minded to stretch forth their hands
upon
but He kept their hands from you. you Suratu'1-Ma ida (v) 14. When the Bani Nadir found that Muhammad had
;
gone, they met together, and Kinayu bin Suwair advised them to accept Muhammad as an apostle, for otherwise they might be ordered^to emigrate and
Bu^hari (part
xvi, p. 64) says the
same

so lose their houses
147
and lands. The people replied The that they could not give up their religion. Prophet then sent Muhammad bin Muslima to
them.
within
It
is
treachery, and said that
the
recorded that he charged them with all who did not depart of ten days would have their space
heads cut
Muhammad
Bani
Aws
ibn
They expressed their surprise that should send, or that a member of the should bring, such a message. Muhamoff.
'
mad
Muslima
1
said,
The
hearts of the people
Jews then made preparawhen a messenger from 'Abdu'llah ibn Ubbay arrived, urging them not to He then promised them assistance. It was go. the Bani Quraiza, another also expected that He may tribe, would come to the rescue. Jewish have hoped for this aid, or for some help from
Mecca, or the Jews may have believed that the Bani Nadir could defend their forts but whether
;
The are changed now.' tions to obey this order,
the advice
llah
was given
in
good
faith or not, 'Abdu'-
them. Whether do so, or whether he he found it impossible to intentionally broke his faith with them, is .doubtibn
Ubbay
failed
to
assist
ful.
The Qur'an
:
insincerity
accuses
him and
his
party
of
Hast thou not observed the

their unbelieving brethren
among
disaffected saying to the people of the
WAqidi, Maghdzi'u's-Sddtqa,
vol.
i,
p. 280.
148
'

;
Book, If you be driven forth, we will go forth with you and in what concerneth you, never will we obey any one and if ye be attacked, we will certainly come to your help. But God is witness that they
:
are
liars.
If they were driven forth, they would not if they were attacked they their banishment
;
share
would
not help them, or if they help them they will surely turn their backs. Suratu'l-Hashr (lix) 11-12.
For the time, however, it put some courage into the hearts of the Bani Nadir, who sent a message to
from outdo what thou wilt against us.' This possessions suited the Prophet's plans, and, on hearing of their The Jews have determination to remain, he said
saying
:
Muhammad
'
We
shall not depart
'
resolved to fight ', and in a loud voice pronounced His followers Great is the Lord.' the Takbir
'
also expressed their joy in the same way, and the words Allah u Akbar Allahu Akbar resounded on
! !
all
sides.
Preparations for the conflict were then
made, and a force sufficient for the purpose soon The Bani Nadir made a set out from Madina. stout resistance which led to an act quite contrary
to all the
all
Arab usages
of war.
Muhammad
ordered
the date trees, except the kind called the a'juz The Jews remonstrated in vain to be cut down.
against so unjust a proceeding, which was opposed 1 to the precepts of the Law of Moses, a Law which
the Qur'an professed to confirm but the order went forth that the trees were to be utterly destroyed,
;
Deut. xx. 19.

The Bani
149
Nadir, seeing that further resistance
was useless, sent to say that they were ready to abandon their lands, now rendered useless. The siege had lasted about three weeks and Muhammad was apparently glad to come to terms. He allowed them to go away with their camels and such
goods as they could load upon them, except their weapons. These and the crops he divided amongst The banishment of the Bani Nadir his followers.
enabled the Prophet to provide now a permanent means of livelihood for the Muhajirun, the men
who came
time
it
with
him from Mecca.

that
At the same
opposition to his will was and that the various Jewish becoming powerless, tribes would not combine for mutual defence.
showed
Thus his prestige greatly increased. The action of Muhammad in his dealings with
Bani
Nadir
l
the
is
approved by Cheragh
'Ali,
who
accepts the statements of the Traditions regarding the alleged conspiracy to kill him, but with great inconsistency the same author in dealing with the
Nakhla discards the Traditions: 'The Nakhla marauding party, as related in the Traditions, is full of discrepancies and is alto2 Is then gether inconsistent and untrustworthy.'
affair
at
affair of the
the canon
its
of
authenticity of
Tradition to
?
be
agreement with the views of an author

'Cheragh
2
'Ali,
p.
34.
Ibid., p. 30.
150

the
whole Sura, SuratuT-Hashr (lix), is devoted Bani Nadir, but it does not hint at the alleged crime of their attempt on the life of the 1 It is inconceivable that such a good Prophet. reason for the attack on them would have been
to
omitted
in
the
ground
for
Qur'an had there been the least the charge. This excuse for the exhistorical
pulsion must on
another reason be
found.
grounds be set aside and It seems to be found
in the fact that this tribe was a wealthy one, possessed of fertile lands on which needy Muhajirun 2 It is not surprising then that a might settle.
revelation
came confirming them
in the
possession
of the property of the
Bani Nadir.
To the poor (Muhajirun) also doth a part belong, who have been driven from their homes and their
substance.
Suratu'l-Hashr
or
(lix)
8.
The
trees
validity
is
d
cutting down the date an interesting question, but I must pass it
not
of
by
1
here.
After the victory at
We
1
will
is
event
Uhud, Abu Sufyan had said so this meet again next year at Badr As a matter called the Badr of promise'.
:
',
'
Cheragh 'All (p. 109) admits this, and says that the Traditions on the subject are ex parte and legendary.' 2 Bukhari records a Tradition which says of Jewish lands, *^t-j ) They belong to God and His Apostle.' U)^ (^
1
'
part
8
xii,
p.
167.
For a
full
account of the
affair,
see
Ghazwas and Sariyas
(C.L.S.), pp. 31-3.

of
fact,
151
being
short
no fighting took place, of provisions, had
for
to
Abu Sufyan, The return.
Muslims had taken much merchandise with them and this they sold at a good profit. Muhammad was pleased and showed in a special revelation 1 that the expedition had the divine approval. The summer and autumn of the fourth year passed in peace and the Prophet had leisure to
attend to his domestic
l
affairs.
166-9.
Suratu
AH 'Imram
(iii)
CHAPTER
Muhammad now
VIII

contracted a marriage with Zainab, daughter of Khuzaima, who was killed at Badr. A month or so after this, he married his sixth wife
Umm
A
Salma,
the
widow
of
Abu Salma.
Both
husband and wife had been exiles in Abyssinia. Abu Salma died of a wound received at Uhud.
little later
on, in the beginning of the fifth year
of the Hijra, a marriage bint Jahsh, the wife of
was arranged with Zainab
Muhammad's adopted
son
Zaid.
The
story goes
that,
on visiting the house of
Zaid,
wife.
Muhammad was
'
struck with the beauty of his Zaid offered to divorce her, but Muhammad
said to him,
Keep thy wife
to thyself
and
fear God.'
Zaid
though proceeded from the implied rebuke in the thirty-sixth verse he seems to have of Suratu'l-Ahzab (xxxiii)
1
now
with
the
divorce,
doubted the propriety of his action. In ordinary cases this would have removed any difficulty as regards the marriage of Zainab and Muhammad,
1
'
It is
not for a believer,

(xxxiii) 36.
their affairs,
man or woman, to have any choice in when God and His Apostle have decreed a matter.'
Suratu'l-Ahzab

and
little
153
;
or
no
scandal
would
have followed
but the
marriage of a
man
with the wife of his
son, even though divorced, was looked the Arabs as a very wrong thing indeed. upon by However Muhammad did this, and had to justify
adopted
his action
by alleging that he had

It
for
it
the direct
sanction of God.
that
necessary to show did not approve of the general objection to marriage with wives of adopted sons, and so the
first
was
God
revelation
came thus
Nor hath He made your adopted sons

sons.
to be as your
Suratu'l-Ahzab (xxxiii)
4.
According to Arab custom and

to
usage Zaid was

a
Muhammad
'as his son', but in Islam such
view was by divine command to be set aside. Having thus settled the general principle, the way was clear for Muhammad to act in this particular case, and to claim divine sanction for setting at nought the sentiment of the Arab people. So the
revelation goes on to say
:
And remember when thou

him and
(i.
(i.
e.
Muhammad)
'
said to
'
1 Zaid) unto whom God had shown favour, 2 to whom thou also hadst shown favour, Keep and thou didst thy wife to thyself and fear God 3 hide in thy mind what God would bring to light, and thou didst fear man but more right had it been to
e.
9
3
In allowing him to become a Muslim. In adopting him as a son.
That
:
is,
the fact that Zainab would become the wife of the
Prophet
the words
felt at
Muhammad
thou didst hide in thy mind refer to the fear breaking through a custom held in such esteem
'
'
154
fear

1
God. and when Zaid had settled to divorce her, married her to thee, that it might not be a crime in the faithful to marry the wives of their
we
adopted sons, when they have settled the affairs concerning them. And the order of God is to be performed. No blame attaches to the Prophet where God hath Suratu'l-Abzab (xxxiii) given him a permission.
37-8.
Another
ter of
talib
;
difficulty
was that Zainab was the daugh-
aunt, a daughter of 'Abdu'1-Mutbut a fresh revelation, by bestowing upon the Prophet a special and peculiar privilege, not
:
Muhammad's
accorded to his followers, removed the difficulty

!
O Prophet we have allowed thee thy wives whom thou hast dowered, and the slaves whom thy right
by the Arabs, namely, the abstaining from marrying the wife of an adopted son. Thus Bukhari says
:
'
Thou
in the
which God would bring to light matter of the daughter of Jahsh and Zaid bin Haritjaa.'
didst hide in thy heart that
, :
Sahihu l-Bukhdri (Leyde, ed. 1862), vol. iii, p. 312. Husain comments on this verse thus 'And didst conceal in thy heart that which God made plain, that Zainab should join the
company
of
men, who said
the excellent wives, and didst fear the reproach of " He has asked for the wife of an adopted son ".'
:
q\ ij
â-o
\jki-
**s^
fci 4
***
&$\
^* *>* <j~& s^
tS^r** (J*\H$
&
\r^
<=^**
Â-w-.^
2 Jj>
A&î,
vÛJs 5^j\ J==>^
T^j
U>"^'
Tafsir-i-Husaini, vol. ii, p. 201. } That is, to have no hesitation in the matter.
155
hand possesseth out of the booty God hath granted thee, and the daughters of thy uncle, and of thy paternal and maternal aunts who fled with thee (from ? Mecca), and any believing woman who hath given herself up to the Prophet, if the Prophet desireth to wed her a privilege for thee above the rest of the
!
faithful.
Suratu'l-Ahzab (xxxiii) 49.
Zainab and her husband did not encourage the suit of the Prophet, and are thus reprimanded by
the alleged
command
is
of
God
in the revelation
And
it
not for a believer,
man
or
woman,
to
have any choice in their affairs when God and His Apostle have decreed a matter; and whoever disobeyeth God and His Apostle erreth with palpable
error.
3
Suratu'l-Ahzab (xxxiii) 36.
This settled the matter, and the marriage with Zainab was thus declared to be legal and right,
Zaid was no longer spoken of as the son of mad, but as Zaid ibn Haritha.
Muham-
The
case
of
Zainab showed the danger of men
seeing the wives of other people and so restrictions were now made to prevent uninvited admission into the harem of the Prophet
!
O ye who believe Enter not into the houses of the when ye are invited Prophet, save by his leave
. .
This removes from the Prophet

in
other Muslims
Suratu'n-Nisa'
v.
is
are allowed and in
restrictions placed on which only four wives 27 of the same Sura in which marriage
the
(iv)
in
with near relatives

2
forbidden.
refers
this
The commentator Husain

ii,
to
Zainab.
Tafsir-ito
Httsaini, vol.
3
p.
204.
Zaid and Zainab.
The commentators are unanimous in SeeH.D. Quran, p.
referring
this verse
169 and note.
156
then enter. And engage not in familiar talk, for that would cause the Prophet trouble. Suratu'l-Ahzab
(xxxiii) 53. It is
gamy
posed
probable that, with the licit practice of polyand concubinage in such a mixed population as
that in Madina,
women
to rudeness,
!
and so the
walking abroad might be exveil is now ordered

:
O
and
veils
to the
Prophet speak to thy wives and to thy daughters, wives of the faithful, that they let their l fall low Suratu'l-Ahzab (xxxiii) 59.
!
regulations regarding the visits of strangers to the houses of the Muslims were now
Rules
and
made. 2 The dwellings for Muhammad's numerous wives were erected on the eastern side of the mosque,
one for each. The Prophet arranged to pass a day and night in each successively. Thus there was the day of Sauda, the day of 'Ayisha, and so on. 'Ayisha w as a young lady with a strong will and often had more than her share of the Prophet's attention, which naturally caused much discontent.
T
This called for a divine rebuke to the jealous ones,
and a divine approval of the Prophet's any one of them, Thus

:
partiality to
Thou mayest
wilt of them,
decline for the present
whom
thou
and thou mayest take to thy (bed) her whom thou wilt, and whomsoever thou shalt long for Suratu'lof those thou shalt have before neglected.
Ahzab
-
(xxxiii) 51.
(xxiv) 31.
See also Suratu'n-Nur

Ibid., 27-8.

