wards his chief companions, and with a few others, were the only proselytes to the new religion before it became publicly known.

The mission of Mahomet had hitherto been secret, the time was now arrived at which the Lord commanded him to make it known. To this end he convened a large number of his kindred to a feast; forty of whom assembled round his board. The prophet rose, and thus addressed his wondering kindred:-"I know no man in the whole peninsula of the Arabs, who can propose to his relations anything more excellent, than what I now do to you. God Almighty hath commanded me to call you unto him; who therefore, among you will be my vizir, or assistant, and become my brother and vicegerent?" General astonishment kept the assembly silent; none offered to accept the proffered office, till the impetuous Ali burst forth, and declared that he would be the brother and assistant of the prophet. "I," said he, "O prophet of God, will be thy vizir; I myself will beat out the teeth, pull out the eyes, rip open the bellies, and cut off the legs, of all those who shall dare to oppose thee." The prophet caught the young proselyte in his arms, exclaiming, "This is my brother, my deputy, my successor; shew yourselves obedient unto him." At which apparently extravagant command, the assembly broke up in confusion, testifying their mirth and astonishment by bursts of laughter.*

Not discouraged by the failure of this, his first public attempt, Mahomet began now to preach openly before the people. He discovered to them that he was commissioned by the Almighty to be his prophet on the earth, to assert the unity of the Divine Being, to denounce the worship of images, to recall the people to the true and only religion, to bear the tidings of paradise to the believing, and to threaten the unbelieving with death and the terrible vengeance of the Lord. His denunciations were efficacious; as they were well fitted for the imaginations of an ignorant people. "Because he is an adversary to our signs, I will afflict him with grievous calamities; for he hath devised contumelious expressions to ridicule the Koran-may he be cursed. How maliciously hath he prepared the same!-may he be cursed. I will cast him to be burned in hell. And what shall make thee understand what hell is? It leaveth not any thing unconsumed, neither doth it suffer any thing to escape; it scorcheth men's flesh: over the same are nineteen angels appointed. We have appointed none but angels to preside over hell-fire." "Verily, we have prepared for the unbelievers chains, and collars, and burning fire." Verily those who disbelieve our signs, we will surely cast out to be broiled in hell-fire: and when their skins shall be well burned, we will give them other skins in exchange, that they may taste the sharper torment, These terrible sufferings were to be the lot of the wicked-the wicked were those whom Mahomet disliked. Those who dwell in gardens, i. e. paradise, shall ask one another questions concerning the wicked, and shall ask the wicked themselves, saying, what hath brought you into hell? They shall answer, we were not of those who were constant in prayer; neither did we feed the poor; and we waded in vain disputes, with the fallacious reasoners; and we denied the day of judgment, till death overtook us; and the intercession of interceders shall not avail them. What aileth them, therefore, that they turn aside from the admonition of the Koran? To deny the efficacy of the Koran; to dispute upon the truth and reasonableness of his mission, were naturally in Mahomet's eyes the most

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* Modern Universal History.

heinous sins. By his friendly voice the people were warned of the dangers of disbelief; and b sought by his moving eloquence to avoid eternal damnation, by putting faith in the APOSTLE OF GOD.

Among the most strange of Mahomet's stories promulgated at this period of his life, was the tale of his admission into the seven heavens, under the guidance of the angel Gabriel; through whose care and diligence he had been enabled in the course of one night to behold all the wonders of the heavenly regions, and to converse with the Almighty himself. He has described every thing upon a most extravagant scale; but unwisely endeavours to convey definite conceptions of the marvels he pretended to have witnessed. He relates by rule and measure, leaving nothing to the imagination of his hearers. -This was so long-that so broad-this had so many eyes—this so many tongues; and while he thus strives to swell the imagination by mere arithmetic, he renders himself and his description ridiculous. In the first heaven he saw a cock so large that his head reached to the second heaven, which was at the distance of five hundred days' journey, according to the common rate of travelling on earth; his wings were large in proportion to his height, and were decked with carbuncles and pearls; he crows so loud every morning, that all the creatures on earth, except men and fairies, hear the tremendous sound. The second heaven was all of gold; and one of the angels who inhabited it was so large, that the distance between his eyes was equal to the length of seventy thousand days' journey. In the seventh heaven was an angel having seventy thousand heads, in every head seventy thousand mouths, in every mouth seventy thousand tongues, in every tongue seventy thousand voices, with which day and night he was incessantly praising the Lord. Such were the peurile conceptions of the prophet! Of this famous journey we shall give no further account; a more stupid fable it is impossible to conceive.

The fable at first met with no favourable reception; its extravagance and its absurdity were a little too glaring to be immediately, and without trouble, acquiesced in.

