Part 7

One night, Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahal and Al-Akhnas went out of their houses, bending their steps, each unknown to the other, towards the dwelling of the Prophet. Once there, their ears glued to the wall, they tried to overhear the recital of some of the Divine Surahs. In the darkness of the night, they did not see one another. But when day dawned, they came face to face on their homeward road, and blamed each other mutually: 'What would our partisans think, if they had caught us doing this thing?' And they took a solemn oath never to be so imprudent again.

But the next night and the night after that, the same thing occurred, followed by the same exchange of reproaches.

CHAPTER THE FOURTH

[Sidenote: PERSECUTION]

Quoth the Prophet: "Allah created Paradise for the man who obeyeth Him, even if only a black Abyssinian slave; and Hell for the man rebelling against Him, even if he be a nobleman of the Quraish."

Islam, tending towards the perfect equality of castes and races, naturally attracted all the poor and downtrodden of the city. With increasing vexation, the idolatrous masters saw their slaves, in eager crowds, converted to the new faith. But as these wretched folks were in the tyrants' power, they glutted their vengeance on them, not daring to attack disciples of the Prophet occupying higher rank.

Oummayatah ibn Khalaf, having become aware of the conversion of his black slave, Bilal ibn Hammah, was engrossed with but a single thought: that of torturing him with the most dastardly refinements. Placing his neck in a noose made from a rough rope of palm-fibre, he gave him into the hands of boys knowing no pity. They dragged him along behind them, like a beast of burden, just for amusement. The rope, pulled this way and that by the juvenile wrongdoers, ploughed a sanguinary furrow in Bilal's flesh. Nevertheless, he seemed insensible to pain. Thereupon his master deprived him of food and drink, and led him from the town at noonday, in the middle of summer, throwing him out in the "Ramda," a sandy plain, so torrid that a slice of meat, thrown on the ground, cooked itself immediately. He made his slave lie down, stretched out on his back, an enormous stone on his breast. 'Thou shalt stop there,' he ordered, 'until thou dost abjure Mohammad's doctrines, and worship Lat and Uzza.'

But the stoical Moslem did nothing more than lift the forefinger of his right hand, saying again and again: 'Ahad! Ahad! Allah is one! Allah is one!' thus testifying the scorn he felt for his master who dared to couple wooden or stone associates with the Master of the Worlds. The affirmation of the slave produced insensibility to pain, because the ineffable joy of the sacrifice for his faith mingled with and mastered the bitterness of torture.

Passing one day near the Ramda, Abu Bakr witnessed this cruel sight. 'Fearest thou not the justice of Allah, the Most High, O Oummayatah! when thou dost inflict such torment on that wretched man?' he cried indignantly.--'Thou didst corrupt him; therefore 'tis thy duty to save him,' was the cynical reply.--'Willingly! I possess a young black slave, stronger and a better worker than thine. Moreover, he is entirely devoted to thy idols. I offer him to thee in exchange.' Oummayatah accepted and turned Bilal over to Abu Bakr who granted him his freedom straightway. Besides, this generous man (may Allah make him welcome in His Grace!) purchased six other slaves, men and women, all Islamic converts, merely to set them free, and deliver them out of the hands of their idolatrous masters.

These persecutions continued notwithstanding, becoming more and more barbarous. The Banu Makhzum tribe took Ammar, with Yaser, his father, and Summayy, his mother, out on the Ramda, in order to make them suffer all the tortures prompted by diabolical ferocity. Ammar was enclosed in an iron breastplate that held him down on the ground, exposed to the blazing rays of the sun at its zenith. His flesh crackled as if in contact with molten metal. But the same thing happened as with Bilal; the idolaters were unable to drag from Ammar or his parents, tortured in like fashion, one blasphemous word. It was then that, blinded by rage, Abu Jahal drove his spear through Summayy's heart, mocking the dying woman by telling her: 'If thou dost believe in Mohammad, 'tis because thou art in love with his beauty!'