A
157
few small expeditions were now made against In one of these, the Salatu'l-Khauf, Jewish tribes. or prayer of fear, was instituted. When on active service, a part of an army remains under
arms, whilst the rest say a shortened form of the
Salat.
chief of the Bani Mustaliq now induced some other tribes to join him for an attack on Madina.
The
Muhammad
force,
heard of this and
set out
with a large
dissatisfied
accompanied
by some
of
the
who joined the force in the hope of The Muslims gained a complete victory, plunder. took many prisoners and much booty. Juwaira,
(Munafiqun)
1
the ransom
the daughter of al-Haritha, despairing of finding fixed by her captor, appealed to the
Prophet.
and
'Ayisha describes her as very beautiful Muhammad listened to her story, graceful.
proposed marriage to her and was accepted. She thus became his eighth wife. The people then looked upon the Bani Mustaliq as relatives, and set all the
woman was
Juwaira.
prisoners free, on which 'Ayisha declared that no ever such a blessing to her people as
the return march.
some interest took place on known as the slander about The simplest method of settling the claims 'Ayisha. of his many wives to accompany him on these exAnother event
of
It is
peditions led
1
Muhammad
to devise the plan of doing

p.
Mu ddriju'n-Nabuuat,
630.
158
it

lots.
1
by drawing
favoured wife.
to her
On
In this case 'Aiysha was the the return journey, according
account, she stayed behind to find a and her bearers thinking she was inside her bracelet, In her distress she litter went on without her.
own
wrapped her clothes

After
a
around her and

the
sat
down.
binu'l-
while,
one of
men, Safwan
Mu'attah, found her, seated her on his camel and, leading the animal by the rein brought her to
Madina.
This was a very simple
fact that 'Ayisha
affair, though the had stated that on seeing Juwaira
the 'fire of envy arose in her heart' 2 may have The given rise to suspicion about her conduct.
scandal-mongers
Prophet
in
took it up, hoping to put the dilemma of either offending
the
Abu
Bakr, his father-in-law, or of damaging his position by condoning the offence. After her return 'Ayisha fell sick and retired to her father's house. For
some weeks the Prophet remained away. He consulted 'Ali and Usama bin Zaid as to what he
Usama did his utmost: to prove her but 'Ali recommended a divorce. 'Ayisha innocence, never forgave him for this and, when 'Ali became
should do.
affair
The whole still remained his mortal enemy. was troublesome, but the usual opportune revelation came, and one day the Prophet went to
Khalifa,
1
this
p.
3
Bufch&ri records a Tradition on the authority of 'Ayisha to ~$\ effect &?Ui part ii, j\ gyso q\ S\j\ \j\ ^Le <mS
186.
See also Mishkdtu'l-Masdbih,

p. 631.
p.
478.
Muddriju'n-Nabuzvat,

see her
159
and said
' :
'Ayisha rejoice, Verily the
Lord hath revealed thine innocence.'
The open-
ing verses of the Suratu'n-Nur (xxiv) were then delivered to the people. 'Ayisha's character was
cleared,
and some
of her calumniators received the

:
punishment prescribed in the verse Those who defame virtuous women, and bring not four witnesses, scourge them with (fourscore) stripes.
Sfcratu'n-Nur (xxiv)
4.
CHAPTER

The
lost
Jews were now in sore straits. Muhammad no opportunity of getting hold of their possessions. They were scattered about in various parts of the country and seem to have been deficient in the energy needed for a combination for their
own
defence.
They
preferred the Quraish to the

:
Muslims and are thus rebuked
Hast thou not observed those to whom a part of the They believe in al-Jebt Scriptures have been given ? and al-Taghut and say of the infidels, These are guided to a better path than those who hold the
'
faith.'
These are they

Nisa'
(iv)
whom God
to
hath cursed.
their
Suratu'n-
54-5.
call and with was able to raise
Abu Sufyan responded

the aid of
some
of the
Arab
tribes
an army of 10,000 men to attempt the capture of The Muslims remembered Uhud and Madina. determined to remain strictly on the defensive.
Guided by the advice of Salman, a Persian convert, they dug a ditch in the vacant spaces between the The work was laborious, but Muhammad houses.

took his share of
!
161
it
and borrowed from the Bani
Quraiza spades, baskets and other utensils for the 2 The Muslims were weary with the inceswork.' sant watch they had to keep up, and doubting the
3 promise of divine aid wished to retire into the city. After a while the Meccans found food and forage
giving out and so raised the siege and departed. This was the best and also the last chance given
1
to
It
the
Meccans
of breaking
Muhammad's power.
want of physical but chiefly because there was no man with courage, 4 The position of Muhammad brain in command.' as a chieftain was now strong, and he assumed a
was
utterly wasted, partly for
position of superiority calling for special ential intercourse

:
and
rever-
Address not the Apostle as ye address one another. Suratu'n-Nur (xxiv) 63.
The Muslims
is
only lost
five
men.
This
Ghazwa
on account of the intrigues carried all parties, and in the sad result to which on by the massacre of the Bani Quraiza Jews. it led,
of interest
These men
tools
for
at first aided
Muhammad
of
by supplying
but
the
excavation
the
ditch,
Abu
ûkhari
(part xvi, p. 142) says:

ditch.'
'The Prophet removed earth

ffi
on the day of the
^^-^^
p. 644.
s->V^ J*-^ p*^
^5^
Muddriju'n-Nabuwat,
8
4
ajJjZ SdA is*)V*|
Suratu'l-Ahzab
Margoliouth,
(xxxiii) 13.
p. 326.
11
162
Sufyan deceived them, and detached them from 1 their allegiance to the Prophet, lukewarm as it very naturally may have been, for the time for Abu Sufyan trusting the Prophet had passed away.
then sent a Jewish chief, Huyay bin Akhtab, to impress them with the danger they were in, and promised to give them armed support to defend
their fort
if
attacked.
After a long debate they were

their treat}' with
first
persuaded to give
up
Muhammad. 2
Whatever may have been the
intention of the
Bani Quraiza Jews, they do not appear to have taken any active part in the conflict, and they
failed
to
assist
do
so.
Muhammad
the Quraish when called upon to then tried to detach the Arabs
of the
Bani Ghatafan from their union with the
Quraish by offering a bribe of one-third of the produce of Madina, but some of his followers
objected to this arrangement and
1
it
fell
through.
reference to this in the Qur'an is He caused those of the people of the Book who had aided (the confederates) to come down out of their fortress, and cast dismay into their hearts some ye slew, others ye took prisoners.
: :
The
Suratu'l-Ahzab
(xxxiii) 26.
The reference is quite general, and seems to be made to justify the punishment which fell upon the Jews. The omission to mention any overt act of assistance supports the
view
I
have taken that the Jews rendered no

' :
efficient aid to
the
Quraish.
2 I have much hesitation in determining what the Muir says compact was at this time existing between Muhammad and the Quraiza, and what part the Quraiza actually took in assisting the The evidence is altogether ex parte, and is, of course, as allies.
erse to the Quraiza as possible.'
Vol.
iii,
p. 260, note.
163
Very soon after this, a man, named Nu'im bin Mas'ud Ghatafani, waited on the Prophet and expressed his desire to help him and his wish to embrace Islam. Muhammad said 'Art thou able to throw discord among the infidels and to destroy I can He said their league ? but thou must whatever I like.' His lordship allow me to speak permitted him to do so and dismissed him with War is a deception.' * Nu'im then these words tried to persuade the Jews that the Quraish were playing them false, and advised them to require
:
'
'
'
Abu Sufyan
to deliver
some hostages
to
them as
a sign of good faith. and told them that

that the
He
then visited the Quraish he had secret information
Jews intended to keep faith with Muhammad and were not to be relied upon, that they would ask for hostages and then deliver them up
death.
to
Thus
doubt
arose
in
Abu
Sufyan's
He then sent a message to the Jews for mind. assistance in an attack to be made the next day
;
but they said they could not fight on the Sabbath. This confirmed the suspicion in Abu Sufyan's mind, and, as the sequel shows, the Quraish notwithstanding a previous promise did nothing to
protect the Jews.
2
Mirkhund,
2
vol,
ii,
p.
131.
4xJwS*
w>
The whole story of the intrigue is given in the Muddriju' nKabuxvat, pp. 646-7. It also clearly shows that up to this time the Quraiza had not entered upon active hostilities
164

victon* won, Gabriel appeared to Muhamand told him not to put off his arms, for
'
The
mad
1 He the angels had not done so for forty days. O Muhammad, then gave a direct command
:
arise to strike the idolaters
who
and
are possessors of
the
Book,
to
the
batter
Bani
their
Quraiza.
fort
By
to
Allah
I
it
am
to
going
break
hen cast against a stone.' 2 Muhammad obeyed and gave the order for the immediate march of an armv of three thousand
pieces like the
egg of a
men,
with
'Ali
as
the
standard
bearer.
fortress
was soon
invested
and the Jews,
The who
have laid in no stock of provision for a quickly found themselves in great distress. siege, After fifteen days or so had elapsed they requested
seem
to
-cj
J-^"*-
J^
ii,
f***
iii,
J^
&
^ J^J ^
C^-~^ c^*-cj
Jjt\
JUii
Tabari, series 1, vol.

2
p. 1488.
eiLJ\ JL^fJUN
given by the need
'
:
Mfrkhund
some very
(vol.
all
the historians,
The fact about Gabriel is and seems to show that even they felt
p. 135).
of
definite justification for so great
a massacre which
it is
followed.
order of
said that
'
Muddriju'n-Nabuwat (p. God was to go against the Bani
In the
650)
said
It
The
also
Quraiza.'
is
Gabriel appeared and gave the order.' Tabari (Series 1, vol. iii, p. 1846) says that Gabriel
came
to the
Bani Quraiza, confused them and put fear
into their hearts
f&P*
o-*
'-^
-^
.5
(*&)**
f&
:
Bukhari
(part xvi, p. 150) says
J) )?-
^-f lT*
cs^
**"-*?
Jij**
He
also adds (p.
156)
that
:
against the Bani Quraiza
Gabriel directed
^.>*
Muhammad to go ^> .^ jL-kli

permission to emigrate as This was refused. done.
leave
all
165
the
Bani Nadir
had
They
then offered to
and chattels behind. The was that they must surrender unconditionally. reply Then their leaders, Ka'b bin Asud and Huyay bin Akhtab gathered the Jews together and put three
their
goods
courses
of
action
before them.
First,
that
they
should accept Islam.

kill
They
not change their religion. the women and children, go forth and fight to the death. They said they could not kill
replied that they could Second, that they should
innocent beings, and that they would have no happiness in their own lives after such a loss. Third, to on the Sabbath when the Muslims would fight
not expect an attack and would be off their guard. 1 They declined to violate the Sabbath.
was before them, the and turning to the Bani Aws, Jews capitulated, of which tribe they were the Ahlaf, or clients, said Why do you not help us as the Bani Then the Bani Khazraj helped the Qainuqa' ?
At
last,
when
starvation
'
'
A\vs pleaded with Muhammad for mercy for their friends, but all he would consent to was that one
of their
number should decide the case. 2 Assuming that he would approve of one
then present,
of
of the
men
facts
the
1
'
acquainted with all the then he case, they agreed to this

;
who were
Mfrkhund,
See note
vol.
ii,
p. 135.
at the
end of
this chapter.
166
himself chose the umpire in the person of Sa'd 1 bin Mu'adh. Formerly Sa'd had been a friend of
the Jews,
2
who were
clients (ahlaf) of his tribe
but
having been wounded in the recent fight he was now vexed with them for not having rendered active
assistance
for
to
the
Muslims.
order
With such
strike
'
man
an umpire, the decision was a foregone conGabriel's

'to
clusion.
the
idolaters
is
it
who
are possessors of the Book clear, and it extremely unlikelv that Muhammad ever intended
was
to be set aside.
this view.
His appointment of Sa'd confirms
Muhammad knew
was
said to Sa'd
' :
safe in his hands.
man and that the issue The men of the Ban! Aws The Apostle of God has left to thy
his
option the judgement concerning the Bani Quraiza. They are thy allies who have aided thee in peace and in war. They have surrendered everything and
Then he appointed Sa'd

'At
first
(oû,
^\ ^fb^
;
*>ji)
Bukhari, part
xvi, p. 156.
2
They thought
Sa'd had been an ally they had helped each other. that Sa'd would take care of them and save them.'
ô*^ <=qi
A^jJk/* <-
,_pjO
v*\i\
^-g
f+<~-'i
f+&
cî
ez? <j*\ <^*'*
Faidii'l-Bdri, part xvi, p. 155.

3 It is said that on being wounded he cursed the Bam Quraiza O Lord suffer me not to die until my heart and prayed thus hath had its revenge on them.' Muir, vol. iii, p. 274 note. See
' :
also
Musnad
iii,
pp. 350, 363, quoted by Margoliouth, p. 332.

now
their only
x
167
With many hope centres in thee.' such like words they urged him to be merciful and to save the Bani Quraiza, just as Ibn Abi Salul had saved the lives of the Bani Qainuqa'. He put them off with an ambiguous speech, 2 and expressed a wish to know whether they would abide
other course was open, and so they agreed, nothing doubting but that like them he would abide by the recognized position of the
by
his
judgement.
No
Jews
as ahlaf or allies.
all
so well
The Bani Aws had behaved and with such loyalty to their through
it
friends, that
is
ever thought that

allies
impossible to suppose that they Sa'd could possibly betray the

or eight hundred bound behind them, arms
(ahlaf)
All being
3
of his own tribe. now ready the seven
prisoners,
<jUo\ ^ dJw&W
with their
^\j
jf"
\j
<^;*
^ i*^
^'
f**b>
Ui
Jj-j
us <!> ^_5^-?
(O****?.^
v5)5 JiOji
,s\-c\ 6.*Jb
Mirkhund. vol. ii, p. 136. 2 At first he did not reply, but when their importunity exceeded 00 ne sa id that it was not the all bounds Jji jjW* J^
'
'
^
vol.
'
time for reproaching Sa'd with having been remiss in matters Dhuhak bin Khalifa then said, 'Alas concerning God Most High.
'
for
my
friends.'
(Mirkhund,
ii,
p.
136.)
The Bani Aws
be-
haved nobly, but now gave up all hope. 3 Syed Amir 'Ali (p. 174) says that the number of persons slain could not have exceeded two or three hundred, but he gives no
The historians place the number authority for this statement. much higher and the Ndsikhu t-TawdrikJi (p. 239) says there were
nine hundred
JuOy
J.**
yi x*^ cs^cU^
(j\
168

;
stood on the one side
on the other were the
women
and the children
Muhammad
dread terror of coming events. took up his position in front with his
in
chief followers.
Sa'd, a big burly
man, now wearied
with his journey and smarting from his wounds stood by. Proceed with thy judgement,' said the
'
Then came from a revengeful man these words This verily is my judgement, that the male captives shall be put to death, that the
Prophet.
cruel
' :
slavery,
female captives and the children shall be sold into and the spoil be divided among the army.'
at this
Any murmuring
stayed by decided according to
Muhammad who
savage decree was at once said Truly thou hast

' :
the judgement of God pronounced on high from beyond the seven heavens.' l The men were then taken to Madina. Muhammad
ordered a trench to be dug.
The
next day the Jews
were brought forth in batches, and 'Ali and Zubair were directed to slay them. Darkness came on before they had completed their bloody task. Torches were then brought to give
light
for
the
completion of this cruel deed. The blood of about eight hundred men flowed into the ditch, on the
brink
of
Muhammad
Huyay
'O enemy
which the victims were made to kneel. looked on with approval, and when
of
bin Akhtab
God,
at last the
was brought before him said Most High has given

