The Life of Mohammad Part 6

As a result of these gruesome prophecies, given out with accents of firm conviction, unbelievers felt a shudder of anguish convulsing their being; but as they saw nothing take place as time went on, not even precursory signs, they soon regained their equanimity and fell back again into their erring ways.

The Prophet could not tell for what time the hour was fixed: _The knowledge of it is only with my Lord._ (THE QUR'AN, VII, 186.) But Mohammad knew punishment was inevitable in this world or the next, and he was in despair at having to think that his infidel fellow-men would meet with a fate even sadder than that of the peoples of Thamud and Ad.

[Sidenote: THE FIRST HOSTILITIES]

Following the Prophet's first sermons, the Faithful sought no longer to hide their belief; but, to avoid useless disputes, they held clandestine meetings in a desert ravine where they said their prayers.

A group of idolaters dogged their footsteps and having succeeded in discovering their retreat, lavished foul epithets on them. The Believers, unable to put up with the insults offered to their religion, grew furious and a fight took place, during which Sad ibn Abi Waqqs picked up the jawbone of a camel's skeleton in the sand and dashed it violently in the face of one of the a.s.sociates, causing the vital fluid to flow. These were the first drops of blood shed in the struggle now beginning between Islam and idolatry.

Wis.h.i.+ng to prevent a renewal of these incidents, the Prophet resolved to retreat to pray in peace with his disciples in the house of Arqam, situated on the Sufah hill. Nevertheless, fury increased among the idol-wors.h.i.+ppers. So long as Mohammad had gone no further than to summon them to salvation, even blaming them and threatening them with the punishment of divine wrath, his adversaries merely shrugged their shoulders and laughed at him; but when he retaliated by turning their wooden or stone images into ridicule, pointing out that they were dumb, deaf, blind and powerless, the rage of the idolaters was unbounded. Not only did he sting them to the quick through attacking their beliefs, but he did them great harm commercially, for in the hands of leading citizens, the idols were a source of considerable revenue, and const.i.tuted efficacious means of domination over the superst.i.tious common people.

Alone, among the men of his party who had refused to embrace the Islamic faith, his uncle, Abu Talib, still gave him proofs of affection, thus greatly scandalising the other members of the Quraish tribe, who sent him a deputation of the most influential among them: Utbah ibn Rabiyah, Abu Sufyan ibn Harib, Abu Jahal and several chieftains of equal note.

'O Abu Talib!' said these delegates, 'your brother's son insulteth our G.o.ds and our beliefs. He mocketh at the religion and traditions of our forefathers. Shall we not rid ourselves of him? Or wilt thou not remain neutral and thus let us be free to act towards him as we think fit? For we know that thou dost not share his convictions any more than we do.' Abu Talib dismissed them with a polite and conciliatory reply.

Mohammad, as may well be surmised, continued his sermons with unfailing ardour. The enmity of the Quraish tribesmen a.s.sumed a more serious aspect; their representatives returning to see Abu Talib, to make the following declaration: 'We have the greatest respect for thine age, n.o.bility and rank, but we asked thee to rid us of thy brother's son and thou didst not do so. Now, we can no longer put up with the affronts with which he overwhelmeth our beliefs and traditions, so deprive him of thy protection and leave us free to treat him as we choose. In case of refusal on thy part, we must reckon thee as being against us in the war we declare on him, and which will last until one of the two parties are exterminated!' They then departed, leaving Abu Talib in despair at being cut off from his partisans and, on the other hand, firmly resolving never to throw over his nephew.

In that state of mind, he sent for Mohammad. 'O son of my brother!'

quoth he; 'our fellow-citizens of the Quraish have returned and made solemn declarations to me. Reflect; take compa.s.sion on me; have pity for thyself, and do not put upon me a burden too heavy to bear.

'O my uncle!' replied the Prophet; 'if in order to make me renounce my Mission, they placed the Sun on my left and the Moon on my right, I swear that, by Allah, I would not yield before I fulfilled my task triumphantly or perished in the attempt!'

Thinking that Abu Talib had spoken as he did as a hint that he would have to cast him adrift, by reason of his inability to protect him, his nephew burst into tears and went away. Abu Talib, much moved, called him back at once and said to him affectionately: 'Go, O son of my brother! Go forth and preach as thou wilt. By G.o.d, I'll never turn away from thee!'