Summayy was the first martyr to Islam, but such constancy was not to be found in all. A few Believers, enfeebled by privation and torture to such an extent that they could not stand upright, finished by letting fall from their lips, despite themselves, the blasphemous utterances ensuring release. For such as these, crushed by shame and shedding tears of repentance, the following Surah of consolation has come down: "_Whoso after he hath believed in God, denieth Him, if he were forced to it and if his heart remain steadfast in the faith (shall be guiltless:) * But whoso openeth his breast to infidelity--on them in that case shall be wrath from God, and a severe punishment awaiteth them._" (THE QUR'AN, XVI, 108).

When the Prophet saw what tortures were inflicted on his disciples and that he was powerless to protect them, he was overwhelmed with intense sadness. The martyrs' courage proved to him how deeply the roots of faith were planted in their hearts; nevertheless he considered that such sacrifices should be avoided. So he advised all who were weak, or even such as were not forced by imperious necessity to remain in Makkah, to emigrate to Abyssinia, a land inhabited by Christians, whose Chieftain, the Najashi (Negus) was celebrated for his tolerance and justice.

[Sidenote: THE EMIGRATION TO ABYSSINIA (_A.D. 615_)]

Sixteen Moslems were the first to depart. Among them was Usman ibn Affan and his wife Ruqaiyah, one of the Prophet's daughters. They went out from Makkah secretly and on foot. Reaching the shore of the Red Sea, they chartered a _felucca_ which carried them over to the opposite bank, from whence they journeyed to the Court of the Najashi who welcomed them kindly. Another caravan soon joined them, and the little Mussulman colony, having taken refuge in Abyssinian territory, was made up of eighty-three men and eighteen women.

Exasperated at seeing their victims escape from their clutches; and still more furious to have to include among the emigrants members of their own families, such as Umm-i-Habibah, daughter of Abu Sufyan, the idolaters despatched to the Najashi two ambassadors, Umar ibn al As and Abdullah, son of Abu Rabiyah, bearing rich presents, with a view to claiming the fugitives, described as being dangerous agitators, capable of causing a revolution in his kingdom.

The Najashi had already seen that the contrary was the case. By their honesty and virtue, the fugitives had gained the esteem and sympathy of his subjects, so that he did not feel inclined to favour the request of the ambassadors, despite their valuable gifts. They then thought it would be as well to touch upon the religious susceptibilities of the Christian monarch, and put him on his guard against the danger of Islam. 'Know then what these impostors seek to attain,' said they to him. 'They have set foot in thine empire in order to turn thy subjects away from the religion of Jesus, even as they sought to lead the Quraish astray from the religion of their ancestors. Shouldst thou wish to put our veracity to the test, question them concerning their opinions with regard to Jesus, thy God.'

The Najashi followed this piece of advice. He interrogated the most learned among the emigrants and elicited the following reply from Jafar, Mohammad's cousin, son of Abu Talib: 'These are the Verses revealed to the Prophet: "_The Messiah Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), is only an apostle of Allah, and His Word which He conveyed into Maryam..._" (THE QUR'AN, IV, 169.)

This answer was not at all displeasing to the Najashi. If it did not acknowledge the divinity of Jesus, it showed, at least, the deep veneration in which He was held by the Moslems, and the Abyssinian monarch was fully reassured as to the fugitives' intentions. So he sent the ambassadors away, without accepting any of their presents or giving them the slightest satisfaction.

[Sidenote: THE CONVERSION OF UMAR, SON OF AL-KHATTAB]

The Unbelievers had succeeded in making fierce Umar think that he would save his country by ridding it of Mohammad. So Umar, having buckled on his sword, and his eyes flashing fire, bent his steps in the direction of the Safa district, where he fancied he might fall across the Prophet. Umar, on his way, met Na'im, who had gone over to Islam unbeknown to his fellow-tribesmen. 'Wither goest thou, O Umar?' queried the convert.--'To seek out this fellow Mohammad who hath stirred up strife in the midst of the Quraish. Oh, by our Gods! I must kill him!'--'By Allah! thy soul leadeth thee to do a mad act, O Umar! Dost thou think that the Abd-i-Manaf will leave thee in peace on the face of the earth, if thou dost put to death their relative, Mohammad?' he added, trying to deter him from carrying out his abominable plan. 'Would it not be far better to get certain members of thine own household to explain their doings?'--'Who are these persons under my roof?'--'Thy sister Fatimah and thy brother-in-law Said ibn Zayd. They, too, are Moslems.'

