LAST RITES
"This day have I perfected your religion for you, and have filled
up the measure of my favours upon you; and it is my pleasure that
Islam be your religion."--_The Kuran_.
A year had passed since Abu Bekr's purgatory Pilgrimage, and now the
sacred month drew near once more and found Mahomet secure in his adopted
city, the acknowledged spiritual and political leader among the Arabian
tribes. Not since his exile had the Prophet performed in their entirety
the rites of the Greater Pilgrimage. Now he felt that his achievements
would receive upon them the seal of Allah and become attested in the eyes
of the world if he should undertake a complete and purified Pilgrimage in
company with the host of his followers. The Pilgrimage was proclaimed
abroad in Islam, and every Believer who could by any means accomplish it
assumed the Pilgrim's garb, until the army of the devout numbered about
40,000 men. All the Prophet's wives accompanied him, and every Believer
of any standing in the newly formed state was his close attendant. It was
felt, indeed, that this was to be the Pilgrimage that was to ordain and
sanction the rite for all time. In the deepest spirit of religion and
devotion it was undertaken and completed. Islam was now to show to the
world the measure of its strength, and to succeeding generations the sum
of its being and the insistence of its call.
With the host travelled also a hundred camels, destined as a sacrifice
upon the triumphant day when the ceremonies should be accomplished. By
easy stages the Pilgrims journeyed through the desert. There was no
hurry, for there was no fear of attack. The whole company was unarmed,
save for the defensive sword allowed to each man. Over the desert they
moved like locusts, overwhelming the country, and the tune of their march
spread far around. In ten days the pilgrim army, in the gladness of
self-confidence and power, arrived at Sarif, a short day's march from
their goal. There Mahomet rested before he embarked upon the final
journey.
Mecca lay before him, awaiting his coming, her animosities silenced, her
populace acquiescent, her temples freed from the curse of idolatry. His
mind was uplifted into a fervour of praise. He seemed in truth about to
enter upon his triumph, to celebrate in very flesh the ceremonies he had
reverenced, to celebrate them in his own peculiar manner, freed of what
was to him their bane and degradation. Something of the foreknowledge of
the approaching cessation of activity flashed across him as he mounted
Al-Caswa and prepared to make the entry of the city.
He came upon the upper suburbs by the same route as he had entered Mecca
two years before, and proceeded to the Kaaba. There he performed the
circuits of the sacred place and the preliminary rites of the Greater
Pilgrimage. Then he returned to the valley outside the city where his
tent was pitched, and tarried there the night. And now Ali, the mighty in
arms, reached the city from an admonitory expedition and demanded the
privilege of performing the Pilgrimage. Mahomet replied that like most
other Believers he might perform the rites of the Lesser Pilgrimage, but
that the Greater was barred to him because he had no victims. But Ali
refused to forego his privilege, and at last Mahomet, urged by his love
for him and his fear of creating any disturbance at such a time, felt it
wiser to yield. He gave Ali the half of his own victims, and their
friendship and Ali's devotion to his master were idealised and made
sweeter for the gift.
Now the rites of the Greater Pilgrimage properly began. Mahomet preached
to the people from the Kaaba on the morning of the next day, and when his
words had roused the intense religious spirit of those listening masses
he set out for Mina, accompanied by Bilal, followed by every Believer,
and prepared to spend the night in the sacred valley. When morning dawned
he made his way to Arafat, where he climbed the hill in the midst of the
low-lying desolate ground. Standing at the summit of the hill, surrounded
by the hosts of his followers, revealed to their eyes in all the
splendour and dignity of his familiarity and personally wrested
authority, he recited some of the verses of the Kuran dealing with the
fit and proper celebration of the Pilgrimage. He expounded then the
manner in which that rite was to be performed for all time. So long as
there remains one Muslim upon earth his Pilgrimage will be carried out
along the traditions laid down for him at this beneficent moment.
Now, having ordered all matters, Mahomet raised his hands to Heaven and
called Allah to witness that he had completed his task:
"This day have I perfected your religion for you."
