broad valley where the verdant splashes of colour of more than one
oasis, encircling many villages or strongholds, stood out in gay, bold
relief on the dull hue of the arid landscape, the expedition had
reached the fringe of the frightful desert surrounding Al-Hijr, or
Mada'in Salih, the Thamud country. The sight of this inhospitable
region oppressed the hearts of the Believers. With its Harra, or
burning soil cracked and laid waste by celestial flames that marked it
with a distinguishing funereal hue of ashes and charcoal, it offered
to their view the most startling image of a country cursed by the
Almighty.
[Sidenote: THE THAMUD COUNTRY]
In the earliest ages, the idolatrous and debauched inhabitants of
Thamud, proud of the prosperity of their seven towns and massive
dwellings, hewn out of the solid rock, welcomed with derision the
Prophet Salih, sent by Allah to lead them in the right path.
So as to show them that his mission was genuine, Salih implored the
Most High to grant him the aid of a miracle. Thereupon, a rock split
itself, with a roar which may be compared to that of ocean waves, and
brought forth a wonder in the shape of a gigantic she-camel,
wonderfully hairy and advanced ten months in pregnancy. She dropped a
little foal, already weaned, and bearing an astonishing resemblance to
its mother.
Miracles have nearly always been powerless to convert hardened sinners
and the only result of this marvel was a recrudescence of perversity
among the people of Thamud. To testify how little they valued such a
portent, these impious wretches resolved to do away with the prodigy.
With sharp blades, they studded the two steep sides of a narrow rocky
pass, through which, each morning, the she-camel passed to graze in
the plains. In the evening, returning with her little camel, she
rushed through and tore her flanks most cruelly. The poor beast,
quivering, uttered groans and, it is said, the echo thereof resounds
even nowadays, from time to time. She dropped down and died at the
egress of the defile that was called: "Al-Huwayra,"--the
camel-foal--remarkable by reason of a rock that took on a faithful
resemblance to the young animal.
Salih, after such sacrilege, realised how useless were his efforts,
and called down the curse of Allah on the head of the Thamud people,
upon whom punishment was quickly inflicted: "_And they hewed them
out secure abodes in the mountains * But they rebelled against
their Lord's command: so the tempest took them as they watched its
coming ... * So that they were not able to stand upright, and could
not help themselves.... * We sent against them a single shout; and
they became like the dry sticks of the fold-builders._" (THE QUR'AN,
XV, 82. LI, 44, 46. LIV, 31.)
Ever since the wrath of Heaven destroyed its inhabitants, the country
of Thamud is deserted. The abodes of this ungodly people alone were
left and are still remaining. Under the brows of their frontals, the
wide-open doors look like the pupils of fantastic eyes, dilated by the
horror of the formidable sight they witnessed. The crevices scarring
the walls seem, likewise, to be mouths distorted by affright and
calling out to those who dare set foot in this desolate domain:
"Admire by our example, the vanity of mortals' pride and the emptiness
of their undertakings. Who can describe the mighty efforts by which
our masters carved us out of the heart of the mountain and adorned us
with slender pillars and graceful sculpture? Sheltered in our bosom,
stronger than iron, were they wrong to reckon that they were in
perfect safety?
"How mad were they! In vain their contracted hands clung despairingly
to the angles of our walls, the storm of divine wrath passed over
them ... and they disappeared for evermore. Even we tottered on our
foundations like unto the limbs of a man devoured by fever whose teeth
chatter noisily. If we were spared, it was only so that we might serve
as a lesson to travellers straying into our mournful land."
When the army of the Believers penetrated into the midst of
strangely-shaped stone blocks, emerging like reefs from a sea of sand,
and showing in their smooth sides the dark openings that were the
abodes of the people of Thamud, the Prophet covered his face with a
corner of his mantle, so as to avoid looking at these vestiges of
impiety. He closed his mouth and nostrils, not wishing to breathe the
impure air emanating from the ruins, and urged on his camel to get
away from them as quickly as possible.
