TABLE OF CONTENTS.
THE RAUZAT-US-SAFA;
OR
GARDEN OF PURITY.
EDITOR’S PREFACE.
Two good biographies of Muhammad the apostle have been already laid before English readers, one by Mr. (now Sir William) Muir in 1858, another by Syed Ameer Ali in 1891. Both of these works are equally useful and equally interesting, the former written from the Christian, the latter from the Muhammadan, point of view. The two supply much information about the great monotheist and reformer obtained from the Korân, and from the traditions and histories of Ibn Ishâk, Ibn Hishâm, Al Wâqidi and his secretary Muhammad Bin Saad, Tabari, Ibn Athir, Abul Feda, Mirkhond and others. As no complete translation of a life of the prophet by any of these authors has yet appeared in English, such would seem to be a suitable work for the Oriental Translation Fund, New Series.
As it happened, two complete translations were in my possession—the one translated from the Arabic by the late Mr. E. Rehatsek, and entitled ‘Biography of our Lord Muhammad, Apostle of Allah, according to the tradition of A’bd-ul-Malek Ibn Hishâm, obtained from Muhammad Ibn Ishâk’; the other translated by the same gentleman from the Persian of Mirkhond’s ‘Rauzat-us-safa.’ It was a question which of these should be published. As Ibn Hishâm had, however, been already translated into German by Dr. Weil, and as Mirkhond’s ‘Life of Muhammad’ had not been translated into any European language, it was considered advisable to commence with Mirkhond’s work, more especially as Part I. of this author’s voluminous history already formed the first two volumes of this series. The present Part II. will consist of three volumes, the first two of which will give the life of Muhammad, and the third the lives of his immediate successors, Abu Bakr, O’mar, O’thmân and A’li.
The translator has pointed out in his preface, and footnotes 5 and 21, that Muhammad himself never claimed any supernatural powers; that the attribution of miracles to the prophet is not warranted by the Korân; and that there is a space of seven hundred years between the two biographies mentioned in the preceding paragraph. But tradition, which grows with time as stories grow with repetition, has now heaped a mass of wonders upon the apostle’s head. The earliest life of this great man, written by Ibn Ishâk and Ibn Hishâm in a very detailed and sober manner, makes but slight mention of miracles. But the Muhammadan masses, like the masses everywhere, are averse to philosophy, and hunger after marvels. Their understandings seem attainable only through their imagination and their senses. In a word, they prefer miracles to historical facts. And so it comes about that, the later the life of Muhammad, the greater the number of his miracles, and the more of them the better for the popularity of the work.
Of all the distinguished and illustrious men made known to us by history, the great monotheist Muhammad, the son of A’bdullah, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, is one of the most famous. He has, moreover, this great advantage over his predecessors, such as Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, and Jesus, that the dates connected with him have never been disputed, and that there are complete details of his life from the cradle to the grave. And, indeed, it may be said that there are more than details about him. The great traditionist Al-Bokhâri, whose collection of traditions of the Muhammadan religion holds the first place both as regards authority and correctness, selected seven thousand two hundred and seventy-five of the most authentic out of ten thousand, all of which he regarded as being true, having rejected two hundred thousand as false. His book is held in the highest admiration, and considered both in spiritual and temporal matters as next in authority to the Korân. He was born A.D. 810, and died 870.
As a monotheist, Muhammad always protested against the Trinity established by the Councils of Nice and Constantinople, A.D. 325 and 381. Though always freely admitting the claims of Jesus to be one of the greatest prophets, he called him always the son of Mary, saying: ‘Verily Jesus the son of Mary is the apostle of God, and His Word, which he conveyed into Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Himself. Believe therefore in God, and His apostles, and say not, There are three Gods; forbear this; it will be better for you. God is only one God. Far be it from His glory that He should have a son! unto Him beloneth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth; and God is a sufficient Protector’ (Korân, ch. iv. 169).
As a reformer, Muhammad preached against female infanticide and blood-vengeance, common practices among the Arabs at that period; also against idolatry, usury, gambling, drinking, and cruelty to animals. ‘Fear God with regard to animals,’ he said; ‘ride them when they are fit to be ridden, and get off when they are tired. Verily there are rewards for our doing good to dumb animals, and giving them water to drink.’ He improved the legal status of women, and advocated kindness to them, and strongly urged that slaves should be treated in the most considerate and humane manner.
On the subject of charity he was most explicit, and enjoins it in many passages of his Korân. In fact, it may be truly said that every kind of reform was promulged, and had Muhammad lived in our times he would have taken an active part in nearly all the societies now existing in London and elsewhere for the amelioration of the human race. He would, moreover, have done an immense deal for the cause of total abstinence and temperance generally.
It is highly probable that when Muhammad first began his public exhortations he had a strong idea of bringing not only the Arabs, but also the Jews and Christians, into his fold, and establishing one faith on the basis of one God, Almighty, Eternal, Merciful, Compassionate. It was on this account, perhaps, that he introduced into certain Surahs, or chapters, of the Korân a good deal of matter connected with our Old and New Testaments. Indeed, he went so far as to state that his advent had been foretold in the Evangel or Gospel. He particularly mentioned Abraham as the Father of the Faith, and acknowledged that there had already existed many prophets, apostles, and messengers. He quoted nine of these last as special messengers, viz., Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Job, David, Jesus the son of Mary, and himself. To five of these he gave special titles. Noah was the preacher of God, Abraham the friend of God, Moses the converser with God, Jesus the spirit of God, and he himself the apostle or messenger of God. But of the nine above mentioned, four only, viz., Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad, held the highest rank as prophet-apostles.
It is to be regretted that detailed and reliable biographies of all these prophets* have not come down to us similar to the one contained in the following pages. Nothing more is now likely to be known about them than is known already, and the dates of some of them can only be fixed as belonging to prehistoric times. Of Muhammad himself, however, it may be said that had he not in A.D. 595 married a wealthy widow, it is probable that he would not have had the time or leisure to pursue the studies and meditations which led to the promulgation of his mission in A.D. 610. ‘There can be no doubt that by this time he had acquired, as well through his own observation and inquiry, as through intimate converse with Warakah (reputed the most learned Arab of the age), considerable acquaintance with the dogmas of Judaism and Christianity; that he had some knowledge of certain books of our Old Testament, of the Talmud, and the Gospels; that he was thoroughly versed in Arab legendary lore, and that, being gifted with a ready flow of speech, an ardent imagination, together with a bold and enterprising spirit, he was well equipped for carrying out that grand social and religious revolution among his countrymen which he contemplated.’
The most important event in his career was the departure from Mekkah to Madinah, due in the first instance, probably, to the war between the Awus and the Khazraj tribes, in which the latter were defeated. Their chiefs came to Mekkah to ask assistance from the Qoraish, which was refused; but hearing about Muhammad, they interviewed him before their departure, and this interview led to the subsequent two meetings at A’kâbah, and the sending of Mossa’b Bin Omayrah to propound the Korân at Madinah, and prepare the way for the arrival of Muhammad himself and his followers, which took place in A.D. 622.
