Chapter L: Description Of Arabia And Its Inhabitants.—Part VI

The choice of Jerusalem for the first kebla of prayer discovers
the early propensity of Mahomet in favor of the Jews; and happy
would it have been for their temporal interest, had they
recognized, in the Arabian prophet, the hope of Israel and the
promised Messiah. Their obstinacy converted his friendship into
implacable hatred, with which he pursued that unfortunate people
to the last moment of his life; and in the double character of an
apostle and a conqueror, his persecution was extended to both
worlds. 135 The Kainoka dwelt at Medina under the protection of
the city; he seized the occasion of an accidental tumult, and
summoned them to embrace his religion, or contend with him in
battle. “Alas!” replied the trembling Jews, “we are ignorant of
the use of arms, but we persevere in the faith and worship of our
fathers; why wilt thou reduce us to the necessity of a just
defence?” The unequal conflict was terminated in fifteen days;
and it was with extreme reluctance that Mahomet yielded to the
importunity of his allies, and consented to spare the lives of
the captives. But their riches were confiscated, their arms
became more effectual in the hands of the Mussulmans; and a
wretched colony of seven hundred exiles was driven, with their
wives and children, to implore a refuge on the confines of Syria.
The Nadhirites were more guilty, since they conspired, in a
friendly interview, to assassinate the prophet. He besieged their
castle, three miles from Medina; but their resolute defence
obtained an honorable capitulation; and the garrison, sounding
their trumpets and beating their drums, was permitted to depart
with the honors of war. The Jews had excited and joined the war
of the Koreish: no sooner had the nations retired from the ditch,
than Mahomet, without laying aside his armor, marched on the same
day to extirpate the hostile race of the children of Koraidha.
After a resistance of twenty-five days, they surrendered at
discretion. They trusted to the intercession of their old allies
of Medina; they could not be ignorant that fanaticism obliterates
the feelings of humanity. A venerable elder, to whose judgment
they appealed, pronounced the sentence of their death; seven
hundred Jews were dragged in chains to the market-place of the
city; they descended alive into the grave prepared for their
execution and burial; and the apostle beheld with an inflexible
eye the slaughter of his helpless enemies. Their sheep and camels
were inherited by the Mussulmans: three hundred cuirasses, five
hundred pikes, a thousand lances, composed the most useful
portion of the spoil. Six days’ journey to the north-east of
Medina, the ancient and wealthy town of Chaibar was the seat of
the Jewish power in Arabia: the territory, a fertile spot in the
desert, was covered with plantations and cattle, and protected by
eight castles, some of which were esteemed of impregnable
strength. The forces of Mahomet consisted of two hundred horse
and fourteen hundred foot: in the succession of eight regular and
painful sieges they were exposed to danger, and fatigue, and
hunger; and the most undaunted chiefs despaired of the event. The
apostle revived their faith and courage by the example of Ali, on
whom he bestowed the surname of the Lion of God: perhaps we may
believe that a Hebrew champion of gigantic stature was cloven to
the chest by his irresistible cimeter; but we cannot praise the
modesty of romance, which represents him as tearing from its
hinges the gate of a fortress and wielding the ponderous buckler
in his left hand. 136 After the reduction of the castles, the
town of Chaibar submitted to the yoke. The chief of the tribe was
tortured, in the presence of Mahomet, to force a confession of
his hidden treasure: the industry of the shepherds and husbandmen
was rewarded with a precarious toleration: they were permitted,
so long as it should please the conqueror, to improve their
patrimony, in equal shares, for his emolument and their own.
Under the reign of Omar, the Jews of Chaibar were transported to
Syria; and the caliph alleged the injunction of his dying master;
that one and the true religion should be professed in his native
land of Arabia. 137

135 (return) [ The wars of Mahomet against the Jewish tribes of
Kainoka, the Nadhirites, Koraidha, and Chaibar, are related by
Abulfeda (p. 61, 71, 77, 87, &c.) and Gagnier, (tom. ii. p.
61-65, 107-112, 139-148, 268-294.)]

136 (return) [ Abu Rafe, the servant of Mahomet, is said to
affirm that he himself, and seven other men, afterwards tried,
without success, to move the same gate from the ground,
(Abulfeda, p. 90.) Abu Rafe was an eye-witness, but who will be
witness for Abu Rafe?]

137 (return) [ The banishment of the Jews is attested by Elmacin
(Hist. Saracen, p. 9) and the great Al Zabari, (Gagnier, tom. ii.
p. 285.) Yet Niebuhr (Description de l’Arabie, p. 324) believes
that the Jewish religion, and Karaite sect, are still professed
by the tribe of Chaibar; and that, in the plunder of the
caravans, the disciples of Moses are the confederates of those of
Mahomet.]

