Part 6

The danger he had risked in these circumstances did not prevent the Prophet from returning to the Ka'bah to perform his devotions, without letting the furious glances of his assembled adversaries trouble him. Acting under the orders of Abu Jahal, a man fetched some sheeps' entrails from the slaughter-house. He chose those of an animal that had been killed several days before, and while the Prophet was prostrate as he prayed, the rascal covered the nape of his neck and his shoulders with the offal. All those present were seized with such outrageous fits of mirth that they fell seated on the ground, rolling one against the other. As for Allah's Elect, he seemed not even to have noticed the affront offered to him, and continued to pray. It was his daughter Fatimah who, arriving a few moments later, threw the filth far from her father, and railed at the wretches who had belittled themselves by the infliction of such a repulsive insult.

On a par with Abu Jahal, ranking with those who are branded eternally in history's pages on account of their atrocious treatment of the Prophet, was one of his uncles, a son of Abu Muttalib, surnamed Abu Lahab, "The Man Vowed to Hell-fire." Mohammad was preaching one day on the hill of Safa, in the midst of a crowd of inhabitants of that region, when Abu Lahab interrupted him rudely. 'Mayst thou be annihilated!' he bawled; 'thou who hast called us together to listen to such nonsense!' To this insult the following surah of the Qur'an (CXI) replies: "_Let the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and let himself perish! * His wealth and his gains shall avail him not. * Burned shall he be at the fiery flame, * And his wife laden with the fire-wood, * On her neck a rope of twisted palm-fibre._"

This Surah, quickly becoming renowned, increased Abu Lahab's resentment and probably had even more effect on that of his wife, Umm Jemil, who found herself attacked therein in a way that was as annoying as it was deserved. To be nicknamed "carrier of fire-wood" was past endurance; but had she not, on one occasion, strewn the path of Mohammad with thorny branches; had not her tongue lit up the fires of hatred with the faggots of calumny that she hawked about everywhere? The odious couple resorted shamelessly to the vilest acts, daily throwing heaps of filth on the terrace of Mohammad's house or in front of his door, for he was their neighbour.

Worked up or terrorised by these fanatics, most of the dwellers in Makkah repulsed the Prophet or avoided him. Children and wastrels pursued him with their jibes in the street. He was perfectly indifferent to such provocations. What was it all to him? Nothing more than a passing breeze. He never even seemed to notice the persons who acted thus; he only looked at those he hoped to convert.

[Sidenote: THE INCIDENT OF THE BLIND MAN]

It happened one day when Mohammad had taken in hand some of the most noted townsmen who were beginning to be moved by his arguments, that a blind pauper, Ibn Umm Maktum, came forward, and humbly begged to be granted a small share of the knowledge vouchsafed to the Prophet by Allah. Engrossed in his discussion with the citizens whose conversion he so ardently desired; fearing, too, to miss an opportunity which might never occur again, Mohammad was seized with a fit of momentary vexation and replied curtly to the blind man, who stumbled away sorrowfully without having been enlightened.

Immediately afterwards, the Prophet fell a prey to remorse. Might not that blind man, enlightened by faith, have been able to open the eyes of other human beings imprisoned in the darkness of ignorance? And the Revelation increased Mohammad's remorse by confirming his error: "_He frowned, and he turned his back * Because the blind man came to him ... * As to him who hath become wealthy * Him therefore thou didst receive with honour * Yet it is not thy concern that he endeavours not to be pure; * But as to him who cometh to thee in earnest, * And full of fears, * Him dost thou neglect. * Do not so. Verily this surah is a warning._" (THE QUR'AN, LXXX, 1-11.)

Ever since that day, the Prophet took great care to treat rich and poor, slaves and nobles alike, with the same consideration. The exasperation of the idolaters reached the highest pitch when they saw their own slaves drawn towards Mohammad by his levelling doctrines; and when the town rang with the Revelation of Surahs threatening the rich and the sweaters of the people. "_The desire of increasing riches occupieth you, * Till ye come to the grave. * Nay! but in the end ye shall know * Nay! once more; in the end ye shall know your folly. * Nay! would that ye knew it with knowledge of Certainty; * Then shall ye surely on that day be taken to task concerning the pleasures of this life._" (THE QUR'AN, CII, 1-8.)

