The Life of Mohammad Part 10

"We took the required oath with unanimous enthusiasm: 'By Allah! we are war-children, and our fathers have taught us how to manufacture all weapons!'--'O Prophet!' broke in Abul Hasham, 'there exists a compact, between the Jews of Yasrib and us, which we shall have to break, perhaps, in order to uphold thy cause. What would be our position, in our land, if, after being victorious thanks to us, thou didst go back to thy "qawm"?'

"The Prophet smiled and protested: 'Rest easy on that score! Your blood hath become my blood and your honour, my honour. He who wrongeth you, wrongeth me. I'll fight the enemies you fight, and support whom ye support; ye are mine and I am yours! Choose then twelve Najibs among you as leaders.'

"After having consulted together, we chose nine Khazraj and three Aus.

When we brought the twelve men to him, he said: 'Ye shall be my delegates in your "qawm," as were the apostles of Jesus, son of Mary, among their people.'

"The Najibs pledged their words; but, just as the solemn oath was about to be sworn, Ibn-i-Ubadah rose and said: 'O a.s.sembly of the Khazraj and Aus! have ye reflected seriously anent the consequences of the compact ye intend to make with this man? For his sake ye swear to go to war with white, swarthy and black men. But if, in days to come, seeing your property pillaged and your n.o.bles ma.s.sacred, ye were to forsake him, shame would be brought upon you in this world and the next.'--'We are resigned in antic.i.p.ation to the loss of our property and to the death of our best men, if such a sacrifice is useful for the cause of Islam,' we replied unhesitatingly, 'but may we ask the Prophet what we shall receive in exchange?' He replied: 'Paradise!'

"_Who, from desire to behold the face of their Lord, are constant amid trials, and observe prayer, and give alms in secret and openly out of what We have bestowed upon them and turn aside evil by good: for these is the recompense of the abode * Gardens of Eden--into which they shall enter together with the just of their fathers, and their wives, and their descendants: and the angels shalt go in unto them at every portal: * Peace be upon you! say they, because ye have patiently endured! * And charming is the recompense of the Abode!_

"_So oft as they are fed therefrom with fruit for sustenance, they shall say, 'This same was our sustenance of eld!' But they will only resemble those of earth, being infinitely more delicious ... * And theirs shall be the Houris with large black eyes like close-kept pearls ... * No vain discourse shall they hear therein, nor charge of sin * We will remove whatever rancour was in their hearts ... and they shall say 'Praise be to Allah who hath guided us. .h.i.ther.' *_

"_And other things which ye desire will He bestow: Help from Allah and greedy conquest! ... * O ye who believe! be ansars of Allah! (i.e.

helpers, soldiers.)_ (THE QUR'AN, XIII, 22, 23, 24. II, 23. LVI, 22, 24. VII, 41. LXI, 13, 14.)"

"When they heard these promises of inconceivable bliss in Paradise, announced by such tokens as are understood by mortals' weak brains, the Faithful felt their souls filled with hope and said to the Prophet: 'Stretch out thine hand!' Mohammad offered his hand, opened out, the palm turned upwards; and Asad ibn Zarara came and struck it with his right hand, followed by Abul Hisham and Al Bara; and, one after the other, all the Yasrib pilgrims, who from that day forth called themselves, "Ansars."

"We were getting ready to return furtively to our encampment, our hearts br.i.m.m.i.n.g over with joy and hope, when, in the silence of the night, on the summit of the Aqabah, a voice resounded, the most shrill I had ever heard. 'O a.s.sembly of the Qurais.h.!.+' it shouted, 'be on your guard! The sons of the Khazraj and Aus have sworn to fall upon you with the sword!'

"We shuddered, but the Prophet removed our fears by saying: 'That is the voice of the demon of the Aqabah which means that Iblis (Satan) is shrieking. He is Allah's enemy, and his cry has not been heard by any of our adversaries.' We returned to our tents, where we found our fellow-citizens sleeping soundly, suspecting naught of that which had taken place.

"Nevertheless, upon awaking, next day, a deputation of Quraish n.o.bles arrived, warned either by the voice of Iblis, or by reports of spies d.o.g.g.i.ng the Prophet's footsteps. 'O a.s.sembly of the Khazraj and Aus!'

said these delegates, 'it hath come to our ears that ye have allured one of our men, Mohammad ibn Abdullah and taken an oath with him to wage war upon us.'

"The idolaters of our party, knowing nothing about the events of the night, swore with most evident sincerity that the Quraish were mistaken. 'This business is improbable!' exclaimed one of their chieftains, Abu Salul by name. 'My "qawm" would not have hidden it from me and I have heard naught about it.'"

