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held a council thereon, after several milder expedients had been rejected, they came to a resolution that he should be killed; and agreed that a man should be chosen out of every tribe for the execution of this design, and that each man should have a blow at him with his sword, that the guilt of his olood might fall equally on all the tribes, to whose united power the Hashemites were much inferior, and therefore durst not attempt to revenge their kinsman's death.

This conspiracy was scarce formed when by some means or other it came to Mohammed's knowledge, and he gave out that it was revealed to him by the angel Gabriel, who had now ordered him to retire to Medina. Whereupon, to amuse his enemies, he directed Ali to lie down in his place and wrap himself up in his green cloak, which he did, and Mohammed escaped miraculously as they pretend, to Abu Becr's house, unperceived by the conspirators, who had already assembled at the prophet's door. They in the mean time, looking through the crevice and seeing Ali, whom they took to be Mohammed himself, asleep, continued watching there till morning, when Ali arose and they found themselves deceived.

From Abu Becr's house Mohammed and he went to a cave in mount Thûr, to the south-east of Mecca, accompanied only by Amer Ebn Foheirah, Abu Becr's servant, and Abd'allah Ebn Oreikat, an idolater, whom they had hired for a guide. In this cave they lay hid three days to avoid the search of their enemies, which they very narrowly escaped, and not without the assistance of more miracles than one; for some say that the Koreish were struck with blindness, so that they could not find the cave; others, that after Mohammed and his companions were got in, two pigeons aid their eggs at the entrance, and a spider covered the mouth of the cave with her web, which made them look no farther. Abu Becr seeing the prophet in such imminent danger became very sorrowful, whereupon Mohammed comforted him with these words, recorded in the Korân,8"Be not grieved, for God is with us." Their enemies being retired, they left the cave and set out for Medina, by a by-road, and having fortunately, or as the Mohammedans tell us, miraculously escaped some who were sent to pursue them, arrived safely in the city; whither Ali followed them in three days, after he had settled some affairs at Mecca.

8

The first thing Mohammed did after his arrival at Medina was to build a temple for his religious worship; and a house for himself, which he did on a parcel of ground which had before served to put camels in, or as others tell us, for a burying ground and belonged to Sahal and Soheil the sons of Amru, who were orphans.' This action Dr. Prideaux exclaims against, representing it as a flagrant instance of injustice, for that, says he, he violently dispossessed these poor orphans, the sons of an inferior artificer, (whom the author he quotes call a carpenter) of this ground, and so founded the first fabric of his worship with the like wickedness as he did his religion. But to say nothing of the improbability that Mohammed should act in so impolitic a manner at his first coming, the Mohammedan writers set this affair in a quite different light; one tells us that he treated with the lads about the price of the ground, but they desired he would accept it as

See the notes to chap. 8. and 36.

It is observable that the Jews have a like tradition concerning David, when he fled from Saul into the cave; and the Targumi paraphrases these words of the second verse of Psalm lvii., (which was composed on occasion of that deliverance) "I will pray before the most gh God that performeth all things for me," in this manner; "I will pray before the most high God, who called a spider to weave a web for my sake in the mouth of the cave.' Al Beidâwi in Kor. cap. 9. Vide d'Herbel Bibl. Orient. p 445. Chap. 9.

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• Abulfeda Vit. Moham p. 50, &c. Ebn Shohnah. Abulfeda, ib. p. 52, 53. tatio Christiani contra Saracen. cap. iv. Prideaux's Life of Moham. p. 5.

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a present; however, as historians of good credit assure us, he actually bought it, and the money was paid by Abu Beer. Besides, had Moham ined accepted it as a present, the orphans were in circumstances sufficient to have afforded it; for they were of a very good family, of the tribe Naj jâr, one of the most illustrious among the Arabs, and not the sons of a carpenter, as Dr. Prideaux's author writes, who took the word Najjâr, which signifies a carpenter, for an appellative, whereas it is a proper

name.