The events which happened in Mekkah from A.D. 610 to 622 are fully described in this work, but his mission during that period was not successful. At Madinah, however, everything changed. Muhammad was received with acclamation, became a sort of pope-king, and for the rest of his life (i.e., till 632) was engaged in military expeditions, diplomatic arrangements, spiritual instruction, and social legislation. He changed the Kiblah from Jerusalem to Mekkah, appointed Friday as the Moslem Sunday, and adopted the call to prayers instead of the Jewish trumpet or Christian bell. He also seems to have given up the idea of bringing the Jews and Christians into his fold, and arranged his religion so as to suit the Arabs, in accordance with many of their old customs. At the same time, however, he seems to have borrowed from the Magians and Jews some of their customs, as ably described in the eight sections of the preliminary discourse of Sale’s translation of the Korân.
A perusal of these two volumes (now translated for the first time) will give a good idea of the surroundings of Muhammad, of the life he led, and of the manners and customs of the Arabs of his time. Much information is also given of how, when and where many verses of the Korân were first revealed and promulgated; and, above all, it is evident that his intelligence department was excessively good. He always seems to have received early intimation of everything that was going on around him, and on several occasions took advantage of the same for the benefit of himself and his cause.
The intelligent reader, to whom Mirkhond so frequently appeals in these pages, and to whom this work is respectfully dedicated, will perceive that facts and fiction, or rather accurate history and tradition, are mixed up and blended together in such a way that it is difficult to separate the one from the other. In this he must exercise his own judgment as to probabilities, and he would also be much assisted by a perusal of Sir William Muir’s ‘Life of Muhammad,’ in which correct historical data fill the body of the work, while many of the traditions are given in the footnotes.
Shorn of all stories and traditions, the dates of the principal events of Muhammad’s life may be chronologically arranged as follows:
His birth at Mekkah, A.D. 570, his father having died some months previously.
His christening by the name of Muhammad—i.e., the Praised One.
His bringing up in the desert of the Bani Sa’ad by a Bedouin nurse named Halimah, the wife of Hârith, for five years.
His mother, Aminah, took him, aged six, to Madinah to present him to his maternal relations there. She died on the return journey, A.D. 576.
Under the guardianship of his grandfather, A’bd-ul-Muttalleb (who loved him dearly), for two years—from six to eight, when A’bd-ul-Muttalleb died, A.D. 578.
Under the guardianship of his uncle, Abu Tâleb, the uterine brother of his father Abdullah.
When about twelve years of age Muhammad accompanied his uncle, Abu Tâleb, into Syria on a mercantile expedition. His first visit to that country, and his experiences there, A.D. 582.
His presence during the sacrilegious war at a battle between certain tribes at or near Okâtz.
His attendance at sundry preachings and poetical and eloquent recitations at Okâtz, where it is said he imbibed the first lessons of the art of poetry and the power of rhetoric, and also acquired certain religious sentiments.
His life as a shepherd in the neighbourhood of Mekkah.
His acquisition of the title of Al-Amin, or the Trustworthy.
Abu Tâleb recommends him to seek employment, and mentions his name to Khodaijah.
His second visit to Syria, when twenty-five years old (A.D. 595), on a mercantile expedition as agent to the widow Khodaijah, and his acquisition of religious impressions there.
His successful business, and his marriage (A.D. 595) on his return to Khodaijah his first wife, fifteen years his senior in age, and by whom he had six children, two of whom died very young.
The rebuilding of the Ka’bah in A.D. 605, in which Muhammad accidentally takes a prominent part. Adopts his cousin, A’li Bin Abu Tâleb, and his slave, Zaid Bin Hâreth.
His solitary contemplations and studies from the age of twenty-five to forty at Mekkah, and at the cave on Mount Hira, near Mekkah.
His yearnings after religious truth, and his first poetic productions.
His mental depressions.
His first inspirations from the angel Gabriel, A.D. 610.
His account of his visions to his wife, who became the first convert to Al-Islam, the creed of Muhammad.
His next converts were A’li Murtadza—i.e., the Select, his adopted son and cousin; Zaid B. Hâreth, also an adopted son; and A’bdullah Bin O’thmân Abu Kahafa, one of the most worthy and influential men of Mekkah, and afterwards called Abu Bakr, or ‘The Father of the Virgin,’ ‘The Companion of the Cave,’ ‘The Second of the Two,’ ‘Ssiddiq, or the Veracious One,’ etc., and who eventually became the first Khalifah, or Successor.
Other conversions followed—viz., Sa’ad B. Abu Woqqâss, the nephew of Aminah; Zobeir B. Al-Awam, the nephew of Khodaijah, and Muhammad’s cousin; Tolhah B. Abdullah; Othmân B. O’ffan, surnamed ‘Dhu-n-nûrin,’ or ‘Endued with two Lights,’ the third Khalifah or Successor after Abu Bakr and O’mar, and who first married Rukya, and on her death Omm Kalthûm, both daughters of Muhammad; Abd-ur-rahman B. Awuf, and several more.
His assumption of the title of Apostle of God and the commencement of his mission, A.D. 610.
His frequent revelations for three years, and his public preaching to the Koraish, who would not listen to him, but looked on him as a half-witted poet.
His denouncement of idolatry, and the consequent persecutions of himself and his followers by the Koraish.
Conversions in the house of Arcam, afterwards styled the house of Islâm, A.D. 614.
The first emigration to Abyssinia of some of his followers by his advice, A.D. 615, and their speedy return.
The lapse of Muhammad and his idolatrous concession, but afterwards disowned and disavowed.
The second emigration to Abyssinia, A.D. 615-16.
Abu Tâleb refuses to abandon the protection of Muhammad, though urged by the Koraish to leave him.
The conversion of Hamzah B. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and of O’mar B. Al-Khattâb, surnamed Farûq the Discerner, and of thirty-nine adherents of the latter—a great event, A.D. 615-16.
The Koraish try to come to terms with Muhammad, but fail.
The prohibition of all intercourse with Muhammad and his followers by order of the Koraish, and a general persecution.
The excommunication of Muhammad and of the descendants of Hâshem and A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, which lasted for three years. They retired to the Shi’b of Abu Tâleb, where they suffered much privation, A.D. 617 to 619-20.
By the sympathies of some of the Koraish, and from the discovery that the document of excommunication had been destroyed by insects, they were all released from the Shi’b, A.D. 619-20.
The death of his first wife, Khodaijah, in December, A.D. 619, and of his uncle, Abu Tâleb, in January, A.D. 620.
His critical position. He seeks an asylum at Tâif, January and February, A.D. 620, but not being well received, returns to Mekkah, remaining there in comparative retirement.
His marriage, A.D. 620, to his second wife, Sowdah Bint Zamaah, and widow of Sakran, and his betrothal to A’aishah, the daughter of Abu Bakr, then only eight years old.
The first meeting at the Pilgrimage with certain chiefs of the Khazraj tribe, who, having been defeated by the Awus tribe, had come from Madinah to Mekkah, to see if the Koraish would assist them; but this being refused they interviewed Muhammad, who expounded his views, April, A.D. 620.