Fearing lest irresistible curiosity might lead the Soldiers of Islam
astray, he exhorted them thus: 'If ye enter these dens of the ungodly,
do so only with tears in your eyes as ye recall their sad fate.' He
knew that tears of this kind, welling up by reason of such terrible
remembrances, would cause the attraction of curiosity to be dominated
by fear of the Almighty. Impressed, however, by the strangeness of
these dwellings, seemingly those of superhuman beings or evil spirits;
and by the deathly silence that reigned in these parts where formerly
a powerful people lived a riotous life of pride and debauchery, the
Faithful sought but to follow the example of their inspired guide and
flee from the accursed ruins.
Besides, the soldiers were urged onwards by thirst; and when, in the
midst of the sandy plains, the famous well of the Thamud people came
in sight where the she-camel of the miracle used to drink, they broke
their ranks in the greatest disorder, trying to outstrip each other,
racing to be the first to slake their thirst. The Prophet, who had
been unable to restrain them, hurried along with his she-camel, caught
them up, and gave his orders in accents of great severity: 'Beware of
that water, tainted by impiety. Take care not to use it for drinking
purposes; nor for your ablutions; nor for cooking your food! Let all
who have drunk of it, vomit it forth! Those who have kneaded "hays"
with it must throw that "hays" to their camels! Those who have used it
to cook their victuals must scatter those victuals on the ground
without touching them!' To put an end to all temptation, he ordered
the march to be resumed, without taking into account the fatigue or
the thirst of his troops.
His face still veiled by a fold of his mantle, the Prophet, obeyed and
followed blindly by his soldiers, among whom deception and suffering
had not caused the slightest murmur, soon reached the entrance to the
narrow, weird pass of the "Mabraku'n-Naqa."
Skirted on each side by crags from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred cubits high, the dark defile produced the most sinister
impression. The Faithful felt their breasts shrinking as if crushed
between the dizzy dominating walls. What they most feared was to hear
the resounding echoes of the miraculous, disembowelled she-camel. In
that case, no power on earth could have mastered the mad terror that
must have overwhelmed the animals ridden by the soldiers. By dint of
wild leaps and bounds, the camels would have thrown off their loads of
arms and food, and ridding themselves of their drivers, taken to
flight; when, after throwing down and trampling all those who might
have tried to stop them, the men must have been abandoned on foot in
the midst of the most frightful of all deserts.
The slightest noises, amplified by the sonorous echoes of the rocky
heights, made the Believers start and shudder. They went on in the
most profound silence, thinking only of how best to speed their
camels. At last the lugubrious passage was traversed; the soldiers'
breath came and went normally in their breasts now relieved of all
oppression, and a wide, open space, suitable for pitching the tents,
offered itself to their gaze.
When the Believers had finished the work of encampment, the Prophet
warned them that a heavy tempest would rage during the night, and he
enjoined them solemnly: 'Let those in charge of camels tie them
securely and no man leave his tent without a companion.'
They had scarcely time to give a look at the hobbles of their beasts
than the Prophet's prediction began to come true. The sun had set,
covered by a misty veil, contrasting with its habitual sumptuous
purple; its rayless pallor was the sign of an extraordinary storm.
All of a sudden, a brownish curtain sprung up from the horizon, to
drag in its moving folds the orb of day, and the shades of coming
night took on a tarry tint. The darkness thickened to such an extent
that each man might have thought he was struck blind. A strange
rumbling sound arose from the depth of the desert and approached with
incredible rapidity, soon changing its deafening uproar which might
have been taken for the hissing of monstrous vipers, accompanied by
diabolical vociferation. At the same moment, the camp was crushed by a
gigantic whirling spout of sand, tearing away in its gyrations
everything that was not securely fastened. The pitchy darkness gave
way to yellow obscurity, still more impenetrable to the eye.
Sheltered behind their camels, turning their backs to the tempest
whilst shuddering and snorting in terror, the Faithful veiled their
faces and covered their arms and legs, so as to guarantee their limbs
against the fury of the raging sand that sank painfully into their
flesh like thousands of wasps' stings. The soldiers flattened
themselves face downwards on the ground, digging in their nails;
holding fast in fear of being swept away like flock of wool....
Despite the horror of the hour, two soldiers forgot the formal
directions of the Prophet. One of them, urged by necessity, left the
encampment and at once fell suffocated. The other tried to run after
his maddened camel that had broken its trammels and galloped away,
only to be caught immediately in the whirlwind, and rolled round and
round in its spirals, like a pebble spinning when hurled from a sling;
and he was whisked up to the summit of the Jabala Tay. When told of
this, the Prophet exclaimed: 'Did I not forbid you to leave the camp
without a companion?'