Five times each day the eyes of Mahomet were turned towards
Mecca, 138 and he was urged by the most sacred and powerful
motives to revisit, as a conqueror, the city and the temple from
whence he had been driven as an exile. The Caaba was present to
his waking and sleeping fancy: an idle dream was translated into
vision and prophecy; he unfurled the holy banner; and a rash
promise of success too hastily dropped from the lips of the
apostle. His march from Medina to Mecca displayed the peaceful
and solemn pomp of a pilgrimage: seventy camels, chosen and
bedecked for sacrifice, preceded the van; the sacred territory
was respected; and the captives were dismissed without ransom to
proclaim his clemency and devotion. But no sooner did Mahomet
descend into the plain, within a day’s journey of the city, than
he exclaimed, “They have clothed themselves with the skins of
tigers:” the numbers and resolution of the Koreish opposed his
progress; and the roving Arabs of the desert might desert or
betray a leader whom they had followed for the hopes of spoil.
The intrepid fanatic sunk into a cool and cautious politician: he
waived in the treaty his title of apostle of God; concluded with
the Koreish and their allies a truce of ten years; engaged to
restore the fugitives of Mecca who should embrace his religion;
and stipulated only, for the ensuing year, the humble privilege
of entering the city as a friend, and of remaining three days to
accomplish the rites of the pilgrimage. A cloud of shame and
sorrow hung on the retreat of the Mussulmans, and their
disappointment might justly accuse the failure of a prophet who
had so often appealed to the evidence of success. The faith and
hope of the pilgrims were rekindled by the prospect of Mecca:
their swords were sheathed; 1381 seven times in the footsteps of
the apostle they encompassed the Caaba: the Koreish had retired
to the hills, and Mahomet, after the customary sacrifice,
evacuated the city on the fourth day. The people was edified by
his devotion; the hostile chiefs were awed, or divided, or
seduced; and both Kaled and Amrou, the future conquerors of Syria
and Egypt, most seasonably deserted the sinking cause of
idolatry. The power of Mahomet was increased by the submission of
the Arabian tribes; ten thousand soldiers were assembled for the
conquest of Mecca; and the idolaters, the weaker party, were
easily convicted of violating the truce. Enthusiasm and
discipline impelled the march, and preserved the secret till the
blaze of ten thousand fires proclaimed to the astonished Koreish
the design, the approach, and the irresistible force of the
enemy. The haughty Abu Sophian presented the keys of the city,
admired the variety of arms and ensigns that passed before him in
review; observed that the son of Abdallah had acquired a mighty
kingdom, and confessed, under the cimeter of Omar, that he was
the apostle of the true God. The return of Marius and Scylla was
stained with the blood of the Romans: the revenge of Mahomet was
stimulated by religious zeal, and his injured followers were
eager to execute or to prevent the order of a massacre. Instead
of indulging their passions and his own, 139 the victorious exile
forgave the guilt, and united the factions, of Mecca. His troops,
in three divisions, marched into the city: eight-and-twenty of
the inhabitants were slain by the sword of Caled; eleven men and
six women were proscribed by the sentence of Mahomet; but he
blamed the cruelty of his lieutenant; and several of the most
obnoxious victims were indebted for their lives to his clemency
or contempt. The chiefs of the Koreish were prostrate at his
feet. “What mercy can you expect from the man whom you have
wronged?” “We confide in the generosity of our kinsman.” “And you
shall not confide in vain: begone! you are safe, you are free”
The people of Mecca deserved their pardon by the profession of
Islam; and after an exile of seven years, the fugitive missionary
was enthroned as the prince and prophet of his native country.
140 But the three hundred and sixty idols of the Caaba were
ignominiously broken: the house of God was purified and adorned:
as an example to future times, the apostle again fulfilled the
duties of a pilgrim; and a perpetual law was enacted that no
unbeliever should dare to set his foot on the territory of the
holy city. 141

138 (return) [ The successive steps of the reduction of Mecca are
related by Abulfeda (p. 84-87, 97-100, 102-111) and Gagnier,
(tom. ii. p. 202-245, 309-322, tom. iii. p. 1-58,) Elmacin,
(Hist. Saracen. p. 8, 9, 10,) Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 103.)]

1381 (return) [ This peaceful entrance into Mecca took place,
according to the treaty the following year. Weil, p. 202—M.
1845.]