The above led to the conference at A’kâbah, a hill on the north side of Mekkah, with the men of certain tribes resident at Yathreb (Madinah), who took an oath to be faithful to Muhammad and his religion. This is called ‘the first pledge of A’kâbah,’ April, A.D. 621.
The despatch of Mossa’b B. Omayrah, a Mekkan disciple, to Yathreb, for the purpose of giving instruction in the Korân, and the rites of the new religion, also to ascertain how things looked there, and to prepare the way for the arrival of Muhammad and his companions.
The night of the ladder, or the miraculous journey first from Mekkah to Jerusalem upon the beast named Borâk, and then the ascent from Jerusalem to the seven heavens under the guidance of Gabriel, and what he saw there. Apparently a dream or vision, A.D. 621.
Second meeting at A’kâbah, called ‘the second pledge of A’kâbah,’ speeches made and engagements ratified, March, A.D. 622.
Distrust of the Koraish. Proposal to kill Muhammad, who had advised his followers to flee to Yathreb, April and May, A.D. 622.
In June, A.D. 622, Muhammad himself secretly leaves Mekkah with Abu Bakr. They first go to the cave Thor, about three miles to the south of Mekkah, and reach Yathreb (henceforward to be called Al-Madinah) a few days afterwards.
On his way there, at Koba, a village two miles to the south of Madinah, he laid the foundation of a mosque called ‘The fear of God.’ This was the first temple raised by Islâm.
Enthusiastic reception at Madinah; a charter drawn up, and Muhammad assumes the reins of both temporal and spiritual authority.
His family arrives from Mekkah.
EVENTS OF THE FIRST YEAR OF THE HEGIRA, OR FLIGHT FROM MEKKAH (FROM JULY 16, A.D. 622, TO JULY 4, A.D. 623).
Muhammad completes his house and mosque at Madinah and draws up a bond of union between the Anssârs, or auxiliaries of Madinah, and the Mohâjers, or refugees from Mekkah.
Sickness of many of the refugees owing to the insalubrity of the climate of Madinah.
His covenant with certain Jewish tribes to maintain a strict neutrality on both sides.
The marriage with his third wife A’aishah consummated, January, A.D. 623.
Friday appointed as the day for public service in the mosque; the call to prayer established, and some minor expeditions after Mekkan caravans.
A.H. 2 (FROM JULY 5, A.D. 623, TO JUNE 23, A.D. 624).
The Kiblah, or place to which the face was turned in prayer, changed from Jerusalem to Mekkah; the fast of Ramadzân, and the tithe or poor rate instituted.
Commencement of hostilities with the people of Mekkah, the first blood shed, and the first booty taken by the Moslems.
Several minor expeditions.
Marriage of his daughter Fattimah to Ali B. Abu Tâleb, his adopted son and cousin.
Battle of Bedr, a victory, January, A.D. 624.
A Surah, or chapter, issued about ‘The Spoils,’ how to be divided, which now forms chapter viii. of the Korân.
Death of Rukya, daughter of Muhammad, who had been married to O’thmân Bin O’ffan.
Assassination of O’ssma the Jewess and of Abu Afak.
Commencement of disputes with the Jews, and the exile of the Bani Qaynuqaa’, a Jewish tribe settled near Madinah, to Syria, February, A.D. 624.
The Ghazwah, or expedition of Sawyq.
Various minor expeditions.
A.H. 3 (FROM JUNE 24, A.D. 624, TO JUNE 12, A.D. 625).
Murder of K’ab Bin Ashraf.
Some more expeditions.
Marriage of Muhammad to Hafssah, the daughter of O’mar, on the death of her husband Khoneis—his fourth wife, November, A.D. 624.
Defeat at Ohod, January, A.D. 625.
Further military expeditions.
A.H. 4 (FROM JUNE 13, 625, TO JUNE 1, 626).
Calamities at Rajya’ and Bara Moa’wiah.
Assassination of Sofyân B. Khâled.
Ghazwah of the Bani-Natzyr, a Jewish tribe residing near Madinah, and their exile.
Muhammad marries a fifth wife, Zainab, the daughter of Khodhaimah, and widow of his cousin O’baida??, who had been killed at Bedr.
Further hostilities with Arab tribes.
He marries his sixth wife, Omm Salmah, the widow of Abu Salmah, who died of a wound received at Ohod, February, 626.
More expeditions.
A.H. 5 (FROM JUNE 2, 626, TO MAY 22, 627).
Muhammad marries his seventh wife, Zainab, the daughter of Jahsh and wife of Zaid Bin Hâreth, who divorced her that she might marry the prophet, Zaid being his freedman and adopted son, 626.
Ghazwah of Rabyi’, also called Ghazwah of the Bani Mossttalaq.
Muhammad marries his eighth wife, Jarirah, daughter of Hareth B. Abu Dharâr, December, 626.
A’aishah, the favourite wife, and the daughter of Abu Bakr, accused of adultery, but eventually acquitted by a Divine revelation.
Siege of Madinah, or War of the Ditch, or War of the Confederates, February and March, 627.
Expedition against, and massacre of, the Bani Qoryttah, a Jewish tribe near Madinah, March, 627.
A.H. 6 (FROM MAY 23, 627, TO MAY 10, 628).
Several minor expeditions.
Murder of Abu Râfi’, December, 627.
An intended pilgrimage to Mekkah, but to this the Koraish object, and Muhammad and his followers do not go farther than Hodaybiah, March, 628. The Pledge or Covenant of the Tree.
A truce and a treaty made with the Koraish for ten years, and permission given to Muhammad to visit Mekkah the next year for three days only, March, 628.
After the treaty the Bani Khozaa’h joined the prophet, and the Bani Bakr the Korâish.
A.H. 7 (FROM MAY 11, 628, TO APRIL 30, 629).
Letters sent by Muhammad under his new seal to foreign sovereigns and princes inviting them to embrace Islâm.
Mary, the Coptic maid, sent to him by Maqôqush, the Governor of Alexandria, in reply to his letter, is taken on as a concubine.
Expedition against the Jews of Khaiber, and its complete success, August, 628.
His marriage to the ninth wife, Ssofyah, the wife of Kunânah, who was executed after the victory at Khaiber, August, 628. He partakes of a poisoned kid dressed and offered to him by a woman named Zainab.
His marriage with Omm Habiba, widow of O’baidallah and daughter of Abu Sofyân—the tenth wife, October, 628.
Several small expeditions.
Despatch of further letters to foreign potentates and princes.
His pilgrimage to Mekkah for three days as previously stipulated, and known as ‘The solemn visit of the fulfilment,’ or ‘Pilgrimage by Divine predestination,’ February, 629.
His marriage with Maymûnah, the sister-in-law of his uncle Abbas—the eleventh and last wife.
A.H. 8 (FROM MAY 1, 629, TO APRIL 19, 630).
