rushed to the aid of the Jews, their allies, but on arriving at the
Wadi'r Raji, they found that the Mussulman forces had outstripped them
and thus they were cut off from the road to Khaibar. Whilst brought to
a dead stop, disagreeably surprised, they heard noises behind them,
near their tents, and imagining that part of the Mussulman "qawm" had
been diverted to take them in the rear, they turned back in great
haste.
The palm-gardens of Khaibar, spreading between the sombre heights of
the Harra like an emerald lake whence emerged rocky, citadel-crowned
islets, came suddenly into view, after passing through a ravine. To be
able to take possession of them, the Prophet invoked the aid of the
Almighty. But night coming on, Mohammad postponed the attack till the
following day. When the first rays of the sun gilded the tops of the
date-trees, the Khaibar husbandmen left their strongholds to go in
their gardens; their spades, pickaxes and baskets hanging from their
shoulders. Suddenly, they found themselves confronted by the
Believers' army debouching from the Harra; spearheads and swords
reflecting the light of the rising sun in ensanguined radiance.
'Mohammad and his Jihsh!' they cried, and throwing away implements and
baskets, fled as fast as their legs would carry them. 'Allah is
great!' proclaimed the Prophet. 'Khaibar shall be destroyed. When we
swoop down on the territory of a nation, its awakening is terrible! Lo
and behold the sinister omen! On our behalf, its inhabitants abandon
their tools that will serve to undermine their ramparts and dig their
graves.'
The first of the many Khaibar citadels to fall into the Mussulmans'
hands was that of Na'im. It was there they had to mourn the loss of
Mahmud ibn Maslama, who, tired of having fought all day in the sun,
wearing heavy armour, had imprudently gone close to the rampart to
rest in the shade. A mill-stone, hurled from an embrasure, smashed the
valiant soldier's helmet, split his skull, and caused the skin of his
forehead to fall down over his eyes. In that parlous state, the
wounded man was brought into the presence of the Prophet who put the
strip of flesh back in its place, fastening a turban round it; but the
best of attention was unavailing in face of such a serious injury, and
it was not long before Mahmud gave up the ghost.
The citadels of Natha, the next to be invested, resisted more
obstinately. In order to force the besieged to capitulate, the Prophet
gave orders to cut down under their eyes four hundred palm-trees of
their oasis, but all in vain. He therefore put an end to such
devastation, contrary to his principles, for as he has said: 'Among
all trees, there is one which is blessed like a Mussulman: 'tis the
palm.'
The siege continuing, famine began to make itself felt, discouraging
the besiegers, when Umar, having taken a Jew prisoner, the captive, to
save his life, offered to give the Prophet valuable information. In
the cellars of Sa'b ibn Mu'adh, one of the Natha citadels, called
after the man, instruments of warfare of all kinds were stored:
battering-rams; catapults for siege purposes; and armour, shields,
pikes, lances and swords for the equipment of combatants. Just then,
this fort happened to be weakly garrisoned, and the Jewish captive
undertook to take the Mussulmans inside by means of a secret itinerary
known to him alone.
Mohammad having accepted the offer, seized upon Sa'b easily, and
thanks to the machines he found therein, which he used to destroy the
ramparts, he captured the remaining fortresses of Natha, one after the
other. They all contained provisions in abundance. While taking one of
these forts, the poet Amr ibn u'l-Uhayha, pursuing one of the enemy,
dealt him a furious sabre-cut, aiming at his legs to stop him in his
flight. But the blade, too short, striking the empty air, rebounded
from the force of the blow and pierced Amar's knee, setting up such
strong hemorrhage that he expired soon afterwards, being sacrificed by
his own hand, whilst fighting for Allah.
The most important of all the Khaibar citadels was still standing:
that of Al-Qamus, in which Kinana, Prince of the Banu-Nadir, had taken
refuge. It was defended by Marhab al-Yahudi, an illustrious warrior.
Built on the top of a vertical black rock, with smooth sides, and
surrounded by cleverly-designed fortifications, this fort was said to
be impregnable. After ten days of desperate efforts against the
ramparts, the Believers, however, succeeded in effecting a breach,
into which leapt the Prophet, setting the example to his companions;
but after having been in the greatest danger, he was compelled to
retrace his steps.
The shooting pains of neuralgia forcing him to take forty-eight hours'
rest, he entrusted the standard to Abu Bakr, who led an attack through
the breach, with the most ardent courage, but he also had to beat a
retreat at last. Umar took his place, accomplishing prodigies of
valour, likewise without success.