The supreme moment came and fled, and the Prophet descended once more
into the plain and journeyed again to the valley of Mecca, where,
according to immemorial tradition, he cast stones, or rather small
pebbles, at the rock of the Devil's Corner, symbolic of the defeat of the
powers of darkness by puny and assailed mankind. Thereafter he slew his
victims in thankful and devout spirit, and the Greater Pilgrimage was
completed. In token he shaved his head, pared his nails, and
removed the pilgrim's robe; then, coming before the people, he exhorted
them further, enjoining upon them the strict observance of daily prayers,
the fast of Ramadan, the rites of Pilgrimage, and all the essential
ceremonial of the Muslim faith. He abolished also with one short verse of
the Kuran the intercalary year, which had been in use among the Faithful
during the whole of his Medinan rule. The Believers were now subject to
the fluctuation of their months, so that their years follow a perpetually
changing cycle, bearing no relation to the solar seasons.
When the exhortation was ended Mahomet departed to Mecca, and there he
encircled the Kaaba and entered its portals for prayer. But of this last
act he repented later, inasmuch as it would not be possible hereafter for
every Muslim to do so, and he had desired to perform in all particulars
the exact ceremonies incumbent upon the Faithful for all the future
years. He now made an ending of all his observances, and with every rite
fulfilled, at the head of his vast concourse, summoned by his tireless
will and held together by his overmastering zeal, the Prophet returned to
his governmental city, ready to take up anew the reins of his temporal
ruling, with the sense of fine things fittingly achieved, a great purpose
accomplished, which rendered him as much at peace as his fiery
temperament and the flame of his activity could compass.
Fulfilment had come with the performance of the Greater Pilgrimage, but
still his state demanded his personal government. Death alone could still
his ardent pulses and bring about his relinquishment of command over the
kingdom that was his--death that was even now winging his silent way
nearer, and whose shadow had almost touched the fount of the Prophet's
earthly life.
In such manner the Greater Pilgrimage was fulfilled, and the burden of
its accomplishing is the Muslim reverence for ceremony. The ritual in all
its forgotten superstition and immemorial tradition appealed most
potently to the emotions of every Believer, all the more so because it
had not been imposed upon him as a new and untried ceremony by a
religious reformer, but came to him with all its hallowed sanctity fresh
upon it, to be bound up inseparably with his religious life by its
purification under the Prophet's guidance.
Its use by the founder of Islam bears witness at once to his knowledge of
the earlier faith and traditions and his reverence for them, as well as
his keen insight, which placed the rite of pilgrimage in the forefront of
his religious system. He knew the value of ritual and the force of
age-long association. The Farewell Pilgrimage is the last great public
act he performed. He felt that it strengthened Islam's connection with
the beliefs and ceremonies of his ancestors, legendarily free from
idolatry under the governance of Abraham and Ishmael. He realised, too,
that it rounded off the ceremonial side of his faith, giving his
followers an example and a material union with himself and his God. It
was the knowledge that this union would always be a living fact to his
descendants, so long as the sacred ceremony was performed, that caused
him to assert its necessity and to place it among the few unalterable
injunctions to all the Faithful.
Meanwhile a phenomenon had arisen inseparable from the activities of
great men. Wherever there are strong souls, from whose spirit flows any
inspiring energy, there will always be found their imitators, when the
battle has been won. Whether hypocrites, or genuinely led by a sheep-like
instinct into the same path as their models, they follow the steps of
their forerunners, and usually achieve some slight fame before the dark
closes around them.
Early in the year Badzan, Governor of Marab, Nazran, and Hamadan, died.
His territory was seized by Mahomet, in defiance of the claims of his son
Shehr, and divided among different governors. His success in the temporal
world, and especially this peaceful annexation of land, wrought so
vividly upon the imaginations of his countrymen that three false Prophets
arose and three separate bands of devoted fanatics appeared to uphold
them. Of these three men the most effective was Tuleiha of the Beri Asad,
who gathered together an army and was only repelled and crushed by Khalid
himself. But Tuleiha still persisted in spite of defeat, and was content
to bide his time until, under Abu Bekr, his faction rose again to
importance and constituted a serious disturbance to the rule of the first
Caliph.