The Quraish tribesmen went away, more or less tranquilised, but they met on their road some Bedouins who had been witnesses of the strange gathering in the Aqabah ravine and who imparted their suspicions. The Quraish, convinced of the treachery of the Khazraj and the Aus, turned back in great haste to the encampment. But the tents were struck; the birds had flown and were far off by that time, out of danger.

[Sidenote: THE PLOT AGAINST THE PROPHET]

Henceforward the Prophet could reckon on safety and shelter in the town of Yasrib and he gave orders to all his disciples to take refuge within its walls.

The idolaters could not help feeling great apprehension, by reason of their victims meeting with the inhabitants of a rival city. The wors.h.i.+ppers of images impeded the union by means of great violence, and it was only one by one, or in small, successive groups, that the Believers were able to reach their place of safety. From that day onwards, they took the name of "Muhajirun," or emigrants.

As for the Prophet, relieved of all anxiety concerning them, he stopped in Makkah with Ali and Abu Bakr only. They knew full well the risk they ran, but despite Abu Bakr's adjurations, Mohammad wished to make a supreme effort, and resort to force before leaving his native town. He still hoped to rescue some of his fellow-countrymen from idolatry, especially as he now had a shelter to offer them; and besides, he did not like to leave his post without authorisation from the Lord.

The emigration of the Believers carried the fury of the Quraish idolaters to the highest pitch as well as causing them great anxiety.

They resolved to strike a decisive blow.

They called a meeting in the "Dar-un-Nadwa," "House of Counsel," built by their ancestor, Qusayy ibn Kilab. The most important resolutions were taken in this "Dar-un-Nadwa," where only the descendants of Qusayy were admitted, but not until they had reached the age of forty.

Just as representatives of every division of the Quraish were entering the "House of Counsel," a tall, old man of haughty bearing, attired in woollen garments, appeared on the threshold. In reply to questions as to who he was and what he wanted, he replied: 'I am a Shaikh of the Najd. Attracted by your n.o.ble gait and the sweetness of your favourite scents, I feel great desire to hear you speak. If ye consent to admit me to your n.o.ble a.s.sembly, perchance my advice may not be entirely useless.'

The inhabitants of the Najd lived too far away to be suspected of acting in complicity with Mohammad, therefore the Committee of the Elders found that nothing prevented them from authorising the n.o.ble stranger to be present during the meeting, and he followed them into the hall of debate. The Head Committee started the discussion at once.

'We all know,' they said to each other, 'about the intrigues of this man Mohammad and the danger with which he threatens our country. We will talk over the best means of defence. Let each of us give his opinion freely.'

The first to speak was Abul Bukhtari who made this proposal: 'Let us cast our enemy into a dungeon, load him with chains, and bolt the door upon him until he die.'--'Such a proceeding would be fraught with fatal consequences,' the Shaikh of the Najd objected, 'if you carry it out. The news of your act of violence would filter through the prison gates and reach the ears of Mohammad's companions who, ye may be sure, would quickly attack you in order to free him. Thanks to a.s.sistance of the Yasrib Mussulmans, they would be victorious. Let us hear some one else's proposition.'

Asad ibn Rabiya rose and said: 'Why cannot we expulse him from among us and banish him from our country? When he is gone, little we reck where he taketh refuge or what becometh of him. We shall be well rid of him.'--'Truly, a fine piece of advice!' exclaimed the Shaikh of the Najd. 'Know ye nothing about the beauty of your adversary's speech, the charm of his voice and the strength of his arguments? Scarcely will he have set foot among the neighbouring Arab tribes, when he will dominate them by his eloquence, cause them to follow in his wake, and come back from exile at their head, to have his own way with you all!

Try and find a more reasonable plan to crush him.'

Then it was the turn of Abu Jahal. 'By our G.o.ds!' said he, 'I have a project which, I am certain, will satisfy you entirely.'--'Speak! What is thy plan?' exclaimed his audience.--'This is it. In each subdivision of our tribe we'll choose a young, vigorous warrior belonging to a family equally n.o.ble and respected, and we'll place in his hand a well-sharpened sword. These young warriors, banded together, shall throw themselves on Mohammad at the same instant; all striking him at once. By acting in this way, the responsibility of shedding his blood will be shared among all the subdivisions to which the murderers belong, and the Abd Manaf, relatives of the dead man, unable to declare war upon every subdivision of our tribe, will be obliged to content themselves with receiving the "Diyah" (blood ransom) that we may be good enough to offer.'--'These are words of intelligence!' exclaimed the Shaikh of the Najd, who was no other than Iblis (Satan) disguised in human shape. 'That man's motion points to the only way out of your difficulty.'