139 (return) [ After the conquest of Mecca, the Mahomet of
Voltaire imagines and perpetuates the most horrid crimes. The
poet confesses, that he is not supported by the truth of history,
and can only allege, que celui qui fait la guerre a sa patrie au
nom de Dieu, est capable de tout, (Oeuvres de Voltaire, tom. xv.
p. 282.) The maxim is neither charitable nor philosophic; and
some reverence is surely due to the fame of heroes and the
religion of nations. I am informed that a Turkish ambassador at
Paris was much scandalized at the representation of this
tragedy.]

140 (return) [ The Mahometan doctors still dispute, whether Mecca
was reduced by force or consent, (Abulfeda, p. 107, et Gagnier ad
locum;) and this verbal controversy is of as much moment as our
own about William the Conqueror.]

141 (return) [ In excluding the Christians from the peninsula of
Arabia, the province of Hejaz, or the navigation of the Red Sea,
Chardin (Voyages en Perse, tom. iv. p. 166) and Reland
(Dissertat. Miscell. tom. iii. p. 61) are more rigid than the
Mussulmans themselves. The Christians are received without
scruple into the ports of Mocha, and even of Gedda; and it is
only the city and precincts of Mecca that are inaccessible to the
profane, (Niebuhr, Description de l’Arabie, p. 308, 309, Voyage
en Arabie, tom. i. p. 205, 248, &c.)]

The conquest of Mecca determined the faith and obedience of the
Arabian tribes; 142 who, according to the vicissitudes of
fortune, had obeyed, or disregarded, the eloquence or the arms of
the prophet. Indifference for rites and opinions still marks the
character of the Bedoweens; and they might accept, as loosely as
they hold, the doctrine of the Koran. Yet an obstinate remnant
still adhered to the religion and liberty of their ancestors, and
the war of Honain derived a proper appellation from the idols,
whom Mahomet had vowed to destroy, and whom the confederates of
Tayef had sworn to defend. 143 Four thousand Pagans advanced with
secrecy and speed to surprise the conqueror: they pitied and
despised the supine negligence of the Koreish, but they depended
on the wishes, and perhaps the aid, of a people who had so lately
renounced their gods, and bowed beneath the yoke of their enemy.
The banners of Medina and Mecca were displayed by the prophet; a
crowd of Bedoweens increased the strength or numbers of the army,
and twelve thousand Mussulmans entertained a rash and sinful
presumption of their invincible strength. They descended without
precaution into the valley of Honain: the heights had been
occupied by the archers and slingers of the confederates; their
numbers were oppressed, their discipline was confounded, their
courage was appalled, and the Koreish smiled at their impending
destruction. The prophet, on his white mule, was encompassed by
the enemies: he attempted to rush against their spears in search
of a glorious death: ten of his faithful companions interposed
their weapons and their breasts; three of these fell dead at his
feet: “O my brethren,” he repeatedly cried, with sorrow and
indignation, “I am the son of Abdallah, I am the apostle of
truth! O man, stand fast in the faith! O God, send down thy
succor!” His uncle Abbas, who, like the heroes of Homer, excelled
in the loudness of his voice, made the valley resound with the
recital of the gifts and promises of God: the flying Moslems
returned from all sides to the holy standard; and Mahomet
observed with pleasure that the furnace was again rekindled: his
conduct and example restored the battle, and he animated his
victorious troops to inflict a merciless revenge on the authors
of their shame. From the field of Honain, he marched without
delay to the siege of Tayef, sixty miles to the south-east of
Mecca, a fortress of strength, whose fertile lands produce the
fruits of Syria in the midst of the Arabian desert. A friendly
tribe, instructed (I know not how) in the art of sieges, supplied
him with a train of battering-rams and military engines, with a
body of five hundred artificers. But it was in vain that he
offered freedom to the slaves of Tayef; that he violated his own
laws by the extirpation of the fruit-trees; that the ground was
opened by the miners; that the breach was assaulted by the
troops. After a siege of twenty-days, the prophet sounded a
retreat; but he retreated with a song of devout triumph, and
affected to pray for the repentance and safety of the unbelieving
city. The spoils of this fortunate expedition amounted to six
thousand captives, twenty-four thousand camels, forty thousand
sheep, and four thousand ounces of silver: a tribe who had fought
at Hoinan redeemed their prisoners by the sacrifice of their
idols; but Mahomet compensated the loss, by resigning to the
soldiers his fifth of the plunder, and wished, for their sake,
that he possessed as many head of cattle as there were trees in
the province of Tehama. Instead of chastising the disaffection of
the Koreish, he endeavored to cut out their tongues, (his own
expression,) and to secure their attachment by a superior measure
of liberality: Abu Sophian alone was presented with three hundred
camels and twenty ounces of silver; and Mecca was sincerely
converted to the profitable religion of the Koran.