îra^ o-*i=^>
J&i
1
Baidaui, vol.
ii,
p. 34.
a13\
JVi

thee into
169
hands and has made me thy judge.' 1 Some of the females were divided amongst the Muslims and the rest were sold as slaves. A beautiful widow, Raihana, whose jhusband had just been
my
slaughtered,
was reserved by
act to
justify
Muhammad
for
his
own harem, 2 an
came
:
which a revelation
we allow thee thy wives whom thou Prophet hast dowered, and the slaves whom thy right hand possesseth out of the booty which God hath granted thee. Suratu'l-Ahzab (xxxiii) 49.
The commentator Husain refers this to slave women, Safiyya and Raihana and those like them.'
'
Raihana wished to remain in the Jewish religion and so declined to be his wife. She had to accept
the position of a concubine.
1
Mirkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 138.
Syed Amir 'Ali (p. 174), who repudiates this story as a fabribut the Ndsication, gives no historical authority for his opinion The Prophet took for khu't-Tawdrikh (part i, vol. ii, p. 240) says himself Raihana bint 'Amru bin Khanaqa.'
2
; ' :
In the Habibu's-Siydr, Raihana is placed amongst the concubines (Raudatu's-Safd, R. A. S. ed., partii, vol. ii, p. 777) Tabari The Apostle of God selected for (series 1, vol. iii, p. 1498) says:
'
himself from
among your women Raihana, daughter
of 'Amru.'
Rodwell (p. 439), quotes Ibn Hisham (p, 693) to the same effect 'The first slave whom Muhammad took to wife was Raihana.' Thus there seems to be no authority whatever for discrediting
:
the story.
170
Thus, when two tribes had been exiled and one exterminated, the power of the Jews was broken for
ever in Madina, and
Muhammad was
free to look
farther afield for fresh conquests. There was a time when he had desired their friendship, but each
.
victory
less
won and each lot of booty captured made him dependent on them for recognition and for The change from a basis of reason to a basis funds.
'
of
force
had taken place gradually, but was now

1
finally achieved.'
It
seemed desirable that

it
a revelation should justify
the proceedings and so
came
And He caused
had aided
(the
those of the people of the

to
confederates)
their fortresses,
and cast
Book who come down out of dismay into their hearts some
:
ye slew, others ye took prisoners. And He gave you their land, and their dwellings and their wealth for an heritage. Suratu'l-Ahzab (xxxiii)
26-7.
The
older
historians,
believing
with
orthodox
Muslims that Muhammad's conduct is the standard of what is right, seem to feel no difficult}- about this massacre. It was enough for them that
Gabriel
the
is
said to have given
the order to strike
idolaters
who were
but some
the
modern Muslim
Prophet's instead of co-operating with the Muslims, defected

:
possessors of the book, writers try to defend The Bani Quraiza action thus
'
HIargoliouth,
p. 334.

from
with
the
their allegiance
171
and entered into negotiations

foe.
the
besieging
After
the
in
cessation
of
turn, and a siege, they besieged fearful example of them was made, not by Muhai mad, but by an arbiter chosen and appointed by themselves they were war-traitors and rebels and deserved death according to the international
were
law.'
We
by
the
have seen
how the Jews were deceived both Meccans and the Muslims, how at first
the
defence,
they rendered assistance in

loan of the
by the
siege necessary tools, though progressed they gave no further aid we have seen that the arbiter was chosen not by themselves, but bv Muhammad who selected, not one of the
;
as the
Bani Aws who were present and who had pleaded for mercv, but one who was already embittered against the Jews, and who had to be brought from
Madina
for this purpose.
Again, according to some authorities, it was not the Jews who agreed to abide by Sa'd's decision, 2 but the Bani Aws, which is quite another matter.
They appealed
1
to Sa'd to
have mere)'.
Sa'd replied
Cheragh
'Alf,
pp. 87-8.
The Raudatu's-Safd (vol. ii, p. 137); the Muddriju'n-Nabuvol. ii, p. 237) wat (p. 654) and the Nasi khu't-TawdrikJi (part make statements showing that it was the Bani Aws who agreed
i,
to accept the decision of Sa'd, the arbiter appointed
by Muham-
mad.
They, not the Jews,
left
it
in his
hands, and he himself
decided
whom
to appoint.
172
to

an agreement and promise Lord Most High that you will assent decision. The} (not the Jews) all answered
: '
them
Do you make
7
before the
to
my
amrmativel v.
Another apologist writes fully on the subject. He states, though he gives no authorities for it, that
the Jews made the condition that Sa'd should judge the matter, but as we have shown, it was the Bani
Aws who made

of Sa'd
is
that arrangement. His description This man a fierce historically accurate.

'
soldier
who had been wounded

died
in
the attack, and,
indeed,
day, infuriated by their treacherous conduct, gave sentence that the fighting men should be put to death and
that
from
his
wounds the next
the
women and
children should
2
become the
slaves of the Muslims.'
It is
absolutely incredible
that the Jews would have chosen such a
man
to
decide their fate, and this leads the student, who has a true historical judgement, to look upon the account
3 given by the historians as the more probable one.
Mirkhund,
a
vol.
ii,
p. 137.
Syed Amir 'AH, p. 171. 8 Muir's judgement on the transaction is fair and impartial. It may be thus summarized The Quraiza had rendered no assistance to the Bam Nadir and had then been loyal to Muhammad but the continued oppression of the Jews may have weakened
:
;
their
moment,
confidence in him, and have led them, in an imprudent This deserved to listen to the overtures of the Quraish.

It
is
173
quite fair to urge the plea that we must not judge the actions of ordinary men of a bar-
barous age by the principles recognized by our own times, but it is said that Muhammad was not an
ordinary man.
believed to be a divinely apIt pointed teacher, acting under divine guidance. also be said that in the Jewish history of the may
is
He
past savage deeds were done, which we should now disapprove that the persecution of the Jews by the
;
emperor Heraclius
as this massacre.
in the year a.d.
But there
is
this difference
630 was as bad no

:
justifies the cruelty of the Roman emperor, nor are his actions taken as precedents which must be
one
followed
by
all
good
Christians.
On
the
other
hand, the actions of
Muhammad
were, as Muslims
must believe, done under supernatural guidance, and they form a definite rule of faith the Sunna His to which all Muhammadans must conform.
to
actions, therefore, cannot be justified
by comparison
with the actions of other men.

;
They belong
a different category they are, according to Muslim theology, the result of a divine impulse within him, the deeds of a sinless and therefore perfect man. They form the highest ideal and the most perfect
some punishment and their banishment from the vicinity of Madfna would have been just but the wholesale slaughter of them was an act of enormous ferocity. The plea of divine sanction in the
;
Qur'an may satisfy the Muslim, but not those who see that the same divine authority is adduced for personal ends and domestic
quarrels.
Vol.
ill,
pp. 2S2-4.
174

for
conception of
apologies other leaders,
which Islam can present. All based on the fact that or secular, have done similar religious
life
Muhammad
deeds are altogether beside the question.
NOTE TO PAGE
This
says:
is
'
165 Mirkhund
'
a point of great importance.
(vol.
ii,
p. 136)
His Lordship made no reply to the Bani Aws, till their Will you agree solicitations exceeded all bounds, when he said that one of yourselves make a decision regarding them ? They " He continued " That man will said Yes, O Apostle of God." be Sa'd bin Mu'adh." We shall do whatever he shall decide in
:
'
'
the matter.'
S^Jb
yj^~*\ J\a/*
(j.>
a*
(^\
&&
^y*j*
&^ J^^J ^
it is
<*SJ^
^*J&
In the Muddriju'n-Nabuwat (p. 653), took no notice of the petition of the Bani
Sa'd.
said that
Muhammad
Aws and
;
himself sent for
His Excellency gave no order in the matter Bani Aws, and showed negligence then he sent some one to call Sa'd bin Mu'adh who, on account of woundsTeceived in the Ghazwa, had been left behind.'
The words
are
'
of the
jo
fijy*i
<_alî"
6ys
o^j^
c^=^W
s-^~?
^ Six* (^
:
*-*"
'
s-.^\) t_s~^
the well-known history, Ndsikhu t- Tawdrikh The (part i, vol. ii, p. 237) thus states the case The principal men from the tribe of the Bani Aws came to " You pardoned the Bani Qainuqa' at the the Prophet and said
author of
'
intercession of the Khazraj.
It
is
right that at our intercession

' ' '
Do The Prophet replied you should pardon the Bani Quraiza. you agree that I should choose a man from among 3'ourselves and make him an umpire and should carry out what he orders in the matter." They said: "Yes, O Apostle of God." He replied:
' :

'That
175
man
is
Sa'd bin Mu'adh
Sa'd bin Mu'adh should be
".' Then the Prophet, ordered summoned from Madina.
that
XISS&
f JÔ Û^ C^*J&=* }L.,^
(jLy*.^
&ftj\jO
*jL A^==>
\\ \
It is
clear that they thought he
would choose as umpire, one
of
those
had
present, and not send off to Madma for a man who not been present at their interview, had not heard the reasons
who were
given for showing mercy, and
who was
smarting from his wounds.
Tabari
' '
(series 1,
said,
Ye men
let
it
'The Apostle of God 1491) says: of Aws, will ye not agree that one of your men should
vol.
iii,
p.
decide for them."
They
replied,
"Yes", He (Muhammad)
^ QjejS
said,
"Then
be Sa'd bin Mu'adh".'
f&** J^j
{*<&*
f&s* w>y\
y*>*>*
(**L
*&\
Jj~;
J^
CHAPTER
During

the sixth year of the Hijra no important battles were fought, but man}- small expeditions
went forth and the power and influence of the Muslims grew month by month. Two may be In the month of Ramadan Zaid referred to here. ibn Haritha was placed in charge of a mercantile
caravan with instructions to proceed to Syria. The Muslims, now adepts at waylaying caravans, found that other people could do the same, for this
caravan was plundered by the Bani Fazara. The traders at Madina were annoyed, and Zaid was sent
with a strong party to punish the robbers.
Their
stronghold was captured and Umm Qiriya, an old woman, a person of some influence in her tribe, was Her legs were tied to camels, cruelly put to death. which were then driven in opposite directions, until Zaid on his return gave an she was torn asunder.
account
of
his
expedition
to
Muhammad who
embraced and kissed him. 1 It is not recorded that he expressed disapprobation of this cruel deed.
1
Mndariju'n-Nabiiii-at,
p. 668.

The
other event was this
;
177
a few
'Arniyya
had become
Muslims.
men The
of the
Bani
of
climate
Madina did not suit these children of the desert, and so Muhammad kindly allowed them to go forth with one of his herds of milch camels and live in the open air. They regained strength and then The herdsmen tried to run away with the camels. who pursued them were cruelly tortured to death. Muhammad was naturally very angry, and w hen the culprits were captured and brought before him, he
T
ordered that their eyes should be put out, their arms and legs cut off and their bodies impaled until
life
was
extinct.
It
Muhammad
torture
in
seems
judicial
for
must, however, be stated that to have felt that such severe
punishments
the
was
doubtful
revela-
procedure,
tion
:
he delivered
following
and
of those who war against God Apostle, and go about to commit disorders on the earth, shall be that they shall be slain or crucified, or have their alternate hands and feet cut off, or be banished the land. This their disgrace in this world, and in the next, a great torment shall be theirs. Suratu'l-Ma'ida (v) 37.
The recompense
His
Impaling
is,
therefore,
now
illegal,
though the
lawful punishments are
still
tunately they are now law accepts as a divine and so an unalterable code.
Unforvery inhuman. enshrined in what Muslim
The Jews by banishment and

been
reduced
12
to
slaughter
had
tribes
impotence.
Many Arab
178
by force or persuasion had been brought into Islam. Mecca, however, still remained proudly aloof from the one man in Arabia who was a conqueror and a All these long years Muhammad ruler of men. had failed to win the Quraish and had suffered the day of retribution reproach at their hands was drawing near. The mind of the Prophet
;
turned
to
towards
the
sole
the
sacred
city,
for,
until
his
influence
was supreme
ruler
there, he could not expect

in
be
Arabia.
Six vears
his followers
had
now passed away

left
had and no doubt many of them wished to Mecca,

places.
since he
and
revisit the old familiar
Again,
Muhammad
had some time before changed the Qibla (or direction in which prayer should be said) from Jerusalem to Mecca. The sacred temple there was still a holy place to the Muslims in Madina. Every day of their lives they turned towards it in acts of
divine worship, though for six years the)' had not The longing to enter its courts and to go seen it.
round its walls was now very great. The way had to be carefully prepared, and Suratu'1-Hajj (xxii), or such portions of it as are not late Meccan,
was
are
revealed
for
this
purpose.
is
reminded that the Ka'ba

be
rites
for all
The Meccans men. The
ceremonies of the old

to
of
God,
the
pagan ritual are declared performance of which

66-7
76-7.
See vv. 27-39

shows piety of
camels
heart.
is enjoined. the Ka'ba and all its ceremonies for Islam.
179
The continued sacrifice of Thus did Muhammad claim

It
was
a master-stroke for gaining influence at the time. At this juncture Muhammad had a dream in
which he saw himself and

all
his followers
performing
the duties of the Pilgrimage. This settled the matter, and as the sacred month in which the
Pilgrimage, is made was now at hand a considerable body started out towards
'Umra, or
Lesser
Mecca
in
the
month
to
of
March a.d. 628.

fro
The
Quraish opposed
their entrance into
messengers
'
went
and
on
the city and between the two

at
parties.
The Muslims were encamped

situated
Hudaiof
biya,
place sacred territory which encircles Mecca.
the
confines
the
Their posi-
tion
was one
of
some
danger and
Muhammad,
gathering his followers around himself under the shade of a tree, required a pledge of loyalty even
from each one. This oath was cheera is an fully given, and the Pledge of the Tree event ever after referred to with great respect and regard. It is a most striking instance of the
to
death
'
'
The following
:
to this
verse
is
supposed by some commentators
to refer
Who committeth a greater wrong than he who hindereth God's name from being remembered in His temples and who hasteth to ruin them. See H.D. Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 108. Qur'dn, p. 177, note.
2
It is
also called the 'oath of
good pleasure
'.
jW*^
<**??
180
personal devotion of his followers to the Prophet and of the intense sympathy which existed between
them.
lievers
tree.
God
is
said to have been glad about

fealty to thee
18.
it
Well pleased now hath God been with the
be-
when they
result
plighted
(xlviii)
under the
Suratu'1-Fath
of
The
the
consultations
was that the
Quraish absolutely refused admission to the Ka'ba, but agreed to the following terms
:
War
shall be
suspended
the
us.
for ten years.
Neither
shall
side
shall
attack
other.
Perfect
amity
Whosoever wisheth to join prevail and enter into treaty with him shall Muhammad have liberty to do so and whosoever wisheth to join the Quraish and enter into treaty with them shall have liberty to do so. If any one goeth
betwixt
;
over
to
Muhammad,
without
the
permission
of
*
;
his guardian, he shall be sent
back to his guardian
and,
any one from amongst the followers of Muhammad return to the Quraish, the same shall be sent back provided, on the part of the that Muhammad and his followers retire Quraish, from us this year without entering the city. In the coming year he may visit Mecca, he and his
if
;
followers,
1
for
three
days when
we
shall
retire.
refused
There
is
no distinction of sex here, but

to support his action
Muhammad
to return a
produced a revelation contained in Suratu'l-Mumtahina (Ix) 10. Obviously treaties were not much use, when a revelation could cancel any clause in them. See H.D. Qttr'dn, p. 179, note.
woman, and