Further important conversions at Mekkah, such as Othmân Bin Ttolhah, the guardian of the Ka’bah; Amru or Amr B. Al-Aasi, a man renowned for sagacity, and who, during the Khalifate of O’mar, conquered Egypt; and Khaled Bin Wolyd, whose exploits obtained for him the title of ‘The Sword of God.’ This last was the most talented general of the Moslems.
Several military excursions.
Battle at Mowtah with certain Syrian tribes subject to the Roman authorities, September, 629. A defeat, but Muhammad was not there.
Further military expeditions.
Various tribes tender their submission.
Expedition against Mekkah, and its complete success. Destruction of pictures, images, and idols at Mekkah and the surrounding districts, January, 630.
Expedition against the Bani Thaqif at Tâif, and their allies the Bani Hoâzân, and the battle of Honain, February, 630.
Siege of Tâif, and its abandonment, followed by the submission of Malik, the chief of the Bani Hoâzân, and the greater part of his tribe, March, 630.
Muhammad performs the lesser pilgrimage, and returns to Madinah.
The birth of a son by his Coptic slave and concubine Mary, April, 630. The boy, named Ebrâhim, lived over a year, and died June or July, 631.
A.H. 9 (FROM APRIL 20, 630, TO APRIL 8, 631).
Quarrel with his legitimate wives about Mary the Coptic slave, whom he freed after the birth of the child. Quarrel settled after a month.
Collectors deputed to collect the tithes from the various tribes, April, 630.
Some minor expeditions.
Conversion of the poet K’ab, the son of Zoheir, author of the famous ‘Poem of the Mantle.’
Deputations from various Arab and Christian tribes.
Campaign of Tabuk, which ended without fighting, and the submission of many tribes, October to December, 630.
Deputation from Tâif, and submission of the tribe and destruction of their idols, December, 630.
Pilgrimage of Abu Bakr and A’li to Mekkah, with certain instructions from Muhammad, who did not go himself, March, 631.
More deputations and embassies from Arab and Christian tribes.
A.H. 10 (FROM APRIL 9, 631, TO MARCH 28, 632).
Further deputations from, and submission of, various tribes.
Expedition of A’li to Yemen, December, 631.
Muhammad’s solemn and greater pilgrimage to Mekkah, March, 632.
His speeches at this pilgrimage, known in Muhammadan history as ‘The pilgrimage of the announcement,’ or ‘The pilgrimage of Islam,’ or ‘The farewell pilgrimage.’ His establishment of the lunar year, his farewell addresses, and his return to Madinah.
A.H. 11 (FROM MARCH 29, 632, TO MARCH 18, 633).
The three revolts—one headed by Tulaihah Bin Khuwailid, a famous warrior of Najd; one by Moseylamah, the liar or false prophet; and one by Al-Aswad, all of which were eventually completely crushed after Muhammad’s death by Abu Bakr and his generals.
Another expedition to Syria projected.
Indisposition of Muhammad.
His health becomes worse; his retirement to A’aishah’s apartment; his final discourses.
Abu Bakr appointed to lead the public prayers; Muhammad’s last appearance in the mosque at Madinah; his death and burial, June, A.D. 632.
The intelligent reader will also perceive that in this work many of the proper names are curiously spelt. It will be found that i and y, s and ss, t and tt, z, dz, and dh are often indiscriminately used in the same names; while the vowels a, e, o and u sometimes vary in them. Such discrepancies are very apparent, but I thought it best to follow the translator’s transliteration throughout. A transliteration of my own might have been also open to many objections, though the names would always have been spelt in the same way.
As Mr. Rehatsek died in December, 1891, neither this matter nor any proof-sheets could be submitted to him. It is probable that the lithographed copy of the work from which he made his translation contained many errors, and as he appears to have accurately and faithfully rendered into English what was before him, this may account for some of the mistakes. It is well known that before most Oriental works can be properly translated the texts of them should be collated with several copies of the same, a correct text then prepared, and after that the translation. Had this course been followed, it is doubtful if the present work would ever have appeared in English. And as it is on the whole both valuable and interesting, it seemed better to print it with the imperfections rather than to leave it for ever in manuscript.
The next volume, containing the lives of Abu Bakr, O’mar, O’thmân, and A’li, the immediate successors of Muhammad, will be published in 1894.
F. F. ARBUTHNOT.
18, PARK LANE,
LONDON, W.
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.
THE various religions current in the world tend more or less to satisfy the insatiable craving of man for superhuman revelations, promising direction in this world and beatitude in the next. Not the least of these religions is Islâm, whose professors are counted by millions in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The life of Muhammad, although described by several, it may be said numerous, European authors, will never cease to be interesting; unfortunately, however, no attempts have been made by them to represent the founder of Islâm in the light in which the adherents of that religion look upon him. This point has generally been overlooked, and a life of the prophet, from the Moslem point of view, has to this day remained a desideratum. The partial and inimical view taken by some European authors is not calculated to promote either good feeling or a better acquaintance with the character of Muhammad; it must, however, be admitted that even Christian missionaries, who are generally biased against him, sometimes give utterance to sentiments which will not displease Moslems. Thus, for instance, the Rev. J. P. Hughes, missionary to the Afghans, says1: ‘We give Muhammad credit as a warrior, as a legislator, as a poet, as a man of uncommon genius, raising himself amidst great opposition to a pinnacle of renown; we admit that he is, without doubt, one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen!’ This is the bright side of Mr. Hughes’s picture, but it will be best to withhold its foil, because it would serve no good purpose, and only stir up ill feeling.
Muhammad was honoured by the Moslems,2 and is now; but there were two prominent periods in his checkered career; one in which he was disbelieved, and the other in which he was venerated and powerful. The former period is alluded to by himself as follows: ‘And the unbelievers say: This [Qurân] is no other than a forgery which he hath contrived, and other people have assisted him therein: but they utter an unjust thing and a falsehood. They also say: [These are] fables of the ancients which he hath caused to be written down; and they are dictated unto him morning and evening.’3 And: ‘We also know that they say: Verily a [certain] man teacheth him [to compose the Qurân]. The tongue [of the person] unto whom they incline is a foreign [tongue]; but this [wherein the Qurân is written] is the perspicuous Arabic tongue.’4 Ebn Esahâq observes5 that the prophet often conversed with a Christian slave of the Bani-al-Hadhrama whose name was Jabru, and that the people said: ‘By Allah! nobody but Jabru teaches Muhammad a great deal of what he is promulging,’ and that on this account the above verse was revealed. Passages from the Qurân may be adduced to show that Muhammad was by the Arabs, who afterwards became his devoted followers, at first considered to be not only a poet,6 possessed with a devil,7 but a sorcerer,8 and even a madman.9
As the power of Muhammad increased, opposition diminished; the more so as a general fermentation and craving for a revolution in the idolatry of Arabia, which was effete, had begun to manifest itself, and the gods were losing the honours enjoyed by them when Muhammad appeared as a reformer, and responded to the signs of the times by promulgating monotheism. The fabric of polytheism in Arabia, unsupported by a powerful sacerdotal class, or a hoary literature with doctrines firmly settled, and permeating the whole life of the people, as in ancient Assyria, Egypt, China or India, easily crumbled to pieces under the incessant blows of the word and the sword of Muhammad. He was the embodiment of a noble idea—of the impulse to emancipate the Arabs from the thraldom of idolatry; he lived for it only; he struggled for it until it became a practical and a triumphant fact, the basis on which conquests were made and empires founded. Grand exploits cannot be achieved in white kid gloves, and severity became often necessary to check opposition, which, if it had been allowed to go on, might have endangered not only the plans and aims, but the very life of the prophet, who had patiently and dexterously overcome ridicule, scepticism and insults. Resistance could no longer be endured after he had attained power, and ‘O’mar’s sword was readily unsheathed to punish such sceptical temerity, and Muhammad himself frequently visited it in the early part of his Madinah career with assassination, and on the conquest of Mekkah with open execution.’10 The dreadful punishment to which Muhammad subjected a number of the Baghila tribe by gradually cutting off their limbs is alluded to even in the Qurân, as follows: ‘But the recompense of those who fight against Allah and His apostle, and study to act corruptly in the earth [shall be] that they shall be slain, or crucified, or have their hands and feet cut off on opposite [sides] and banished the land.’11 On another occasion Muhammad ordered the tongue of A’bbâs Bin Merdâs to be cut out for lampooning him in verses.12 These are indeed cruelties, according to the opinions prevalent in our times of modern civilization, but we possess no accurate knowledge of the causes which had provoked them, and which, perhaps, made them more excusable than we are disposed to allow. These blemishes disappear when the great results of the leading doctrines of Islâm are taken into consideration, which have answered to the deepest religious wants of the Arabs, and satisfied them more fully than, not only the polytheism, but also the corrupt Christianity which those doctrines displaced.