142 (return) [ Abulfeda, p. 112-115. Gagnier, tom. iii. p. 67-88.
D’Herbelot, Mohammed.]

143 (return) [ The siege of Tayef, division of the spoil, &c.,
are related by Abulfeda (p. 117-123) and Gagnier, (tom. iii. p.
88-111.) It is Al Jannabi who mentions the engines and engineers
of the tribe of Daws. The fertile spot of Tayef was supposed to
be a piece of the land of Syria detached and dropped in the
general deluge]

The fugitives and auxiliaries complained, that they who had borne
the burden were neglected in the season of victory “Alas!”
replied their artful leader, “suffer me to conciliate these
recent enemies, these doubtful proselytes, by the gift of some
perishable goods. To your guard I intrust my life and fortunes.
You are the companions of my exile, of my kingdom, of my
paradise.” He was followed by the deputies of Tayef, who dreaded
the repetition of a siege. “Grant us, O apostle of God! a truce
of three years, with the toleration of our ancient worship.” “Not
a month, not an hour.” “Excuse us at least from the obligation of
prayer.” “Without prayer religion is of no avail.” They submitted
in silence: their temples were demolished, and the same sentence
of destruction was executed on all the idols of Arabia. His
lieutenants, on the shores of the Red Sea, the Ocean, and the
Gulf of Persia, were saluted by the acclamations of a faithful
people; and the ambassadors, who knelt before the throne of
Medina, were as numerous (says the Arabian proverb) as the dates
that fall from the maturity of a palm-tree. The nation submitted
to the God and the sceptre of Mahomet: the opprobrious name of
tribute was abolished: the spontaneous or reluctant oblations of
arms and tithes were applied to the service of religion; and one
hundred and fourteen thousand Moslems accompanied the last
pilgrimage of the apostle. 144

144 (return) [ The last conquests and pilgrimage of Mahomet are
contained in Abulfeda, (p. 121, 133,) Gagnier, (tom. iii. p.
119-219,) Elmacin, (p. 10, 11,) Abulpharagius, (p. 103.) The ixth
of the Hegira was styled the Year of Embassies, (Gagnier, Not. ad
Abulfed. p. 121.)]

When Heraclius returned in triumph from the Persian war, he
entertained, at Emesa, one of the ambassadors of Mahomet, who
invited the princes and nations of the earth to the profession of
Islam. On this foundation the zeal of the Arabians has supposed
the secret conversion of the Christian emperor: the vanity of the
Greeks has feigned a personal visit of the prince of Medina, who
accepted from the royal bounty a rich domain, and a secure
retreat, in the province of Syria. 145 But the friendship of
Heraclius and Mahomet was of short continuance: the new religion
had inflamed rather than assuaged the rapacious spirit of the
Saracens, and the murder of an envoy afforded a decent pretence
for invading, with three thousand soldiers, the territory of
Palestine, that extends to the eastward of the Jordan. The holy
banner was intrusted to Zeid; and such was the discipline or
enthusiasm of the rising sect, that the noblest chiefs served
without reluctance under the slave of the prophet. On the event
of his decease, Jaafar and Abdallah were successively substituted
to the command; and if the three should perish in the war, the
troops were authorized to elect their general. The three leaders
were slain in the battle of Muta, 146 the first military action,
which tried the valor of the Moslems against a foreign enemy.
Zeid fell, like a soldier, in the foremost ranks: the death of
Jaafar was heroic and memorable: he lost his right hand: he
shifted the standard to his left: the left was severed from his
body: he embraced the standard with his bleeding stumps, till he
was transfixed to the ground with fifty honorable wounds. 1461
“Advance,” cried Abdallah, who stepped into the vacant place,
“advance with confidence: either victory or paradise is our own.”
The lance of a Roman decided the alternative; but the falling
standard was rescued by Caled, the proselyte of Mecca: nine
swords were broken in his hand; and his valor withstood and
repulsed the superior numbers of the Christians. In the nocturnal
council of the camp he was chosen to command: his skilful
evolutions of the ensuing day secured either the victory or the
retreat of the Saracens; and Caled is renowned among his brethren
and his enemies by the glorious appellation of the Sword of God.
In the pulpit, Mahomet described, with prophetic rapture, the
crowns of the blessed martyrs; but in private he betrayed the
feelings of human nature: he was surprised as he wept over the
daughter of Zeid: “What do I see?” said the astonished votary.
“You see,” replied the apostle, “a friend who is deploring the
loss of his most faithful friend.” After the conquest of Mecca,
the sovereign of Arabia affected to prevent the hostile
preparations of Heraclius; and solemnly proclaimed war against
the Romans, without attempting to disguise the hardships and
dangers of the enterprise. 147 The Moslems were discouraged: they
alleged the want of money, or horses, or provisions; the season
of harvest, and the intolerable heat of the summer: “Hell is much
hotter,” said the indignant prophet. He disdained to compel their
service: but on his return he admonished the most guilty, by an
excommunication of fifty days. Their desertion enhanced the merit
of Abubeker, Othman, and the faithful companions who devoted
their lives and fortunes; and Mahomet displayed his banner at the
head of ten thousand horse and twenty thousand foot. Painful
indeed was the distress of the march: lassitude and thirst were
aggravated by the scorching and pestilential winds of the desert:
ten men rode by turns on one camel; and they were reduced to the
shameful necessity of drinking the water from the belly of that
useful animal. In the mid-way, ten days’ journey from Medina and
Damascus, they reposed near the grove and fountain of Tabuc.
Beyond that place Mahomet declined the prosecution of the war: he
declared himself satisfied with the peaceful intentions, he was
more probably daunted by the martial array, of the emperor of the
East. But the active and intrepid Caled spread around the terror
of his name; and the prophet received the submission of the
tribes and cities, from the Euphrates to Ailah, at the head of
the Red Sea. To his Christian subjects, Mahomet readily granted
the security of their persons, the freedom of their trade, the
property of their goods, and the toleration of their worship. 148
The weakness of their Arabian brethren had restrained them from
opposing his ambition; the disciples of Jesus were endeared to
the enemy of the Jews; and it was the interest of a conqueror to
propose a fair capitulation to the most powerful religion of the
earth.

