THE CONSOLIDATION OF POWER
"The Infidels, moreover, will say: Thou art not sent of God.
Say: God is witness enough betwixt me and you, and whoever hath
knowledge of the Book."--_The Kuran_.
Mahomet, now established at Medina, at once began that careful planning
of the lives of his followers and the ceaseless fostering of his own
ideas within them that endeared him to the Believers as leader and lord,
and enabled him in time to prosecute his designs against his opponents
with a confidence in their faith and loyalty.
His grasp of detail was wonderful; without haste and without coercion he
subdued the turbulent factions within Medina, and his own perfervid
followers to discipline as despotic as it was salutary; Mahomet became
what circumstances made him; by reason of his mighty gift of moulding
those men and forces that came his way, he impressed his personality upon
his age; but the material fashioning of his energy, the flower of his
creative art, drew its formative sustenance from the soil of his
surroundings. The time for admonition, with the voice of one crying in
the wilderness, the time for praise and poesy, for the expression of that
rapt immortal passion filling his mind as he contemplated God, all these
were past, and had become but a lingering brightness upon the stormy
urgency of his later life.
Now his flock demanded from him organisation, leadership, political and
social prevision. Therefore the full force of his nature is revealed to
us not so much as heretofore in the Kuran, but rather in his institutions
and ordinances, his enmities and conciliations. He has become not only
the Prophet, but the Lawgiver, the Statesman, almost the King.
His first act, after his establishment in the house of Abu Ayub, was the
joining together in brotherhood of the Muhajerim and Ansar. These were
two distinct entities within Medina; the Muhajerim (refugees) had either
accompanied their master from Mecca or had emigrated previously; the
Ansar (helpers) comprised all the converts to Islam within the city
itself. These parties were now joined in a close bond, each individual
taking another of the opposite party into brotherhood with himself, to be
accorded the rights and privileges of kinship. Mahomet took as his
brother Ali, who became indeed not only his kinsman, but his military
commander and chief of staff. The wisdom of this arrangement, which
lasted about a year and a half--until, in fact, its usefulness was
outworn by the union of both the Medinan tribes under his leadership
--was immediate and far-reaching. It enabled Mahomet to keep a close
surveillance over the Medinan converts, who might possibly recant when
they became aware of the hazards involved in partnership with the Muslim.
It also gave a coherence to the two parties and allowed the Muhajerim
some foothold in an alien city, not as yet unanimously friendly. And the
Muhajerim had need of all the kindliness and help they could obtain, for
the first six months in Medina were trying both to their health and
endurance, so that many repented their venture and would have returned if
the Ansar had not come forward with ministrations and gifts, and also if
their chances of reaching Mecca alive had not been so precarious.
The climate at Medina is damp and variable. Hot days alternate with cold
nights, and in winter there is almost continuous rain. The Meccans, used
to the dry, hot days and nights of their native city, where but little
rain fell, and even that became absorbed immediately in the parched
ground, endured much discomfort, even pain, before becoming acclimatised.
Fever broke out amongst them, and it was some months before the epidemic
was stayed with the primitive medical skill at their command.
Nevertheless, in spite of their weakness and the difficulties of their
position, in these first seven months the Mosque of Mahomet was built
Legend says that the Prophet himself took a share in the work, carrying
stones and tools with the humblest of his followers, and we can well
believe that he did not look on at the labour of his fellow-believers,
and that his consuming zeal prompted him to forward, in whatever way was
necessary, the work lying to his hand.
The Medinan Mosque, built with fervent hearts and anxious prayers by
the Muslim and their leader, contains the embryo of all the later
masterpieces of Arabian architecture--that art unique and splendid, which
developed with the Islamic spirit until it culminated in the glorious
temple at Delhi, whose exponents have given to the world the palaces of
southern Spain, the mysterious, remote beauty of ancient Granada. In its
embryo minarets and domes, its slender arches and delicate traceries, it
expressed the latent poetry in the heart of Islam which the claims of
Allah and the fiercely jealous worship of him had hitherto obscured; for
like Jahweh of old, Allah was an exacting spirit, who suffered no emotion
but worship to be lord of his people's hearts.
