the foot of the ramparts of Taif and tried to take the town. After a
useless siege of twenty days, he preferred to give up all ideas of an
attack in favour of other means, slower but more sure, and instead of
invoking the wrath of the Divinity against the inhabitants, he said:
'O Allah! enlighten the people of Taif and inspire them with a desire
to come to Thy Apostle of their own free will!'
Despite the disappointment of his troops, he retook the road to
Makkah, camping at Al-Ji'rana where all the prisoners were collected,
as well as all the booty to be divided.
When the Prophet arrived, a female captive, Ash-Shayma, of the Banu
Sad, which was a fraction of the Hawazin, was struggling to escape
from the brutality of the soldiery. On perceiving Mohammad, she cried
out: 'O Prophet of Allah, I am thy foster-sister!'--'Prove it!'--'See
the scar on my shoulder where thou didst bite me when I carried thee,
a baby boy, on my back.'
The Prophet recognised the cicatrice. Much moved, he shed tears,
spread his mantle on the ground, and asked Ash-Shayma to sit down on
it. 'According to thy wish,' he said, 'thou wilt find generous
friendship by my side; or thou canst return to thy tribe with all the
gifts I'll lavish on thee.'--'Send me back to my people in the desert,
O Prophet! Such is my sole desire.' Mohammad set her free, after
having loaded her with presents.
A deputation of the Hawazin was presented to the Prophet, and Abu
Sorada, an old man belonging to the division of the Banu Sa's, spoke
in their name: 'O Prophet! among thy prisoners are thine aunts,
sisters of the wet-nurses who suckled thee. As for the male captives,
they were the companions of thy childhood--almost of thy race! In the
great misfortune which crusheth us, we implore thee in the name of
Allah! If, for the same reasons, we were forced to implore Al-Harith
ibn Abi Chammar, or Nu'man ibnu'l Mundhir, they would surely take pity
on us! Now thou art the best of nurslings!'--'Which do ye prefer: your
families or your property?' asked Mohammad, scarcely able to hide his
tender feelings.--' O Prophet! give our wives and children back to us.
We love them quite otherwise to our property.'--'I restore to you all
male and female captives belonging to the Banui Muttalib,' declared
Mohammad loudly.--'But those who are ours belong to the Apostle of
Allah!' cried the Mohadjirun and the Ansars immediately. Thus all the
prisoners, numbering about six thousand, were given up to the
delegates of the Hawazin.
The family of Malik ibn Awf formed an exception to this ruling.
Mohammad, however, charged those he had just liberated to make him the
following proposal: 'If Malik cometh to me and becometh a convert to
Islam, I will give him back his property. Nay, more--I will make him a
present of a hundred camels.'
Malik accepted. He left Taif secretly, and when converted, gave such
tokens of sincerity, that the Prophet appointed him as commander over
all the Mussulmans of the country. It was the best way to curb the
resistance of the inhabitants of Taif.
And so it turned out indeed, for this able leader, proud of the
investiture, at the head of troops stirred by faith, continued to war
against the Saquifs. By pitilessly raiding their flocks and caravans,
blocking them by hunger behind the ramparts of their city, he soon
compelled them to come in their turn and implore the Prophet's mercy,
when they were converted to Islam. The booty was considerable,
consisting of about twenty-four thousand camels and forty thousand
sheep. After the emotions of the affair of the prisoners, Mohammad
resolved to postpone the division of the plunder until another day,
and he mounted his she-camel. But his soldiers were so impatient to
share the spoils that they followed and importuned him. By accident,
they pushed his animal against a thorny shrub, and its branches tore
the mantle of Allah's Chosen One. 'Now, you men, give me back my
mantle!' he told them, and yielding to their entreaties, he returned
to see the booty shared among them.
He tried, above all, to ingratiate himself definitively with the
nobles of the city, by favouring them in all ways; and afterwards,
they were called "Al-mu'allafa qulubuhum," "those whose hearts have
been won over." Abu Sufyan and Mu'awiya his son; Hakim ibn Hizam,
An-Nadr ibn Al-Harith, Suhayl, Ikrimah Uyayna, Al-Ajra, and Safwan,
all received fifty camels each. This difference of treatment gave rise
to protestations. Ibn Mirdas manifested his dissatisfaction in a piece
of poetry: 'My share of the booty and that of Al-Ubayd have been
distributed to Oyama and Al-Ajra. And yet their fathers, Al-Hasan and
Al-Habis, never took precedence of my father in any assembly
whatsoever!'