He invoked the Mercy of the Compassionate in favour of the suffocated
soldier who gradually regained consciousness and came back to life. As
for the other victim, the Tay mountains restored him when the
expedition returned.
The hurricane, at last, after having exhausted its impotent fury
against the soldiers of Allah, passed away to ravage other regions
and the Faithful had no further accidents to deplore. But they were
broken down by their former difficult marches; and that night, instead
of granting invigorating rest, only brought them fresh fatigue. The
simoon having dried up the last vestiges of moisture in their bodies,
their thickened blood circulated difficultly in their veins and the
beatings of their temples led to unbearable singing in the ears.
What would become of them on the long road they still had to travel
before reaching the first well? The aspect of the surrounding country
was not at all calculated to encourage them. They fancied that they
were tramping through the ruins of a world destroyed by an
inconceivable outbreak of fire. A black line marked the horizon: the
never-ending Harra, which seemed in some parts to be formed of coal,
soot and ashes; and in others, of iron congealed when molten, with
enormous bubbles which, in bursting, had laid great crevices open,
bordered with scattered slag as sharp as broken glass....
There, at any rate, the flames were extinguished, whereas, on the way
they went, fires seemed to be still smouldering. Blocks of rock rose
up on all sides, like a real forest, and by their shape and colour,
they could bear comparison with gigantic tree-trunks, partly calcined
and partly incandescent. Some were distorted in such strange fashion
that, in the eyes of the Faithful, they looked like mouthing demons
escaped from Hell and posted where they stood to revel in the torments
of Allah's soldiers passing by.
Slippery slabs and pointed black stones of volcanic origin covered the
earth, except where it was carpeted by sand of dazzling whiteness
which, by its intense reverberation, kindled myriads of white-hot
embers under every stone and in all the windings and turnings of the
crags and peaks. Even in the depths of the sapphire sky, a hovering
vulture and a rare fleeting cloud were tinted with a bright orange
hue, as if they reflected the blaze of an immense furnace. To complete
the illusion, lofty pillars of sand hung over all these remains, like
columns of smoke issuing from a badly-extinguished conflagration.
The Believers' eyes, inflamed by the sandstorm, reddened by the
refraction on the dunes, produced--even in their sockets--the effect
of burning embers. Each time they put their feet, lacerated by the
pebbles of the Hammada, to the overheated ground, their sufferings
were unbearable. Their thickened saliva, mixed with impalpable dust,
formed a firm paste, which the throat would not allow to pass. Their
skin, stretched as on a drumhead, resounded at the slightest touch,
cracking in broad furrows, and split lips made speech impossible.
Some of the soldiers were a prey to delirium, caused by thirst; a sure
sign of death. To bring them back to life, the only resource of their
companions was to make the sufferers drink the liquid contained in the
stomach of a slaughtered camel, and to plaster the dying man's parched
breast with the still moist residue.
The Prophet endured the sufferings of each of his disciples, but at no
moment was his confidence shaken; he knew that if Allah often sees fit
to put His servants to the test, never does He abandon them. So
Mohammad never ceased to implore His mercy.
Would the day never come to an end? The sun, as if fastened in the sky
by invisible bonds, at last seemed determined to come down to earth.
The orb was veiled, as on the preceding eve; its ruby disc was
swallowed up on the horizon by the dark cloud in waiting and which,
travelling fast towards the zenith, covered the camp with an ebony
canopy, fringed with stalactites reflecting coppery tints. A series of
lightning flashes struck furiously against the sides of this cupola,
breaking it into a thousand fragments. From between them, large drops
of rain escaped, and then came more and more, to be followed at last
by a diluvian downpour. The poor, parched soldiers shuddered
delightfully in feelings of indescribable comfort when the blessed
shower, soaking through their garments, refreshed their racked limbs;
and they rushed to quench their thirst at the numerous pools which the
waters of the heavens, rolling in cascades on the bare slopes, formed
in every depression of the soil.