Finding that no threats succeeded in estranging uncle and nephew, the delegates went back to Abu Talib for the third time, taking with them Ammarah ibn Walid, and then the deputation made the following proposal:

'O Abu Talib! here is Ammarah ibn Walid, one of the most accomplished and handsome young men among all the youths of Makkah. We bring him to thee. Adopt him for thy son. He belongeth to thee. In exchange, hand over to us thy brother's son thou didst adopt, so that we put him to death, for he hath stirred up strife in our tribe.'--'By G.o.d!' replied Abu Talib, 'what's this fine bargain ye now put forward? You would fain give me your son, so that I feed and clothe him; and I should have to let you take mine to be killed by you! That could not be! No, by G.o.d!--never!'

With rage in their hearts, the delegate's left him. The Mausam--the time for the pilgrimage--drawing nigh, the Quraish idolaters held a meeting at the dwelling of Walid ibn Moghayrah so as to consult together with regard to the way in which they ought to behave to the Prophet. Walid was spokesman, and he said: 'O a.s.sembly of Quraish men! the Mausam will soon bring innumerable pilgrims to Makkah. Of a surety, they have heard about Mohammad, and they will question you concerning him. How will ye answer? Ye must be all of one mind, so as not to contradict each other, which would nullify the effect of your utterances.'--'It is for thee to advise us, O Walid!'--'It is for you to speak first. I will listen and discuss your opinions.'--'Well then! we shall say that Mohammad is a diviner.'--'No! We know the diviners! He hath none of their mutterings or rhyming emphasis.'--'We'll say that he is possessed.'--'No! We have seen men possessed; and unlike them, he is not subject to fits of suffocation and convulsions.'--'We'll say he is a poet.'--'No! He is no poet. We know all the styles of versification as used by the poets, and his speech does not resemble that of any one of them.'--'We'll say he is a sorcerer.'--'No! for we have fallen across sorcerers, and he performeth none of their magical operations. Of a truth, his success is due to the charm and beauty of his discourse.'

Arraigned before the tribunal of their own conscience, the citizens a.s.sembled were forced to acknowledge the rigorous truth of this last remark. All of them, more or less, had felt the words springing from the ecstatic soul of Allah's Apostle go home to them. All of them had ofttimes been about to give way to the fascination caused by his accents, ringing with the inspiration of superhuman faith. The Quraish men were only restrained by the importance of their material interests and the violence of their earthly pa.s.sions, thus seriously threatened by his pure doctrine.

Nevertheless, they were bound to come to a decision at once, so as to prevent, at all costs, the Arabs belonging to distant tribes from undergoing the same ordeal. Therefore, they agreed to say that Mohammad possessed potent spells by which he stirred up strife in families, estranging a brother from his brother, a son from his father, and a husband from a wife.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Moslem praying on the Terrace-roof of her dwelling._]

When the pilgrims began to pour in, Walid and his accomplices were on the watch, posted on all the roads leading to Makkah. Not a single Arab pa.s.sed along these highways without being warned against Mohammad by the conspirators in ambush. But although a few pilgrims were alarmed at these warnings and feared the spells that they were informed were threatening them, the majority felt their curiosity increasing with regard to this extraordinary man, whose utterances gave rise to such great apprehension among the lords of the city. Thus it came to pa.s.s that when the travellers returned to their tribes, they told what they had seen; so that it plainly resulted that the campaign, organised against Mohammad by his enemies, only achieved the purpose of spreading his renown all over Arabia.

In order to add fresh fuel to the fire of their rage, increasing as the Prophet's reputation became established--a result partly due to their involuntary efforts--the idol-wors.h.i.+ppers sought every opportunity to heap insults on him. Being all together, one day, in the precincts of the Temple, they worked each other up. 'No! never have we endured from anybody what this man hath made us endure,' they cried out in chorus. At that very moment, Mohammad came on the scene and began to perform the ritual circuits round the Ka'bah. They rushed at him, all at one bound. 'Art thou the man who dareth to insult the G.o.ds of our fathers?' they shouted. 'Aye, I am that man!' he replied, undisturbed.

One of the enraged citizens caught hold of the collar of his mantle, and twisting it roughly, tried to strangle him. Abu Bakr, who chanced to be standing near, interfered. 'How now? Would ye kill a man who proclaimeth that Allah is his G.o.d?' he said sadly, and freed the Prophet, not without suffering ill-treatment himself, for a portion of his beard was plucked out by Mohammad's a.s.sailant.

The danger he had risked in these circ.u.mstances did not prevent the Prophet from returning to the Ka'bah to perform his devotions, without letting the furious glances of his a.s.sembled adversaries trouble him.