Hearing of their failure, Mohammad declared: 'By Allah! to-morrow I'll
confide the flag to an intrepid fellow, to whom flight is unknown. He
loveth Allah and His Messenger, and by them he is beloved. 'Tis he who
will capture Al-Qamus by sheer strength.'
Next day, all the companions clustering close to the Prophet were
anxious to learn who was the man among them to be so greatly honoured.
But without glancing at the group, he sent for Ali who had to remain
in the rear because he was suffering from painful ophthalmia. Led by a
friend, he came into the Prophet's presence. Ali's eyes were covered
by a bandage.
'Come hither, close to me,' said Mohammad. 'Take this flag and keep a
hold on it until the Almighty shall open a way for thee through these
ramparts.'--'I suffer cruelly from my eyes, O Prophet!' replied Ali.
'I cannot even see to walk.'
Mohammad made Ali rest his head in his lap; separated the young man's
swollen eyelids, and rubbed the bloodshot eyes with a little saliva.
All inflammation vanished immediately and every vestige of pain
disappeared.... The Prophet then buckled his own breastplate on Ali
and armed him with his own sword, celebrated under the title of
"Dhu'l-Fiqar".
Ali went towards the fortress, planting in the ground, close to the
ramparts, the white flag on which stood out in bold relief,
embroidered in black letters, the Islamic profession of faith. He then
got ready to storm the breach.... Al-Harith, at the head of a few
Jews, tried to bar the way and drive back the Mussulman hero, but the
leader of the children of Israel succumbed, struck down by Ali; and
the soldiers who had followed all ran away.
The brother of Al-Harith, Marhab, famous and feared, came now to the
front, eager for revenge. He produced an effect of terror by his
gigantic stature, double armour, a pair of swords, a three-headed
spear, a double turban; and his helmet on which sparkled a jewel as
big as an egg. His eyes, too, glistened like two carbuncles. Puffed up
by pride, he strode to the breach. 'The whole of the land of Khaibar,
from end to end, knoweth my valour! When war rageth, sometimes I
pierce with my lance; and sometimes I slice with my sword! Doth there
exist in all the world a champion who dare stand up against me?'
Without being moved by this bragging bombast, Ali showed himself to
take up the challenge: 'I'll be that man! Verily I, called by my
mother Haydra, the lion cub, in memory of my father, known as the
Lion. With my sabre I'll give thee good measure!'
Hearing this reply, Marhab became purple with rage. Brandishing his
scimitar, he rushed at Ali. The formidable blade hissed through the
air and it seemed as if the champion of Islam had just been
annihilated. But the sword of the terrible Jew was stopped by Ali's
shield in which it penetrated deeply and stuck therein. Without giving
his adversary time to drag it away, Ali loosened his hold of the
buckler, now useless and in his way, and replied to the attack by a
wonderful cut that split the helmet, turban and skull of his enemy,
scattering the brains in every direction. The steel was only stopped
by the Jew's teeth, forming barrier. The giant fell in a huddled heap,
like a tower ruined by an earthquake, in a cloud of dust, with a noise
as of thunder....
Seized with affright, the Jewish soldiers fled, pursued by Ali's men.
He tore from its hinges the heavy door of the ramparts and it served
him as a shield in place of the one broken in the fight. Resistance
was cut short and Al-Qamus, the impregnable, was captured by the
warriors of Islam.
When the fall of the famous fort became known, the Jews of Fadak and
of Wadi'l-Qura, two places a few days' march towards the north, sent
in their submission. In concordance with their co-religionists of
Khaibar, they supplicated the Prophet to let them live as farmers on
their estates which they alone knew how to cultivate properly; and to
allow them to take half of the crops as remuneration for their labour.
Mohammad consented, on condition that the Believers would have the
right to alter this decision, should they deem it necessary.
Khaibar was the most fertile land of all the Hijaz; the spoils were
therefore considerable. One half was set apart to defray the expenses
of the pilgrimage to take place during the current year; the rest was
distributed among the warriors. The land, with the exception of the
portion due to the Prophet and to orphans, was divided in such a way
that each man received one share, and each charger two shares; making
three shares for each horseman. This was done with the aim of
encouraging the breed of horses. A supplementary gift fell to the lot
of any soldier being the owner of a pure-blooded courser.