It is a mistaken opinion that Islâm has no vitality or power of expansion, and although some Europeans may entertain it, Lord Lytton, a former Viceroy of India, did not. He believed not only in the past, but augured well also for the future of Islâm. In his reply to the address presented to him on the 8th January, 1877, when he laid the foundation-stone of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental college at Aligurh, he said, among other things: ‘I congratulate you on the vigour with which you are putting your shoulders to the wheel. Only give to this institution the means of adequately satisfying the requirements of the modern system of education, and you will thereby have given it also a just and recognised claim to such assistance as it may from time to time be in the power of Government to extend to voluntary efforts on behalf of such education. This I promise you, and I promise it the more willingly, because the whole tone of your address assures me that my promise, instead of inducing you to relax the efforts you are now making, will encourage your perseverance in the prosecution and extension of them. You have observed in the course of that address, that by the Muhammadan race its religion is regarded “not merely as a matter of abstract belief, but also as the ultimate guide in the most secular concerns of life.” Gentlemen, I conceive this to be the true spirit of all sincere religious belief; for the guidance of human conduct in relation to all the duties of life is the professed object of every religion, whatever the name, and whatever the form of it. But, I am sure, you will be the last to admit that anything in the creed of Islâm is incompatible with the highest forms of intellectual culture. The greatest and most enduring conquests of the Muhammadan races have all been achieved in the fields of science, literature and art. Not only have they given to a great portion of this continent an architecture which is still the wonder and admiration of the world, but, in an age when the Christian societies of Europe had barely emerged out of intellectual darkness and social barbarism, they covered the whole Iberian peninsula with schools of medicine, of mathematics and philosophy far in advance of all contemporary science; and to this day the populations of Spain and Portugal are for their very sustenance mainly dependent on the past labours of Moorish engineers. But Providence has not confided to any single race a permanent initiative in the direction of human thought, or the development of social life. The modern culture of the West is now in a position to repay the great debt owed by it to the early wisdom of the East. It is to the activity of Western ideas, and the application of Western science, that we must look for the social and political progress of the Indian Empire; and it is in the absorption of these ideas, and the mastery of that science, that I exhort the Muhammadans of India to seek and find new fields of conquest, and fresh opportunities for the achievements of a noble ambition.’ Since the time of Lord Lytton Muhammadan education has made considerable progress in India.
The manner in which the first chapter of the Qurân was revealed to the prophet must have shocked his whole nature, because, if we are to believe the following statement, he was so disheartened after he had received the revelation that he intended to commit suicide. Ebn Esahâq, in Tabari, p. 91, has, from Wahb Bin Qaisân, a client of the Zobair family, a statement that this Wahb said: ‘A’bdullah Bin Zobair requested O’baid13 Bin O’mair Bin Qotâda to narrate to him the beginning of the revelation. He complied with the wish, and I with others listened to his narrative, which was as follows:’
‘The prophet was accustomed every year to spend some time at Hira in holy exercises. This is one of the localities in which the Qoraish were accustomed to perform the Tahannoth, which means to sanctify one’s self. Abu Ttâleb says: “I swear by Thawr, and by Him who has put Mount Thabir into its place, and by one who ascends to and again descends from Mount Hira for sanctification.”’
‘The prophet annually spent a month there, and fed the poor who came to him. When he returned after the expiration of a month, he went seven times round the Ka’bah ere he returned home. When the month approached in which Allah had determined to manifest His miracles to him, i.e., the Ramazân of the year in which he obtained his mission, he went, according to custom, with his family to Hira. During the night in which Allah glorified him and took pity on mankind, Jebrâil came to him.’ Muhammad narrates the rest in the following words: ‘He came to me while I slept, and brought a cloth of brocade, in which was a book, and said: Read! I replied: I do not read. Then he pressed me till I believed I was undone. At last he let me go, and said again: Read! I replied: I do not read. He again pressed me till I believed I was undone. He let go his hold, and said: Read! I answered: What shall I read? I gave this reply merely to escape, for fear he would again treat me as before. He said: Read! In the name of thy Lord, who hath created [all things]; who hath created man of congealed blood. Read by the most beneficent Lord, who taught the use of the pen, who teacheth man that which he knoweth not, etc.14 Then he finished and left me. I awoke from sleep, and felt as if a book [a covenant] had been written in my heart. I hated nothing more in the whole creation than poets and men possessed of Jinns. I could not bear the sight of them. Therefore I said to Khodaijah: He of whom such a thing would not have been believed is either a poet or governed by a Jinn. He meant his own self. Tell it by no means to the Qoraish. I am going to the top of a mountain to leap down from it. I shall commit suicide to find rest; to carry out this intention15 I went as far as the middle of the mountain, but then I heard a voice from heaven which called: O Muhammad, thou art the ambassador of Allah, and I am Jebrâil! I turned my eyes heavenwards, and perceived Jebrâil in human form. His feet were on the horizon, and he called out: O Muhammad, thou art the ambassador of Allah, and I am Jebrâil! I stopped and looked at him. This kept me back from my intention—I went neither forward nor backward. Then I looked round the whole horizon, and wherever I looked I saw him always in the same form. I remained standing quietly, without going forward or backward, till Khodaijah sent people to search for me. They went as far as Mekkah, and returned to Hira, and I was standing all the time there. At last the angel disappeared, and I returned to my family. I sat down on the lap of Khodaijah and hugged her. She said: O Ab-ul-Qâsim, where hast thou been? I have sent out men to look for thee, and they have been in Mekkah but have not found thee. I said to her: He of whom it would not be believed is a poet, or possessed by Jinns. She said: Allah is my protection, O Ab-ul-Qâsim. Allah will never allow such a thing to happen to thee, for thou speakest the truth, observest fidelity, hast good morals, and livest well with thy relatives. What makest thee think so? Hast thou perhaps seen