The Mosque was square in design, made of stone and brick, and wrought
with the best skill of which they were capable. The Kibla, or direction
of prayer, was towards Jerusalem, symbolic of Mahomet's desire to
propitiate the Jews, and finally to unite them with his own people in a
community with himself as temporal head. Opposite this was the Bab
Rahmah, the Gate of Mercy, and general entrance to the holy place. Ranged
round the outer wall of the Mosque were houses for the Prophet's wives
and daughters, little stone buildings, of two or three rooms, almost
huts, where Mahomet's household had its home--Rockeya, his daughter, and
Othman, her husband; Fatima and Ali, Sawda and Ayesha, soon to be his
girl-bride, and who even now showed exceeding loveliness and force of
character.
Mahomet himself had no separate house, but dwelt with each of his wives
in turn, favouring Ayesha most, and as his harem increased a house was
added for each wife, so that his entourage was continually near him and
under his surveillance. On the north side the ground was open, and there
the poorer followers of Mahomet gathered, living upon the never-failing
hospitality of the East and its ready generosity in the necessities of
life.
As soon as the Mosque was built, organised religious life at Medina came
into being. A daily service was instituted in the Mosque itself, and the
heaven-sent command to prayer five times a day for every Muslim was
enforced. Five times in every turn of the world Allah receives his
supplicatory incense; at dawn, at noon, in the afternoon, at sunset, and
at night the Muslim renders his due reverence and praise to the lord of
his welfare, thanking Allah, his supreme guide and votary, for the gift
of the Prophet, guide and protector of the Faithful. Lustration before
prayer was instituted as symbolic of the Believers' purification of heart
before entering the presence of God, and provision for the ceremony made
inside the Mosque. The public service on Friday, instituted at Coba, was
continued at Medina, and consisted chiefly of a sermon given by Mahomet
from a pulpit, erected inside the Mosque, whose sanctity was proverbial
and unassailed. Thus the seed was sown of a corporate religious life, the
embryo from which the Arabian military organisation, its polity, even its
social system, were to spring.
In spite of the increasing numbers of the Ansar, there still remained a
party in Medina, "the Disaffected," who had not as yet accepted the
Prophet or his creed. Over these Mahomet exercised a strict surveillance,
in accordance with his conviction that a successful ruler leaves nothing
to Providence that he can discover and regulate for himself. "Trust in
God, but tie your camel." By this means, as well as by personal influence
and exhortation, "Disaffected" were controlled and ultimately converted
into good Muslim; for the more cautious of them--those who waited to see
how events would shape--soon assured themselves of Mahomet's capacity,
and the weakly passive were caught in the swirl of enthusiasm surrounding
the Prophet that continually drew unto itself all conditions of men
within its ever-widening circle.
Having organised his own followers, and secured their immunity from
internal strife, Mahomet was forced to turn his attention to the Jewish
element within his adopted city, and to decide swiftly his policy towards
the three Israelite tribes who comprised the wealthier and trading
population of Medina.
From the first, Mahomet's desires were in the direction of a federal
union, wherein each party would follow his own faith and have control of
his own tribal affairs and finances, save when the necessity of mutual
protection against enemies called for a union of forces. Again Mahomet
framed his policy upon the doctrine of opportunism. His ultimate aim was
beyond doubt to unite both Jews and Medinans under his rule in a common
religious and political bond, but he recognised the present impossibility
of such action in view of the Jews' greater stability and the weakness of
his party within the city. His negotiations and conciliations with the
Jews offer one of the many examples of his supreme skill as a statesman.
The Jews themselves, taken almost unawares by the suddenness of Mahomet's
entry into their civic life, agreed to the treaty he proposed, and
acquiesced unconsciously in his subtle attempts to merge the two faiths
into a whole wherein Islam would be the dominant factor. When Mahomet
made Jerusalem his Kibla, or direction of prayer, and emphasised the
connection between Jewish and Arabian history, they suffered these
advances, and agreed to a treaty which would have formed the foundations
of a political and social convergence and ultimate absorption of their
own nation.