[Sidenote: IMPORTANCE OF HORSE-BREEDING ACCORDING TO THE PROPHET]
These measures show the importance attributed by the Prophet to the
equine race in the life of the Arabs.
Up till then, horses were very rare in Arabia, being looked upon as
articles of luxury, as it were. Led by the bridle by the side of the
camels ridden by the warriors, the steeds were only called upon when
charging or pursuing the enemy. The Prophet completed these
arrangements by founding race-meetings destined to develop emulation
among breeders and horsemen. In the Qur'an, so as to inspire Believers
with the fear, of the Day of Retribution, horses galloping breathless
are called to witness: "_By the panting chargers! * And those that
dash off sparks of fire * And those that scour to the attack at morn!
* And stir therein the dust aloft! * And cleave therein their midway
through a host! * Truly, Man is to his Lord ungrateful! * And of this
he verily is himself a witness * And truly he is vehement in the Love
of this world's good. * Knoweth he not, then, that when that which is
in the graves shall be torn forth * And that which is in men's breasts
shall be brought out * Verity their Lord shall on that day be well
informed concerning them?_" (THE QUR'AN, C, 1-11.)
Unfortunately, tame translation is powerless to give an idea of the
dizzy, whirling rhythm and the panting, galloping, neighing--if one
may venture so to write--assonance of the first verses of this surah.
One of the most celebrated horsemen of that epoch, Abdullah ibn Abi
Sarh, afterwards governor of Egypt and who inflicted cruel defeats on
the Romans, by land and sea, was such an enthusiastic admirer of this
surah that it was always on his lips, and he recited it even on his
deathbed.
Thanks to the vigorous impulsion given by the Prophet to
horse-breeding, the race of pure-blooded barbs unrivalled in the
world, was soon formed, to be kept up ever afterwards.
[Sidenote: THE POISONED LAMB]
After sunset, when the Prophet had said the prayer of "Magrib," he
went back to the camp. Near his tent, he saw seated the Jewess Zainab,
daughter of Al-Harith, and wife of Sallam ibn Mishkam. She awaited
Mohammad's coming to give him the present she had brought: a lamb
spitted on a spear, and which had been roasted at a fire fed with
aromatic wood from the desert. He thanked the woman, and when she had
taken her leave, he invited his companions to sit down and partake of
the roast. Its crisp, golden outer skin looked very tempting.
The Prophet was the first to fall to, twisting off a shoulder, into
which he bit and began to chew a morsel. Following his example, Bishr
ibn U'l-Bara took a mouthful of meat; masticating and swallowing it.
The other guests had already reached out their hands in like fashion,
when the Prophet spat out the piece he was chewing and stopped them
abruptly, shouting: 'Hold your hands! This shoulder hath just told me
that it is poisoned!'--'By Him who is Generosity incarnate!' exclaimed
Bishr, 'I thought that my mouthful had a peculiar flavour and guessed
what it meant; but seeing thee chew thine, I could not spit it out,
saving your reverence. If this poison should destroy thy life, what
liking can remain to me for mine?'
Scarcely had Bishr uttered these words than his face, overspread by a
blackish hue, became distorted, and he writhed on the ground, a prey
to unbearable suffering.
The Prophet sent at once for the Jewess and said to her: 'Thou hast
poisoned this lamb?'--'Who told thee so?'--'This!' and he showed her
the fragment of shoulder he held.--'It is true,' she confessed.--'Why
didst thou do this thing?'--'My father, my uncle, my husband and many
of my people have suffered the sad fate thou knowest of, by thy fault.
And I did think: if Mohammad is naught but a mighty monarch, I end his
days and glut their vengeance and mine. If, on the contrary, he is
truly a Prophet, he is in no danger, because his Allah will warn him
of my purpose.'
This clever answer calmed the Prophet and he was perchance on the
point of pardoning the guilty woman for her abominable crime, when
Bishr expired at that moment. Mohammad delivered the Jewess into the
hands of the dead man's relatives who came clamouring to be avenged.
Zainab was crucified and the remains of the fatal lamb were burnt.
Although the Prophet spat out the perfidious piece of meat almost as
soon as it passed his lips, the poison filtered through his body as
far as his entrails, and he never fully recovered from its pernicious
effects. Three years later, when fatally ill, Bishr's sister coming
into his house to ask after his health, he told her: 'The vein of my
heart was torn by the food I ate with thy brother, at Khaibar.'