Mohammed being securely settled at Medina, and able not only to defend himself against the insults of his enemies, but to attack them, began to send out small parties to make reprisals on the Koreish; the first party consisting of no more than nine men, who intercepted and plundered a caravan belonging to that tribe, and in the action took two prisoners. But what established his affairs very much, and was the foundation on which he built all his succeeding greatness, was the gaining of the battle of Bedr, which was fought in the second year of the Hejra, and is so famous in the Mohammedan history. As my design is not to write the life of Mohammed, but only to describe the manner in which he carried on his enterprise, I shall not enter into any detail of his subsequent battles and expeditions, which amounted to a considerable number. Some reckon no less than twenty-seven expeditions wherein Mohammed was personally present, in nine of which he gave battle, besides several other expeditions in which he was not present:' some of them however will be necessarily taken notice of in explaining several passages of the Korân. His forces he maintained partly by the contributions of his followers for this purpose, which he called by the name of zacât or alms, and the paying of which he very artfully made one main article of his religion; and partly by ordering a fifth part of the plunder to be brought into the public treasury for that purpose, in which matter he likewise pretended to act. by the divine direction.

In a few years, by the success of his arms (notwithstanding he sometimes came off by the worst), he considerably raised his credit and power. In the sixth year of the Hejra he set out with 1400 men to visit the temple of Mecca, not with any intent of committing hostilities, but in a peaceable manner. However when he came to al Hodeibiya, which is situate partly within and partly without the sacred territory, the Koreish sent to let him know that they would not permit him to enter Mecca, unless he forced his way; whereupon he called his troops about him, and they all took a solemn oath of fealty or homage to him, and he resolved to attack the city; but those of Mecca sending Arwa Ebn Masúd,* prince of the tribe of Thakîf, as their ambassador to desire peace, a truce was concluded between them for ten years, by which any person was allowed to enter into league either with Mohammed or with the Koreish as he thought fit.

It may not be improper, to show the inconceivable veneration and respect the Mohammedans by this time had for their prophet, to mention the account which the above-mentioned ambassador gave the Koreish, at his return, of their behaviour. He said he had been at the courts both of the Roman emperor and of the king of Persia, and never saw any prince so highly respected by his subjects as Mohammed was by his companions.

• Ahmed Ebn Yusef. * Vide Gagnier, See the notes on the Korân. cnap. 3.

Al Bokhâri in Sonna. ⚫ Al Jannâbi. Not. in Abulfed. de Vit. Mahom. p. 52. 53. • Vide Abulfed. vit. Moh. p. 158. This is erroneous. The ambassador was Sohail Ebn Amru. See note, chap. 48.

P. 36.

for whenever he made the ablution, in order to say his prayers, they rar and catched the water that he had used; and whenever he spit, they immediately licked it up, and gathered every hair that fell from him with great superstition.'

In the seventh year of the Hejra, Mohammed began to think of propa. gating his religion beyond the bounds of Arabia, and sent messengers to the neighbouring princes with letters to invite them to Mohammedism Nor was this project without some success. Khosrû Parviz, then king of Persia, received his letter with great disdain, and tore it in a passion, sending away the messenger very abruptly; which, when Mohammed heard, he said, God shall tear his kingdom. And soon after a messenger came to Mohammed from Badhân king of Yaman, who was a dependant on the Persians, to acquaint him that he had received orders to send him to Khosrû. Mohammed put off his answer till the next morning, and then told the messenger it had been revealed to him that night, that Khosrû was slain by his son Shirûyeh; adding that he was well assured his new religion and empire should rise to as great a height as that of Khosrû; and therefore bid him advise his master to embrace Mohammedism. The messenger being returned, Badhân in a few days received a letter from Shirûyeh informing him of his father's death, and ordering him to give the prophet no further disturbance. Whereupon Badhân and the Persians with him turned Mohammedans.