The apostle, who was at first derided, came at length to be feared. The people flocked to hear his doctrines, and as they retired, wondering and believing, general consternation reigned among the governors of Mecca. Frightened by his growing influence, they imprudently endeavoured to arrest the evil, by punishing the offender. For some time, however, the power of Abu Taleb, the prophet's uncle, defended him against these hostile attacks, which served, by manifesting the alarm and hatred of the nobles, to increase Mahomet's fame and importance. Persecution gave him strength, by bringing him before the public. Once known, he gained sympathising listeners among the benevolent, because a persecuted man; and blindly believing votaries among the ignorant and fearful, because a bold and vehement declaimer against wickedness, as well as an eloquent describer of the horrible torments attached to unbelief. In the seventh year of his mission, the heads of the tribe of Koreish made a solemn league with one another, engaging themselves to have no commerce or connexion with the families of Hashem and Al Motalleb. While Abu Taleb lived the league was of no avail; the power of the uncle defended the nephew against the design of his enemies. At length at the end of the seventh year Abu Taleb died; and a few days after his death Mahomet was left a widower, by the decease of Cadijah. În his affliction he termed this fatal year the year of mourning.

The unprotected prophet was now completely exposed to the attacks of his

enemies. His only safety was in flight, and had not the city of Medina been friendly to his cause, the religion of Islam would have been crushed in the bud. The fame of Mahomet, however, had extended far beyond the walls of his native town. Distance, by shrouding him in mystery, increased his influence. While he was scorned at, derided, at Mecca, he was worshipped at Medina. A secret deputation from the city of Medina waited on the apostle, and an alliance was entered into " during two secret and nocturnal interviews, on a hill in the suburbs of Mecca." Seventy-three men, and two women, having professed the faith of Islam, as well as some yet unbelievers, met the prophet and proffered him assistance. "What recompence," said they, "have we to expect should we fall in your defence?" "PARADISE," exclaimed the confident apostle. They promised him fidelity and allegiance. Abu Sophyân succeeded Abu Taleb in the government of Mecca. In him Mahomet found a mortal enemy to his family, his religion, and himself. The idols, against which Mahomet had preached, were, by Abu Sophyân, devoutly revered; and the new religion abhorred as an incentive to the most horrible sacrilege. No sooner was he called to the head of the state than he determined to exterminate both the apostle and his religion. A council of the hostile Koreish was convened, and the death of Mahomet decided. The prophet declared that the angel Gabriel had revealed to him the atrocious conspiracy. We may safely suppose, nevertheless, that a human spy revealed the secret. However obtained, the information determined Mahomet to seek safety in flight; but so closely was he watched by his enemies, that he escaped only through the devoted zeal of Ali, who, wrapped in the green mantle of the apostle, lay down upon his bed and deceived the assassins, who besieged the house of his friend. Our applause is due to the intrepidity of the youthful zealot, even though he was zealous in favour of error. He who is willing to offer up his life in defence of the principles he deems correct, has made one important step towards being a perfect character; he has the will even if he have not the knowledge to be virtuous. Mahomet, in the mean time, with his faithful friend, Abubeker, escaped to the cave of Thor, three miles from Mecca, and there hid himself three days from his pursuers. A cherished tradition of the Arabs states, that the pursuers having arrived at the mouth of the cave, were deceived by the nest of a pigeon made at its entrance, and by a web which a spider had fortunately woven across it; believ. ing these to be sufficient evidence that no human being was within, they desisted from all further examination. Mahomet and Abubeker left the cave upon the departure of their enemies, and after a toilsome journey, arrived in safety at the friendly city of Medina. This flight of their prophet has become the Mussulman's æra, the well known Hejdira of the Mohammedan nations.* From a fugitive Mahomet became a monarch; no sooner had he arrived at Medina, than he found himself at the head of an army devoted to his person, obedient to his will, and blind believers in his holy office. The fugitives from Mecca, and the auxiliaries of Medina, (the two parties into which Mahomet's followers were now divided) gathered round their chief, and with friendly emulation vied with each other in obedience and in valour. To prevent all jealousy between the brethren, Mahomet wisely gave each one a friend and companion from the rival band; each fugitive had for his brother one of the auxiliaries. Their fraternity was continued in peace and in war, and during the life of the prophet their union was undisturbed by the voice of discord. * Hejdira, in Arabic, signifies flight. According to most authorities it happened 16th July, A. D. 622.

The first act of Mahomet after his arrival at Medina shows at least his policy, perhaps his devotion. He built a temple in which he might celebrate the offices of his religion, and publicly pray and preach before the people. The land upon which this temple or mosque was built belonged to two orphans; and the enemies of Mahomet have not failed to assert that he despoiled the helpless children of their property. The accusation, however, has been vehemently denied, and we cannot but feel that, in a stranger, in one depending entirely upon public estimation for his defence, it would have been the height of impolicy to have committed such an act at such a time. That Mahomet was a deep politician, no one has doubted; that to have robbed two orphans of their property would have rendered him and his religion unpopular is, we think, equally indisputable. How then can we believe him to have erred so egregiously at so critical a moment?

He now, in his own person, combined both the temporal and religious power; he was general of his armies, the judge of his people, and the religious pastor of his flock. And so intense was the devotion of his followers, that his spittle, a hair that dropped from his person, the water in which he washed himself, were all carefully collected and preserved as partaking of the apostle's holy virtue. The deputy of the city of Mecca beheld with astonishment this blind and devoted obedience and veneration. "I have seen," said he, "the Chosroes of Persia, and the Cæsar of Rome, but never did I behold a king among his subjects like Mahomet among his companions."

