of Mecca, where he had an uncle named Abbas, whose hospitality afforded him a seasonable shelter. Here, however, his stay was short, and his prophetic labours unavailing. He returned to Mecca, and boldly taking his stand in the precincts of the Kaaba, among the crowds of pilgrims who resorted annually to this ancient shrine, he preached the gospel of Islam to the numerous assemblies. New proselytes again rewarded his labours; and, among the accessions now made to his party from these pilgrim hordes, were six of the inhabitants of Medina, then called Yatreb, who, on their return home, began at once to relate to their fellow-citizens the story of their conversion, and to extol, in no measured terms, their new religion and its apostle. This circumstance gave eclat to Mahomet in the city of Medina, and paved the way to a train of events which tended more than any thing else to promote his final success.

His marrying the daughter of Abubeker had strengthened his interest in Mecca; and, about the same time, or perhaps somewhat earlier, he also married the daughter of another powerful man in that city; so that his foes had the mortification of seeing the place of his friend and patron, Abu Taleb, supplied by his two fathers-inlaw, both of them men of great power and influ

ence.

CHAPTER VI.

Council of the Koreish against Mahomet.—He conceals himself.-Converts from Medina bind themselves by an oath of fidelity to him and his cause.—Mahomet's escape from his foes in the cave of Thor.-His flight and reception at MedinaGathers his converts in that city together.-How he was regarded by some professed Christians.-By Jews.-Unites his followers. And inspires them with martial courage.-Observations on his wars, as compared with the scripture account of the wars against the Canaanites.

DEPRIVED of the domestic repose and comfort to which he had been accustomed, and abandoned, by the death of his generous protector and uncle, to the cruelty and power of his foes, Mahomet was now likely to suffer, in his own person, what his less protected followers had already suffered. The chief of his adversaries, Abu Sofian, a mortal foe of the Hashemites, had succeeded to the principality in Mecca, and very soon an assembly of the enemies of Mahomet was called to decide his fate. They were weary of the disorders which had so long prevailed in their city, and alarmed at the hostile feeling of the surrounding_country. How could they best get rid of both? To imprison the prophet would be to excite his own enthusiasm, so that he would utter more bitter and awful maledictions than he had hitherto poured upon his enemies; nor was it quite safe that the common people, awakened to sympathy and compassion by the sufferings of their favourite, should listen to these effusions. To banish him from the city would be to send an eloquent and popular fanatic throughout the provinces of Arabia, the effect of whose harangues might endanger the

already threatened power of his adversaries, and probably arouse innumerable hosts against them. They determined to put him to death. The time, the place, the manner of executing their purpose, were settled. It was agreed that a man should be chosen out of each of the confederated tribes for the execution of the project, and that each man should have a blow at him with his sword, in order to divide the guilt of the deed, and to baffle the vengeance of the Hashemites; as it was supposed, that with their inferior strength they would not dare, in the face of this powerful union, to attempt to avenge their kinsman's blood. The prophet declared that the angel Gabriel had revealed to him the atrocious conspiracy, to which he thus alludes some time afterwards: "And call to mind when the unbelievers plotted against thee, that they might either detain thee in bonds, or put thee to death, or expel thee the city; and they plotted against thee; but God laid a plot against them; and God is the best layer of plots." The heavenly minister, however, who disclosed the plot, pointed out no way of defeating it but by a speedy flight. Even this chance of safety had like to have been cut off through the vigilance of his enemics. He was indebted for his escape to the devoted zeal of Ali, who wrapped himself in the green mantle of the prophet, and, lying down upon his bed, deceived the assassins who had besieged the house of his friend. The Koreish respected the piety of the heroic youth, so that he escaped. A few verses of his own, describing the feelings of this fearful hour, give an

* Koran, ch. viii.

"*

interesting picture of his anxiety, his tenderness, and his religious confidence. Could they have moderated their animosity, Mahomet, abused and incensed as he was, would still have been reluctant to leave the city of his birth-the place of his warmest affection, and in whose venerable temple he, in all probability, begun to anticipate the eventual triumph of his faith. He might have continued tolerated by some and revered by others, till the spirit of his party-perhaps till his own spirit-burnt feebly and faintly to a close. Persecution is always unfortunate-defeating its own purposes, and giving strength and consistency to what it seeks to destroy.

For a considerable time Mahomet had to conceal himself as best he could. He first retired to Tayef, or Taif, a small town, about sixty miles eastwards of Mecca, where he was received in a manner far from cordial. The higher class of the inhabitants treated him with a measure of respect, but the inferior classes rose against him, and expelled him from their town, so that he was again obliged to return to Mecca, at the imminent hazard of his life.

During this period of his difficulty and danger, the fame of Mahomet continued to spread through the towns and cities of Arabia. At the close of the last chapter, it was mentioned that his cause had gained converts among the pilgrims to the Kaaba, from the city of Yatreb or Medina. This place, about seventy miles northward of Mecca, and therefore nearer to the countries in which Christianity had obtained a footing, had been distinguished by the early introduction of letters, arts, and science; and its inhabitants, composed of

I

pagan Arabs, heretical Christians, and Jews, were frequently designated as the people of the book. The two principal tribes which now had possession of the city were the Karejites and the Awsites, between whom a hereditary feud had long subsisted, and the disturbances occasioned by the rivalry of these two tribes were enhanced by the disputes of the religious factions, Jewish and Christian, which distracted all classes of citizens.

The converts of Mahomet from this place had not been slothful in their propagation of their new sentiments. That they were both sincere and successful disciples of the prophet may be inferred from the fact, that in this year, the twelfth of the mission, called the accepted year, twelve men came to Mecca, and took an oath of fidelity to Mahomet at Al Akaba, a hill on the north of that city. The amount of this oath was: "That they should renounce all idolatry; that they should not steal nor commit fornication, nor kill their children, as the pagan Arabs used to do when they apprehended they should not be able to maintain them; nor forge calumnies; and that they should obey the prophet in every thing that was reasonable." When they had solemnly bound themselves to the conditions of the oath, Mahomet sent one of his disciples, named Masab Ebn Omair, to instruct them fully in the principles and practices of the new religion. Masab's mission was eminently successful. Among the proselytes were Osaid Ebn Hodeira, a chief man of the city, and Saad Ebn Moadh, prince of the tribe of Aws; and there was scarcely a house in the city that did not number one or more converts.

The next year, the thirteenth of the mission,