At these words, Umar stopped dead, the direction of his fury changing, and in great haste, he hurried to the dwelling of Fatimah, his sister. Just as he got there, Khubab, a fervent disciple, was reading the Surah "Ta-Ha" written out on a piece of parchment. At the sound of Umar's furious knocking, Khubab fled into an adjoining room, and Fatimah hid the parchment in the folds of her attire.

But Khubab's voice had been overheard by Umar who asked in imperative accents: 'What is this recitation in an undertone that I heard, and which ye cut short when I arrived?'--'There was nothing to hear. Thou art mistaken,' his brother-in-law and sister protested in chorus.--'No, no! There is no mistake; neither do I err when I tell you I have learnt that ye follow Mohammad's religion!' Without waiting for any further explanation, he rushed at his brother-in-law, knocked him down, sat on his chest and seized him by the beard.

Fatimah threw herself on her brother and made desperate efforts to free her husband. 'Thou speakest the truth! We are Moslems!' Umar lost his wits at this confession and by a brutal blow in the face, he dashed courageous Fatimah to the ground. 'Yea, we are Moslems, O enemy of Allah!' she repeated, staring boldly at him, her blood flowing freely. 'Yea, we believe in Allah and His Prophet! Now do with us as thou wilt!'

When Umar saw his sister's blood, the indomitable courage of the weak woman impressed him greatly and he was ashamed of what he had done. 'Give me the parchment that I heard you reading,' he asked his sister in softer accents; 'I wish to get some idea of that which hath been revealed to Mohammad.'--'We fear thou mayest destroy the writing.'--'Be not afraid! By Allah! ye shall have it back so soon as I shall have read it.'

Despite her wish to try and convert her brother, Fatimah raised objections. 'O my brother! I cannot confide it to thee, for thou art unclean. Only pure hands are allowed to touch the Book in which are inscribed the words of Allah.'

Umar rose with docility and performed his ablutions. Then did Fatimah hand over the parchment on which was written the Surah, "Ta-Ha", which begins with these words: _Not to sadden thee have We sent down this Qur'an to Thee * But as a warning for him who feareth._ (XX, 1 and 2.)

Immediately after the reading of the first verses, Umar, who was remarkably well learnt, could not refrain from uttering a cry of admiration: 'How beautiful! What sublime language!'--'O Umar!' exclaimed Khubab, coming out of his hiding-place, 'I had great hopes that the Almighty would fulfil, in thy favour, the wish I heard the Prophet make but yesterday: 'O Allah!' said he, 'strengthen Islam by the conversion of either one or the other of those two men: Abu Jahal or Umar.'--'Lead me at once to Mohammad,' replied Umar, 'so that I may become a convert to Islam in his presence. Where is he?' Khubab, in triumph, sent him to the dwelling of Arqam in the Safa district.

In that house, the disciples, clustering in union round the Prophet, were drinking in his words, when imperative knocks shook the door. One of the comrades rose up and, by a crack in the wood, caught sight of the terrible warrior, his sword dangling from his belt. Thunderstruck at this apparition, he came back to warn the Prophet who calmly told him: 'Bring him in here. If he cometh with good intentions, we will grant him generous welcome, but if evil designs guide his footsteps, we will kill him with his own sword.'

The companions having obeyed, Umar entered. Mohammad went to meet him, and coming face to face with him in the entrance-hall, he caught him by the collar and, with a sudden pull, dragged him into the midst of the company assembled. 'What is thy motive in coming here, O son of Al Khattab?' he asked. 'Dost thou still mean to remain wallowing in impiety until the wrath of the Almighty crusheth thee?'--'O Prophet!' answered Umar with unaccustomed humility, 'I come to declare my faith in Allah, His Messenger, and His Revelation.'--'Praise be to Allah! Glory to Him!' cried Mohammad. When his companions were informed of Umar's sudden conversion, they went their different ways, full of gratitude towards Him who had decreed it.