The emperor Heraclius, as the Arabian historians assure us, received Mohammed's letter with great respect, laying it on his pillow, and dismissed the bearer honourably. And some pretend that he would have professed this new faith, had he not been afraid of losing his crown.^

Mohammed wrote to the same effect to the king of Ethiopia, though he had been converted before, according to the Arab writers; and to Mokawkas, governor of Egypt, who gave the messenger a very favourable reception, and sent several valuable presents to Mohammed, and among the rest two girls, one of which, named Mary, became a great favourite with him. He also sent letters of the like purport to several Arab princes, particu larly one to al Hareth Ebn Abi Shamer king of Ghassân, who returning for answer that he would go to Mohammed himself, the prophet said, May his kingdom perish; another to Hawdha Ebn Ali, king of Yamâma, who was a Christian, and having some time before professed Islamism, had lately returned to his former faith; this prince sent back a very rough answer, upon which, Mohammed cursing him, he died soon after; a third to al Mondar Ebn Sâwa, king of Bahrein, who embraced Mohammedism, and all the Arabs of that country followed his example."

The eighth year of the Hejra was a very fortunate year to Mohammed. In the beginning of it Khâled Ebn al Walid and Amru Ebn al As, both excellent soldiers, the first of whom afterwards conquered Syria and other countries, and the latter Egypt, became proselytes of Mohammedism. And soon after the prophet sent 3000 men against the Grecian forces, to revenge the death of one of his ambassadors, who being sent to the governor of Bosra, on the same errand as those who went to the above-mentioned princes, was slain by an Arab of the tribe of Ghassân at Mûta, a town in the territory of Balkâ in Syria, about three days' journey eastward from Jerusalem, near

which • This Abulfi da

Abulfeda. Vit. Moh. p. 85. See before, p. 8. Abulfeda Vit. Moh. p. 92, &.c. • Al Jannabi. 8 It is however a different name from that of the Virgin Mary, the orientals always write Maryam or Miriam, whereas this is written Mariya. prince is omitted in Dr. Pocock's list of the kings of Ghassan, Spec. p. 77. ab: sap. p. 94, &c.

which town they encountered. The Grecians being vastly superior ›D number (for, including the auxiliary Arabs, they had an army of 100,000 men), the Mohammedans were repulsed in the first attack, and lost successively three of their generals, viz. Zeid Ebn Hâretha, Mohammed's freed man, Jaafar the son of Abu Taleb, and Abdâllah Ebn Rawâha; but Khâled Ebn al Walid succeeding to the command overthrew the Greeks with a great slaughter, and brought away abundance of rich spoil; on occasion of which action Mohammed gave him the honourable title of Seif min soyûf Allah, one of the swords of God.

In this year also Mohammed took the city of Mecca, the inhabitants where of had broken the truce concluded on two years before. For the tribe of Beer, who were confederates of the Koreish, attacking those of Khozâah, who were allies of Mohammed, killed several of them, being supported in the action by a party of the Koreish themselves. The consequence of this violation was soon apprehended; and Abu Sofiân himself made a journey to Medina on purpose to heal the breach and renew the truce; but in vain; for Mohammed, glad of this opportunity, refused to see him; whereupon he applied to Abu Becr and Ali, but they giving him no answer, he was obliged to return to Mecca as he came.

Mohammed immediately gave orders for preparations to be made, that he might surprise the Meccans while they were unprovided to receive him: in a little time he began his march thither, and by that time he came near the city his forces were increased to 10,000 men. Those of Mecca being not in a condition to defend themselves against so formidable an army, surrendered at discretion; and Abu Sofiân saved his life by turning Mohammedan. About twenty-eight of the idolaters were killed by a party under the command of Khaled; but this happened contrary to Mohammed's orders, who, when he entered the town, pardoned all the Koreish on their submission, except only six men and four women, who were more obnoxious than ordinary (some of them having apostatized), and were solemnly proscribed by the prophet himself; but of these no more than three men and one woman were put to death, the rest obtaining pardon on their embracing Mohammedism, and one of the women making her escape.

The remainder of this year Mohammed employed in destroying the idols in and round about Mecca, sending several of his generals on expeditions for that purpose, and to invite the Arabs to Islamism; wherein it is no wonder if they now met with success.