The Prophet sent for him and asked: 'Hast thou composed these rhymes:
"My share of the booty and that of Al-Ubayd have been distributed to
Al-Ajra and Oyama?" changing the order of the two last names
mentioned; without noticing that he had thus broken the metre. In the
Qur'an, Allah says: "_We have not taught him (Mohammad) poetry._"
(XXXVI, 59.)
Abu Bakr pointed this out to him. 'No matter,' he replied. 'The
meaning remaineth the same.' And he gave orders to "cut the poet's
tongue" by granting him all he claimed.
An Arab of the Tamim tribe, Dhu'l Khuwaysira, dared to say to Allah's
Messenger: 'Thou wert unjust in thy division.' Umar started up. 'I'll
cut the throat of that insolent churl!' he shouted.--'Nay! let him go
his own road,' was Mohammad's simple reply.
The Prophet was obliged to resort to most skilful political measures
in order to spare all kinds of feelings during the division of these
riches; and to prevent dangerous jealousy arising among his disciples.
All the spoils, nevertheless, were nearly all allotted and he seemed
to have forgotten his devoted Ansars who, naturally, expected to rank
among the first to be rewarded. With ever-increasing surprise, they
saw no share offered to them and the rich bounty flowing into the
hands of the Quraish and the Bedouins.
At last there was no more left to give away and the Ansars exchanged
bitter remarks: 'By Allah, the Prophet thinketh only of his own
people. Now that, thanks to us, he hath returned victorious to his
birthplace, we are forgotten and neglected.'
Sa'd ibn Ubada, having heard these complaints, went and told Mohammad,
who said: 'Good! Call the Ansars together!'
When they were mustered, the Prophet came before them. 'O Assembly of
the Ansars!' he said; 'I have been told about your talk and the
sadness of your souls. Did I not seek you out when ye had been led
astray? Hath not Allah led you all into the right path? Ye were
unfortunate: hath not Allah made you happy? Each man was his brother's
enemy: hath not Allah reconciled your hearts?'--'Truly!' they answered
unanimously. 'Allah and His Apostle are the most compassionate and
generous!'--'And on your part,' he added, 'did ye not welcome me with
compassion and generosity when I was a homeless wanderer? Have ye not
the right to say to me: "Thou wert branded as an impostor and we put
faith in thee; thou wert east down and we helped thee to be
victorious; thou wert poverty-stricken and we made thee rich?"'--'Nay,
nay!' protested every man of the Assembly. 'We are indebted to thee
for everything and thou dost owe us nothing!'--'In that case,' he went
on, 'O Ansar comrades! how could you let the least feeling of
affection arise in your hearts concerning the fleeting riches of this
world, with which I have endowed certain persons in order to
strengthen their vacillating faith, whilst I knew that you were
unshaken. Know ye not that these people will return to their
homesteads with camels and sheep only, whilst ye will take the Prophet
of Allah back with you to your dwellings?... By Him who holdeth
Mohammad's soul in His hands, I swear that if the Arab tribes retired
into one valley and the Ansars into another, I would follow into the
valley of the Ansars. For me, the Ansars are as a shirt on the skin;
and for me, the other tribes are as the mantle outside everything. O
Allah, show mercy to the Ansars; to the sons of the Ansars; and to the
children of their children!'
These words, which the Prophet was unable to utter without betraying
intense emotion, mollified the entire Assembly. Tears of gratitude
flowed from the eyes of the Ansars so abundantly that their beards
were wetted. All cried out, sobs causing them to falter: 'Aye, verily,
we accept our share of the booty, for the most beautiful portion is
ours!'
[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Now hath Allah helped you in many
battle-fields, and, on the day of Hunain, when ye prided yourselves on
your numbers; but it availed you nothing._]
[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE EIGHTH]
[Illustration: _"Ad-da'wah" or the Invocation_]
[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Accomplish the Pilgrimage and the
Visitation of the Holy Places in honour of Allah._]
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH
[Sidenote: AYISHAH SLANDERED]
Quoth Ayishah: "During my return from the Mustaliq expedition,
pressing need compelled me to alight from my Hawdaj, (a kind of litter
carried on a camel's back). I found a lonely spot and stopped behind,
waiting until all the soldiers had marched past. But seeing my camel
halted, and thinking I was inside the hawdaj, they drove the animal
forward to ensure it remaining in line with the rest.