Abu Jahal, meeting the Prophet at Safa, could not contain himself, and forgetting the self-control befitting a man of his high social position, he blurted out such a vulgar insult that the pen refuses to write it. The Prophet answered not a word, as was his wont, but a freed female slave of Abdullah ibn Jedhan had witnessed the scene, while looking out of the back of her dwelling that was just on the spot. As Hamzah, Mohammad's uncle, came by a few moments later, she told him what she heard.

[Sidenote: HOW HAMZAH WAS CONVERTED. UTBAH'S PROPOSALS]

Hamzah's disposition was haughty and choleric. He felt his blood boiling with rage when he heard of the affront offered to his nephew. When returning from the chase--his favourite pastime--he generally stopped to gossip with the folks he met on the road, but this time he never halted, hurrying as fast as his legs would carry him towards the Temple. When he caught sight of Abu Jahal, seated in a group of his partisans, he went straight up to him, and brandishing his bow above his head, he slashed the face of Mohammad's uncle by a stinging blow. 'So! thou dost insult my nephew,' he cried. 'Learn that I profess the same religion as he. All he proclaimeth, do I proclaim likewise. Stop me from doing so, if thou dost believe thou canst!'

All the assistants, belonging to the Banu Makhzum tribe of whom Abu Jahal was a chieftain, rose up to avenge him. But Abu Jahal, ashamed at having done a thing unworthy of a high-born lord, under the influence of profound hatred, bid them stand back. 'Let Hamzah go in peace,' he said to them, 'for verily, I did grievously offend my brother's son.'

As for Hamzah, the blessing of Allah was upon him in his outburst of rage and ennobled him by Islam of which he became one of the most devoted and formidable defenders.

Utbah ibn Rabiyah, one of the most noted idol-worshippers, was greatly shocked when his young son, Huzaifah, became a convert to Islam and drew away from his father. Hoping to put an end to the discord established by Mohammad's doctrines, not only in the Quraish tribe, but even in the bosom of families, he planned to come forward as mediator. Seeing Allah's Apostle seated, quite alone, near the Temple, Utbah said to his partisans: 'Will ye authorise me to speak to him, and discuss one or two proposals in your name? Perhaps he may accept them and so leave us in peace.'

Under the influence of the consternation they felt at the conversion of such an important personage as Hamzah--a conversion that had led others to follow suit--and well knowing that it would be best to come to some agreement, they replied: 'Aye, go to him and speak in our name.' Thereupon, Utbah left them and went to sit by the side of the Prophet. 'O son of my friend!' said Utbah in most affectionate tones; 'thou dost belong to us, although by insulting our religion and the traditions of our fathers, thou hast embroiled us. Therefore I come to thee to put an end to this great misfortune. Give an ear to my proposals. Maybe they will find grace in thy sight.'--'Speak! I am listening.'--'O son of my friend! If thou dost hope that thy undertaking will make thee wealthy, each of us is willing to sacrifice a part of his fortune, in order that thou shalt become the richest man among us. If thou seekest honours, we will set thee up as lord over us all and come to no decision without consulting thee. Dost dream of royal privileges? We will make thee our king. If, on the contrary, the thoughts that inspire thee arise from some malady which thou art powerless to resist, we will have fetched at any cost and from any country the most celebrated doctors, so that thou mayst be cured. Choose therefore!'

The Prophet had listened unmoved. 'Hast thou no more to say?' he answered Utbah. 'Now 'tis thy turn to hearken to my words.' He then recited the Surah of "The Made Plain," in which Unbelievers are menaced with the eternal torments of hell, and Believers comforted by the promise of the inconceivable felicity of Paradise (THE QUR'AN, XLI). Utbah, his hands clasped behind his back, stood hearkening to the sentences, now imperative and then compassionate, that fell upon his ears in rhythm and cadence totally new to him. Stupefied, he remained stock-still, his attitude unchanged, although the Prophet had ceased speaking some little time. Mohammad, after having prostrated himself, his brow touching the earth, rose up and turned to Utbah, saying: 'Thou hast heard me, O Utbah? Now, 'tis for thee to choose.'