[Illustration: _The Pilgrims of Mount Arafa, on the Ninth Day of the
month of Zu'l Hijjah._ 2 views]
Thus reinvigorated, and their goat-skins filled again, the Believers
joyfully resisted the fatigue of the march between each successive
halting-place and finally emerged, safe and sound, from that accursed
region.
[Sidenote: ARRIVAL AND SOJOURN OF THE PROPHET AT TABUK]
A vast plain of sparkling sand, streaked by a thin line of a beautiful
peacock blue, now spread itself out to the gaze of the Prophet and his
men. This line, the goal of their efforts, soon became notched; and at
last appeared, sharply outlined on the turquoise sky, the slender
tufts of the palm-trees of which it was formed.
This was the oasis of Tabuk! No pen can describe the joy of those, who
having endured the anguish of thirst, arrived at this safe haven, an
oasis of date-trees; nor give an idea of the expression on their faces
when, having slaked their thirst and performed their ablutions, they
looked down on the crystal water rippling in the "Sawaqi;" nor of
their satisfaction when they laid themselves down in the light shade
of the palm-trees.
The Prophet's soldiers had got through the hardest part of their task.
They had triumphed over the obstacles opposed to them by Nature, and
henceforward could look with deep disdain on any barriers formed by
the weapons of the Infidels. Besides, thanks to the fantastic rapidity
with which tidings travel through the desert, their arrival at Tabuk
soon came to the ears of the Christians and the Syrian Arabs who had
formed a coalition to fight the Believers.
The enemies of Allah were overcome by stupor, for they had felt
certain that if the Prophet should try to carry out his audacious plan
at such a time of year, the bones of all the men of his army would be
scattered over the lonely Hijaz wilderness.
Therefore, in spite of their enormous numerical superiority, they
concluded that any struggle against forty thousand Believers who had
just accomplished this prodigious feat would be madness, and finish by
overwhelming their opponents with indescribable disaster. Strife broke
the ranks of their innumerable army, and each party it comprised fled
towards its own part of the country without having dared to face the
Prophet. The pitiful helter-skelter retreat of the allies enhanced the
magic power of Islam as greatly as the most brilliant victory; and if
Mohammad had not been kept back by the necessity of fulfilling his
mission in the Hijaz before any other undertaking, he could have
penetrated in the depth of the Palatinat almost without striking a
blow.
As it was, established at Tabuk, he received the eager submission of
the Arab lords who hurried to him, one and all, coming not only from
the vicinity, but also from distant regions, such as those of Sinai
and Syria. Alone, the proud Prince of "Dawmatu'l-Jandal," an important
town situated on the outskirts of the "Nefud" (Desert of Red Sand),
having refused submission, the Prophet sent Khalid the Terrible to
him; and he was brought to his knees at once.
During the few weeks' rest granted to his army, Mohammad never ceased
the work of organising the country and teaching new converts.
One event only saddened him in his success: the death of a most
devoted comrade, known as "Dhu Nijadayn," (the man with the two
shoulder-belts). To prove to all in what esteem he held this perfect
Mussulman, he insisted in helping, with his own noble hands, the
gravedigger to lower the body into the earth, and Ibn Mas'ud, jealous
at seeing the dead man so highly honoured, exclaimed: 'Ah! why am I
not buried in that tomb?'
[Sidenote: THE PROPHET GOES BACK TO AL-MADINAH]
The return journey took place without any incident worthy of
narration. The hot months having gone by, the army was spared the
pangs of thirst; and during the first days of the month of Ramadhan,
the soldiers re-entered Al-Madinah.
In such a moment, in the midst of the acclamations greeting the
returning, energetic soldiers, the perfidious "qawm" of the
"Hypocrites" knew not where to turn to hide their shame. To palliate
their meanness, they invoked the most specious pretexts in vain. The
Apostle did not even deign to honour them by resentment, reserved for
the shaming of the three Ansars, deterred from their duty by the
double-faced crew.