"When I came back and found my camel gone, I shouted despairingly; but
all in vain, until overcome by fatigue, I dropped down and fell
asleep. One of the rearguards, Safwan Ibnu'l-Mu'attal, catching sight
of me, recognised me and cried out: 'To Allah we belong and to Him
shall we return!' Having awakened me by this exclamation, he brought
up his camel, helping me into the saddle, and he led the animal by the
bridle until we rejoined the Prophet."
Scandalmongers got hold of the story and ascribed shameful motives to
this chance meeting. Despite the accused woman's protestations of
innocence, Mohammad felt suspicion gnawing at his heart, and he kept
Ayishah at a distance, greatly to the confusion of his father-in-law,
Abu Bakr.
At last, a Revelation called the accusers liars, and condemned
calumny: "_With Allah it was a grave matter_," (THE QUR'AN, XXIV, 14),
thus ridding the Prophet of all suspicion and putting an end to a
painful situation.
[Sidenote: THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF IBRAHIM]
In Year VIII of the Hegira, Mary, the Coptic concubine, gave birth to
a boy. The Prophet, who had never found consolation for the death of
his sons brought into the world by Khadijah, was beside himself with
joy. He gave a slave as a present to Abu Rafi'a, for having brought
the news that a son was born, and Mohammad declared that the child's
advent freed the mother.
On the seventh day, the baby's hair was shaved off and buried; two
sheep were sacrificed and alms were distributed to the poor. All the
wet-nurses vied with each other for the honour of suckling the
Prophet's son, who was called Ibrahim. He was given into the care of
Umm Burda, wife of Al-Bara ibn Aws, and she, was rewarded by the gift
of a palm-garden.
She took her nursling into the country, to the Banu Mazin, where the
Prophet went frequently to see his son. He used to take him in his
arms, unceasingly "smelling" him and covering him with kisses. The
affection he felt for the child's mother, Mary the Copt, also
increased, much to the great vexation of his other wives.
It happened, too, that he broke his strictly impartial household laws,
and granted Mary a night that rightly belonged to Hafsa, Umar's
daughter. She was grieved to the heart by her rights being forgotten
and reproached Mohammad so bitterly that he promised to cease all
intercourse with his freed slave on condition that Hafsa held her
tongue. But haughty Hafsa broke her word. She told her grievances to
Ayishah, who was likewise furiously exasperated at the favour shown to
Mary. It was now the turn of Hafsa to rouse the indignation of the
other joint wives.
Scenes, scandal and shrieks caused life to be unbearable; so,
renouncing all consideration and refusing to let his spouses dictate
to him, the Prophet put Hafsa away, after having blamed her severely
for her indiscretion. For a whole month, he refused to have anything
to do with his helpmates who, although there was now no cause for
jealousy, still continued their quarrels; each woman accusing the
other of being the cause of their common husband's neglect. All his
wives swore that in future they would not pester him with their
scolding.
But Mohammad kept his oath strictly. He sought seclusion in a room to
which access could only be had by a staircase of palm-tree trunks, and
where his sole couch consisted of a mat, of which the rough fibre made
dents in his flesh. His meals were brought to him by a black guardian
who stood--an inexorable sentinel--in front of the door, which
remained closed even to the most beloved among the Prophet's
companions. At last, on the twenty-ninth day, mindful of the grief
felt by Umar and Abu Bakr at the humiliation experienced by their
daughters, Hafsa and Ayishah, Mohammad took them both back, and all
his other wives as well, after he had recited the following verses:
"_If ye assist one another against the Prophet, then verily, Allah is
his Protector and Gabriel and every just man among the Faithful; and
the angels are his helpers besides. * Haply if he put you both away,
his Lord will give him in exchange other wives better than you:
Moslems, Believers, devout, penitent, worshippers, observant of
fasting._" (THE QUR'AN, LXVI, 4, 5.)
The joy and hopes accompanying the birth of Ibrahim were not destined
to last long. The child breathed its last sigh at the age of seventeen
months, under his father's eyes, and Mohammad could not repress
showers of tears.
Seeing the Prophet's grief and remembering that in cases of mourning
he forbade all lamentations, rending of garments, or laceration of
faces, Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Awf said to him: 'Thou also, O Messenger of
Allah?'--'O Ibn Awf!' he replied. 'Tears arise from compassion. They
are not prohibited like shrieks and lamentations which are
protestations inspired by the Evil One against the decrees of
Providence.'
Then, as his tears flowed in still greater abundance, he added: 'The
eyes shed tears; the heart is full of affliction, but we utter no
exclamation displeasing to the Lord. True resignation is manifested at
the first shock; as, later, time bringeth succour. O Ibrahim, we are
deeply saddened by being separated from thee; but we belong to Allah
and to Him shall we return!'