But they may not
save
those
enter
it
181
with
any weapons,
each
a
of
the
'
traveller,
namely, to
sheathed sword.
At
felt
first
the
their
Muslims
object
in
were
that
disappointed and coming had not been
gained, but
to
Muhammad
soon produced a revelation
show how wrong that view of it was, and what benefits would be derived from this treaty
of
Hudaibiya.
what he declared with the words

:
Standing on his camel, he gave to be God's message, beginning
Verily, we have won for thee an undoubted victory. Siiratu'1-Fath (xlviii) 1.
him The
for the Quraish in treating it was, as an equal acknowledged his political status. increase in the number of converts was rapid now. In this same Sura, Suratu'1-Fath, the people
And such
who would
minded
infidels,
not
come
are
bitterly reproved
is
and
re-
that the flame of hell
whilst those
who had
prepared taken the oath of
for the
fealty
under the tree are promised a spirit of secure repose, a speedy victory and rich booty.
To meet
the
disappointment caused by the ab-
sence of booty the
Muslims are
told that there
is
Other booty, over which ye have not yet had 2 power, but now hath God compassed them for you.
Suratul-Fath
1
(xlviii) 21.
Mirkhund, vol. ii, p. 145. Baidawi says this may refer
to the spoils after the defeat of the
182
The Muslims had referred to the dream of Muhammad and wondered why it had not come to pass. He pointed out that the particular year of its
fulfilment
was not shown
in
it,
and
to pacify
them
its
brought another revelation to assure them of

certain fulfilment
:
Now hath God in truth made good to His Apostle the dream in which he said, Ye shall surely enter the sacred mosque, if God will, in full security, having your head shaved and your hair cut ye shall not fear,
'
:
and He hath ordained you, besides this, a speedy victory.' It is He who hath sent His Apostle with the guidance, and the religion of truth, that He may exalt And enough for thee is this it above every religion. 1 Suratu'1-Fath (xlviii) testimony on the part of God. 27-8.
for
He
knoweth what ye know
not,
Thus, though the pilgrimage was postponed the
was theirs other booty would be realized, and they could rest now in patience for to Muhammad was the guidance committed. Great would be the glory for Islam. No longer were Christianity and Judaism co-ordinate with it. In Islam alone was salvation to be found for now it was to
victory
; ;
Huwazin Arabs
refer
1
in the battle of
Hunain
but most commentators.
it
to this event.
is
i,
This verse
said to abrogate all other religions {Khuldsatu'tp. 271).
Tafdsir, vol.
forth in
:
The
absolute claim of Islam
is
also set
Whoso desireth any other religion than Islam, that religion shall not be accepted from him, ,and in the next world he shall be among the lost. Suratu Ali 'Imran (iii) 79. SeeH.D.
Our
an, pp. 183-5 notes.

exceed and excel
could well
thei- desire.
all
183
afford to wait
other religions, and so they for a full year to fulfil

for
Enough
of
them
to
know
that this
was
the will
God.
The whole
of this forty-
eighth Sura is very remarkable and well suited to the occasion.

After his return to
of
Madina with a strong sense
his growing power, the vision of Muhammad took a wider range, and in letters, signed with a seal bearing the inscription Muhammad the Apostle of God, summoned rulers of other lands to his
obedience.
It
is
said
that
each messenger was

inspiration,
1
miraculously endowed with the same

(ilham)
as
When the Prophet possessed. emperor Heraclius was performing a pilgrimage of

the
thanksgiving to Jerusalem for his victory over the Persians, he received a letter from Muhammad, the
Apostle of God, calling upon him to embrace Islam. Another despatch was sent to the king of Persia
who
tore
it
to
pieces.
:
When Muhammad was

'
informed of this he said
Even
thus,
Lord
rend thou his kingdom from him.' 2 Then followed a letter to the Maquqas, the governor of Egypt, who returned a courteous reply and sent as a present
Muddriju'n-Nabuwat,
2
vol.
ii,
p. G91.
Muir, vol.
iv,
p.
54.
184
two Coptic damsels, Mary and her sister Sherin, 1 and a white mule for the Prophet's use. Mar/ was the fairer of the two sisters and was kept by
Muhammad for his own harem. Sherin waa bestowed on the poet Hasan. The king of Abyssinia had been friendly to the Muslims who emigrated from Mecca. In his first letter Muhammad called for his conversion, and in a second one asked him to send back to Madina any remaining Muslims. The reason for this seems
to
have arisen
'Ubaidu'llah, the Hanif,
from the following circumstance. who became a Muslim and
emigrated
to Abyssinia, then
became a Christian
and died
there.
He
left
widow,
Umm
in
Habiba,
in
the daughter of
Abu Sufyan.
It is
Muhammad
this
same
of
letter'
asked for her return in order that he

her.
might marry
the
sometimes urged
alliances
defence
Prophet's matrimonial
that
they
were made with the object of supporting widows and old women 3 and that in this case a natural
5
(vol.
The Raudatu'l-Ahbdb, quoted in the Muddriju'n-Nabuwat 'The gifts of the Maquqas were four ii, p. 699) says:
damsels, one of them was
Mary and another

p.
her sister Sherin
'
The Munlju'dh-Dhahab (vol. Lv, Mary the Copt, mother of Ibrahim.'

Xfcl*i:J
159)
says:
f>\
'one
was
f*fc\^
Aâi\ &dj\+
^*
ffiij?
vJ^\ A-i.*a ci>U=^L^*

,
\\
&
\\ q\\*Jl.~*
*i\
*i3 t!L..-*.*-2a-
Muddrijn' n-Nabuwat vol. ii, p. 696. 8 Other Syed Amir 'Ali, pp. 331, 334.
OjL.
y\^ &m^*^ ^
reasons of a physical

protector
185
was needed. If this is so there seems no reason why many more were not admitted into
the Prophet's harem. Habiba, however, does not appear to have been in any difficulty, she was comfortably settled in Abj'ssinia, and, in the case
of
Umm
her
return
to
Arabia,
Abu Sufyan was
well
able to look aft^r her.
that
of
It may be that the hope would bring over Abu Sufyan to the cause She Islam played some part in the marriage.
it
became the ninth wife
of the Prophet.
'
The
affair of
successfully as
the
Hudaibiya had not ended quite as Each time Prophet desired.
the Prophet had failed, or secured an incomplete success, he compensated for it by an attack on
the Jews.
abandoned
after the unsatisfactory affair of
This policy had served too well to be Hudai-
biya and, therefore, a raid on the Jews of Khaibar
was speedily planned.' 1 In the revelation, which was given

occur
:
to justify the
concluding of the treaty of Hudaibiya, these
words
God promised you

Suratu'1-Fath
the
taking
of
rich
booty.
(xlviii) 20.
nature, too indecent to reproduce, are given by See Muddriju'n-Nabuwat, p. 468.
some
authorities.
That the Prophet was susceptible

in the prohibition
to
female charms
'
is
hinted at
though
for other women, against changing his wives their beauty charm thee'. <j& a* cd**>c\ ^ Suratu'l-
Ahzab
1
(xxxiii) 52.
Margoliouth,
p. 355.
186
According to Baidawi this refers to the spoils 1 to be obtained at Khaibar. If this interpretation is Muhammad had clearly correct, it shows that
own mind the object of this attack on the Jews. The siege lasted for some time, but in the end the Jews had to submit to superior force.
defined in his
The booty obtained was

his
great.
Muhammad
to
took
one-half for himself and divided the rest amongst

followers.
The Jews were allowed
remain
on their lands on the condition that they paid

half the
Jewish
2 The produce into the public treasury. chief Kinana was accused of concealing
some accounts, was tortured and beheaded. His wife Safiyya was a a daughter of Huyay who had been slaughtered with the Bani Ouraiza. She was a woman of great beauty and as she had lived near Madina with her She at father was probably known to Muhammad.
some
treasure
and according
3
to
first
fell
to the lot of a
man
called
Dahiya,
but
when Muhammad's
fact
1
attention
of
her high
position
,
was called to the amongst the Jews, he

xvii, p. 44.
See also Faidu'l-Bdri
vol. xvii, p. 6.
;
Mirkhund,
'
vol.
ii,
p.
158
Bukharf, part
Cheragh
Khaibar were allowed free enjoyment He of their possessions (Refornis under Moslem Rule, p. 20). omits to mention the fact that they had to do all the work and
'All
says
The Jews
'
of
yet enjoyed only one-half of the proceeds of their possessions. 3 See Margoliouth, p. 360, note. The Muddriju'n-Nabuwat and
Mirkhund
4
in the
the torture.
The
Raudatu's-Safd, however, make no mention of Vol. ii, p. 158. latter simply says he was slain.
pp. 12, 23
;
Bukharf, part
xvii,
Ma'sudi, vol.
iv, p.
158.
THE CONOUEST OF ARABIA

rV
187
gave compensation to Dahiya and himself sought her in marriage, and strange to say she consented to
become
seems
his
tenth
wife.
The
attack
for.
on
Khaibar
130), the
to
have been uncalled

kill
Assassins had
been sent there to
Abu Ran'
(ante p.
brother of Kinana, and
many
So
found
refuge
there.
expected
from
miles
them,
Bani Nadir had was not to be loyalty but as Khaibar was one
of the
hundred away from Madina, an attack by them was most unlikely. They had done Muhammad no harm. Indeed they had left unavenged the murder of Abu Ran', one of their number. But thev were wealthv, and, in the face of the
revelation about loot,
1
it is
it
that
the
desire
for
entered
reasonable to suppose largely into the
reasons for the attack which gained it. It is said that when 'Ali was told to lead the forces against
them,
he
asked
that
for
what
he was
fighting,
and
compel them to accept 2 the formulae of Islam. This plea was sufficient to cover any attack where there was a prospect of
was
told
he must
booty.
One woman, Zainab bint Harith, bv means of some poisoned goats flesh attempted to kill Muhammad, who had caused her husband and relatives to be put to death, and atoned for her act by her
1
'
God
20.
promised you the taking of a rich booty.'

ii,
Suratu'1-Fath
(xlviii)
a
Muslim,
p. 237,
quoted by Margoliouth,
p.
363
188
death.
1

The
rest of the year
was passed
in
com-
parative quietness, disturbed only by a few small Sariyas, of little political importance, though they
increased the prestige of the Prophet and brought
some booty. Then the time came round, and

in
of the
'Umra
or Lesser Pilgrimage
in the spring of the year a.d.
629
Muhammad
availed himself of the permission grantvisit
ed by the Quraish to
Mecca, and with about

it
two thousand The Quraish
approached the city. and the Muslims, their weapons outside, entered Mecca which leaving When Muhamfor seven years they had not seen. mad came to the Ka'ba he said May God be
followers
retired
he
from
'
gracious to the
man whom he shows to them (the He performed Meccans) to-day in his strength.'
the usual ceremonies of the pagan pilgrimage, such as kissing the black stone, making the seven pre-
and the running between the mounts Safa and Marwa. The animals
scribed
circuits
of
the
Ka'ba,
The author
is
of
The Life and Teachings of
Muhammad
forgave her;
'
(ed. 1873), p. 128, states absolutely that
Muhammad
(vol.
ii,
but this
not quite so certain.

' :
Mirkhund
p. 158) says
He
He adds 'Ulama try to reconcile the conflicting views killed her. the Prophet did not slay her for his own sake, but on by saying account of Bishar, who died from the effects of the poison.' This seems to be the general view {Muddriju'n-Nabuwat, p. 760;
Bukharf, part
cally that
xvii,
p. 43).
Muhammad
Anyhow, it cannot be said dogmatiforgave her, for she was certainly put to
death.
189
brought for the purpose were sacrificed, and the ceremonies of the Lesser Pilgrimage were brought The honour paid to the city and to the to an end.
ancient temple favourably influenced the Meccans.
The
with
friendships formed, through his marriage now Maimuna his eleventh and last wife, also
his
advanced
and when he retired again to Madina he was much more powerful in every way than he had been at any previous period. One
cause,
result of this
pilgrimage, or of the marriage with
Maimuna, was that her nephew, Khalid ibn Walid, and Amir ibn 'As, both famous cavalry leaders, became Muslims. Various small raids were now made, but the most
important Sariya of this period
is
that of Muta.
Muhammad
ruler
had sent a letter of Bostra calling on him

officials,
to to
the
Ghassanide
embrace Islam.
Shurahbil, one of the

to death.
1
very wrongly put the
at once sent forth messenger an army of three thousand men, but as the conquest
Muhammad
'Two modern
'Ali (p.
writers,
Syed Amir
'Ali
(p.
191)
and Cheragh
139), justify the expedition against
the Syrian view punish the murder of an envoy. We do not of the case but it was known to the Syrians that raids were being made far and wide, and they may have had good reason to suppose the man was a spy. Cheragh 'Ali (pp. 65, 66, 69, 71) defends
;
Muta know
as one
made
to
Abu 'Afak, Ka'b bin Ashraf, ^Sufyan Abu Rafi' and others. The truth is they were all cruel, unworthy acts and If Muhammad's action in these all were right, or all were wrong.
the massacre of
matters
is
justifiable
on the ground of self-defence
equally so
is
that of Shurahbil.
190
THE LIFE GF MUHAMMAD

was known and
raids in the direction of
of Khaibar
the Syrian border were not unknown, Shurahbil had
no
difficulty in also raising
an army.
The Muslims
were defeated.
all loss, for
we
Though not successful, it was not are justified in supposing that much
was
by Muhammad's campaign against the Byzantines, which, though not for the moment
effected
made him the champion of a national which the Arabs had scarcely thought of till then, though it was in his mind. Anyhow the attack was premature. The position in Arabia must be
successful,
idea,
made much
be attempted.
stronger before conquests abroad could Then this revelation came