Mahomet knew that federalism with the Jews was a necessary step to his
desired end, and therefore he drew up a treaty wherein mutual protection
against outward enemies, as well as against internal sedition, was
assured. Hospitality was to be freely rendered and demanded, and neither
party was to support an Infidel against a Believer. Guarantees for mutual
security were exchanged, and it was agreed that each should be free to
worship in his own fashion. The treaty throws light upon the clan-system
still obtaining in seventh-century Arabia. The Jews were their own
masters in the ordering of their lives, as were the Medinan tribes, even
after many years of neighbourhood and frequent interchange of commerce
and mutual assurances. The most significant political work achieved by
Mahomet, the planting of the federal, and later, the national idea in
Arabia in place of the tribal one, was thus inaugurated, and throughout
the development of his political power it will be seen that the struggles
between himself and the surrounding peoples virtually hinged upon the
acceptance or rejection of it.
The Jews, with their narrow conception of the political unit, could
acquiesce neither in federalism nor in union, and as soon as Mahomet
perceived their incapacity he became implacable, and either drove them
forth or compelled their submission by terror and slaughter. But for the
present his policy and prudence dictated compromise, and he was strong
enough to achieve his will.
The political and social problems of his embryo state had found temporary
solution, and Mahomet was free to turn his attention to external foes. In
his attitude towards those who had persecuted him he evinced more than
ever his determination to build up not only a religious society, but a
powerful temporal state.
The Meccans would have been content to leave matters as they stood, and
were quite prepared to let Mahomet establish his power at Medina
unmolested, provided they were given like immunity from attacks. But from
the beginning other plans filled the Prophet's thoughts, and though
revenge for his privations was declared to be the instigator of his
attacks on the Kureisch trade, the determining motive must be looked for
much more deeply. The great project of the harassment and final overthrow
of the Kureisch was dimly foreshadowed in Mahomet's mind, and he became
ever more deeply aware of the part that must be played therein by the
sword.
As yet he hesitated to acclaim war as the supreme arbiter in his own and
his followers' destinies, for the valour of his levies and the skill of
his leaders was unproved. The forays undertaken before the battle of Bedr
are really nothing more than essays by the Muslim in the game of war, and
it was not until proof of their power against the Kureisch had been given
that Mahomet gave up his future policy into the keeping of that bright
disastrous deity that lures all sons of men. In a measure it was true
that the clash between Mahomet and the Kureisch was unavoidable, but that
it loomed so large upon the horizon of Medina's policy is due to the
Prophet's determination to strike immediately at the wealth and security
of his rival. Lust for plunder, too, added its weight to Mahomet's
reprisals against Mecca; even if that city was content to leave him in
peace, still the Kureischite caravans to Bostra and Syria, passing so
near to Medina, were too tempting to be ignored.
Along these age-old routes Meccan merchandise still travelled its devious
way, at the mercy of sun and desert storms and the unheeding fierceness
of that cataclysmic country, a prey to any marauding tribes, and
dependent for its existence upon the strength of its escort. And since
plunder is sweeter than labour, every chief with swift riders and good
spearmen hoped to gain his riches at Meccan expense. But their attempts
were for the most part abortive, chiefly because of the lack of cohesion
and generalship; until Mahomet none really constituted a serious menace
to the Kureischite wealth.
In Muharram 622 (April) the Hegira took place, and six months sufficed
Mahomet to establish his power securely enough to be able to send out his
first expedition against the Kureisch in Ramadan (December) of the same
year. The party was led by Hamza, whose soldier qualities were only at
the beginning of their development, and probably consisted of a few
Muslim horsemen on their beautiful swift mounts and one or two spearmen,
and possibly several warriors skilled in the use of arrows. They sallied
forth from Medina and went to meet the caravan as it prepared to pass by
their town. The Kureisch had placed Abu Jahl in command--a man whose
invincible hatred for Islam and the Prophet had manifested itself in the
persecution at Mecca, and whose hostility increased as the Muslim power
advanced.