Zaira, mother of the wet-nurse, washed the poor little dead body;
Al-Fadl ibn al-Abbas and Usama ibn Zayd carried it to the cemetery of
Al-Bagi and lowered it into the grave. When the earth covered the son
on whom he had founded such great hopes, the Prophet prayed over the
tiny tomb, and exclaimed: 'Declare, O my son! Allah is my Lord, His
Messenger is my father, and Islam is my Religion!'
All who assisted at this scene were shaken by sobs. All of a sudden,
their faces took on a livid tint, which, at the same time, spread over
the earth, the sand, and the rocks. The azure of the sky changed to a
leaden hue; the sunlight paled and gradually faded away, although no
clouds gathered to veil it. An icy shudder, resembling that of fever,
caused the whole face of nature to be stirred; and the birds, with
cries of fright, took refuge in their nocturnal shelters. The last
rays, still illuminating surrounding objects with dim and sinister
light, began to die away and darkness came on in open day, whilst a
few twinkling stars appeared in the sky.
The people in terror knew not which way to turn so as to escape the
fearful cataclysm they anticipated. Many in the crowd, struck by the
phenomenon coinciding with the death of Ibrahim, cried out: 'O
Prophet! the eyes of the sun itself are dimmed by tears and it hath
departed to take part in thy mourning!'
The Prophet, struggling against his grief, drew himself up erect and
proclaimed in firm accents: 'Nay; it is not so. The Sun and the Moon
are two tokens of Allah's Almightiness. Like everything beautiful in
this world, their beauty is liable to be eclipsed by His orders....
But there is no eclipse for the death of any mortal!'
[Sidenote: GHAZWAH, OR EXPEDITION OF TABUK (_Jumada, Year VIII of the
Hegira, August A.D. 630_)]
At the battle of Mutah, the Christian Greeks learnt to their cost what
it meant to put the valour of Allah's warriors to the test; and in
their hatred of Islam's steady growth, they busied themselves in
mustering a most terrible army to crush it.
The Prophet heard of this. He resolved to be first in the field and
attack. Only his unshaken confidence in divine protection could have
inspired him with such temerity. How many thousands of soldiers must
he gather together so as not to court irretrievable disaster? Now the
moment was not in the least favourable: a long drought had withered
crops and herbage; flocks were decimated; horrible famine plunged the
whole region in desolation; and the torrid heat of the second half of
summer destroyed all energy. The harvest of the savoury fruit of each
oasis, watered by inexhaustible wells, alone promised to be abundant
and invigorating; and it was precisely when the Faithful were about to
profit by the only benefits of this lean year that the Apostle issued
his marching orders.
Secret discontent invaded every heart and the incorrigible
"Hypocrites" hastened to exploit it by hawking about everywhere
perfidious remarks, such as these: 'Do ye think this war against the
Banu'l-Asfar (the descendants of fair-headed Ishaq) will be child's
play, as was that against the swarthy sons of Ishmael? Remember that
arriving exhausted by the intolerable heat of the season and the
superhuman fatigue of the road, ye will have to face the Nazarene
soldiers encased in armour!'
These arguments, which would have been logical if the struggle had not
been in the cause of Allah, began to weaken the minds of those who
were hesitating. As for those who were convinced, they could not get
away from the unheard-of difficulties bound to be met with in feeding
the troops, by reason of the dearth of provisions; and means of
transport, in consequence of the scarcity of camels. Following the
lack of pasturage, the majority of these animals that had not
succumbed to hunger, were in a pitiful state of decline. All these
circumstances were unfavorable; but no obstacle could stop the Chosen
One.
As the "Hypocrites" met to conspire in the house of Suwaylim, a Jew,
the Prophet sent Talha ibn Ubaydu'llah to burn their den. They said,
"_March not out in the heat." Say: "A fiercer heat wilt be the fire of
Hell! Little then let them laugh, and much let them weep as the meed
of their doings._" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 82, 83.)
Caring nothing for his own toil, the Prophet spared no pains to
impress upon his disciples the grandeur of the goal. So as to arouse
general interest, he treated each man differently according to the
inward aspirations of his being. If in some he awakened the pure hope
of celestial satisfaction, suitable to their souls loving ideality; in
others, he did not discourage hopes of material gratification, such as
booty and profane pleasures.
Al-Jadd ibn Qays was a man of intrigue. He said to the Prophet: 'Thou
knowest that in my "qawm" no man loveth woman better than I. Now, I
fear I shall not be able to restrain myself at the sight of the
charming lasses of the Banu'l-Asfar. In that case, wilt thou blame
me?'