145 (return) [ Compare the bigoted Al Jannabi (apud Gagnier, tom.
ii. p. 232-255) with the no less bigoted Greeks, Theophanes, (p.
276-227,) Zonaras (tom. ii. l. xiv. p. 86,) and Cedrenus, (p.
421.)]

146 (return) [ For the battle of Muta, and its consequences, see
Abulfeda (p 100-102) and Gagnier, (tom. ii. p. 327-343.).]

1461 (return) [ To console the afflicted relatives of his kinsman
Jauffer, he (Mahomet) represented that, in Paradise, in exchange
for the arms which he had lost, he had been furnished with a pair
of wings, resplendent with the blushing glories of the ruby, and
with which he was become the inseparable companion of the
archangal Gabriel, in his volitations through the regions of
eternal bliss. Hence, in the catalogue of the martyrs, he has
been denominated Jauffer teyaur, the winged Jauffer. Price,
Chronological Retrospect of Mohammedan History, vol. i. p. 5.-M.]

147 (return) [ The expedition of Tabuc is recorded by our
ordinary historians Abulfeda (Vit. Moham. p. 123-127) and
Gagnier, (Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 147-163: ) but we have the
advantage of appealing to the original evidence of the Koran, (c.
9, p. 154, 165,) with Sale’s learned and rational notes.]

148 (return) [ The Diploma securitatis Ailensibus is attested by
Ahmed Ben Joseph, and the author Libri Splendorum, (Gagnier, Not.
ad Abulfe dam, p. 125;) but Abulfeda himself, as well as Elmacin,
(Hist. Saracen. p. 11,) though he owns Mahomet’s regard for the
Christians, (p 13,) only mentions peace and tribute. In the year
1630, Sionita published at Paris the text and version of
Mahomet’s patent in favor of the Christians; which was admitted
and reprobated by the opposite taste of Salmasius and Grotius,
(Bayle, Mahomet, Rem. Aa.) Hottinger doubts of its authenticity,
(Hist. Orient. p. 237;) Renaudot urges the consent of the
Mohametans, (Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 169;) but Mosheim (Hist.
Eccles. p. 244) shows the futility of their opinion and inclines
to believe it spurious. Yet Abulpharagius quotes the impostor’s
treaty with the Nestorian patriarch, (Asseman. Bibliot. Orient.
tom. ii. p. 418;) but Abulpharagius was primate of the
Jacobites.]