This perfidious counsel met with the unanimous approval of the a.s.sembly. The Unbelievers flattered themselves that their enemy was already got rid of, but they had reckoned without the will of the Almighty. The angel Jibra'il, sent by Him, warned the Prophet of the conspiracy to take his life, and brought him orders to emigrate in his turn, at the same time warning him as follows: 'Sleep not this night upon thy wonted couch.'

In Mohammad's house were several sums of money deposited with him by Unbelievers, and he did not care to go away before having given back what was due to each rightful owner. He charged his faithful Ali to carry this out, after having told him what he had just heard and saying: 'Sleep in my stead, on my habitual couch, and wrap thyself in this--my green mantle of the Hazramaut. Fear naught; no harm can come to thee from my enemies.'

When the first four hours of the night had gone by, the conspirators, among whom was Abu Jahal who had come to excite their zeal, were posted in ambush close to the door of the house, to prevent Mohammad from escaping. They did not wish to consummate their crime in darkness, for people might then have denied the partic.i.p.ation of the Quraish. They preferred to await daybreak, so that it might be plainly visible that each and every one had an equal share in the murder. But He who never sleeps watched over His Prophet surrounded by foes.

"_Verily on their necks, We have placed chains which reach the chin, and forced up are their heads * And before them have We set a barrier and behind them a barrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so that they shall not see._" (THE QUR'AN, x.x.xVI, 7-8.)

Confiding in the protection of his Lord, Mohammad crept quietly out of his dwelling, picking up some loose earth and throwing a handful or two on the head of each conspirator. He then went away. The eyes of the miscreants, beneath lids heavy with tedious waiting and blinded by the bandage of sleep that Allah had placed thereon, saw nothing.

'For whom are ye watching here?' quoth a pa.s.ser-by, coming on the scene.--'For Mohammad.'--'Allah hath saved him and he hath tricked you all. He hath just departed right under your noses and after covering your pates with dust, he strode away gaily.'

Each startled man swiftly clapped his hand to his head and, withdrawing his fingers dirty with dust, gave signs of stupefaction.

But, peering through a crack in the door, they saw Ali asleep on the Prophet's couch and wrapped in his green mantle. This sight set the villains' minds at rest and they all stood sentinel till dawn.

Actuated by the same impulse, when the sun rose, they battered down the door and with swords unsheathed, threw themselves on Ali. He sat up facing them. They recognised him and called out: 'How now! Can it be thee, O Ali? Where is thy companion?'--'I know not.'

In their fury at having been so finely tricked, they seized up Ali and imprisoned him in the Temple; but quickly recognising what a grave mistake they would make by being revenged on the son of Abu Talib, they set him free.

[Ill.u.s.tration: (Calligraphy) _And before them have We set a barrier and behind them a barrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so that they shall not see._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE FIFTH]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Interior of a Mosque._ _Al Mihrab: the niche marking the direction of Makkah._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: (Calligraphy) _And fight for the cause of Allah against those who fight against you._]

CHAPTER THE FIFTH

[Sidenote: THE HEGIRA, OR THE EMIGRATION OF THE PROPHET TO MADINAH]

At the moment when the Mohammedans were emigrating to Yasrib, Abu Bakr begged the Prophet to let him join them, but was answered thus: 'It is needless to hurry. Maybe Allah may give thee the companion thou dost prefer to undertake the journey in thy company.'

Hoping that this companion would turn out to be the Prophet in person, Abu Bakr purchased two swift she-camels, which he stabled in the courtyard of his house, feeding them liberally, and keeping them in readiness to take to the road.

Ayishah has said: "The Prophet, who never let a day go by, without coming to see my father, morning or evening, arrived suddenly at an unwonted hour. Abu Bakr guessed that some serious matter brought his son-in-law to our dwelling, and made room for him on the bench. The Prophet sat down and told him: 'Allah authoriseth me to depart from Makkah with my "qawm." My turn hath come to emigrate.'--'With me, O Prophet! in company with me?' supplicated Abu Bakr, plying him with questions. 'Yea, in thy company.'--'At this answer, tears of joy such as I had never seen before, welled up in my father's eyes, and he apprised Mohammad of his preparations for travel.'"

The she-camels, in rare fettle, were handed over to Ibn-i-Arqas, an idolater, but in whom, nevertheless, Abu Bakr placed great confidence.

Ibn-i-Arqas was to take them to graze, and three days later, lead them to a meeting-place appointed at the mouth of a cave in the Jabal Saur, about an hour and half's walk from Makkah, on the road leading to the sea. Ibn-i-Arqas would then serve as a guide as far as Yasrib.