something? I answered: Yes! I narrated to her what I had seen. She said: Be glad, my beloved husband; be of good cheer. He in whose hand the life of Khodaijah is, is witness that thou wilt be the prophet of this nation. Then she got up, dressed herself, and went to her cousin Waraqah. This Waraqah had become a convert to Christianity, had read the Bible, and had listened to Jews and Christians. She related to him what her husband had seen and heard, and Waraqah exclaimed: Qoddus! Qoddus! [holy! holy!] if that be true what thou tellest me, then the greatest Nâmûs16 has come to him, which had come to Mûsa [Moses], and he will be a prophet of this nation. Announce to him this, and tell him to be steadfast. Khodaijah returned to the prophet, and repeated what Waraqah had said. This partly appeased his excitement. When the time which he was wont to spend in Hira had expired, he returned to Mekkah and walked round the Ka’bah according to his custom, when he met Waraqah. At his request he informed him of what he had heard and seen, and Waraqah said: I swear by Him in whose hand the life of Waraqah is, that Allah has elevated thee to be the prophet of this nation, and the greatest Nâmûs has come to thee—the Nâmûs which had formerly come to Mûsa. They will call thee a liar, they will persecute thee, they will expel thee, and they will fight against thee. Would that I were able to live until that day, I would aid thee. Then he kissed him on the forehead. The prophet went home, and the assertion of Waraqah was a great consolation, and diminished his anxiety.’17
There was a time when Muhammad seriously thought of coming to a compromise with his antagonists the idolaters, and to retain some of their gods, as will appear from the following verses of the fifty-third chapter of the Qurân, as it is alleged to have been originally revealed:
1. [I swear] By the Pleiades as they are setting;
2. Your countryman has neither strayed, nor is he confused.
3. And he speaks not according to his whims:
4. What he speaks is no other than a revelation which is being revealed to him:
5. Hereof he who is fitted out with great power has informed him.
18. He has already seen the greatest miracle of his Lord.
19. Do you see Lât and O’zza,
20. And Manah, the third other [goddess]?
21. These are exalted Gharâniq,18
22. And indeed their intercession may be expected.
56. What favour of thy Lord wilt thou yet doubt of? [i.e., Why doubtest thou that Allah in His bounty has appointed tutelary deities as His intercessors?]
57. This one [i.e., Muhammad] is an admonisher as the previous admonishers were.
58. What is approaching [i.e., the judgment day] has approached; besides Allah there is nothing which might retard it.
59. Are ye astonished at this news?
60. And do you laugh instead of weep?
61. And do you joke?
62. Now fall down on your faces before Allah, and worship Him!
The arrangement of these verses is fully supported by the following text, which, moreover, occurs in the original in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1850, No. 2.19 Ebn Esahâq, in Tabari, p. 140, from Yazid Bin Ziâd Madani, from Muhammad Bin Ka’b Qorazi, who died A.H. 120 (A.D. 738), says:
‘When the prophet saw that his people turned away from him, he was so pained that he turned away from the revelation which he brought them from Allah. He entertained a wish that Allah might send him a revelation which would effect a reconciliation between him and his people. As he loved his people, and wished to gain them over, he was anxious that his position towards them should be less painful. Whilst he was animated by such thoughts, wishes and hopes, Allah revealed to him the chapter [LIII.]: “By the Pleiades as they are setting; your countryman has neither gone astray, nor is he confused.” And when he came to the words, “Do you see Lât and O’zza and Manah, the third deity,” the devil placed words on his tongue corresponding to what he had considered and wished within himself: “These exalted Gharâniq, indeed their intercession may be expected.” When the Qoraish heard this they were glad, and pleased that he had so honourably mentioned their gods, and they listened to him. The Moslems accepted the revelation which their prophet had promulged to them without suspecting that he had erred, and when he came to the [last] verse of the chapter, in which it is said “Prostrate yourselves,” and when he had completed the chapter, he threw himself on the ground, and the orthodox followed his example, in order thereby to express that they believed in the revelation he had just announced, and that they followed him. Also the pagans among the Qoraish, as well as others who were present, prostrated themselves, because he had mentioned their gods in this [honourable] manner. There was neither a believer nor a heathen in the temple but prostrated himself, except Walid Bin Moghira. As he was an old man, he took up a handful of dust and bowed his forehead to it. The people went home, and the Qoraish rejoiced that he had mentioned their gods, and said: “Muhammad has mentioned our gods in the most honourable manner; in what he recited, he said they were the exalted Gharâniq, and that their intercession is profitable.” It became known to the emigrants in Abyssinia that the Mekkans had prostrated themselves, and it was also said that they had been converted. Some of them left Abyssinia, and others remained. Meanwhile, Jebrâil came to the prophet, and said to him: “What hast thou done, Muhammad? Thou hast recited something to the people which I have not brought thee from Allah.” The prophet was much distressed at this event, and feared that Allah would punish him. Then Allah sent him a revelation20 in which He is very merciful, facilitates the matter, and consoles him with the assurance that there was no prophet before him to whom, when he entertained similar wishes, the devil had not suggested similar words in conformity with his wish. Allah abrogated the verses inspired by the devil, and confirmed the genuine ones. In this manner He liberated him from his sorrow and fear. Instead of the words “These exalted Gharâniq, indeed their intercession may be expected,” Allah placed the words: “How? Shall you have sons and Allah daughters? This would be an unequal arrangement. How many angels are there in heaven, and their intercession nevertheless avails nothing, except when Allah permits it.” Whereby He means to say: How can the intercession of your idols be accepted? When the Qoraish heard that Allah had abrogated the words of the devil, they said: “Muhammad has repented of having given his opinion concerning the position of our gods with Allah. He has changed his mind, and has put other words in their places.” The two words which the devil had suggested were in the mouths of all the pagans; they made the evils still worse, and increased the persecutions to which his adherents were exposed. The orthodox, who had left Abyssinia, came as far as the environs of Mekkah, on the mere rumour that the Qoraish had prostrated themselves with Muhammad. But when they had there learnt how the matter stood, they ventured only secretly, and under the protection of a friend, into the town, etc.’