Till the age of sixty-three years, the strength of Mahomet was
equal to the temporal and spiritual fatigues of his mission. His
epileptic fits, an absurd calumny of the Greeks, would be an
object of pity rather than abhorrence; 149 but he seriously
believed that he was poisoned at Chaibar by the revenge of a
Jewish female. 150 During four years, the health of the prophet
declined; his infirmities increased; but his mortal disease was a
fever of fourteen days, which deprived him by intervals of the
use of reason. As soon as he was conscious of his danger, he
edified his brethren by the humility of his virtue or penitence.
“If there be any man,” said the apostle from the pulpit, “whom I
have unjustly scourged, I submit my own back to the lash of
retaliation. Have I aspersed the reputation of a Mussulman? let
him proclaim my thoughts in the face of the congregation. Has any
one been despoiled of his goods? the little that I possess shall
compensate the principal and the interest of the debt.” “Yes,”
replied a voice from the crowd, “I am entitled to three drams of
silver.” Mahomet heard the complaint, satisfied the demand, and
thanked his creditor for accusing him in this world rather than
at the day of judgment. He beheld with temperate firmness the
approach of death; enfranchised his slaves (seventeen men, as
they are named, and eleven women;) minutely directed the order of
his funeral, and moderated the lamentations of his weeping
friends, on whom he bestowed the benediction of peace. Till the
third day before his death, he regularly performed the function
of public prayer: the choice of Abubeker to supply his place,
appeared to mark that ancient and faithful friend as his
successor in the sacerdotal and regal office; but he prudently
declined the risk and envy of a more explicit nomination. At a
moment when his faculties were visibly impaired, he called for
pen and ink to write, or, more properly, to dictate, a divine
book, the sum and accomplishment of all his revelations: a
dispute arose in the chamber, whether he should be allowed to
supersede the authority of the Koran; and the prophet was forced
to reprove the indecent vehemence of his disciples. If the
slightest credit may be afforded to the traditions of his wives
and companions, he maintained, in the bosom of his family, and to
the last moments of his life, the dignity 1501 of an apostle, and
the faith of an enthusiast; described the visits of Gabriel, who
bade an everlasting farewell to the earth, and expressed his
lively confidence, not only of the mercy, but of the favor, of
the Supreme Being. In a familiar discourse he had mentioned his
special prerogative, that the angel of death was not allowed to
take his soul till he had respectfully asked the permission of
the prophet. The request was granted; and Mahomet immediately
fell into the agony of his dissolution: his head was reclined on
the lap of Ayesha, the best beloved of all his wives; he fainted
with the violence of pain; recovering his spirits, he raised his
eyes towards the roof of the house, and, with a steady look,
though a faltering voice, uttered the last broken, though
articulate, words: “O God!..... pardon my sins....... Yes, ......
I come,...... among my fellow-citizens on high;” and thus
peaceably expired on a carpet spread upon the floor. An
expedition for the conquest of Syria was stopped by this mournful
event; the army halted at the gates of Medina; the chiefs were
assembled round their dying master. The city, more especially the
house, of the prophet, was a scene of clamorous sorrow of silent
despair: fanaticism alone could suggest a ray of hope and
consolation. “How can he be dead, our witness, our intercessor,
our mediator, with God? By God he is not dead: like Moses and
Jesus, he is wrapped in a holy trance, and speedily will he
return to his faithful people.” The evidence of sense was
disregarded; and Omar, unsheathing his cimeter, threatened to
strike off the heads of the infidels, who should dare to affirm
that the prophet was no more. The tumult was appeased by the
weight and moderation of Abubeker. “Is it Mahomet,” said he to
Omar and the multitude, “or the God of Mahomet, whom you worship?
The God of Mahomet liveth forever; but the apostle was a mortal
like ourselves, and according to his own prediction, he has
experienced the common fate of mortality.” He was piously
interred by the hands of his nearest kinsman, on the same spot on
which he expired: 151 Medina has been sanctified by the death and
burial of Mahomet; and the innumerable pilgrims of Mecca often
turn aside from the way, to bow, in voluntary devotion, 152
before the simple tomb of the prophet. 153

149 (return) [ The epilepsy, or falling-sickness, of Mahomet is
asserted by Theophanes, Zonaras, and the rest of the Greeks; and
is greedily swallowed by the gross bigotry of Hottinger, (Hist.
Orient. p. 10, 11,) Prideaux, (Life of Mahomet, p. 12,) and
Maracci, (tom. ii. Alcoran, p. 762, 763.) The titles (the
wrapped-up, the covered) of two chapters of the Koran, (73, 74)
can hardly be strained to such an interpretation: the silence,
the ignorance of the Mahometan commentators, is more conclusive
than the most peremptory denial; and the charitable side is
espoused by Ockley, (Hist. of the Saracens, tom. i. p. 301,)
Gagnier, (ad Abulfedam, p. 9. Vie de Mahomet, tom. i. p. 118,)
and Sale, (Koran, p. 469-474.) * Note: Dr Weil believes in the
epilepsy, and adduces strong evidence for it; and surely it may
be believed, in perfect charity; and that the prophet’s visions
were connected, as they appear to have been, with these fits. I
have little doubt that he saw and believed these visions, and
visions they were. Weil, p. 43.—M. 1845.]