Utbah, bewildered, went back to his companions. They all noticed his troubled face, so different on his return from what it had been before he left them. 'Come now, O Utbah! what aileth thee?' they queried.--'I have just listened to extraordinary words,' he answered. 'By our Gods! I've never heard anything like it before. 'Tis neither poetry, nor sorcery, nor magic. O Quraish men assembled! believe me and let this man fulfil his Mission among the Arabs, for his words are full of surprising prophecies. If harm corrieth to him by the Arabs' fault, ye will be freed from all anxiety. If, on the other hand, he succeedeth and shall conquer the Arabs, his empire will be thy empire, seeing that he is one of us, and thanks to him, ye will attain the highest pinnacle of power.'

But what availed such prudent conclusions in the face of jealousy and hatred? 'With his tongue he hath cast a spell over thee, as he hath done to others,' his hearers replied; and Utbah, shrugging his shoulders, went away, declaring: 'Such is my advice. Now do as ye please.'

Nevertheless, Utbah's opinion impressed the idolaters. Next day, after sunset, they foregathered, according to custom, in the precincts of the Temple, and decided to speak to Mohammad in person. They sent for him, and he came, hoping that their eyes were open to the light. But they only wanted to renew the proposals of the day before. He refused just as scornfully. 'Since thou dost set thyself up as a Prophet,' they said, changing their arguments, 'take pity on thy country. There is no land more hemmed-in by mountains, or more poor in its water-supply; more difficult to live in. Therefore, ask Allah to put aside the girdle of mountains, make the soil easier to till, and give us rivers resembling those of Syria and Iraq. Or else, ask Him to resuscitate one of our ancestors, Qusaiyy ibn Kilab, for instance, who was a wise and truthful man, so that we may consult him concerning thy pretensions and let us know if they are veracious or false. If he giveth thee right and thou dost satisfy our demands, then will we believe thee and have faith in thy mission as Allah's Apostle.'

'I have not been sent to thee for this,' was all the Prophet cared to reply. 'I have told you what I was charged to do; and I tell you once more that if you accept, your happiness is assured in this life and the next. Should ye refuse, then I bow down to the decrees of Allah who shall judge between us.'--'Since thou wilt ask nothing for us,' they returned; 'crave a favour for thyself. Ask Allah to send one of his angels to convince us; ask Him to lavish on thee all the pleasures of this world that thy heart can desire, such as delicious gardens, marvellous palaces, or treasures of gold and silver. Instead of which, we see thee as one who "_eateth food and walketh the marts_" (THE QUR'AN, XXV, 8), exactly the same as the most humble among us! If thou art really a Prophet, let Allah give us proofs of the power with which He hath endowed thee, and of the dignity to which He hath raised thee.'--'I am not one of those who make such demands of Allah, and to you I renew my adjuration.'--'Ask Allah to "_make the Heaven to fall in pieces on us, as thou hast given out_," (THE QUR'AN, XVII, 94), if He hath power to do so, according to what thou dost maintain. If not, thy word deserveth no credit.'--'Nothing could be easier for the Almighty. If He shall decide to act as ye say, He will accomplish the task. Ye ask Him for miracles? The miracles are to be found in all He hath created and ye do not understand! See how death springeth from life and life from death! Of a surety, He can, by a miracle, undo the prodigies of the order of Nature he hath created. Thus did He for my predecessors, but in vain. Therefore, admire His unceasing miracles in Nature and crave no others.'

Unable to catch the Prophet tripping, the idol-worshippers, to check him, brought forward Nazir ibn Haris who, having been a great traveller, had garnered many fine stories. As soon as Mohammad began to preach, Nazir took his stand quite near him, trying to get his hearers away by reciting the wonderful exploits of Rustam and Isfandyar. 'See now, I lavish on my audience fine tales,' Nazir was bold enough to add, 'that will bear comparison with those sent down by Allah to His Prophet.'

The Quraish men also sent a delegation to the learned Jews of Yasrib and to the Prince Halib ibn Malik, illustrious above all men by reason of his wisdom, science and power, in order to ask that some means should be found to prove that Mohammad was an impostor. But all these efforts were useless, and there was no need to believe in the legend of a miracle based on these words of the Qur'an: "_The hour hath approached and the moon hath been cleft._" (LIV, 1).