Ebn Esahâq, the earliest biographer of the prophet,21 gives no detailed accounts of any of his miracles, but later authors record numbers of them, and the heading of the last article of the present work is: ‘Some of the miracles and [the fulfilment of some] prayers of his lordship.’ The attribution of miracles to the prophet is not warranted by the Qurân, as all must be fully aware who have studied it. In that book, however, the advent of Muhammad, under the name of Ahmed,22 is stated to have been predicted by the Lord Jesus, and the Moslems have an authority on this point which they amplify. Thus Ebn Esahâq wrote: ‘I am informed that the description of the prophet of Allah— u. w. b., etc.—which I’sa, the son of Mariam, had received from Allah and has revealed to the evangelists, was promulged by the apostle Yohannisu when he composed the gospel for them in the times of I’sa concerning the prophet of Allah—u. w. b., etc.—that he [I’sa] said: “Who hates me, verily hates the Lord; and had I not worked miracles in their presence, which no one worked before me, no guilt would be upon them. But henceforth they exult, and think they honour me and also the Lord. But it is necessary that the word be fulfilled, which is in the Nâmûs [the law], that they have hated me gratuitously, i.e., in vain, because verily the Manhamannâ is coming; it is he whom Allah will send to you from the Lord, and this is the spirit of righteousness which issues from the Lord, and he will bear testimony concerning me, and you also, because ye were formerly with me, that ye may not doubt.” But the Manhamannâ is the Syriac for Muhammad, and Baraqlitos the Greek.’23
The word ‘Paraclete’ occurs in John xvi. 7, and is appealed to by Moslem controversialists as denoting their prophet, who is said to be alluded to also in Isaiah xxi. 6, 7, where the rider on the ass is explained to be Jesus, and on the camel Muhammad,24 and the passage stands according to their interpretation as follows: ‘Arise, O watchman, and look what is to be seen. I said: I behold two of them riding; the one rides on an ass, the other on a camel;’ but translations in European languages of that Hebrew passage are somewhat different. Arab Christians, of course, deny that the Moslem prophet is meant in these verses, but they believe that he is designated by the name of ‘foolish shepherd’ in Zechariah xi. 15, 16.
It is easy to point out verses in the Qurân in which our Scriptures are alluded to as necessary to be followed.25 Christians are enjoined to observe the law and the gospel,26 and their food is allowed to Moslems, who may also contract marriages with Christians.27 From the following verse it appears that Muhammadans ought to be friends with Christians; there are, however, also others of a contrary purport: ‘Dispute not against those who have received the Scriptures [i.e., Christians] unless in the mildest way, except against the wicked among them, and say, We believe in the revelation which hath been sent down unto you; our God and your God is one, and unto Him we are resigned.’28 From the above passages it is evident that those Muhammadans of India who, ‘whilst they will eat food cooked by idolatrous Hindus, refuse to touch that cooked by either native or European Christians,’29 are acting contrary to the precepts of the Qurân in these, as well as in various other matters, such as not to allow Christians to draw water from their public wells, etc.
The Qurân is, perhaps, the only book in the world which has, during more than a thousand years, been so carefully guarded that no changes whatever could creep into it,30 although the order of the chapters is at present not that in which they were gradually revealed during the space of twenty-three years; it has been discussed by Suyuti in his I’tqân as well as by other writers; but Rodwell has published his translation of the Qurân according to that original chronological order. As the catechisms of the Christian, so also those of the Muhammadan sects embody in a brief, comprehensive way the tenets they profess to believe; hence the following extract from a catechism published in Constantinople will be of some interest:
‘I believe in the books which have been delivered from heaven to the prophets. In this manner was the Qurân given to Muhammad, the Pentateuch to Moses, the Psalter to David, and the Gospel to Jesus. I believe in the prophets and the miracles which they have performed. Adam was the first prophet, and Muhammad was the last. I believe that for the space of fifty thousand years the righteous shall repose under the shadow of the terrestrial paradise; and the wicked shall be exposed naked to the burning rays of the sun. I believe in the bridge Sirat, which passes over the bottomless pit of hell. It is as fine as a hair, and as sharp as a sabre. All must pass over it, and the wicked shall be thrown off. I believe in the water-pools of paradise. Each of the prophets has in paradise a basin for his own use; the water is whiter than milk, and sweeter than honey. On the ridges of the pools are vessels to drink out of, and they are bordered with stars. I believe in heaven and hell. The inhabitants of the former know no want, and the Huris who attend them are never afflicted with sickness. The floor of paradise is musk, the stones are silver, and the cement gold. The damned are, on the contrary, tormented with fire, and by various and poisonous animals.’
E. REHATSEK.
LIFE OF MUHAMMAD THE APOSTLE
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MERCIFUL, THE CLEMENT.
THE superscription of this page of hopes and index of felicities, founded on the records of the virtuous of former, and the traditions of the nobles of later times, expresses the praise and laudation of GOD, of whose bounty and liberality the existence of all things is but one ray. The Exuberantly Beneficent, from whose treasury of goodness and favour all created beings have been invested with the robe of existence! The Sage, whose eternal science embraces the arcana of the gyrations of the spheres, as well as the inhabitants of the centre of the earth! The Omnipotent, the pen of whose might has by the juxtaposition of two letters31 called forth all simple and composite essences from the womb of non-existence to the surface of evidence! The Clement, the revelation of whose blessed verse, ‘We relate to thee the best of stories,’32 promulged for the consolation of the cherubim of His courts, is a sign of abundant mercy! The Munificent, whose blessed verse, ‘And those who fight for us,’33 is with reference to the dignity of those who combat in religious wars, a specimen of His perfect liberality. The Operator, who has with the polishing instrument of grace brightened the scimitar of language, to occupy itself in the tournaments of rhetoricians with the abscission of the arguments of pretenders, and with the refutation of the deniers of the ‘evident signs.’34 The Inventor, who has exalted the ambling steed of the writing reed with a wonderful power of locomotion, by the aid of which man is enabled to turn his reins into the plains of eloquence, and to record the lucubrations of the mind. The Mighty One, whose love made a cobweb35 more slender than a rose-leaf to appear in the sight of violent and hard-hearted enemies like the wall of Zulqarneen,36 till the minds of those concealed in the cave of Mount Thûr were relieved of fear. The Victorious, who has by means of the bright swords of warriors, which are the indices of conquest and victory, in a short time thrown the heads of the stiff-necked among the Arabs and non-Arabs into misery and contempt, in order to send the smoke of grief of the opponents of the orthodox religion up to the zenith of the firmament. ‘Allah doeth and ordereth all things as He willeth.’
The bouquets of the most excellent salutations, the odours of the praises whereof spread perfume, are here offered to the exalted genius, to the holy sepulchre, to the Eden-like mausoleum, to the great tree of the garden of prophecy, and to the rosebush of the park of love, the object of solicitude to the inhabitants of heaven and the purpose for which the dwellers on earth have been created,37
to the most noble of places and incomparable sanctuary of the best of men, and intercessor on the day of resurrection!
Distich: Ahmed38 the prophet, the best of men,
Both worlds are subservient to him.
May Allah bless him, his companions, his kindred and friends, as long as the two luminaries shine, and night and day exist! Submissive, blessed, and numerous greetings to them!