150 (return) [ This poison (more ignominious since it was offered
as a test of his prophetic knowledge) is frankly confessed by his
zealous votaries, Abulfeda (p. 92) and Al Jannabi, (apud Gagnier,
tom. ii. p. 286-288.)]

1501 (return) [ Major Price, who writes with the authority of one
widely conversant with the original sources of Eastern knowledge,
and in a very candid tone, takes a very different view of the
prophet’s death. “In tracing the circumstances of Mahommed’s
illness, we look in vain for any proofs of that meek and heroic
firmness which might be expected to dignify and embellish the
last moments of the apostle of God. On some occasions he betrayed
such want of fortitude, such marks of childish impatience, as are
in general to be found in men only of the most ordinary stamp;
and such as extorted from his wife Ayesha, in particular, the
sarcastic remark, that in herself, or any of her family, a
similar demeanor would long since have incurred his severe
displeasure. * * * He said that the acuteness and violence of his
sufferings were necessarily in the proportion of those honors
with which it had ever pleased the hand of Omnipotence to
distinguish its peculiar favorites.” Price, vol. i. p. 13.—M]

151 (return) [ The Greeks and Latins have invented and propagated
the vulgar and ridiculous story, that Mahomet’s iron tomb is
suspended in the air at Mecca, (Laonicus Chalcondyles, de Rebus
Turcicis, l. iii. p. 66,) by the action of equal and potent
loadstones, (Dictionnaire de Bayle, Mahomet, Rem. Ee. Ff.)
Without any philosophical inquiries, it may suffice, that, 1. The
prophet was not buried at Mecca; and, 2. That his tomb at Medina,
which has been visited by millions, is placed on the ground,
(Reland, de Relig. Moham. l. ii. c. 19, p. 209-211. Gagnier, Vie
de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 263-268.) * Note: According to the
testimony of all the Eastern authors, Mahomet died on Monday the
12th Reby 1st, in the year 11 of the Hegira, which answers in
reality to the 8th June, 632, of J. C. We find in Ockley (Hist.
of Saracens) that it was on Monday the 6th June, 632. This is a
mistake; for the 6th June of that year was a Saturday, not a
Monday; the 8th June, therefore, was a Monday. It is easy to
discover that the lunar year, in this calculation has been
confounded with the solar. St. Martin vol. xi. p. 186.—M.]

152 (return) [ Al Jannabi enumerates (Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii.
p. 372-391) the multifarious duties of a pilgrim who visits the
tombs of the prophet and his companions; and the learned casuist
decides, that this act of devotion is nearest in obligation and
merit to a divine precept. The doctors are divided which, of
Mecca or Medina, be the most excellent, (p. 391-394.)]

153 (return) [ The last sickness, death, and burial of Mahomet,
are described by Abulfeda and Gagnier, (Vit. Moham. p. 133-142.
—Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 220-271.) The most private and
interesting circumstances were originally received from Ayesha,
Ali, the sons of Abbas, &c.; and as they dwelt at Medina, and
survived the prophet many years, they might repeat the pious tale
to a second or third generation of pilgrims.]