:
When
by troops
the
l
,
help
seest
And thou
Then
of God and men entering
the victory arrive, the religion of God
utter the praises of God and implore His loveth to turn to mercy. Suratu'npardon, for Nasr (ex) 1-3.
He
Thus encouraged, Muhammad was
able to take a
calm survey of the political situation. His followers had now grown into a body united in faith and in action, but if Islam was to become, as he doubtless had long intended it should become, the
one politico-religious force in Arabia, its centre must be in Mecca, not Madina. The commerce of
the
1
Meccans now was ruined,

'
'
for
their
caravans
Baidawi says that the victory is that of Mecca, and that by troops is meant the men of Mecca, of T&'if, Yaman, Huwazin and all the Arab tribes, vol. ii, p. 420.
1 r

could not go forth with safety.
leaders were getting weary mad knew that, while the
191
Many
of the
Quraish
of the strife.
Muham-
power of the Meccans was decreasing, his own influence and prestige were growing day by day so he now clearly saw that a determined effort would lead to the capture of Mecca. Two years had passed since the treaty of Hudaibiya was made, and, according to its terms, the peace between Madina and Mecca was to last A This difficulty was overcome. for ten years. Bedouin tribe attached to Muhammad was attacked
:
by another tribe in alliance with the Quraish. The Prophet seized the occasion, took up the quarrel, and with a large army of some ten thousand men advanced against Mecca. Abu Sufyan, the old and implacable enemy of the Prophet, saw that the time
for opposition
was
past.
view with
Muhammad,
sought for an interrepeated the Muslim creed,
He
and became henceforth a good Muslim. To confirm him in his change of creed, he was shown the x His strength and variety of the Muslim army.
conversion led to the comparatively quiet submission of Mecca, where Abu Sufyan, the hereditaryleader
of
the
Quraish,
As soon
as
Muhammad
possessed great influence. entered the city he proceed-
ed to the Ka'ba and saluted the black stone. He 2 then ordered all the idols to be hewn down, and
ûkfcari, part
2
xvii,
p.
70.
Ibid., part xvii, p. 80.
192
in
order to
show
that
he
now
exercised supreme
authority, he appointed 'Uthman bin Talha and 'Abbas to the two hereditary offices connected
with the temple. 1 A crier then proclaimed in the streets this order Whoever believeth in God and in
'
:
the last day
let him not leave in his house any whatever that he doth not break in pieces.' 2 image Many of the Meccans mocked, and then a reve-
lation
equal,
came to show that by nature all men are and that in the sight of God noble birth
and pride of race or rank is of little worth as compared with the fear of the Lord. The Quraish
are rebuked in
:
Verily we have created you of a male and a and we have divided you into peoples and tribes that ye might have knowledge one of another. Truly, the most worthy of honour in the sight of God
!
O men
;
female
is
he
who
feareth
Him
most.
Suratu'l-Hujurat
(xlix) 14.
In reply to a question asking the Meccans what they thought of him, Muhammad received the
answer from some of them, We think well of thee, O noble brother and son of a noble brother. Verily thou hast obtained power over us, Referring to the Suratu Yusuf (xii) the Prophet quoted the words
'
'
in
ninety-second verse, Joseph to his brethren

:
the
which were said by
It is
1
said that this transaction
is
referred to in
Verily God enjoineth you to give back your trusts to their owners.' Suratu'n-Nisa' (iv)61.
2
Muir, vol.
iv, p.
129.

No
you
for
193
blame be on you this day. God will forgive He is the most merciful of those who show mercy. Suratu Yusuf (xii) 92.
With a few exceptions, mostly of those who, it must be admitted, deserved their fate, a general
amnesty extended
city.
to
all
the
inhabitants
of
the
The
in
result
was
that
the hearts
fiqun
Mecca
of the people. as there had been in
won There were no Munathe Prophet soon
Madina.
It
was a day of great triumph to Muhammad, for now had 'the mercy' of God come upon them. Eight years before he had left Mecca as a fugitive, a The Quraish, after the commencedespised outcast. ment of the raids on their caravans, had been persistent in their opposition and now that was The sacred city was in his possession at an end. and his word was law. He had stood in the
1
of
temple, sacred for many centuries to the worship al-Lat and al-'Uzza and a host of inferior
deities,
and with a w ord had banished idolatry

r
from
it
for
ever.
By
his
appointed new
centre
of
officers,
and
own authority he now made the city the
the
new
religion.
No wonder
to
that
success
rapidly
so
great
caused
Islam
spread
now. At last it seemed as if would be united as they had never been people
before
1
;
most the Arab

Prophet
in
at last the patriotic feelings of the

'
'
Baidawi says that the words fulfilled my mercy Ma'ida (v) 5 may refer to this victory. Vol. i, p. 247.
Suratu' 1-
13
194
seemed near their realization, and Arabia united and free a political and a religious whole would more than resist the enemies who but a few years before had been encroaching on her territories, The taking and threatening her very existence. of Mecca was the outcome of a series of events which began on the day when Muhammad was allowed to become the master of a community that lay between the Quraish and their markets.
'
The
of
historians
tell
us
little
of
the
eight
internal
years,
history
Mecca
during
shift of
the
past
whence the gradual

supposing that
opinion in
Muhammad's
favour can only be guessed.
We
are justified in
much was
campaigns against the not immediately successful, made him the champion
of a national idea.'
*
by Muhammad's Byzantines, which, though

effected
Before he
left
the vicinitv of Mecca,
Muhammad
sent forth a few parties to destroy some idolatrous Khalid in an expedition shrines in the vicinity. against the Bani Khaizima barbarously slew all his
prisoners.
To
his
credit
be
it
said
Muhammad
disapproved of this act, sent *Ali to
pay the blood-
ransom (diyat) 2 were satisfied did he pardon Khalid. The Prophet now had to leave Mecca
of a
and not
until the aggrieved parties
for
rumours
coming
insurrection reached him.

1
Mirkhund
Margoliouth, pp. 288-9.
Mirkhund,
vol.
ii,
p. 178.

' :
195
says that the Bani Hawazin and the Bani Thaqif Muhammad has vanquished the Quraish said
:
he will probably turn against us, therefore it will be suitable that we attack him before he prepares his
army and marches towards

force of about
'
us.
They
collected a
4000 men and brought with them and flocks. It was that the knowledge that a defeat would thought mean total ruin would make the men fight to the death. Against this force Muhammad was able to send an army of 10,000 men who had accompanied him to Mecca. They were reinforced by 2000 more warriors. The enemy under their youthful leader, Malik ibn 'Auf Nadari, took up a strong position in a narrow defile leading to the valley of Hunain. The Muslims fell into the ambush, were driven back in much confusion and a panic set in. They fled in confusion, and it seemed as if the day was lost; but the Prophet bade his uncle 'Abbas cry out O men of Madina O men of the tree of fealty O
their families, property, herds
: 1
!
men
was
of the Suratu'l-Baqara
'
!
The
flight of
some
and then Muhammad, ascending a some gravel in his hand, cast it Ruin seize them.' towards the enemy and said A body of devoted warriors rallied round him. The tide of battle turned and the enemy were, after
arrested,
mound and
taking
'
a hard struggle, utterly routed.

1
The
victory of
Mirkhund,
It
is
vol.
ii,
p. 179.
said
women were
present.
According to the Traditions,
196
Hunain was considered worth)- of mention in the Qur'an, and so a revelation came in connexion with
the
battle.
The
initial reverse is
attributed to the
their
vainglory the Muslims showed
in
numbers.
Thus :
Now hath God helped you on many battle-fields, and on the day of Hunain, when ye prided yourselves on your numbers but it availed you nothing, and the earth, with all its breadth, became too strait for you; Suratu't-Tauba then turned ye your backs in flight.
;
(ix) 25.
In the next verse the final victory

to supernatural aid
:
is
attributed
1 did God send down His spirit of repose His Apostle and upon the faithful, and He sent upon down the hosts which ye saw not, and He punished
Then
the infidels.
reverse
would have been
serious, for
Abu
Sufto
yan might have taken advantage of a disaster raise the standard of revolt again.
The
city of Ta'if
It
Bani Thaqif.
women
to
was the head-quarters of the was strongly fortified and well

when Ayisha asked
'
should not go
to battle, for
'
to
'
be allowed
(Bukharf,
go,
ii,
Muhammad
p. 184).
said
Thy
to
jihad
is
the
Hajj
is
part
Here they are
said to
have come out
to assist the
wounded.
The opinion seems
be that this
justifiable,
but
Ibid. p. 187. that they should not fight against men. 1 The original word is Sakinat. From its use in Suratu'l-Baqara
borrowed from the Jews and to be (ii) 249, it seems to have been connected with the Shechinah, or 'Divine presence of glory'. For a full disthe permanence of tranquility'. Baidawi calls it D. Qur'an, pp. 198-9. cussion of it, see
'

supplied with
defeated
castle
fruit,
197
trees
of the city were shut
and water. The gates against Malik ibn 'Auf, the
commander at Hunain. He retired to his which the Muslims on their way to Ta'if Later on he became a Muslim, was destroyed.
fare with
confirmed in his chieftainship and kept up a warFor the first time the men of Ta'if.
in a siege the
Muslims used besieging engines and but parties pushed forward under cover of them the defenders cast down balls of hot iron and burnt them, so the siege was protracted for some weeks.
;
Still
all
efforts
to a
capture
the
city
failed.
The
Prophet then had

it
dream which showed him that
useless to prolong the siege. He caused a to be made that all slaves in the city proclamation
was
him should be made free, but less than twenty came, and so he raised the siege. About ten months after the people of Ta'if submitted to
joined
Who
him.
The cause
of Islam
was too well assured
to suffer
from the raising of the siege. It showed, however, what a few brave men could do, and had the men of Mecca been as stout of heart as the Bani
Thaqif of Ta'if, that city need never have and the cause of Islam might have received,
fallen,
if
not
a fatal blow, at least a very severe one. The Muslims received a check, but Muhammad
had wisely postponed the division of the spoils of Hunain. Owing to the folly of the Hawazin leader
198
in

allowing
the
the
families
with
their
property
to
accompany army, Muslims was unusually
the
boot)'
gained
to
by
the
great.
Muhammad was
and
reward his
gave large presents
of the
now
able to cheer his followers

liberal
allies in a
manner.
He
to the leading chiefs of

tribes,
Mecca and
who had become
converts, at
Bedouin which his old
and friends were somewhat annoyed and discontented. But later on a revelation came to
followers
justify
this
:
his
action,
even
in
small
matter
like
Some of them defame thee in regard to the alms; yet if a part be given them, they are content, but if no part be given them, behold, they are angry. Would that they were satisfied with what God and
His Apostle had given them, and would
sufficeth
'
say,
God
and
our
us, God will vouchsafe to us of so will His Apostle verily unto God
:
His favour,
do
we make
suit.'
(
But alms are only needy and those who

hearts are reconciled
(ix)
to
be given
collect them,
1
and
to the poor and to those whose
(to Islam).
Suratu't-Tauba
58-60.
The alms
were, in the case of the chiefs
who
re-
ceived rich presents, very much of the nature of a bribe, and naturally the men of Madina objected
to the procedure.
The words,
'
those whose hearts
are reconciled
tors to be
'
to
Islam, are said by the
commentaabolished
now
abrogated, for
Abu Bakr
It
is
'
words
the unanimous opinion of the commentators that the whose hearts are reconciled mean converts to Islam.
'

the
199
granting of gifts of this kind to converts, on the ground that God had now prospered Islam, and so such gifts were no longer needed.
After giving
away
mad
performed the ceremonies of
the spoils of Hunain, Muhamthe 'Umra, or
Lesser Pilgrimage.
left
He
;
then
left
for
Madina.
few years before as a persecuted fugitive he had Mecca secretly now he leaves it openly as
the
most powerful
his
chief
to
in
all
Arabia,
able
to
dictate
own terms
the very
men who
short while ago had refused to listen to his words. Towards the end of the eighth year of the 1 Hijra, Mary the Copt bore a son to the Prophet.
1
Cheragh
'Ah'
(p.
209) says that the story that

is
'
Ibrahim was
born of Mary the Copt

for this statement.
On
a perfect myth.' He gives no authority the other hand historians of repute record
(vol iv. p.
the fact.
Thus Mas'udi,
159) speaks of
Mary
the Copt,
mother
of Ibrahim, son of the Prophet.'
Tabari
'
(series 1, vol. Hi, p. 1561)
says
The Maquqas gave
the
Prophet four damsels, amongst

Again he says:
whom was Mary,

î a*>^ hj^
p. '699)
mother of Ibrahim.'
Ibid., p. 1686.
'
&^^ ^ S
SjiJj
In the Muddriju'n-Nabuwat (vol ii, (Mary) Ibrahim, son of the Prophet of
we read
born.'
From
her
God was
that in their books for English readers, some modern many of the Prophet's actions much too readily set aside, when it seems desirable to do so, the statements made by
The
fact
is
apologists for
their
what
If this well-attested fact is a perfect myth ', historians. reliance can be placed on other facts recorded by the same historians and which these apologists accept without demur.
own
'
202

;
room nor was the use of honey sherbet wrong, and it seems quite improbable that Zainab would make, or that he would drink a bad smelling sherbet.
If the first story is improbable the second seems equally so. 1 Still, the verses of the Qur'an quoted have to be explained and one or other story
has to be accepted. In either case, it was a foolish domestic quarrel, showing how an extensive harem
naturally leads to jealousy; but it tends to lower the dignity of revelation when it is specially produced for such an outburst of feminine
2
jealousy.'
1
'All gives the authorities for the honey sherbet theory but they are certainly not men of a greater authority than Baidawi, who favours the first explanation. 2 Suratu'n-Nisa' (iv) 3, which sanctions four wives and the
(p.
Chera gh
;
214)
acquired slaves, seems to show that

lest
is
in
jealousy and ill-feeling

'
may
arise.
polygamy there is a danger The remedy suggested
If ye fear that ye shall not act equitably, then (marry) one only.' Now Hafasa and 'Ayisha apparently thought that they did not get equitable treatment and were jealous of Mary the Copt. Muhammad had neglected the Qur'anic remedy
monogamy
for such
The
a state of things and hence all this domestic verse quoted from Sura iv and this verse,
will not
trouble.
Ye
alike,
have it at all in your power to treat your wives even though vou would fain do so [Suratu'n-Nisa, (iv)
128].
are sometimes brought forward to show that monogamy is the real teaching of the Qur'an. Chera g h 'All (Reforms under Muslim
was the virtual abolition of and Syed Amir 'All considers that polygamy is as polygamy much opposed to the teachings of Muhammad as it is to the general
(p.
Rule
12S) says that verse 128