Moseilama, of whom not so much is known, also attempted to usurp the
Prophet's power at the close of his life. Mahomet demanded his
submission; Moseilama refused, but before adequate punishment could be
meted out the Prophet was stricken down with illness, so that the task of
chastisement devolved upon Abu Bekr. Aswad, "the veiled Prophet of
Yemen," might have proved the most formidable of the three, had not
rashness of conduct and lack of governance caused his undoing. He cast
off the Muslim yoke while the Prophet was still alive, and proclaimed
himself the magician prince who would liberate his followers from the
tyrant's yoke. Najran rose in his favour, and he marched confidently upon
Sana, the great capital city of Yemen, slew the puppet king Shehr and
took command of the surrounding country. Mahomet purposed to send a force
against him, but even while his army was massing for the march he heard
that the Veiled Prophet was assassinated. The sudden success had proved
his ruin. Aswad only needed the touch of power to call out his latent
tyranny, cruelty, and stupidity. He treated the people harshly, and they
could not retaliate effectually; but he forgot, being of unreflecting
mould, the imperative necessity of conciliating the chiefs of his armed
forces. He offended his leaders of armies, and the end came swiftly. The
leaders deserted to Mahomet, and treacherously murdered him when he had
counted their submission was beyond question. The three impostors were
not powerful enough to disturb seriously the steady flow of Mahomet's
organising and administrative activities, but they are indicative of the
thin crust that divided his rule from anarchy, a crust even now cracking
under the weight of the burdens imposed upon it, needing the constant
cement of armed expeditions to keep it from crumbling beyond Mahomet's
own remedying.
April passed quietly enough at Medina, but with May came the news of fresh
disturbances upon the Syrian border. They were not serious, but the pretext
was sufficient. Muta was as yet unavenged, and Mahomet was glad to be able
to send a force again to the troublesome frontier. Osama, son of Zeid,
slain in that disastrous battle, was chosen for leader of this expedition
in spite of his youth, which aroused the quick anger of some of the Muslim
warriors. But Mahomet maintained his choice. He was given the battle banner
by the Prophet himself, and the expedition sallied forth to Jorf, where it
was delayed and finally hastily recalled by news of a grave and most
disturbing nature.
Even as he blessed the Syrian expedition and sent it on its road, Mahomet
was in no fit state of health for public duties. After a little while,
however, his will triumphed over his flesh, and he thrust back the
weakness. But his physical nature had already been strained to breaking
point under the stress of his life. He had perforce to bow to the
dictates of his body. He gave up attempting to throw off the fever, and
retired to Ayesha's house, attributing the seizure to the effects of the
poison at Kheibar, and convinced that his end was at hand.
In the house of his favourite wife he remained during the few remaining
days of his life. He lingered for about a week before his indomitable
soul gave way before the assaults of death, and all the time he continued
to attend to public affairs and to take his accustomed part in them as
long as possible. About the third day of his illness he heard the people
still murmuring over the appointment of Osama upon the Syrian expedition.
Rising from his couch he went out to speak to them, and commanded them to
cease from such empty discontent, reminding them that he was their
Prophet and master, and that they might safely rely upon him.
The exertion of moving proved too much for his strength. He was now
indeed a broken man, and this activity was but the last conquest of mind
over his ever-growing weakness of body. He returned exhausted to Ayesha's
room, and, knowing that his mission was over, commanded Abu Bekr to lead
the public prayers. By this act he virtually nominated Abu Bekr his
successor; for the privilege of leading the prayers belonged exclusively
to himself, and his designation of the office was as plain a proof as
there could be that he considered the mantle of authority to have
descended upon his friend and counsellor, who had been to him so
unfailing a resource in defeat and triumph through all the tumultuous
years.
From this time the Prophet grew steadily worse. His physical break-up was
complete. He had used every particle of his enormous energy in the
fulfilment of his work; now that activity had ceased there were no
reserves left.
He became delirious, and finally weak to the point of utter exhaustion.
Many are the traditions concerning his dying words, chiefly exhortations
for the preservation of the faith he had so laboriously brought to life.