Some writers assert that Habib having asked the Prophet to perform a miracle, in order to prove the veracity of his mission, Mohammad gave an order to the moon which incontinently split into two equal parts; one ascending towards the East and the other to the West. According to the opinion of the most trustworthy doctors of Islam, such as Al Baidawi and Zamakhshri, this verse really means: "The hour (of the Day of Resurrection) approacheth and (to announce it) the moon will be cleft." The truth of this assertion is proved by the verses that follow almost immediately: "_Turn away then from them (The Unbelievers)! On the day when the summoner shall summon to a horrible affair, * With downcast eyes shall they come forth from their graves, as if they were scattered locusts._" (THE QUR'AN, LIV, 6 AND 7.)

Besides, this supposed miracle is so flagrantly contradicted by numerous verses of the Qur'an that it is not possible to admit it. "_Nothing hindered Us from sending thee (Mohammad) with the power of working miracles, except that the people of old treated them as lies._" (THE QUR'AN, XVII, 61.)

There was such slight efficacity in miracles! The Israelites bowed down to the Golden Calf immediately after the miracle wrought by Moses to save them from the waves of the Red Sea and Pharaoh's hosts. The idolaters of Makkah would not have been more greatly impressed by the sight of the most astonishing miracle. "_With their most binding oath have they sworn by Allah, that if a sign come unto them, they will certainly believe it; Say: Signs are in the power of Allah alone: and what shall make ye to understand that if they were wrought these men would not believe it * And though We had sent down the Angels to them, and the dead had spoken to them, and We had gathered all things about them in hosts, they had not believed, unless Allah willed it._" (THE QUR'AN, VI, 109, 111.)

[Sidenote: THE MIRACLE OF THE QUR'AN]

Nevertheless there was one miracle, the only one placed to Mohammad's credit, and which was the cause of great anxiety among the Quraish idolaters: the miracle of the "Ayates," a word generally rendered by "Verses," but really meaning: "miraculous signs" of the Qur'an.

The miracles wrought by earlier Prophets had been transient, so to say, and for that very reason, rapidly forgotten, while that of the Verses may be called "The Permanent Miracle." Its activity was unceasing. Everywhere and at all hours, each Believer, by reciting the Verses, helped to realise the miracle, and in this can be found the explanation of many sudden conversions, incomprehensible for the European who knows nothing of the Qur'an, or judges it by cold and inaccurate translations.

The wonderful charm of this Book, resembling no other masterpiece of the literature of mankind, needs not to be explained to us Moslems, because we consider it emanates from the words of Allah Himself, sent down through the mouth of His Prophet. In this connection, we think it will be interesting to quote the opinion of two Orientalists, justly celebrated.

This is the conception of Savary, the first to translate the Qur'an into French: "Mohammad was learned in the study of his language, the richest and the most harmonious in the world, and which, by the composition of its verses, permits thoughts as they soar to be correctly described. By the harmony of its sounds, it imitates the cries of animals, murmuring waters, thunder and the breeze. Mohammad, I repeat, being past master of a language that so many poets have embellished and which exists since the beginning of the world, took great pains to add every charm of elocution to his precepts of morality. Poets were greatly looked up to in Arabia. Labid ibn Rabyah, an illustrious poet, nailed one of his poems on the door of the Temple of Makkah. His reputation and the value of his works kept all competitors away. None came forward to compete for the prize.... The second chapter of the Qur'an--some writers say the 55th--was then placed by the side of the poem. Labid, although a worshipper of graven images, was seized with a fit of admiration after reading the first verses and confessed himself vanquished."

He became a convert very soon after and one day, his admirers being desirous of gathering together his complete works, questioned him on this subject. 'I have no recollection of any of my poetry,' he replied, 'for my entire memory hath been absorbed by the verses of the Book of Revelation.'

We will now give the opinion of Stanley Lane Poole: "The style (of the Surahs) is haughty in every part and full of passion. The words are those of a man who tries with all his heart to convince his readers. Even nowadays, they give an impression of the vehemence and fire with which they were originally hurled forth at Mohammad's hearers surrounding him. These are the broken utterances of a human heart totally incapable of hypocrisy; the heart of a man who has exercised extraordinary influence over mankind."