',
'
'
'
progress of civilized Society
(p. 327).
If this is
the real teaching

Now
and
that
203
Muhammad's
tribe
Mecca and the Ka'ba had passed into possession, his fame became great, after tribe came and made their submisis
sion, so that this ninth year
known
as
'
The
year
Muslims under active leaders scoured the country, and the permission given to non- Muslims to visit the temple was now annulled and the order was When the sacred months are passed, kill those who
of the Deputations
'.
Bands
of
join other gods with God wherever ye shall find them, and seize them, besiege them, and lay wait for them with every kind of ambush but if they shall convert
;
and observe prayer and pay the obligatory alms then let them go their way. Suratu't-Tauba (ix) 5. The growing power of the Prophet is seen from
the
fact
that
earlier
principles
of
toleration
are
given up, and verses revealed in his earlier years are cancelled by the famous verse just quoted, and which is known as the Ayatu's-Saif, or verse of the sword It abrogates the restriction which did not allow the Muslims to commence a war and
'
now
'.
which
is
recorded in the verse
Fight for the cause of

against you
;
them
first.
against those who fight but commit not the injustice of attacking Suratu'l-Baqara (ii) 186.
God
of the Qur'an,
only did
it seems a very great pity that the Prophet not not himself follow it, but even exceeded the liberty
given to his followers, for at a time revelation was produced to sanction

four.
1
when be had
this
nine wives, a
excess
over the legal

that they were
See Suratu'l-Ahzab(xxxiii) 49, 52.
The commentator Husain says that this means not to commence fighting until they were attacked.
204
It

:
even does more, for it also abrogates the kindly words of an earlier Meccan revelati on 1
the Book.
It also
Dispute not unless in kindly sort with the people of Suratu'l-'Anqabut (xxix) 45.
abrogates the words of an early Sura

be your religion, to
2
To you
me my
religion.
Sura-
tu'1-Kafirun (cix) 6.
was strong, such a compromise, the Prophet's position was uncertain, could no longer be allowed.
that Islam
Now
made when
In
any case the Arabs now saw that further The whole framework of opposition was useless. was broken it needed reconstruction and society Muhammad alone had the power to do this. Thus the movement towards Islam now assumed the
;
character of a national one, and the very man who had for so many years been the cause of disputes
and wars, now became the acknowledged leader and

jLîsi
\\t\ (jiî\
J\
^'
Jâ? ^-^
\jo>\
This was a
Now they politic order when the Muslims were weak. had nothing to fear from any quarter and such moderate sentiments were set aside by the application of the very convenient principle whereby a later verse abrogates an earlier one'; so here Husain
is
says, 'This order
abrogated by the verse of the sword.'

i,
Tafsir-i-Husaini
1
'
vol.
it is
p. 32.
yj^>~*\
*-jl*~*
oo^?
(*&**
'
&}
It is
said that
ii,
abrogated by the verse of the sword

-Ju^J\ &Ai
Baidawi, vol.
2 ka~*\ 6x&
p. 98.
iy~*^* y* ^^*
t*
*--?
ii,
vs-o.^4
cô^
i*}\
Tafsir-i-Husaini, vol.
p. 472.

head of a united Arabia.
In
this
205
the
way were
Prophet's early desires fulfilled. All who entered Islam had to accept its teaching, perform its ritual, conform to its code of ethics, and
in all things render implicit
1
obedience to God, and
His Apostle. He had also to pay the stated tithes, which by a euphemism are called alms,'2 towards the charities of the community and the growing
expenses of the State. Rumours now reached the Muslims that the emperor Heraclius was collecting a large army on the Syrian border and intended to march against Madina.
As a matter
of fact
it
was a
false
rumour,
but the
Prophet may have believed it. There had been domestic disputes, there was discontent owing to the defeat at Muta, the failure to capture Ta'if and
the
preference shown to recent Meccan and Bedouin converts in the distribution of the spoils
of
Hunain.
fresh expedition with the prospect
of gain
was evidently the best way to allay such unrest and to divert the minds of the men of Madina from their real or supposed grievances.
mad was no God and His Apostle is now common. Muhambut the head longer the preacher and warner merely of a theocratic State and so his orders now go forth with all the
1
The phrase
'
'
force of a divine sanction.

2
See H.D.
these, see
Quran,
pp. 248-54.
(ed. 3rd.)
For a description of
The Faith of Islam
pp. 327-31.
Mfrkhund,
vol.
ii.
p. 190.
oâj
JL^
r iL.\ J*\
206

usually
J
Muhammad
concealed
the
object
of
his expeditions, but, in this case, as the distance to Tabuk, a place midway between Madina and
Damascus, was great, the difficulties of the march extreme and provisions on the way scarce, he made known his intention. So great were the
anticipated difficulties that the expedition is .known by the name of The Ghazwa of Distress'. Levies
'
good Muslims contributed supplies. Abu gave his whole property and 'Umar devoted one-half Their example was followed of his to the cause. and Muhammad found himself by many others, at the head of a comparatively well-equipped army, Still great and said to consist of 30,000 warriors. numerous as the gifts had been, all who wished Those whose to go could not be provided for.
tribes,
were
called
in
from
various
and Bakr
services
to
could
'
not
be
utilized
in
the
expedition
after called
Tabuk wept
bitterly,
and were ever
al-Baka'un, or the weepers no blame attaches to those

:
'.
They
are told that
they came to thee that thou mount them, thou didst say, I find not wherewith to mount you and they turned away
'
To whom when
shouldest
',
their eyes shedding floods of tears for grief, because Suratu't-Tauba they found no means to contribute.
(ix)
93.
and one of the Munafiqun said that Muhammad had gone to fight the
disaffected
Mirkhnnd,
vol.
ii,
Some were
p. 189.
*i*+J
^4.r^>
^^*+J
^f ^
&
})^
f&

their
207
Greeks but would fail. When reproached for weakness they said they had spoken in fun but they received a severe rebuke which came in In due course the an appropriate revelation. 1
;
army after much difficulty and suffering arrived 2 It stayed at Tabuk and found no enemy there. to some accounts, two months there, according As the Ghazwa according to others twenty days. was quite profitless, it was thought desirable to make a demonstration against Christians and Jews. John, the Christian Prince of Ailah, made a
;
treaty
with
the
annual tribute.
Prophet and agreed to pay an The most interesting embassy to
the Prophet was that of the Christians of Najran headed by their bishop, Abu Haritha. They refused to accept Islam or to agree to Muham-
mad's proposal,
lay
Come
of
let
us curse each other and
the
curse
Allah
on
those
that
lie.'
Finally, they agreed to
which
all
pay the jizya, or non-Muslims had to give.

is
:
poll-tax,
This event
of the Qur'an
1
ii,
referred to in the following verses
Suratu't-Tauba
(ix)
65-7.
p.
Mirkhund
(vol.
191)
gives
'
a vivid description of the

'
wonderful events which took place on the march. We agree with Cheragb 'Mi that they are the inventions of a playful fantasy {p. xxi), but they show this importance attached to this Ghazwa.
l/b'rkhund, vol.
ii,
p. 200.
jVj \ySi\
**j\
J&\ ^
^ yf
208

Verily, Jesus is as him of dust
;
created was.'
Adam in He then
the sight of God. He said to him, 'Be, and he
As
for
those
who
dispute with thee about

1
Him,
knowledge hath come to thee, say, 'Come, let us summon our sons and your sons, our wives and Then will your wives, and ourselves and yourselves. we invoke and lay the curse of God on those who lie.' 9 Suratu Ali 'Imran (iii) 52, 54.
after the
At the same time an expedition under Khalid bin
Walid was made to Dumatu'l-Jandal, in consequence which the Christian prince Ukaidir accepted Islam. Khalid promised him his life if he did so, but he had to deliver up his fortresses, his arms and horses and unoccupied lands. As this prince had not taken up arms, nor in any way interfered with the Muslims, it was a clear case of conversion
of
by the sword. Several Jewish tribes also now submitted to the Prophet's rule and became dhimmis. Although Muhammad was thus able to
show
that
the
Ghazwa
of
Tabuk was not
alto-
gether fruitless, and on his return heard the good news of the submission of the Bani Thaqif, 3 yet
there were indications that to
of
some
the
of the
people
Madina
That
is,
the
actions
of
Prophet
were
after
knowing
not divine).
,
that Jesus is a prophet and a servant >j>.~,\ 5Ju> . .r*-^
J*~m
(i.e.
^x~i\j A
Tafsir-i-Husaini vol. i, p. 70. This verse is called the Ayatu'l-Mubahalat or 'the verse of
See Margoliouth, pp. 428-9, for the terms of the submission.
imprecation.'
3

unpopular,
209
Munafiqun
Prophet
in
so
at
now some of the disaffected Madina, who had not followed

were
the
the
this expedition,
severely rebuked.
Special revelations, which commentators agree in referring to the war of Tabuk, came to reprove
them, and the Arabs of the desert

others
:
also,
and
to
warn
Believers
'
what possessed you,

forth on the
?
that
of
said to you,
March
way
when it was God ye sank

',
heavily earthwards world to the next ?
What
prefer ye the
life of this
They who were left at home were delighted to stay behind God's Apostle, and were averse from contending, with their riches and their persons for the cause of God and said, March not out in the heat.' Say, A fiercer heat will be the fire of hell.' Would that they understood this. When a Sura was sent down with Believe in God and gG forth to war with the Apostle ', those riches demanded of them who are possessed of Allow us to be with those exemption, and said,
' ' ' '
who
sit
at home.'
Suratu't-Tauba
(ix) 38, 82, 87.

:
The
Bedouins are severely rebuked thus Some Arabs of the desert came with excuses,
faithless
praying
exemption
shall
God and His

punishment
not.
Apostle
gainsaid grievous light on such of them as believe

;
and
they
at
sat
who had a home

:
Suratu't-Tauba
all
(ix)
91.
Thus
and
who
'
held back were rebuked, and the
Prophet and those

told
who went were

good
'
that
all
highly commended things await them, for

'
God
hath made for them

',
gardens beneath which

is bliss
the rivers flow
where there
for ever.
Some
14
210
believers afterwards confessed their fault and were forgiven, but the Prophet was told to take of their substance in order to cleanse and purify them. Some others were kept waiting before a
decision
was given in their favour, but at last they too were pardoned
:
that
Others have owned their faults, and with an action is right they have mixed another that is wrong. God will haply be turned to them, for God is For-
their substance, that thou mayest cleanse and purify them thereby, and pray for them for thy prayers shall assure their minds and God Heareth, Knoweth. Suratu't-Tauba (ix) 103-4.
;
:
giving, Merciful. Take alms of
As Muhammad was preparing to go to Tabuk, he was asked to open a newly-built mosque at Kuba. The Prophet seems to have had reason for believing that it was intended to be the centre for a dissenting
party under the influence of the monotheist Abu Amir (ante p. 90), or some other opponent, and so
he ordered
it
to be destroyed.
The expedition to Tabuk was the last one commanded by Muhammad in person, and now it
over.
seemed as if all opposition was crushed, all danger There is a Tradition to the effect that the followers of the Prophet began to sell their arms and to say, The w ars for religion are now ended.' But when this reached the ears of the Prophet, he
' 7
1
The
revelation concerning
it
is
given in Suratu't-Tauba
(ix)
108-10.

forbade
'
211
it
saying,
There
shall
not cease from the
my people a party engaged in war for 1 Whether the truth, even until Antichrist appear.' or not it shows, at least, the Tradition is genuine
midst of
the
views which
'
:
the
is
early
Muslims held as
to
religious wars and
in
accord with another Traditill
tion
Jihad
'
will
remain
of
the day of judge-
ment.'
after
Jews and Christians, Tabuk, is sanctioned in expedition some verses of Suratu't-Tauba (ix), which the best
the
The compulsion
the
of
authorities place soon after that date Make war upon those who believe not in God, nor in the last day, and who forbid not that which God and His Apostle have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the truth, until they pay tribute out
:
of hand,
and they be humbled.

say, 'Uzair (Ezra)
'
The Jews
is
a son of God,' and
The Messiah is a son of God.' the Christians say, Such the sayings in their mouths. They resemble God do battle with the saying of the infidels of old are they misguided. them. 3
!
How
Waqidi, 133, quoted by Muir,

&U\ A^li'U.
vol.
iv,
p.
202.
prayer for their destroyed or astonishment at the odiousness of their sayings.'