[Sidenote: AMRATU'L-QADA OR THE PIOUS VISITATION (_Year VII of the
Hegira, A.D. 629_)]
At the same time as the expeditionary forces, laden with spoils, came
back from Khaibar, the last emigrants arrived from Abyssinia. Among
them was Jafar, son of Abu Talib and brother to Ali. Their return made
Mohammad very joyful. With sincere effusion, he kissed Jafar between
the eyes and declared: 'I know not which causeth me the greatest joy:
the taking of Khaibar, or the return of Jafar.'
Among those returning was also Umm Habiba, daughter of Abu Sufyan, the
Prophet's mortal enemy. She had emigrated with her husband,
Ubaydu'llah ibn Jahsh, but he was a convert to Christianity and had
died in Abyssinia, while she remained steadfast to Islam. As a reward
for such fidelity, as well as hoping to disarm by alliance one of his
most fierce adversaries, the Prophet had sent Amr ibn Umayya to the
Negus, asking to be married by proxy to Umm Habiba and to have her
sent back afterwards with the other emigrants. This being done, Umm
Habiba, on arriving at Al-Madinah, was received in the dwelling of her
illustrious husband.
As for the emigrants, Mohammad proposed that they should be allowed a
share of the Khaibar booty. This arrangement being ratified by
unanimous consent, they were thus compensated for having sacrificed
their property and left their country in order to remain true to their
faith.
The date on which the treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah gave the Prophet the
right to come to Makkah with his disciples to visit the Holy Places
having arrived, he was now on the point of being able to fulfil one of
his most ardent aspirations and also see his native land.
Followed by the same number of pilgrims, and driving before him the
same number of camels, destined to be sacrificed, as in the expedition
of Al-Hudaibiyah, he made his partisans disarm and left in the valley
of Batn Ya'jiju, a great quantity of weapons, brought as a
precautionary measure, in the care of a guard, two hundred strong,
commanded by Aws ibn Khawli. 'We only penetrate into the Holy Land,'
declared the Prophet, 'carrying the arms of the traveller: our swords
in their scabbards, according to the terms of our oath, but if we
detect in the glances of the idolatrous Quraish the slightest sign of
treachery, our other weapons will be found handy.'
He then pushed on. Self-communing, he climbed the Kuda hill, in order
to descend into the valley near the cemetery of Al-Hajun where rested
his beloved Khadijah (May Allah welcome her in His Grace!) When he
cast eyes on the first houses of Makkah, unspeakable emotion
overpowered him by reason of the remembrances and hopes they evoked.
Fearing lest treachery, on the part of the Infidels, should force him
to order reprisals, causing the blood of his fellow-countrymen to
sully the streets of the city where he was born, he cried out: 'O
Allah, spare us all misfortune in the Holy City!' He never ceased
repeating this request until he left the precincts of Makkah.
On the approach of the Believers, the leading citizens, exasperated at
the triumphant return of the men they had banished, went out of the
town and hid their impotent rage in tents pitched in the neighbouring
ravines. As for the mass of the inhabitants, like all mobs, they were
dominated by a feeling of curiosity and clustered either on the
heights of the Jabal Qu'ayqu'an, or on the terrace-roof of the
"Dar-un-Nadwa", House of Council, from which they were able to look
down into the interior of the Temple. From the gossip of the crowd
could be gathered the general hope: that the Prophet and his partisans
would arrive in a state of complete exhaustion, their blood and bodies
impoverished by the torrid summer heat and pernicious fevers of
Al-Madinah.
Forewarned by divine inspiration, Mohammad cautioned his companions.
'Allah will be merciful to those,' said he, 'who this day display
their bodily vigour.'
With the exception of the common people mustering on the roof of the
"Dar-un-Nadwa," the city was quite empty. The Prophet could have
captured it without striking a blow; but his soul, incapable of such
treachery, was entirely engrossed by pious thoughts. Riding his
she-camel, Qaswa, its bridle held by Abdullah ibn Rawaha, and
surrounded and followed by his disciples, he passed through the
outlying districts, under the eyes of enemies, without even honouring
them by a single glance. He alighted on the Temple threshold, wrapping
himself up in the folds of his mantle, by throwing one end over his
left shoulder, leaving his right arm and shoulder at liberty. Followed
and imitated by all the Faithful, he kissed the Black Stone and
performed the "Tawaf," the seven ritual circuits round the Ka'bah. The
three first were made with swift, measured strides (called "Ramal," or
"Harwala"), with a view of proving the fine state of health of the
Believers to the Infidels looking on. They shook their heads gloomily,
saying to each other: 'So these are the men described to us as
enfeebled by the heat and fevers of Al-Madinah!' At the bottom of
their hearts, the Unbelievers were forced to confess that such men as
these, their mental well-being surpassing even their bodily health,
were unconquerable. The four remaining circuits were made with slow
dignity, as Mohammad had no desire to demand useless efforts from his
partisans; and ever since that day, this manner of performing the
"Tawaf" is religiously copied by pilgrims.