Acting under the orders of Abu Jahal, a man fetched some sheeps'

entrails from the slaughter-house. He chose those of an animal that had been killed several days before, and while the Prophet was prostrate as he prayed, the rascal covered the nape of his neck and his shoulders with the offal. All those present were seized with such outrageous fits of mirth that they fell seated on the ground, rolling one against the other. As for Allah's Elect, he seemed not even to have noticed the affront offered to him, and continued to pray. It was his daughter Fatimah who, arriving a few moments later, threw the filth far from her father, and railed at the wretches who had belittled themselves by the infliction of such a repulsive insult.

On a par with Abu Jahal, ranking with those who are branded eternally in history's pages on account of their atrocious treatment of the Prophet, was one of his uncles, a son of Abu Muttalib, surnamed Abu Lahab, "The Man Vowed to h.e.l.l-fire." Mohammad was preaching one day on the hill of Safa, in the midst of a crowd of inhabitants of that region, when Abu Lahab interrupted him rudely. 'Mayst thou be annihilated!' he bawled; 'thou who hast called us together to listen to such nonsense!' To this insult the following surah of the Qur'an (CXI) replies: "_Let the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and let himself peris.h.!.+ * His wealth and his gains shall avail him not. * Burned shall he be at the fiery flame, * And his wife laden with the fire-wood, *

On her neck a rope of twisted palm-fibre._"

This Surah, quickly becoming renowned, increased Abu Lahab's resentment and probably had even more effect on that of his wife, Umm Jemil, who found herself attacked therein in a way that was as annoying as it was deserved. To be nicknamed "carrier of fire-wood"

was past endurance; but had she not, on one occasion, strewn the path of Mohammad with th.o.r.n.y branches; had not her tongue lit up the fires of hatred with the f.a.ggots of calumny that she hawked about everywhere? The odious couple resorted shamelessly to the vilest acts, daily throwing heaps of filth on the terrace of Mohammad's house or in front of his door, for he was their neighbour.

Worked up or terrorised by these fanatics, most of the dwellers in Makkah repulsed the Prophet or avoided him. Children and wastrels pursued him with their jibes in the street. He was perfectly indifferent to such provocations. What was it all to him? Nothing more than a pa.s.sing breeze. He never even seemed to notice the persons who acted thus; he only looked at those he hoped to convert.

[Sidenote: THE INCIDENT OF THE BLIND MAN]

It happened one day when Mohammad had taken in hand some of the most noted townsmen who were beginning to be moved by his arguments, that a blind pauper, Ibn Umm Maktum, came forward, and humbly begged to be granted a small share of the knowledge vouchsafed to the Prophet by Allah. Engrossed in his discussion with the citizens whose conversion he so ardently desired; fearing, too, to miss an opportunity which might never occur again, Mohammad was seized with a fit of momentary vexation and replied curtly to the blind man, who stumbled away sorrowfully without having been enlightened.

Immediately afterwards, the Prophet fell a prey to remorse. Might not that blind man, enlightened by faith, have been able to open the eyes of other human beings imprisoned in the darkness of ignorance? And the Revelation increased Mohammad's remorse by confirming his error: "_He frowned, and he turned his back * Because the blind man came to him ... * As to him who hath become wealthy * Him therefore thou didst receive with honour * Yet it is not thy concern that he endeavours not to be pure; * But as to him who cometh to thee in earnest, * And full of fears, * Him dost thou neglect. * Do not so. Verily this surah is a warning._" (THE QUR'AN, Lx.x.x, 1-11.)

Ever since that day, the Prophet took great care to treat rich and poor, slaves and n.o.bles alike, with the same consideration. The exasperation of the idolaters reached the highest pitch when they saw their own slaves drawn towards Mohammad by his levelling doctrines; and when the town rang with the Revelation of Surahs threatening the rich and the sweaters of the people. "_The desire of increasing riches occupieth you, * Till ye come to the grave. * Nay! but in the end ye shall know * Nay! once more; in the end ye shall know your folly. *

Nay! would that ye knew it with knowledge of Certainty; * Then shall ye surely on that day be taken to task concerning the pleasures of this life._" (THE QUR'AN, CII, 1-8.)

Abu Jahal, meeting the Prophet at Safa, could not contain himself, and forgetting the self-control befitting a man of his high social position, he blurted out such a vulgar insult that the pen refuses to write it. The Prophet answered not a word, as was his wont, but a freed female slave of Abdullah ibn Jedhan had witnessed the scene, while looking out of the back of her dwelling that was just on the spot. As Hamzah, Mohammad's uncle, came by a few moments later, she told him what she heard.