;
Baidawf commenting on these words says destruction, for he whom God fights against
:
'
A
is
It is only fair to say that the latter interpretation is adopted by some Muslims of the broader school of thought in India, who would probably use the expression, May God confound them ', or something equivalent but the older commentators almost univerMaulavf Hafiz Nadhfr Ahmad Khan. sally accept the first view.
'
;
212
They take their teachers and their monks and their Messiah, son of Mary, for Lords besides God, though bidden to worship one God only. There is no God but He. Far from His glory be what they associate with Him. Fain would they put out God's light l with their mouths but God only desireth to perfect His light, albeit the Infidels abhor it. He it is who hath sent His Apostle with the guidance and a religion of the truth, that He may make 2 it victorious over every religion, albeit they who assign partners to God be averse from it. O Believers of a truth, many of the teachers and monks do devour man's substance in vanity, and turn them from the way of God. But to those who treasure up gold and silver and expend it not in the way of God, announce tidings of a grievous torment. On that day their (treasures) shall be heated in the lire of hell, and their foreheads and their sides, and 3 their backs, shall be branded with them. Siiratu'tTauba (ix) 29-35.
;
!
the latest translator of the
thus:
Quran into Urdu, renders the words 'May God make havoc of them'- <_, e^lc Si\ \*ii,
'
Tirmidhi (vol
severer view
:
p. 468)
records a Tradition in keeping with the
The Prophet ordered that they should make war on men until they said, "There is no god but God ".' \ 6l)\ &\ $\ &S\ 51 \}f> Û5\ J?\jfi &\ JU ftslo For the views of other commentators, see H.D. Qur'dn, p.
^r
J^
251, note.
1
For the interpretation

Ibid.,
p.
of
these
words,
see
H.D. Qur'dn,
p. 218, note.
2
:i
219.
'
The Commentator Husain

:
verses thus
in
believers kill
and
prefaces a long passage on these fight those who do not believe
God, that
is,
the Jews
who
believe in Duality and the Christians
who
are believers in a Trinity.'
213
These verses connected with the Prophet's last warlike expedition, an expedition entirely concerned with the submission of Christian and Jewish
communities,
may
be very fairly taken as his
final
and deliberate opinion as to the future of Islam to these creeds and people.
relation
The
it
last
Sura,
Suratu'l-Ma'ida
(v),
contains a
verse (56) similar in tone to those just quoted, but

is
date
probably an interpolation in this Sura and its 1 is said to be just after the battle of Uhud.
it
simply shows that the final injunction in the ninth Sura regarding Jews and Christians
If this is so,
stances, but the
was no hasty opinion, called forth by special circumdevelopment of a principle settled some years before. The verse is
:
O ye who believe, take not the Jews and Christians as your friends, for they are but one another's friends whoso amongst you taketh them for friends, he is surely one of them, God will not guide the evil-doers. Suratu'l-Ma'ida (v) 56.
;
Thus did Muhammad finally part company with those for whom, in the earlier stages of his career,
he had professed respect, whose sacred books he had referred to with reverence, and from whose teaching
tr *?. (_s^-^
1
Ajj\jj
<jU>>\
&&b
a^.^ j\}j^
/"
c3}'~'*}
'^^
i -
Tafsir-i-Husaini, vol. i, p. 253. Ibn Kathi'r, however, says it came down at the time when the Bani Quraiza were rendered helpless. Khuldsatu t- Tafdsir vol. i,
1
'
,
p. 535.
214

much
at
all
he had borrowed
afford
his
that
Having now arrived

to
cast
aside
was good in his own. supreme power he could that had helped him on
way.
return
ceived
from Tabuk, Muhammad refrom Ta'if. They had continued envoys firm for sometime, and had even put to death their chief 'Urwah bin Mas'ud for embracing Islam, but they suffered much from the marauding attacks of Malik, chief of the Bani Hawazin, now a Muslim
After his
(ante, p.
1
95)
They sent a deputation to Muhammad
with terms of submission, one of which was that

to satisfy the ignorant among them their great idol On the whole, al-Lat might remain for a time. They were relieved the}' got very good terms.
from the payment of the alms and

to fight
:
of the obligation
'
Muhammad observing
that
when once
to
they
had accepted Islam they would wish both alms and to take part in the sacred war.' 1
pay
When
came
heathen
the time for the annual pilgrimage of 631 round Muhammad did not go himself, for
Arabs were
still
present
but he
sent
Abu Bakr with about three hundred pilgrims. It was now time, however, that the pagan Arabs
should be banished from Mecca, so that in a place thus purified, he himself in the ensuing year might
1
Musnad,
p.
iii,
341, quoted by Margoliouth, p. 429.

ii,
Mfrkhund,
vol.
p. 195.
215
make the Hajj. Then the opening verses of Suratu'tTauba (ix) * were revealed, releasing the Prophet from any treaties he might have made with idolaters, who were warned that a grievous punishment was in store for them unless they conformed to Islam. He first appointed Abu Bakr to read the verses
which referred
'Ali,
to this matter
but soon after sent

the
2
who
overtook
Abu Bakr on
road,
re-
ceived the book from him
and afterwards read to the assembled pilgrims the words which he had been told to make known, and so the pilgrims could carry to their respective homes the news that henceforth there would be relentless war against all Arabs who remained in their old religion and maintained their ancient customs. Four months were to be allowed, but after that they were to have no further grace, for the revealed order was
:
who
months are passed, kill those with God wherever ye shall find them and seize them, besiege them and lay wait for them with every kind of ambush but if they shall convert, and observe prayer, and pay the obligatory alms, then let them go their way,
join
When
the sacred other gods

;
for
God is
Gracious. Merciful.
Suratu't-Tauba
(ix)
5.
of
The result of this resolute attitude on the Muhammad, who now had the power to
and
part
kill,
to seize
1
to besiege, led to a series of embassies

'
This Sura is also called Suratu Bara'atin or liberty he was free from any obligation to the pagan Arabs.
2
',
that
io,
Tirmidhf, vol
ii,
p. 370.
216
from all parts of Arabia to Madina to make peace and to learn about Islam. 1 There was no longer any opposition no longer could idolaters make the 2 determined to pilgrimage, and so Muhammad
;
make
the
Greater
Pilgrimage, in
this
tenth
year
of the Hijra, an act of devotion which he had not performed since he had fled from Mecca. All
a
went with him, and it is said that more than hundred thousand persons attended him. Many of these had not brought animals for sacrifice and so were only allowed to make the Lesser
his wives
Pilgrimage.
of the Ka'ba
After
the
circumambulation
'
(tawaf)
Ibrahim, or
turned to the Maqam-iConsider place of Abraham, saying,
Muhammad
the place of Abraham as a place of prayer.' He then said the Fatiha, the opening Sura of the
Quran, then the Suratu'l-Kafirun

all
(cix),
and
last of
the Suratu'l-Ikhlas
(cxii).
He
next went most
the whole ceremonial, including the kissing of the black stone and the drinking of water from the sacred well, and all other of the old
carefully through
pagan
an
The opportunity was taken to deliver address on inheritance, adultery, treatment of women, who for some causes were to be beaten with
rites.
'
For a detailed account

'
of these embassies, see Muir,

;
vol. iv,
pp, 212-29, also (ed. 1912), pp, 455-67 Margoliouth, pp, 431-42. s This is called the Pilgrimage of Farewell' or the Hajjatu'l-
AVidaV
9 For a full account of the Mishkdtu'l-Masdbih, p. 390. ceremonies of the Hajj, see The Faith of Islam, pp. 331-45.

stripes,
217
yet
not
severely,
1
on
slaves,
and on the
equality of Muslims.
The
portion of the Suratu't-
Tauba month
recited,
(ix)
abolishing the triennial intercalation of a
to reduce the lunar to the solar years
was
and the month
according to the
This change Mecca, though the institution of the Hajj, with the
large
of the Pilgrimage fixed seasons of the lunar year. changing seriously affected the commerce of
number
extent
:
of pilgrims
'
it
brings to
for
it.
the city, to
some
(p.
compensated
Margoliouth
393) says Previously by unscientific intercalation the months had been made to correspond
roughly
with
the
seasons
Muhammad
by
now
making twelve lunar months, destroyed all relation between them. Of any accommodation of the Pilgrimage months to the needs of commerce there would no longer be any question. The commerce of Mecca was ruined.'
.
.
On one
went
to
the days of the Hajj Muhammad the top of the Mount 'Arafat and then,
of
:
standing erect on his camel said This day I have perfected your religion for you, and fulfilled up the measure of my favours upon you, and it is my pleasure that Islam be vour religion. 8
Suratu'l-Ma'ida
(v)
5.
Tirmidhi, vol.
a
See Muir (quoting Ibu Hisham ii, p. 369 Syed Amir

;
438),
'All,
vol.
iv,
p.
214,
pp. 238-9; who, however,

'
significantly omits the order to confine
and beat wives.

:
The commentator Husain
have
This day interprets this verse thus perfected your religion for you, so that other laws will not
218

to Muzdalifah, he said the
Then going
evening prayers with the Adhan, or

and the Iqamat,
a
Ma gh rib
and the Salatu'l-'Isha
the sunset and

call to
Salatu'l-
the
prayer,
repetition
of the
Adhan with
the addition of the words, 'Prayer has commenced'. In the morning he visited the holy monument (now
the
1
mosque Masharu'l-Haram) and repeated the
Takbir, Allahu Akbar, There is no god but
God God
'
;
is
'
the Tahlil, great I the Ta'awwudh,

;
'
'
He then went refuge from cursed Satan.' through the ceremonies sanctioned by ancient Arab custom, of throwing stones at certain pillars in
seek
the valley of Mina and so concluded the Hajjatu'lWida' the Pilgrimage of Farewell.
Thus, the incorporation of this pagan rite completed and perfected the religion, which the Arabian
Prophet
left
to
his
countrymen
as
that
which
superseded and abrogated all previous ones. The Suratu '1-Hajj (xxii) contains the revelations
enjoining the duty of performing the Hajj.
.
Thus
I have appointed for you Islam, a religion purer abrogate it. than all other religions.'
. .
îj
\j j\
p\&J\ j&ct
&S
(j^.^
4 \i
\j
Uw&
^>j>
w~
^\j> (>V\j^ J*tf

...
\ju\
1v-n^V>
(iL.\
W-4 ^j\>> f^>S \*s~J\ j

i,
j; &Jk\*cij
Tafsir-i-Husaini, vol.
In the
p.
137.
<j^~*\
l^^
J-*fi>
j\
Khuldsatu 't-Tafdsir.
' :
the views of commentators are thus
summed up
revelation
ment
4S8.
(j^
;
In our religion there is no defect in reason or no need of any (other) dogmas no room for improve-
,jLi\^S
^
^
(+#*f cr~^
or f
abrogating.' Vol.
i,
p.
219
Proclaim to the people a Pilgrimage. Let them bring the neglect of their persons to a close, and let them pay their vows and circuit
the ancient
House
obtain
(i.
e.
Ka'ba).
:
advantages from the (cattle) up to the set time for slaying them then the place for Suratu '1sacrificing them is at the Ancient House. Hajj (xxii) 28, 30, 34.
Ye may
This Sura
at
is
a composite one
at
part
It
is
was revealed
not easy to
say
in
Mecca and part when the words

all
Madina.
just
quoted were revealed, but
about
probability they are Madina verses, given the time of the Lesser Pilgrimage which
in
was made
the sixth year of the Hijra. Anyhow, to these commands given some years before, Muhammad now gave the sanction of his
own
action,
became one
acts of
and henceforth the Hajj, or Pilgrimage, of the obligator)- (fard) and religious every Muslim. At that time this was undoubt-
edly a politic thing to do, for this recognition of the national sanctuarv as the local centre of Islam
and the annual rendezvous of its votaries appealed to the sentiment of all the Arab people, and especialIt was the ly to the Quraish who lived in Mecca. one thing they all had in common with the Muslims, and so the continued existence of the pilgrimage pleased them well and drew them towards Islam. It was from Muhammad's then
standpoint a wise thing also to retain the ancient ceremonies of the Pilgrimage. The Ka'ba, with all
connected with
it.
was the
object
of
universal
220

by
the
reverence
Arab
people.
The sentiment
involved in this was the most obvious means of

uniting the various Arab tribes, long disunited, into
one vast confederation
for
one great purpose.
It
showed that the conquest of Arabia was complete. But it has really proved a source of weakness since,
it has emphasized the fact that Islam started and was formed as a national religion, and that rules and laws adapted to the needs and requirements of the Arabs of the seventh century are binding on peoples the most diverse in the twen-
for
tieth.
It
helps to keep Islam stationary.
CHAPTER
The
XI
CLOSING DAYS
eleventh year of the Hijra opened peacefully and the Prophet was busy now in receiving deputations,
despatching envoys, dictating letters and giving 1 decisions on cases placed before him, administering
justice,
appointing officers and generally doing all that an absolute ruler over a growing community,
tributaries,
composed in part of unwilling subjects or would have to perform.
Muhammad
The
was
cause
1
never liked to admit a defeat as
final.
it
defeat at
desirable that
it
Muta was still remembered, and some action should be taken
to
to be forgotten,
and so an expedition was
The whole
of these, so far as they are recorded in the Qur'an,

'
are believed to be the very words of God. Macdonald seems to consider that in these last years he forged the awful machinery of divine inspiration. How he passed over, at last, into that
. .
turpitude the most
is
a problem for those
honest trance-mediums
p.
who have made may at any
a study of how time begin to

'
cheat' (Aspects of Islam,
74).
Hirschfeld speaking of the

:
narrative and legislative portions of the Qur'an says They are the result of deliberate though imperfect and unmethodical study
'
and they 'were uttered in full consciousness RASJ, October 1912. p 1133.
of
their purpose.'
224
had been
very
the relation between the Muhajirun and the Ansar strained. Evidently, the Ansar were now
anxious
in
about the
restless
about
Thev wandered manner with heavy hearts

future.
'
and blood-shot eyes/ They could not remain in their houses and in the graphic language of the Traditionists could not withdraw the foot of under the skirts of patience/ When the gravity
'
Prophet
heard
of
this,
with
'Ali,
arose and, supported by
great difficulty he went to the mosque.
large congregation assembled, to Be an address in which he said

' :
whom
it
he gave
you that I and you must return to High and Glorious. I enjoin you to act kindly Then he recited the towards the first Muhajir. words
'
known unto God the Most
Say
betake
me
for refuge to the
God
of
men,
The King of men, The God of men,

Against the mischief of the stealthily withdrawing
whisperer,
Who
whispereth in man's breast Against jinn and men. Suratu'n-Nas (cxiv) 1-6.
After this he said

their success
' :
All well-ordered affairs
and
depend upon
the permission of Allah,
the Most
Let nothing induce you to act hastily in any matter, because the Lord, whose name be blessed and exalted, is rash in nothing.
High.
Whoever attempts
overcome the decree of Allah, the Most High, will be overcome thereby, and
to
CLOSING DAYS
whoever
tries to
225
deceive Allah, the Most High, will

'
himself be deceived and disappointed. also the verse

:
He
recited
Were ye
Him,
ties of
not ready,
?
if
ye had turned back from
to spread disorder in the land,
and violate the
blood
Suratu
:
Muhammad
(xlvii) 24.
ye Muhajir, I recommend you for to deal kindly and amicably with the Ansar have kept ready for you the place of your they
said
;
Then he
'O
flight
and
with
the
locality
of
your
exile,
and had
professed
the faith before you
shared
thereof.
you
their
gardens
They
received
you
in
'
met them. They and the fruits their houses and
gave you O ye Ansar, after ed 1 be preferred to you.'

'
:
places in their lands.
Then he
said
'
continu-
my
decease other people will

' :
The Ansar
Apostle
:
of
I
God, how
'
shall
we
deal with
them
Be
patient until
2
you join
the
me on
replied the bank of the
He
Kauthar.
this
When
conversation had
reached
stage,
' :
and said
reference
I
O
to
'Abbas requested permission to speak, Apostle of God, issue orders also with
the
'
Quraish.
His
enjoin the Quraish to obey people to obey the Quraish .'