Umar was not a man to remain patient and conceal his convictions. In the street, he stopped the first passer-by he met, one Jamil ibn Mamar, of the Jumah tribe, and said to him: 'Dost know, O Jamil, that I have become a Mussulman?' The words were hardly out of his mouth, before Jamil, an incorrigible gossip, tucked his mantle tightly round him and ran to the Temple. 'O Assembly of the Quraish men!' shouted he to the idolaters who were there in groups. 'An astounding piece of news! The son of Al Khattab hath lost his reason!'--'Thou liest!' interrupted Umar who had followed him. 'On the contrary, I have set out on the Road to Salvation. I bear witness that there is no other God but Allah and that Mohammad is His Prophet!'

On hearing these words, amounting to insulting aggression, the Quraish bounded forward, as one man, to throw themselves on Umar, who steadfastly awaited their attack and a fearful struggle took place. The sun, darting its flaming rays on the fighters, forced them to desist for a short space of time. During the truce, Umar sat down on the ground, surrounded by his enemies whose threatening hands were stretched over his head. 'Do with me as ye will,' he told them in tones of the most scornful indifference, 'but, by Allah! if I were only at the head of three hundred Mussulmans, we should not be long before we wrested this Temple from you, and never would ye be able to retake it!'

At this juncture, a respected old man, attired in a striped mantle and a sumptuously embroidered tunic, drew nigh, brought there by the tumult of which he asked the cause. 'Umar is demented,' was the answer.--'How so?' said the old man to the idolaters. 'If this man hath voluntarily chosen some religion different to yours, hath he not a right to do so? What want ye of him? Moreover, think ye that his relatives will not feel inclined to interfere on his behalf?' Struck more by the fear of reprisals than by the wisdom of his words, Umar's assailants clustering round him, dropped back and dispersed. It seemed as if a heavy cloak had been lifted from his shoulders.

No one, except Mohammad, dared to pray in public. Umar, caring naught for the fury he might cause, made up his mind to follow the Prophet's example, and every day, the sturdy warrior turned like Mohammad in the direction of the Bait-ul-Muquaddas (The Holy Temple of Jerusalem). Doing exactly the same as the Prophet, Umar took his stand between the angle of the Ka'bah where the Black Stone is enframed and the angle looking towards the Yaman; and there publicly said his prayers. Encouraged by this audacity, numerous were the Moslems who came to pray in public by his side, despite the angry glances of the Unbelievers, only restrained by the reputation of Umar who had earned the surname of "Al Faruq," (The Cleaver), because he had once cleft in twain an Arab who refused to bow down to a decision given out by the Prophet.

[Sidenote: THE EXILE OF THE BANU HA SHAM (_A.D. 626_)]

Despite the superiority of numbers, the idol-worshippers of the Quraish were obliged to acknowledge the critical state of their party. Unless they could put an end to the irresistible movement that daily brought new conversions, their domination over the Arabs would soon become a thing of the past.

They called a meeting, and, after consulting, resolved to break off all relations with the Banu Hasham and the Banu Muttalib who were to be banished from Makkah until they consented to hand over Mohammad, their relative. In order to prevent themselves being tempted to break their word, the Quraish leaders wrote out the conditions of this compact on a sheet of parchment which they hung up inside the Ka'bah.

Their plan was most cunning. Among the Banu Hasham and the Banu Muttalib were a large number of idolaters who the Quraish thought would refuse to identify themselves with Mohammad and suffer for his cause. Therefore, strife would be stirred up in the bosom of the Prophet's family. But, contrary to the idol-worshippers' conjectures, the example of Abu Talib, Mohammad's uncle, carried away all the members of his family--with the exception of irreducible Abu Lahab--actuated by feelings of unanimous solidarity.

This fact enables us to divine one of the reasons that prevented Abu Talib from adopting the Islamic religion, although he worked hard and successfully, helping it to triumph. He did not forget Abu Lahab's ironical remark: 'Thou hast naught else to do than to obey thy son Ali, now that Mohammad hath chosen him to be his lieutenant.' Abu Talib's pride caused him to dread mockery. 'I would willingly become a convert to Islam,' said he, one day, 'were it not that I fear to become the laughing-stock of the men of Makkah when they would see me saying my prayers.' Nevertheless, these motives would not have held him back, if he had not considered that the protection he granted to his nephew, threatened on all sides, would lose all its power following the day when the uncle also should have abjured the religion of his forefathers.