[Sidenote: HOW HAMZAH WAS CONVERTED. UTBAH'S PROPOSALS]

Hamzah's disposition was haughty and choleric. He felt his blood boiling with rage when he heard of the affront offered to his nephew.

When returning from the chase--his favourite pastime--he generally stopped to gossip with the folks he met on the road, but this time he never halted, hurrying as fast as his legs would carry him towards the Temple. When he caught sight of Abu Jahal, seated in a group of his partisans, he went straight up to him, and brandis.h.i.+ng his bow above his head, he slashed the face of Mohammad's uncle by a stinging blow.

'So! thou dost insult my nephew,' he cried. 'Learn that I profess the same religion as he. All he proclaimeth, do I proclaim likewise. Stop me from doing so, if thou dost believe thou canst!'

All the a.s.sistants, belonging to the Banu Makhzum tribe of whom Abu Jahal was a chieftain, rose up to avenge him. But Abu Jahal, ashamed at having done a thing unworthy of a high-born lord, under the influence of profound hatred, bid them stand back. 'Let Hamzah go in peace,' he said to them, 'for verily, I did grievously offend my brother's son.'

As for Hamzah, the blessing of Allah was upon him in his outburst of rage and enn.o.bled him by Islam of which he became one of the most devoted and formidable defenders.

Utbah ibn Rabiyah, one of the most noted idol-wors.h.i.+ppers, was greatly shocked when his young son, Huzaifah, became a convert to Islam and drew away from his father. Hoping to put an end to the discord established by Mohammad's doctrines, not only in the Quraish tribe, but even in the bosom of families, he planned to come forward as mediator. Seeing Allah's Apostle seated, quite alone, near the Temple, Utbah said to his partisans: 'Will ye authorise me to speak to him, and discuss one or two proposals in your name? Perhaps he may accept them and so leave us in peace.'

Under the influence of the consternation they felt at the conversion of such an important personage as Hamzah--a conversion that had led others to follow suit--and well knowing that it would be best to come to some agreement, they replied: 'Aye, go to him and speak in our name.' Thereupon, Utbah left them and went to sit by the side of the Prophet. 'O son of my friend!' said Utbah in most affectionate tones; 'thou dost belong to us, although by insulting our religion and the traditions of our fathers, thou hast embroiled us. Therefore I come to thee to put an end to this great misfortune. Give an ear to my proposals. Maybe they will find grace in thy sight.'--'Speak! I am listening.'--'O son of my friend! If thou dost hope that thy undertaking will make thee wealthy, each of us is willing to sacrifice a part of his fortune, in order that thou shalt become the richest man among us. If thou seekest honours, we will set thee up as lord over us all and come to no decision without consulting thee. Dost dream of royal privileges? We will make thee our king. If, on the contrary, the thoughts that inspire thee arise from some malady which thou art powerless to resist, we will have fetched at any cost and from any country the most celebrated doctors, so that thou mayst be cured.

Choose therefore!'

The Prophet had listened unmoved. 'Hast thou no more to say?' he answered Utbah. 'Now 'tis thy turn to hearken to my words.' He then recited the Surah of "The Made Plain," in which Unbelievers are menaced with the eternal torments of h.e.l.l, and Believers comforted by the promise of the inconceivable felicity of Paradise (THE QUR'AN, XLI). Utbah, his hands clasped behind his back, stood hearkening to the sentences, now imperative and then compa.s.sionate, that fell upon his ears in rhythm and cadence totally new to him. Stupefied, he remained stock-still, his att.i.tude unchanged, although the Prophet had ceased speaking some little time. Mohammad, after having prostrated himself, his brow touching the earth, rose up and turned to Utbah, saying: 'Thou hast heard me, O Utbah? Now, 'tis for thee to choose.'

Utbah, bewildered, went back to his companions. They all noticed his troubled face, so different on his return from what it had been before he left them. 'Come now, O Utbah! what aileth thee?' they queried.--'I have just listened to extraordinary words,' he answered. 'By our G.o.ds!

I've never heard anything like it before. 'Tis neither poetry, nor sorcery, nor magic. O Quraish men a.s.sembled! believe me and let this man fulfil his Mission among the Arabs, for his words are full of surprising prophecies. If harm corrieth to him by the Arabs' fault, ye will be freed from all anxiety. If, on the other hand, he succeedeth and shall conquer the Arabs, his empire will be thy empire, seeing that he is one of us, and thanks to him, ye will attain the highest pinnacle of power.'