[Illustration: _"Among all trees, one is blessed like the Mussulman,
'tis the palm," said the Prophet._ 2 views]
The Prophet then ordered Bilal to call the Faithful to prayer. When
the idolaters heard the resounding accents of the black freed slave,
reverberating in the echoes of the valley, they were so deeply annoyed
that they envied the fate of their illustrious dead, Abu Jabal and Abu
Lahab, prevented from hearing this call by the weight of the earth
piled on their graves. After the prayer, Mohammad again bestrode his
she-camel, to perform the "Sa'y" which is the run between the two
hills of Safa and Marwa. His example swept away the Believers'
scruples; for until then, they had hesitated about going through this
ceremony, being embarrassed by the presence of the idols Isaf and
Na'ila, set up at that spot.
By the performance of these rites, instituted by Abraham and
perpetuated by the Arabs, the Prophet had in view a nationalist and
political goal, which he wished to combine with his religious aims. If
he kissed the Black Stone, it was not by reason of a feeling of
superstitious worship which would have contradicted all the principles
of the Qur'an much too flagrantly, but solely through a feeling of
reverence for this relic of his glorious ancestor.
Quoth Ibn Abi Shayba, following Isa ibn Talha: "Addressing the Black
Stone, the Prophet declared: Verily, I know that thou art nothing more
than a stone, powerless to do harm, or be of any use. Then he kissed
it.... In this conjuncture, Abu Bakr, followed by Umar, one after the
other, came and kissed it, declaring: By Allah! I know that thou art
nothing more than a stone, powerless to do harm or be of any use, and
if I had not seen the Prophet kiss thee, I should not have kissed
thee!"
In like fashion, by the "Sa'y" and the ablutions at the well of
Zamzam, Mohammad kept alive the touching remembrance of the Arab's
ancestor Ishmael and of his mother Hajar (Hagar). "Being too weak to
carry any farther her wretched child succumbing athirst in a horrible
desert, Hajar placed her offspring on the ground in the shade of a
shrub and ascended a hill, hoping to see from afar a well or spring;
but all in vain. Then, fearing that the soul of Ishmael might have
escaped from his body, she came back, panting, to his side, and
climbed another hill for the same purpose, but with no more success
than before. So she went down again, tortured by the same anguish.
"Seven times did she run in despair between the two hills until,
maddened, she thought she would only find a corpse, when she caught
sight of her beloved son quenching his thirst at a spring which, by
order of the Compassionate, had gushed forth under the heel of the
poor child. And to this miraculous well was given the name of Zamzam."
In imitation of Hajar, pilgrims pass seven times along the path of
agony which she trod between the two hills known as Safa and Marwa,
and it is their duty to drink and perform their ablutions at the
Zamzam spring.
On the following day, in commemoration of the sacrifice of Abraham,
the victims were immolated in the valley of Mina. Their flesh was
shared among the pilgrims who, having shaved their heads, were once
again in the state of "halal," ordinary life, which they had
relinquished since Zu'l-Holifah.
While still in the state of "ihram," Mohammad, thanks to the special
privilege derived from his position as Allah's Messenger, married a
woman of Makkah, named Maimunah. She was fifty years of age and
extremely poor; but this matrimonial alliance was bound to bring
notable recruits to Islam. In the first place, her brother-in-law,
Al-Abbas, was Mohammad's uncle. He was her "wakil," or guardian, and
decreed her union with the Prophet. But the marriage was only
consummated at the first halt on the return journey to Al-Madinah.
Despite the rage of the idolatrous Quraish, who could not bear to look
upon the sight of their enemy's pilgrimage, the Prophet had gained his
end: to inform the Arabs of the whole of the Peninsula that he had no
intention of abolishing their secular traditions; but on the contrary,
would devote all his efforts to consolidate them, by restoring their
primitive purity.