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While the religion of Islam had more to fear than to hope from persecution, the precepts of Mahomet breathed humility and benevolence. "Let there be no violence in religion," was the command of the prophet in Mecca; but in Medina, when at the head of an army, and able to combat with his enemies, he assumed a widely different tone. "O true believers! your necessary precaution against your enemies, and either go forth to war in separate parties, or go forth all together in a body. . . . Let them, therefore, fight for the religion of God, who part with the present life in exchange for that which is to come; for whosoever fighteth for the religion of God, whether he be slain or victorious, we will surely give him great reward." "And when the months wherein ye are not allowed to attack them, i. e. unbelievers, shall be passed, kill the idolaters, wheresoever ye shall find them, and take them prisoners, and besiege them, and lay wait for them in every convenient place." The commands of the prophet were followed to the letter. The first warlike attempt of the believers was, nevertheless, unsuccessful. Mahomet having learned that a caravan, the property of the hostile Koreish, was on its way from Syria to Mecca, dispatched his uncle, Hamza, with a party of thirty horse to capture it. Hamza, however, discovering the caravan to be guarded by three hundred men, desisted from his hostile enterprise, and returned without the expected booty. On the plain of Beder, Mahomet, at the head of his troops, effaced the shame of this failure. A rich caravan proceeding to Mecca, and guarded by Abu Sophyân, with between thirty and forty men, occasioned the contest. The spies of Mahomet informed him that this rich and apparently easy prey was within his grasp. He advanced with a few followers in pursuit of it; but before he could overtake the unprotected band, Abu Sophyân had sent for a reinforcement from Mecca. A troop, consisting of nine hundred and fifty men, among whom were the chief persons of the city, instantly

obeyed the summons. Mahomet was posted between the caravan and the coming succour, being able to oppose to this formidable force no more than three hundred and thirteen soldiers, mounted for the most part on camels; some few (according to some authors, not more than two) being mounted on

horses.

Undismayed by this disparity of force, Mahomet determined to try the event of a battle, and risk his fortune and perhaps his life upon the contest. The troops were persuaded to engage the superior forces of the enemy, and for the present to abandon the tempting prize of Abu Sophyan's rich caravan. Mahomet animated them by his prayers, and in the name of the Most High promised them certain victory. However assured he might have been of divine assistance, he was careful to let slip no human means of securing success. An entrenchment was made to cover the flank of his troop, and a rivulet flowed past the spot he had chosen for his encampment, and furnished his army with a constant supply of water. When the enemy appeared, descending from the hills, Mahomet ordered his soldiers to the attack; but before the armies could engage, three combatants, Ali, Al Hareth, and Hamza, on the side of the Moslems, and three of the Koreish, joined in single conflict. The Moslem warriors were victorious, and thus gave to both armies a presage of the coming engagement. The prophet, with Abubeker, at the commencement of the battle, mounted a pulpit, fervently demanding of God the assistance of Gabriel, and three thousand angels; but when his army appeared to waver, he started from his place of prayer, mounted a horse, and flinging a handful of dust into the air, exclaiming, “ May their faces be confounded," rushed upon the enemy. Fanaticism rendered his followers invincible; the numerous forces of the Koreish were unable to break the ranks or resist the furious attacks of his confiding soldiers. They fled, leaving seventy of their principal officers dead upon the field, and seventy prisoners in the hands of the enemy. Of the Moslems, only fourteen were slain: the names of the slaughtered warriors have been handed down to posterity, and enrolled among the list of pious martyrs, whom the faithful Mussulman is taught to worship. The victorious army stripped the dead bodies of their enemies, insulted, and threw them into a well. A more convincing proof of their barbarity and ignorance could not have been desired. The child in his anger beats the inanimate object of his displeasure; the savage, equally igno‐ rant, and unable to conceive the lifeless corse wholly destitute of will and consciousness, satisfies his ferocious vengeance, and exercises his brutal ingenuity on the inanimate trunk of the adversary. Only two of the prisoners, however, were sacrificed to the anger of the prophet. Al Nodar and Okba,

at his command, suffered death by the hand of Ali, the remainder were afterwards ransomed by their relations. Part of the caravan was captured, but the greater portion arrived safely at Mecca. The spoils, however, arising from the ransom of the prisoners, and the partial plunder of the caravan, amounted to a considerable sum: the fifth part taken for the prophet's share, being no less than twenty thousand dirhems of silver.

The Moslems now hoped to remain at peace; and for some time their expections were fulfilled. Tradition says that the disturber of this happy tranquillity was a Jew, the son of Al-Ashraf, by name Caab; who being a poet, deplored in touching verses the unhappy fate of those enemies of Manomet who fell at the battle of Beder, and had the hardihood to sing his poems to the people within the walls of Medina. Mahomet when informed of Caab's