But what availed such prudent conclusions in the face of jealousy and hatred? 'With his tongue he hath cast a spell over thee, as he hath done to others,' his hearers replied; and Utbah, shrugging his shoulders, went away, declaring: 'Such is my advice. Now do as ye please.'

Nevertheless, Utbah's opinion impressed the idolaters. Next day, after sunset, they foregathered, according to custom, in the precincts of the Temple, and decided to speak to Mohammad in person. They sent for him, and he came, hoping that their eyes were open to the light. But they only wanted to renew the proposals of the day before. He refused just as scornfully. 'Since thou dost set thyself up as a Prophet,'

they said, changing their arguments, 'take pity on thy country. There is no land more hemmed-in by mountains, or more poor in its water-supply; more difficult to live in. Therefore, ask Allah to put aside the girdle of mountains, make the soil easier to till, and give us rivers resembling those of Syria and Iraq. Or else, ask Him to resuscitate one of our ancestors, Qusaiyy ibn Kilab, for instance, who was a wise and truthful man, so that we may consult him concerning thy pretensions and let us know if they are veracious or false. If he giveth thee right and thou dost satisfy our demands, then will we believe thee and have faith in thy mission as Allah's Apostle.'

'I have not been sent to thee for this,' was all the Prophet cared to reply. 'I have told you what I was charged to do; and I tell you once more that if you accept, your happiness is a.s.sured in this life and the next. Should ye refuse, then I bow down to the decrees of Allah who shall judge between us.'--'Since thou wilt ask nothing for us,'

they returned; 'crave a favour for thyself. Ask Allah to send one of his angels to convince us; ask Him to lavish on thee all the pleasures of this world that thy heart can desire, such as delicious gardens, marvellous palaces, or treasures of gold and silver. Instead of which, we see thee as one who "_eateth food and walketh the marts_" (THE QUR'AN, XXV, 8), exactly the same as the most humble among us! If thou art really a Prophet, let Allah give us proofs of the power with which He hath endowed thee, and of the dignity to which He hath raised thee.'--'I am not one of those who make such demands of Allah, and to you I renew my adjuration.'--'Ask Allah to "_make the Heaven to fall in pieces on us, as thou hast given out_," (THE QUR'AN, XVII, 94), if He hath power to do so, according to what thou dost maintain. If not, thy word deserveth no credit.'--'Nothing could be easier for the Almighty. If He shall decide to act as ye say, He will accomplish the task. Ye ask Him for miracles? The miracles are to be found in all He hath created and ye do not understand! See how death springeth from life and life from death! Of a surety, He can, by a miracle, undo the prodigies of the order of Nature he hath created. Thus did He for my predecessors, but in vain. Therefore, admire His unceasing miracles in Nature and crave no others.'

Unable to catch the Prophet tripping, the idol-wors.h.i.+ppers, to check him, brought forward n.a.z.ir ibn Haris who, having been a great traveller, had garnered many fine stories. As soon as Mohammad began to preach, n.a.z.ir took his stand quite near him, trying to get his hearers away by reciting the wonderful exploits of Rustam and Isfandyar. 'See now, I lavish on my audience fine tales,' n.a.z.ir was bold enough to add, 'that will bear comparison with those sent down by Allah to His Prophet.'

The Quraish men also sent a delegation to the learned Jews of Yasrib and to the Prince Halib ibn Malik, ill.u.s.trious above all men by reason of his wisdom, science and power, in order to ask that some means should be found to prove that Mohammad was an impostor. But all these efforts were useless, and there was no need to believe in the legend of a miracle based on these words of the Qur'an: "_The hour hath approached and the moon hath been cleft._" (LIV, 1).

Some writers a.s.sert that Habib having asked the Prophet to perform a miracle, in order to prove the veracity of his mission, Mohammad gave an order to the moon which incontinently split into two equal parts; one ascending towards the East and the other to the West. According to the opinion of the most trustworthy doctors of Islam, such as Al Baidawi and Zamakhshri, this verse really means: "The hour (of the Day of Resurrection) approacheth and (to announce it) the moon will be cleft." The truth of this a.s.sertion is proved by the verses that follow almost immediately: "_Turn away then from them (The Unbelievers)! On the day when the summoner shall summon to a horrible affair, * With downcast eyes shall they come forth from their graves, as if they were scattered locusts._" (THE QUR'AN, LIV, 6 AND 7.)