The Prophet avoided answering. Al-Jadd interpreted such silence as
showing that Mohammad promised to shut his eyes. The debauchee could
not repress a start of joy, despite the presence of his son, who made
a gesture of disapproval, and his father threw his sandal in the lad's
face.
Thanks to the indefatigable activity of their leader, it was not long
before the Believers were carried away by enthusiasm. The difficulties
to be overcome; the sacrifices to be made, instead of diminishing
their optimism, only succeeded in feeding it, and those whose poverty
or infirmities prevented them from joining the ranks of the fighters,
became so sad that they were nicknamed the "Bakka'un," or "Weepers."
Nevertheless, they are excused by this Revelation: "_It is no crime in
the weak, and in the sick, and in those who find not the means of
contributing, to stay at home, provided that they are sincere with
Allah and His Apostle. Nor in those who when they came to thee that
thou shoulsdt mount them, and thou didst say: "I find not wherewith to
mount you," and turned away their eyes, and shed floods of tears for
grief, because they found no means to contribute towards the
expense._" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 92, 93.)
Moved by their despair, the Prophet made an urgent appeal to the
devotion of all the Believers who, with admirable emulation, replied
at once by bringing considerable sums. Abu Bakr placed the whole of
his fortune at the disposition of the Prophet. Usman ibn Affan
furnished ten thousand warriors with provisions and weapons. All vied
with each other in acts of generosity and women stripped themselves of
their most precious jewellery.
The expeditionary force was soon organised and numbered between thirty
to forty thousand men; a figure hitherto unknown in Arabia. The troops
were assembled at the Sanniyat-ul-Wida pass. Seeing the exaltation of
the Believers, the "Hypocrites" considered it prudent to conceal their
sentiments, but they arranged to group themselves together in the rear
and when the army had disappeared behind the "Farewell Pass," the
shufflers dropped out, one after the other, and made their way back to
Al-Madinah.
Their conduct was not surprising, but unfortunately their fatal advice
had deterred four good Moslems from their duty: the poet Ka'b ibn
Mabk, Murara ibnu'r-Rabi', Hilal ibn Umayya and Abu Khaythama. The
latter, suffocated by the extreme heat and also, perchance, by
feelings of shame, went into his orchard, surrounded by protecting
walls. It was there, under intertwining palms and vine-branches with
leaves and grapes, which stretched like serpentine bind-weeds from one
date-tree to another, that two shelters were erected, built of
palm-tree trunks and foliage; so impervious to sunlight that the
obscurity therein seemed to be the shades of night. To complete the
resemblance, the mysterious darkness of each of these arbours was
illuminated by a young woman's face, as brilliant as the moon in the
fulness of its fourteenth night.
Kindly attentive as well as beautiful, these loving spouses had
carefully watered the sandy soil, whence arose exquisite, moist
odours. Ingeniously, too, they had hung up, in draughty corners,
oozing goat-skins in which water got to be as cool as snow; and they
had prepared delicate dishes of which the aroma sufficed to excite the
most rebellious appetite....
Abu Khaythama, bathed in sweat, powdered all over with sand,
experienced a sensation of Eden-like comfort, when he glanced at the
delights in readiness and was about to revel in enjoyment by lazily
stretching his limbs on soft rugs. But, suddenly, the emerald-tinted
reflection of the shade that gently caressed his tired eyes, was
furrowed by the flash of a vision:
In a gloomy, wild, boundless space, beneath the deep azure hue of a
cloudless sky, under the unbearable sting of a pitiless sun, a long
line of human beings dragged itself along with difficulty, coming into
view and then being lost to sight amid yellowish waves formed by rocks
or sandheaps.... He recognised these mortals. They were his brethren
in Islam. At their head was ... Allah's Chosen One!
'The Prophet leads an expedition, under yon blazing sky! And Abu
Khaythama is at rest, in this fresh shade, with fresh water and two
fresh beauties! No! that cannot be!' he cried; and turning to his
wives, each of them hoping to gain the preference: 'By Allah! I go not
into the shelter of any among you! I rejoin the Prophet! Prepare my
provisions for the journey; and that quickly!'
They obeyed. Releasing his camel, busy just then in drawing water, he
clapped on the saddle. Then he took down his sword, spear and shield
from where they were hanging, and without a look behind, abandoned
fresh shade, fresh water and fresh beauties, to hurry in the track of
the army. He rejoined it at Tabuk.