The caravan was guarded, but none too strongly, and Hamza's troop pursued
and had almost attacked it when a Bedouin chief of the desert more
powerful than either party interposed and compelled the Muslim to
withdraw, while he forbade Abu Jahl to pursue them or attempt revenge. So
the caravan continued its way unmolested into Syria and there exchanged
its gums, leather, and frankincense for the silks and precious metals,
the fine stuffs and luxurious draperies which made the Syrian markets a
vivid medley of sheen and gloss, stored with bright colours and burnished
surfaces shimmering in the hot radiance of the East. In Jan. 623 the
caravan set out homeward "on its lone journey o'er the desert," and again
the Muslim sent out an attacking party in the hope of securing this
larger prize. But the Kureisch were wise and had provided themselves
with a stronger escort before which the Muslim could do nothing but
retreat--not, however, before they had sent a few tentative arrows at the
cavalcade. Obeida, their leader and a cousin of Mahomet, gave the command
to shoot, and is renowned henceforth as "he who shot the first arrow for
Islam."
After a month another essay was made upon a northward-bound caravan by
Sa'd, again without success, for he had miscalculated dates and missed
his quarry by some days. Each leader on his return to Medina was received
with honour by Mahomet as one who had shown his prowess in the cause of
Isalm and presented with a white banner.
So far the prophet himself had not taken the field; now, however, in the
summer and autumn of 623, in spite of signs that all was not well with
the Jewish alliance at home, Mahomet took the field in person and
conducted three larger but still unsuccessful expeditions; the last
attacking levy of October 623 consisted of 200 men, but even then Mahomet
was able to effect nothing against the Kureischite escort. The attempted
raid had nevertheless an important outcome, for by this exhibition of
strength Mahomet succeeded in convincing a neighboring desert tribe,
hitherto friendly to Mecca, of the advisability of seeking alliance with
the Muslim.
The treaty between Mahomet and the Bedouin tribe marks the beginning of a
significant development in his foreign polity. Like the Romans, and all
military nations, he knew the worth of making advantageous alliances,
while he was clear-sighted enough to realise that the struggle with Mecca
was inevitable. During the months preceding the battle of Bedr he
concluded several treaties with desert tribes, and it is to this policy
he owes in part his power to maintain his aggressive attitude towards the
Kureisch, for with the alliance of the tribes around the caravan routes
Mahomet could be sure of hampering the Meccan trade.
While the Prophet was in the field he left representatives to care for
the affairs of his city. These representatives were designated by him,
and were always members of his personal following. Ali and Abu Bekr were
most often chosen until All proved his worth as a warrior, and so usually
accompanied or commanded the expeditionary force. The representatives
held their authority direct from Mahomet, and had in all matters the
identical power of the Prophet during his absence. It speaks well for the
loyalty and acumen of these ministers that Mahomet was enabled to leave
the city so often and so confidently, and that the government continued
as if under his personal supervision.
Whether the Jews were overbold because of Mahomet's frequent absences, or
whether they now became conscious of the trend of Mahomet's policy
towards the absorption of the Jewish element within the city into Islam,
will never be made clear, beyond the fact that the Jewish tribes were not
enthusiastic in their union with the Muslim, and that their national
character precluded them from accepting an alliance that threatened the
autonomy of their religion. It is, however, certain that the discontent
of the Jews voiced itself more and more loudly as the year advanced. The
suras of the period are full of revilings and threats against them, and
form a greater contrast coming after the later Meccan suras wherein
Israel was honoured and its heroes held up as examples. A few Jews had
been won over to his cause, but the mass showed themselves either hostile
or indifferent to the federal idea. As yet no definite sundering
of relationships had occurred, but everything pointed to a speedy
dissolution of the treaty unless one side or the other moderated its
views.
The autumn of 628 saw Mahomet fully established in Medina. He had made
his worth known by his energy and organising power, by his devotion to
Allah and his zeal for the faith he had founded. The Medinans regarded
him already as their natural leader, and he had definitely adopted their
city as his headquarters. Through his skill as a statesman and his
loyalty to an idea he wrought out, the foundations of his future state,
and if the latter months of 623 saw him not yet strong enough to overcome
the Meccans, at least he was so firmly established that he could afford
to dispense with any overtures to the increasingly hostile Jews, and he
had gained sufficient adherents to allow him to contemplate with
equanimity the prospect of a sharp and prolonged struggle with the
Kureisch.