If the magic of the style and the thoughts of the Qur'an produced this effect on learned men, who were neither Arabs nor Moslems, how great then was the enthusiasm created among the Arabs of the Hijaz, especially as the verses were couched in their own poetical language? You only, travellers who have had an opportunity of seeing the emotion that overcomes the audience of an Imam reciting the Sacred Verses, can have a slight idea of this feeling. You may have seen poor caravaneers, still powdered all over by the sand of their desert, where they have just endured the greatest fatigue, rushing towards the Mosque, instead of seeking refreshing repose; drawn thither, as if hypnotised by the Imam's voice. Sometimes even, in the time of Ramadhan, Moslems, after having fasted all day, pass the whole of the night in ecstasy, as they listen to the Divine Word.

It is certain that the illiterate Bedouins of our day do not always understand the real meaning of the words recited by the Imam, but the rhythm, the cadence, the harmony of the assonances animating the wonderful verses, echoing in their breasts to the beatings of their hearts, convey to them an explanation, vague perhaps, but truly in accordance with the spirit of the text, and above all, full of incomparable suggestion. On the other hand, how vapid would seem to them the explanation, more literal but less emotional, of a "Talib" pedant or a frigid grammarian.

As for the Arab of the Hijaz, comprehending the most subtle hints of the language of the Qur'an--his own language--and who welcomed the Surahs as they issued from the lips of his fellow-countryman: the genial, inspired Messenger of Allah, that listener was overwhelmed by such sudden surprise that he remained as if petrified. Could this supernatural language come from Mohammad, known to be completely illiterate and possessing no other knowledge than that due to nature and intuition? This seemed perfectly impossible. The Arab was therefore forced to admit that Mohammad's words were dictated by the Almighty. Besides, it was following no ingenious falsehood that the Prophet attributed the verses of the Qur'an to Allah. He was absolutely convinced of their divine origin. The terrible crises by which the Revelation manifested itself, bringing him the solution of unknown problems in language so new to him; so different to his own; even upbraiding him when he made mistakes and commanding him to recite these verses, despite any resistance he might make, left him without the slightest doubt on that head.

Consequently, it was with the most perfect faith that he felt boundless admiration for the Qur'an; that is to say for the Words of Allah. Had not Allah revealed to him these verses: "_Say: Then bring ten Surahs like it of your devising, and call whom ye can to your aid beside Allah, if ye are men of truth._" (THE QUR'AN, XI, 16). Convinced of their powerlessness, "The Unlettered Prophet", (THE QUR'AN, VII, 156), challenged the most celebrated poets, giving them the right to call him a cheat, if they could compose ten Surahs resembling his.

To doubt the absolute and strangely moving sincerity of Mohammad and picture him as a vulgar, but clever, ambitious man, as some modern historians have done, one must be blinded by preconceived ideas, worthy of the days of the Inquisition. Carlyle, in his book, "On Heroes," treated such fanaticism or stupidity as it deserved: "A false man found a religion?" he exclaims, speaking of Mohammad. "Why a false man cannot build a brick house! If he do not know and follow truly the properties of mortar, burnt clay and what else he works in, it is no house that he makes, but a rubbish-heap. It will not stand for twelve centuries, to lodge a hundred-and-eighty millions; it will fall straightway."

[Sidenote: HOW IT WAS FORBIDDEN TO LISTEN TO THE QUR'AN]

Being powerless to struggle against the irresistible effect produced by the recitation of the Qur'an, the Quraish idol-worshippers resolved to forbid people to listen to it.

By threats, the tribesmen frightened those who tried to approach the Prophet, when as was his wont, he recited, on the threshold of the Ka'bah, a few passages of the Revealed Book. So as not to hear him, they put their fingers in their ears; or else, to drown his voice, they whistled, clapped their hands, or bawled, as loudly as they could, scraps of doggerel composed by idolater-poets. The unexpected result was that the very men who had made it a crime to listen to the celebrated verses, were moved by that unconquerable curiosity which attracts weak mortals towards forbidden things.