Despite the repentant humility of the abashed men, the Prophet
sentenced them most rigorously by putting them under interdict and
forbidding the Believers to have anything to do with them. The
delinquents were completely isolated and the Faithful fled from them
as if they were plague-stricken. Allah, notwithstanding, moved by
their remorse, pardoned them:
"_He hath also turned in Mercy unto the three who were left behind, so
that the earth, spacious as it is, became too strait for them; and
their souls became so straitened within them, that they bethought them
that there was no refuge from Allah but unto Himself. Then was he
turned to them that they might turn to him. Verily Allah is He that
turneth, the Merciful!_" (THE QUR'AN, IX, 119.)
The "Ghazwah" of Tabuk was the last expedition led by the Prophet. To
conclude the conquest of Arabia, he was satisfied thenceforth to send
his lieutenants to accomplish a certain number of "Saraya" or
expeditions, all fully successful, but which it would take too long to
describe here.
He dwelt in Al-Madinah, kept busy in receiving the numerous
submissions brought about by the victories of Islam. There were those
of the Princes of Dawmatu'l-Jandal; of the Yaman; of the Uman, of
Buhayra; of the Yamama; of Taif; of Najran, etc. He also devoted his
energies to the most difficult task of governing the Arabs, for the
first time united to form a people of brothers; and in his work as
legislator, he displayed the resources of as much genius as when he
was at the head of his armies.
About this time, the famous chief of the "Hypocrites," Abdullah ibn
Salul, died. Seized with remorse in his last moments, Abdullah
implored Mohammad's pardon and, despite the objections of ungovernable
Umar, the Prophet was not to be stopped from saying prayers over the
body of his perfidious foe and burying him with his own hands. After
this proof of clemency and forgetfulness of offences, there no longer
remained a single "Hypocrite" in Al-Madinah.
In his turn, Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, who had passed his life in composing
virulent satires against the Prophet, came to be converted by him, and
recited a poem which he had written in his honour. When Ka'b got as
far as the fifty-first verse:
"The Messenger of Allah is a flaming sword illuminating mortals; a
sword of India, unsheathed by Allah," Mohammad pardoned him, making
him a present of his mantle which he threw over the poet's shoulders.
After the return of his victorious lieutenants, the Prophet despatched
missionaries to the newly-converted tribes, in order to prevent them
backsliding by introducing any of their past superstitions into the
religion.
One of the principal missionaries was Mu'adh ibn Jabal, who was about
to set out for the Yaman. So that all should see the consideration he
attached to the mission entrusted to Mu'adh, the Prophet bound a
turban round his envoy's head, helped him to mount his camel, and
walked by the animal's side, giving final instructions. Mu'adh
confused, made as if to alight, but Mohammad stopped him. 'Remain in
the saddle, O sincere friend!' he said. 'I follow the orders of Heaven
and satisfy my heart. It is needful that a man performing important
duties should be honoured. Ah! if only I had hopes of seeing thee
again, I should cut our conversation short; but probably I now speak
to thee for the last time.' Much moved, they separated; never to meet
again in this world....
In the month of Zu'l-Qa'dah, the Apostle, ever mindful of the
religious and political importance of the pilgrimage to Makkah, sent
Abu Bakr to accomplish it at the head of three hundred Mussulmans.
Scarcely had Abu Bakr reached Zu'l Holifah, when the Surah of
"Bara'ah" was revealed:
"_O Believers! only they who join gods with Allah (that is to say,
those who in any way whatsoever, associate Allah the Only One with
other divinities or persons) are unclean! Let them not therefore,
after this their year, come near the Sacred Temple (of Makkah)._" (THE
QUR'AN, IX, 28.)
This Surah, remarkable as being the only one in the Qur'an without the
introductory form: "In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the
Compassionate," was of the greatest importance, in so far as the
pilgrimage was concerned. It forbid all who were not Mussulmans from
setting foot in Holy Territory and even nowadays this prohibition
being rigorously enforced, the pilgrims of Islam are safeguarded
against enemy spies, and protected from the unseemly curiosity of
foreigners.
This was also the final blow struck at idolatry among the Arabs who
could no longer come to Makkah unless they disowned their idols.
Consequently, the Prophet charged Ali to rejoin the pilgrims' caravan
in all haste and recite this imperative Surah to the assembled
Faithful, after the sacrifices had been made in the valley of Mina.
[Sidenote: THE VALEDICTORY PILGRIMAGE (_Zul-Hijjah, in Year X of the
Hegira, March A.D. 632_)]