At the conclusion of the life of Mahomet, it may perhaps be
expected, that I should balance his faults and virtues, that I
should decide whether the title of enthusiast or impostor more
properly belongs to that extraordinary man. Had I been intimately
conversant with the son of Abdallah, the task would still be
difficult, and the success uncertain: at the distance of twelve
centuries, I darkly contemplate his shade through a cloud of
religious incense; and could I truly delineate the portrait of an
hour, the fleeting resemblance would not equally apply to the
solitary of Mount Hera, to the preacher of Mecca, and to the
conqueror of Arabia. The author of a mighty revolution appears to
have been endowed with a pious and contemplative disposition: so
soon as marriage had raised him above the pressure of want, he
avoided the paths of ambition and avarice; and till the age of
forty he lived with innocence, and would have died without a
name. The unity of God is an idea most congenial to nature and
reason; and a slight conversation with the Jews and Christians
would teach him to despise and detest the idolatry of Mecca. It
was the duty of a man and a citizen to impart the doctrine of
salvation, to rescue his country from the dominion of sin and
error. The energy of a mind incessantly bent on the same object,
would convert a general obligation into a particular call; the
warm suggestions of the understanding or the fancy would be felt
as the inspirations of Heaven; the labor of thought would expire
in rapture and vision; and the inward sensation, the invisible
monitor, would be described with the form and attributes of an
angel of God. 154 From enthusiasm to imposture, the step is
perilous and slippery: the daemon of Socrates 155 affords a
memorable instance, how a wise man may deceive himself, how a
good man may deceive others, how the conscience may slumber in a
mixed and middle state between self-illusion and voluntary fraud.
Charity may believe that the original motives of Mahomet were
those of pure and genuine benevolence; but a human missionary is
incapable of cherishing the obstinate unbelievers who reject his
claims despise his arguments, and persecute his life; he might
forgive his personal adversaries, he may lawfully hate the
enemies of God; the stern passions of pride and revenge were
kindled in the bosom of Mahomet, and he sighed, like the prophet
of Nineveh, for the destruction of the rebels whom he had
condemned. The injustice of Mecca and the choice of Medina,
transformed the citizen into a prince, the humble preacher into
the leader of armies; but his sword was consecrated by the
example of the saints; and the same God who afflicts a sinful
world with pestilence and earthquakes, might inspire for their
conversion or chastisement the valor of his servants. In the
exercise of political government, he was compelled to abate of
the stern rigor of fanaticism, to comply in some measure with the
prejudices and passions of his followers, and to employ even the
vices of mankind as the instruments of their salvation. The use
of fraud and perfidy, of cruelty and injustice, were often
subservient to the propagation of the faith; and Mahomet
commanded or approved the assassination of the Jews and idolaters
who had escaped from the field of battle. By the repetition of
such acts, the character of Mahomet must have been gradually
stained; and the influence of such pernicious habits would be
poorly compensated by the practice of the personal and social
virtues which are necessary to maintain the reputation of a
prophet among his sectaries and friends. Of his last years,
ambition was the ruling passion; and a politician will suspect,
that he secretly smiled (the victorious impostor!) at the
enthusiasm of his youth, and the credulity of his proselytes. 156
A philosopher will observe, that their credulity and his success
would tend more strongly to fortify the assurance of his divine
mission, that his interest and religion were inseparably
connected, and that his conscience would be soothed by the
persuasion, that he alone was absolved by the Deity from the
obligation of positive and moral laws. If he retained any vestige
of his native innocence, the sins of Mahomet may be allowed as an
evidence of his sincerity. In the support of truth, the arts of
fraud and fiction may be deemed less criminal; and he would have
started at the foulness of the means, had he not been satisfied
of the importance and justice of the end. Even in a conqueror or
a priest, I can surprise a word or action of unaffected humanity;
and the decree of Mahomet, that, in the sale of captives, the
mothers should never be separated from their children, may
suspend, or moderate, the censure of the historian. 157

154 (return) [ The Christians, rashly enough, have assigned to
Mahomet a tame pigeon, that seemed to descend from heaven and
whisper in his ear. As this pretended miracle is urged by
Grotius, (de Veritate Religionis Christianae,) his Arabic
translator, the learned Pocock, inquired of him the names of his
authors; and Grotius confessed, that it is unknown to the
Mahometans themselves. Lest it should provoke their indignation
and laughter, the pious lie is suppressed in the Arabic version;
but it has maintained an edifying place in the numerous editions
of the Latin text, (Pocock, Specimen, Hist. Arabum, p. 186, 187.
Reland, de Religion. Moham. l. ii. c. 39, p. 259-262.)]

155 (return) [ (Plato, in Apolog. Socrat. c. 19, p. 121, 122,
edit. Fischer.) The familiar examples, which Socrates urges in
his Dialogue with Theages, (Platon. Opera, tom. i. p. 128, 129,
edit. Hen. Stephan.) are beyond the reach of human foresight; and
the divine inspiration of the philosopher is clearly taught in
the Memorabilia of Xenophon. The ideas of the most rational
Platonists are expressed by Cicero, (de Divinat. i. 54,) and in
the xivth and xvth Dissertations of Maximus of Tyre, (p. 153-172,
edit. Davis.)]

156 (return) [ In some passage of his voluminous writings,
Voltaire compares the prophet, in his old age, to a fakir, “qui
detache la chaine de son cou pour en donner sur les oreilles a
ses confreres.”]

157 (return) [ Gagnier relates, with the same impartial pen, this
humane law of the prophet, and the murders of Caab, and Sophian,
which he prompted and approved, (Vie de Mahomet, tom. ii. p. 69,
97, 208.)]