I
my
lordship said successor the

:
;
He
returned to his apartment and asked for an
inkstand in order that he might write something which would not be lost but 'Umar objected
;
See also Tabarf, series 1, vol. iv, The name of a river in paradise.
p. 1808.
15
226
one

'
to
being produced,
saying,
We
'
have
the
to
nothing was written. The Prophet then said I enjoin on you three the idolaters from Mesopafirst, things expel tamia second, when deputations visit you make them presents.' The third injunction he did not On another deliver, for he was weak and ill.
' : :
Qur'an of which we all the tumult which ensued
approve.
Owing
occasion he heard
the lamentations
'All
'
of the
Com-
panions and bade He said to them,
admit them to his room. Ye are the cream of the

'
Be steadfast in keeping God's ordinances people. and make the Qur'an your guide. Then, closing his eyes and weeping through weakness, he said,
1
have
finished.'
'
:
One
all
of his wives,
sins
Umm
Salmah,
thy forgiven, why * weepest thou ? On another occasion he directed Abu Bakr to say
'
then said
As
are
the public prayers. This might imply that he was to succeed the Prophet as leader of the people, an idea not acceptable to all the Muslims, and so
Mirkhund, who makes a similar statement, guards
tejS
^y
is
St**-**
*a**i
)f** y
p, 209.
(**
T** }'*^s/
($ft
v>&
&*A-
p\
Mirkhund,
It
vol.
ii,
c^~~*
the universal belief of Muslims that the Prophet was a but one, at least, of his wives apparently did not sinless man
;
believe this to be the case.
the current opinion.
The Qur'an itself does not endorse See The Faith of Islam (3rded.), pp. 246-8.
1811.
Tabari, series
1, vol. iv, p.
Ûb JuJ ;^j
\>\
\^\i
CLOSING DAYS
*
227
himself by saying that for it the responsibility rests * with the narrator ', a responsibility which doubtless applies
to all
the traditional accounts which
have gathered round the events of these last days. As his sufferings increased he said that Gabriel
had announced to him that Azra'il, the angel of Azra'il then death was standing at the door. entered the room and said that he had come to take his soul to the upper world and that God had On instructed him to do it with great courtesy.
hearing these words, Fatima, the beloved daughter of Muhammad, was greatly distressed but the Prophet
;
comforted her and prayed

strength
to
that
she
might have
Gabriel
bear
the
' :
came
in
and said
The
separation. fires of
Then
hell
have been
extinguished, the gardens of paradise have been adorned, the Huris with large eyes are decorated
and with the angels await thy advent.' The end now came. His sufferings were great and he cried out, O God help me in my last agony.' So on June 8,
'
!
632, at the age of sixty-three,

Mfrkhund,
2
passed away one of

cSjV^
vol.
ii,
p. 209.
J* *H*N
According to Ma'sudf
(vol. iv,
the age, but Ibn

rt*
ij~+-
Hisham and
y*^.
p. 149), 'Ayisha gave this as oihers say that it was sixty-five
^\
According to Tabari
is
(series 1, vol. iv,
pp.
1834-5) the general opinion
that his
age was sixty-three,
though some say he was sixty-five when he died. The events which took place immediately after death are so God knows variously described that Ma'sudi (p, 150) wisely says As the Madina grave digger appeared the facts y&^JiSi aU^
'
'
^M
228
the

greatest
chiefs
the
Arabs had
ever
known.
He who had
been the soul of every enterprise, the
inspiring genius in the great
work
of uniting the
Arabian people, and of abolishing idolatry from amongst them, now left his Companions to carry on what he had begun. Whether he ever realized
what a hard and fast system of law and polity x would be based on his teaching in years to come and whether he ever foresaw how immobile the Islam
;
of the future
would be
is
doubtful
but into this

refrain
subject, so wide and so important,
we must
from entering.
It
is
on the
in his
life
not easy to pass an impartial judgement and character of Muhammad. He was

habits
to
his
simple in the
of
manner
daily life, attractive personal friends and kindly
his
in his disposition, except to his

first
opponents.
These
on the scene the form of the Madma graves was adopted. This grave has a ledge on the side for the reception of the corpse the Meccan one had not, but was just a simple grave.
;
Muslims now adopt the Madina form which is more convenient for the dreaded examination by the angels Munkar and Nakir It is p. 232, and note]. [see The Faith of Islam (3rd ed.), said that he was buried in Ayisha's room and that Abu Bakr, 'Umar and Fatima are also interred there, a plot of ground being
'
left
vacant for Jesus Christ.

ii,
Thus
the
Muddriju'n-Nabmvat
(vol.
p.
898) says:
A4
.A>^ ^.j^ ^>
^j^c
p.'i
-=y* q)S j^
For the varying views on this point see Zwemer, Arabia the Cradle of Islam pp. 47-8. A mosque, the Masjidu'n-Nabf, has been erected over the spot, now so sacred to Muslims of all lands. 1 and note on See The Faith of Islam (3rd ed.), chapter
i
Ijtihad.
CLOSING DAYS
qualities,
229
combined with a patriotic spirit, a clear conception of the work which lay before him, and a steadfast perseverance in the pursuit of his aims, naturally endeared him to those who in
his early days
enjoyed his confidence.
He
soon
showed a real desire to raise his fellow-countrymen from the degradation of idolatry, a determination
to abolish for ever the crime of infanticide,
1 wish to secure the welfare of orphans.
and
steadfast effort to improve

2
the status
He made a of women as
though they are still degraded and the divorce laws, and to ameliby polygamy orate the condition of slaves, though slavery is so interwoven with the laws of marriage, sale, and inheritance that, unless the whole code of Islamic law is set aside, it must remain a permanent institution. We may also admire the emphatic declaration of the Unity of God, the Ruler of men and nations, though the Islamic conception of God is by no means perfect. 3 His perseverance against great odds at Mecca, and his patience under persecution there call forth sympathy for the patriot and the religious reformer. His quickness to realize the advantage of the exodus from Mecca to Madina, his readiness
regards property,
to
change his point of view when the Jews

1
failed
Suratu'n-Nisa'
Ibid., 23.
(iv)
2-3, 5, 40.
2 3
See Gairdner, The
Muslim Idea
of
God
(C.L.S.).
230

skill
to
help him, and his

if
for admiration,
we view him
a
as an opportunist call only as a successful
Arab
basis,
chief,
who founded
becoming
himself
kingdom on a religious In Caesar and Pope.
these respects he was a great man, who will stand out conspicuous so long as history remains to tell his
tale.
Inconsistencies
policy,
there were
often
in
his
character
the
short
and
the
latter
changing with
conditions which surrounded him.

in his
He
fell
own
daily domestic
life
of the ideal he set
up
marriages seem to show a hinted susceptibility to female charms, a weakness

for others.
His
many
at in the
Qur'an
{ante, p. 185).
He was bitter against

he adopted doubtful
those
who opposed
to
his will,
remove antagonists, and, as in the case was sometimes positively of the Bani Quraiza,
means
cruel.
of worldly increase power and force the place of freedom intolerance took
With
the
of persuasion. At the outset of his career his aspirations were one but a Muslim lofty, but it is difficult for any to
believe
that
he
never
used
the
medium
of
revelation for personal ends. that the end justified the

so-called
He may
means
in
have believed
many
of his
actions, but that hardly vindicates his apt produc-
tion
of
divine
revelations
to shield his
conduct, when it was fairly open to reproach. But he claimed to be more than the founder of a He declared that he was the political State.
CLOSING DAYS
last
231
prophets, sent to supersede all who had gone before, to set aside all that had hitherto been considered true, and to
of
all
's
and greatest
God
establish a
system,
of
religion
itself,
deemed
lay
tc
be perfect in
all
and was
polity which, to last for all
time, to include
no hope of
forth,
people, and outside of which 1 It is as he thus eternal life.
stands
the eternal truth that

'
demanding obedience not only to There is no god but God but to what is to him a co-ordinate truth that he is the and by the constant use of Apostle of God the term God and His Apostle in his later days, 2 calling for equal obedience to both,' and declaring
'
',
';
'
'
obedience to the one to be obedience to the other

it
3
;
is on Muhammad in this character that we must look and pass judgement. The impartial student of history will come to the conclusion on a careful review of Muhammad's life and work, that, though he was a very successful Arab Chief, and did much to maintain and
spread a belief in one God, he has entirely failed to establish his position as a divinely commissioned
prophet, or to
exalt
it
show
that he
was sent with

4
'
the
guidance and the
religion of truth
religion,'
that he might
it
above every
(Hi)
and make
set
Suratu Ali 'Imran

Suratu'l-Anfal
79.
1 3
4
(viii)
20,
48
Suratu
Muhammad
(xlvii)
35.
Suratu 'n-Nisa' Suratu '1-Fath
(iv)
82.
(xlviii) 28.
232
aside
fore,
all
that
had gone
before.
We
cannot, there-
from God with a new and divine revelation, or that Islam

admit that
Muhammad was
sent
supersedes Christianity.

Verse
Suratu'l-Baqara
ii
Page
Verse
234
?evse
VERSES CITED FROM THE QURAN
THE QURAN
Verse
Suratu'l-Furqan xxv
5-6
...
Page
ersc
66
Suratu 'sh-Shu'ara xxvi

192-3
33 62
214-5
Suratu'l-Qasas xxviii
52
...
81
Suratu 'l-'Anqabut xxix

45
95,204
..
46 Suratu '1-Ahzab
4
81
xxxiii
...
153
26
...
... ...
162
170
155
26-7
36
37-8 49
51
...
154
155, 169
... ...
...
156
156
53
59
156
Suratu '1-Fatir xxxv

25
Suratu's-Saffat xxxvii
26
93-4
...
...
58
58
96
Suratu's-Sad xxxviii
1
...
66
236
Verse
19-20
62
VERSES CITED FROM THE QURAN

Page
55
Verse
Suratu'l-Qiyamat Ixxv 18-19
...
Page
56
33
Ivi
Suratu'l-Waq'a
no
Suratu'dh-Dhuha
63
xciii
... ...
10
23-4
40-4
63
3
49
63
lix
Suratu'l-Hashr
8
Suratu'l-Insharali xciv
150 148
1-3
...
11-12
Suratu'l-'Alaq xevi
Suratu'l-Mumtahina
8-9
Suratu's-Saff
lxi
lx
1-2 112
...
26
29
...
1-5
...
Suratu'l-Humaza civ
...
141
...
51 51
Suratu'l-Munafiqun
1-2
lxiii
... ...
4-7
...
90 90
Suratu'1-Ffl cv
7-8
3-4
Suratu't-Tahrim lxvi
...
Suratu'l-K&firun cix
1-2
...
200
6
...
204
Suratu'1-Jinn Ixxii
Suratu'n-Nasr ex
1-2
19
... ...
67
67
1-3
...
190
Suratu'l-Mudaxhthir lxxiv
1-3
11
... ... ... ...
Suratu'l-Lahab cxi
32
1-5
...
51
50 50
50
17
Suratu'n-Nas cxiv
1-6
...
26-9
224
WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

The Faith
and Madras.
1
of
75.
Islam 6d. Rs
(S.P.C.K.,
5.)
London
tenets
and epitome of the various embraced by Islam. Nothing but praise can be said of the whole undertaking.' RASJ, October, 1897.
scholarly exposition
'
The importance
of
book of
this
kind
is
very
great.'
1
Stanley Lane- Poole in the
Academy.
This volume gives us more information about the
doctrines and polity of Islam than any book of moderate

size with
which we are acquainted.'
Spectator.
The
Historical
Development
of the
Qur'an (S. P.C.K., London 2s 6d. Rs 2.)

1
and Madras.
In Mr. Sell's hands the Qur'an becomes a new book and sheds a flood of light on the character of its author, and the movement he initiated and guided.' Marcus Dods in the Critical Review.
Interesting as an example of the higher criticism Baptist applied to works other than the Bible.'
1
Missionary Review.
238
WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

:
Islam
Marshall
gel
its rise
and progress
;
(Simpkin
&
Co.,
London
S.P.C.K., Madras.
As
9).
The Religious Orders Marshall & Co., London;

is.
of
Islam (Simpkin
S.P.C.K., Madras.
As
12).
Also the following volumes of the Islam Series published by the Christian Literature
Society.
The Cult of <Ali The Druses.

Sufiism.
Bahaism.
Al=Qur'an.
The Recensions of the Qur'an, The Four Rightly=Quided Khalifas. The Hanifs.
Outlines of Islam.
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speaks of
et
(Paris,
1912)
the
vulgariser la
Islam Series as counaissance de la
'
Manuels destines a
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Musulmanes,' and as a 'veritable petite
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following C.L.S.
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The life a Mu harnmad

Life of Muhammad 00 Sell

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Wellesley college l

FELLOW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS

THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY

PRESS, VEPERY, MADRAS

book no important subjects

in the life of the

Arabian Prophet have been overlooked, and some,

statement of facts upon original authorities and

deductions therefrom have tried to be

and impartial. what has been

have given some prominence to

has been too

India have produced defences (which

be termed apologies) of certain events of im;

have dealt with

have used the better authenticated Tradiit

tions, for, after all,

Muslim people know and

have the authority of so great an oriental scholar as on Islam has said

Emmanuel Deutch who in If we make

use of the Sunna

these traditional records of the Prophet's

and doings, both

legendary and juridical

sense of the word, has, albeit in exalted tones and

Used with the same

patient care with which

documents are used by the impartial

In order to save space

refer in the foot

under the names of their respective authors,

(De Goeje"e Edition, 1882)

Hon. Syed Amir

The Life and Teachings of

Khavendshah bin Mahmud,

The Traditions recorded

are quoted from the Faidul-Bdri (Lahore ed. A.H.

them with an Urdu

them under the name Bukhari.

Traditions recorded in the Jdmi'u't- Tirmidhi (Luck-

ed. 1903) are referred to

Historical Development of the Qur'dn (3rd ed,

London and Madras),

H.D. Our an.

the other books

have used the Madras

edition (a.H. 1274) of the Mishkdtu'l-Masdbih

quotations from Ibn

made from Muir's

have adopted Rodwell's translation for

verses quoted from the Qur'an.

have not given an exposition of the dogmas of

within the scope of this

have dealt exhaustively with that subject

Faith of Islam (3rd ed. S. P. C. K., London

have already written on some of

the subjects contained in this one.

have not hesitated to use passages taken from

THE STATE OF ARABIA

gion a bond of unity

YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD

'Abdu'l-Muttalib Abu Talib as guardian-

THE CALL TO PREACH