The next year, being the ninth of the Hejra, the Mohammedans call the year of embassies: for the Arabs had been hitherto expecting the issu of the war between Mohammed and the Koreish; but so soon as that tribe, the principal of the whole nation, and the genuine descendants of Ishmael, whose prerogatives none offered to dispute, had submitted, they were satisfied that it was not in their power to oppose Mohammed, and therefore began to come in to him in great numbers, and to send embassies to make their submissions to him, both to Mecca while he stayed there, and also to Medina whither he returned this year. Among the rest, five kings of the tribe of Hamyar professed Mohammedism, and sent embassadors to notify the same."

In the tenth year Ali was sent into Yaman to propagate the Moham

Abulf. Vit. Moh. p. 99, 100, &c. • Al Bokhâri in Sonna. This circumstance is a plain proof that the Koreish had actually broken the truce, and that it was not a mere pretence of Mohammed's, as Dr. Prideaux insinuates. Life of Moh. p. 94. Abulfed. ab sup. c. 51, 52. • Vide Gagnier, Not. ad Abulfed. p. 121. ubi sup. p. 128.

2 Vide • Abulfeda.

medan faith there, and, as it is said, converted the whole tribe of Hamdân in one day. Their example was quickly followed by all the inhabitants of that province, except only those of Najrân, who, being Christians, chose rather to pay tribute."

Thus was Mohammedism established, and idolatry rooted out, even in Mohammed's life-time (for he died the next year) throughout all Arabia, except only Yamama; where Moseilama, who set up also for a prophet as Mohammed's competitor, had a great party, and was not reduced till the Khalifat of Abu Becr. And the Arabs being then united in one faith and under one prince, found themselves in a condition of making those conquests which extended the Mohammedan faith over so great a part of the world.

SECTION III.

OF THE KORAN ITSELF, THE PECULIARITIES OF THAT BOOK; THE MANNER OF ITS BEING WRITTEN AND PUBLISHED, AND THE GENERAL DESIGN OF IT.

THE Word Korân, derived from the verb karaa, to read, signifies properly in Arabic, the reading, or rather, that which ought to be read; by which name the Mohainmedans denote not only the entire book or volume of the Korân, but also any particular chapter or section of it; just as the Jews call either the whole scripture or any part of it by the name of Karâh, or Mikra, words of the same origin and import. Which observation seems to overthrow the opinion of some learned Arabians, who would have the Korân so named, because it is a collection of the loose chapters or sheets which compose it; the verb karaa signifying also to gather or collect :" and may also, by the way, serve as an answer to those who object that the Koran must be a book forged at once, and could not possibly be revealed by parcels at different times, during the course of several years, as the Mohammedans affirm; because the Korân is often mentioned, and called by that name, in the very book itself. It may not be amiss to observe, that the syllable Al in the word Alkoran is only the Arabic article, signifying the; and therefore ought to be omitted when the English article is prefixed.

Besides this peculiar name, the Koran is also honoured with several appellations common to other books of scripture: as al Forkân, from the verb faraka, to divide or distinguish; not as the Mohammedan doctors say, because those books are divided into chapters or sections, or distinguish between good and evil, but in the same notion that the Jews use the word Perek, or Pirka, from the same root, to denote a section or portion of Scripture. It is also called al Moshâf, the volume, and al Kitâb, the book, by way of eminence, which answers to the Biblia of the Greeks; and al Dhikr, the admonition, which name is also given to the Pentateuch and Gospel.

The Koran is divided into one hundred and fourteen larger portions of

Abulfeda, ubi sup. p. 129. This name was at first given to the Pentateuch only. Nehem. viii. Vide Simon. Hist. Crit. du Vieux Test. lib. 1. c. 9. ' Vide Erpen. No. ad Hist. Joseph, p. 2. Marracc. de Alcor. p. 41. Vide Gol. in append. ad Gram. Arab. Erpen. 175. A chapter or sub-division of the Massictoth of the Mishna is Do called Pelek. Maimon. præf. in Seder Zeraim, p. 57.

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