He is said to have cursed both Jews and Christians in his paroxysms of
fever, but in his lucid moments he seems to have been filled with love
for his disciples, and fears for the future of his religion and temporal
state.
He lingered thus for two more days--days which gathered round him the
deep spiritual fervour, the human love and affection of every Believer,
so that the records are interpenetrated with the grief and tenderness of
a people's sorrow. On the third day he rallied sufficiently to come to
morning prayer, where he took a seat by Abu Bekr in token of his
dedication of the headship of Islam to him alone. The Believers' joy at
the sight of their Prophet showed itself in their thronging thanksgivings
and in their escort of their chief back to his place of rest. It seemed
that his illness was but slight, and that before long he would appear
among them once more in all the fullness of his strength. But the
exertion sapped his little remaining vitality, and he could scarcely
reach Ayesha's room again. There a few hours afterwards, after a period
of semi-consciousness, he died in her arms while it was yet only a little
after mid-day.
The forlorn Ayesha was almost too terrified to impart the dreadful news.
Abu Bekr was summoned instantly, and came with awe and horror into the
mosque. Omar, Mahomet's beloved warrior-friend, refused to believe that
his leader was really dead, and even rushed to announce his belief to the
people. But Abu Bekr visited the place of death and assured himself by
the still cold form of the Prophet that he was indeed dead. He went out
with despair in his countenance, and convinced the Faithful that the soul
of their leader had passed. There fell upon Islam the hush of an
intolerable knowledge, and in the first blankness of realisation they
were dumb and passive.
When the army at Jorf was apprised of the news, it broke up at once and
returned to Medina. With the withdrawal of the guiding hand their battle
enthusiasm became as nought, and they could only join the waiting ranks
of the Citizens--a crowd that would now be driven whither its masters
saw fit.
The Faithful assembled round the mosque to question the future of
themselves and their rulers. Abu Bekr addressed them at once, and it was
soon evident that he had them well in hand. He was supported by Omar and
the chief leaders, except Ali, who maintained a jealous attitude, chiefly
due to the feelings of envy aroused in the mind of Fatima, his wife, at
the sight of Ayesha's privileges. At last, when Abu Bekr had told the
circumstances of the Prophet's death, tenderly and with that loving
reverence which characterised him, the Faithful were attuned to the
acceptance of this man as their Prophet's successor. The chief men,
followed by the rank and file, swore fealty to him, and covenanted to
maintain intact and precious the Faith bequeathed them by their leader,
who had been also their guide and fellow-worshipper of Allah.
There remained only the last dignity of burial. The Prophet's body was
washed and prepared for the grave. Around it was wrapped white linen and
an outer covering of striped Yemen stuff. Abu Bekr and Omar performed
these simple services for their Prophet, and then a grave was dug for him
in Ayesha's house, and a partition made between the grave and the
antechamber. It was dug vaulted fashion, and the body deposited there
upon the evening of the day of death. The people were permitted to visit
it, and after the long procession had looked their last upon their
Prophet, Abu Bekr and Omar delivered speeches to the assembled multitude,
urging them to remain faithful to their religion, and to hold before them
continually the example of the Prophet, who even now was received into
the Paradise he had described so ardently and loved with such enshrining
desire.
Thus the Prophet of Islam, religious and political leader, director of
armies, lover of women, austere, devout, passionate, cunning, lay as he
would have wished in the simplicity of that communal life, in the midst
of his followers, near the sacred temple of his own devising. He had
lived close to his disciples, had appeared to them a man among men,
indued only with the divine authority of his religious enthusiasm; now he
rested among them as one of themselves, and none but felt the inspiration
of his energy inform their activities after him, though the manifestation
thereof confined itself to the violence necessary to maintain the
Prophet's domain secure from its earthly enemies.
Mahomet, indeed, in his mortal likeness rested in the quiet of Ayesha's
chamber, but his spirit still led his followers to prayer and conquest,
still stood at the head of his armies, urging to victory and plunder, so
that they might find in the flaunting banners of Islam the fulfilment of
their lusts and aspirations, their worldly triumphs and the glories of
their heavenly vision.