Directly after the proclamation of the decree of expulsion, the members of the Prophet's family, Mussulmans or idolaters, left their houses, scattered here and there in different districts of the town, and assembled in a neighbouring ravine where Abu Talib possessed a stronghold.

During a period of two years, the exiles endured the greatest privations. Their provisions were quickly exhausted and it was impossible to renew them. They were forbidden to show themselves in the markets, and if one among them, having succeeded in getting to follow a caravan, tried to procure a few articles of food, the dealers, watched by Abu Jahal or fearing to be denounced, asked such high prices that the luckless wight was obliged to give up all ideas of purchase, and return empty-handed to his starving family.

The outlaws were sometimes secretly revictualled by compassionate folks, such as Hisham ibn Umar who had recourse to the following stratagem. At nightfall, he led a camel, laden with provisions, to the entrance of the ravine, and gave him a violent cut with a whip, in such a way that the animal bolted in the direction of the starving fugitives and was captured by them. But such a godsend was not an everyday occurrence, and Mohammad and his family were driven to feed on the leaves of the thorny bushes growing in the valley.

[Sidenote: THE DECREE OF EXPULSION DESTROYED BY A WORM]

Meanwhile, the Prophet was apprised by a vision that, in order to destroy the impious document, written by the Quraish, Allah had sent a gnawing worm and only the Holy Name had been respected.

Abu Talib, hearing about this, and having faith in his nephew's vision, went with his brothers and sought out the Unbelievers. They exulted on seeing him approach, his features distorted by the pangs of hunger. Conquered by famine, was Abu Talib about to throw over his nephew? They were so sure that this was the case, that they accepted his proposals without hesitation. 'Let us go and look at the parchment,' he said. 'If Mohammad speaketh truly, the act is abolished. Should that be, ye must swear to cancel your ruling of outlawry that oppresseth us. For my part, I swear to give Mohammad up to you if he hath lied.'

The act was sealed with three seals. Since it had been deposited in the Ka'bah, it had neither been seen nor touched by anyone. Therefore Allah's enemies thought it impossible that the Prophet's vision could be authentic and, anticipating victory, they went to the Temple with Abu Talib, to see the state of the parchment. The Prophet's words had come true. In the act in question, the gnawing maggot had destroyed every unjust and impious sentence. Naught remained intact except a narrow strip of parchment on which could be read these words: "In Thy name, Allah!"

This verification plunged the idolaters into a state of unspeakable stupor. Abu Jahal was the first to leave the Temple and he tried to retract the promise given by the Quraish. Thereupon, many among them, Hisham ibn Umar, Zohair ibn Abi Ommayah, Moutam ibn Adiyy, etc., whose interests and intercourse had suffered on account of the odious decree, having only signed it under duress, protested one after the other. "We supported this iniquitous law against our will. Now it no longer exists. Therefore the impious pact set forth therein should be annulled."

Abu Jahal was forced to bow down in the face of the prodigy and these vehement protestations. The compact was cancelled. The Banu Hasham and the Banu Muttalib returned without let or hindrance to their dwellings.

[Sidenote: THE DEATH OF ABU TALIB AND KHADIJAH]

It seemed as if Islam was henceforward to soar aloft safely, when two events suddenly caused its wings to be clipped. First came the death of Abu Talib, its indefatigable protector, who had passed the age of eighty.

We have already mentioned that, despite all his sympathy for Islam, Abu Talib had never consented to profess it. Abu Talib, in his dying moments, having advised all present to obey Mohammad in everything, for he was sure to lead them into the Path of Righteousness, the Prophet risked a supreme effort. 'O my uncle!' said Mohammad, 'thou dost soothe their souls with wise counsel, but wilt thou do nothing for thine own?'--'What wouldst have me do?'--'Bear witness simply that there is no Allah but Allah!--'O son of my brother! I know that thou dost speak truly, but I fear to be accused of only testifying in affright at the approach of death. Were it not for this fear, be assured that I would follow thy advice, in order to freshen thine eyes in which I read the high degree of thy affection.'

Some writers maintain that Abbas, seeing the dying man's lips move, and having placed his ear close to them, made the following declaration to the Prophet: 'Be not uneasy, O son of my brother! thy uncle hath just uttered the words thou didst wish him to say.' But the most accredited traditions refuse to accept this version. Where is the truth? Allah only knows!