But after [this preamble] the weakest of God’s servants, Muhammad Khâvend Shâh—may Allah fulfil his desires, and make him happier in the next world than in this— says: Let it not remain hidden to those acquainted with the fountains of history, that although authors of former and of later times have written biographies of the prince of prophets, with explanations of the campaigns and deeds of the orthodox Khalifahs, the eye is nevertheless delighted on beholding a handsome and symmetrical form clothed in pure and various garments; moreover, the wish of the most exalted court39 had gone forth—as intimated in the preface to this work—therefore the imperfect mind [of the author] has after the completion of the first volume undertaken to write a compendium of the life of the chosen lord [Muhammad], with a short record of the Emâms of guidance; on him and on them be the most perfect blessings! and as narratives about his [the prophet’s] character are an exhilaration to those who are depressed in spirit, and as the records of his blooming miracles augment the pleasure of the gardens of hope of those who are in search of the means to obtain salvation, the author has contented himself to write this book in the ordinary language and current style most familiar to himself.
Distich: He who is acquainted with the town
Knows where our merchandise is.
By the encouragement of the patron, in whom all good qualities are concentrated, and in the name of the most exalted Amîr, who is endued with the virtues of Mercury and the nature of Jupiter, who is the manifester of the signs of Divine mercy and distinguished by royal favours, who walks in the paths of guidance and direction, performs the duties observed by good and religious men, exalts deeds of justice and beneficence, establishes the manifestations of clemency and kindness, is connected with royal majesty, an ornament to the Suleimân-like dignity, protects literary men and warriors, the governor of the monarchy and of the religion, Amir A’li Shir—may Allah prolong the time of his justice till the day of the resurrection—and with reverence for the prophet, for his family and noble progeny, I commence the promised work. He is my surety who accepts the vow and the intention!
PEDIGREE OF HIS LORDSHIP THE PROPHET, BY WAY OF SYNOPSIS AND DISTINCTION. THE BLESSING OF ALLAH BE UPON HIM AND UPON HIS FAMILY!
His name is Muhammad, the son of A’bdullah, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, the son of Hâshem, the son of A’bd Munâf, the son of Qussai, the son of Kallâb, the son of Laovi, the son of Ghâleb, the son of Qahar, the son of Mâlak, the son of Nasser, the son of Kanatah, the son of Madrekah, the son of Alyâs, the son of Nasser, the son of A’dnân.
The genealogy of his exalted lordship the prince of existences—upon whom be the most excellent of blessings —is regular as far as A’dnân, but above the latter there are discrepancies. Nevertheless, all historians agree, despite a multitude of contradictions, in placing six of the inspired prophets—i.e., Esma’il [Ishmael], Ebrâhim [Abraham], Hûd [Heber], Nûh [Noah], Edris [Enoch], and Sheth [Seth]—into the pedigree of the ancestors of his lordship, the seal of the prophets, as far back as Adam, the father of mankind. The biographies of each of these, and of all the other prophets, have, according to their requirements, been given in the first volume, and now the musk-writing reed will, from a feeling of veneration, by way of abridgment, record the lives of some of the just-enumerated ancestors of his lordship. From Him comes protection and guidance!
RECORD OF THE ORIGIN OF THE FAMILY OF PROPHECY, AND
OF THE CHIEFS OF THE TRIBE OF GENEROSITY.
The beginning of the family of prophecy has already been recorded above by way of synopsis; the details, however, of their virtues and actions are as follows: The father (of blessed memory and glorious character) of Muhammad, the prophet of Allah—the most perfect greetings to him —was A’bdullah, distinguished and prominent among the youths of the Qoraish tribe by the perfection of his character, the nobility of his descent, the pleasantness and beauty of his demeanour, the generosity of his manners, the goodness of his deeds, the affability of his qualities, and the elegance of his behaviour. In pulchritude and amiability he was the Yusuf40 of his time. The light of the star of Muhammad’s prophetship shone from the beauty of his aspect, and the radiation of the sun of Ahmed’s apostleship was evident from his heart-rejoicing countenance:
Distich: He who has the mark of the Friend’s41 love
Possesses it openly on the forehead.
At that time the rumour was current among the high-priests of the Jews and the soothsayers of Hejâz that the last of prophets was about to be begotten from the loins of this youth. The cause of the knowledge of the Jewish doctors with reference to A’bdullah consisted in their possession of the guiltless Yahia’s [John the Baptist] blood-stained coat of white wool, and they had obtained evidence from old books that when blood-drops fell from that coat A’bdullah, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and father of the seal of prophets—u.w.b.—would be born. It is related that when A’bdullah had reached the age of puberty the ladies of the Qoraish tribe, and the black-eyed belles of the Arabs, were so enticed by his beauty, and were so desirous of meeting him, that they gathered up the carpets of association between themselves and their husbands and refused to have any further intercourse with them.
| Distich: | Wash off the dust of affection for others from the tablet of thy mind; For the condition of love is: One heart and one friend! |
They began to make a display [of their charms] in the theatre of beauty and tenderness, offering to him their very souls with exquisite presents united with attractiveness and coquetry. By Divine favour and the aid of the Most High, he, however, abstained from associating with the fairy-faced, Venus-shaped Hûris of sunlike aspect, and did not pollute the skirts of his innocence with the filth of concupiscence. When the time approached for that virgin-pearl [i.e., Muhammad] to be nourished in the conch of nobility, and for that precious jewel to be formed in the mine of prosperity, by means of abundant showers from the clouds of grace, seventy Jews and bloodthirsty warriors of Syria entered into a covenant to proceed to Mekkah, and not to return until they had changed the day of the life of A’bdullah into the night of death. They set out on their journey with the above intention, travelled during the night for fear of publicity, and deflected from the road in the day, until they had in this manner arrived in the vicinity of Mekkah, and lay in wait for a good opportunity to execute their project. They suddenly met A’bdullah when he was hunting, and hastened in a crowd to attack him. Wahab, the son of A’bd Munâf, happened, however, likewise to be engaged in the chase in the same desert, and when he beheld this company advancing with drawn swords and bared arms towards A’bdullah, Arab impetuosity spurred him to ride with a number of servants who were with him to the spot of the encounter and to repulse them. Others say that his intention was to make inquiries of them [and not to attack them], but that a multitude appeared, bearing no resemblance to men of this world, riding on piebald horses, and dashing from the top of the sky towards the centre of the earth, and that, having reached the ground, they attacked the ill-fated Jews and routed them.
Distich: The thorn possessing a lancet in the earth
The sooner breaks when stinging.
Wahab Bin A’bd Munâf was astonished at this event, returned to his house, narrated to his wife what he had beheld, and sent her to wait on A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, in order to inform him that Wahab possessed a lady within the curtains of retirement, and desired to string that veiled one upon the thread of matrimony with his son A’bdullah. The mother of Aminah reported this message to A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, who agreed to the proposal as soon as the beauty and innocence of Aminah became known to him. The arrangements necessary for a wedding were then made by both parties, and at a propitious hour, when [the celestial planet] Venus obtained felicity from Jupiter [the terrestrial] Venus was united to the Luna-faced Jupiter. This marriage, however, became an occasion of grief in the noble city of Mekkah, because about two hundred sweet-spoken and honey-tongued ladies were by the ardour of love and the melancholy of their separation from A’bdullah thrown upon the couch of despair and died.
| Distich: | To those whose eyes and hearts were burnt, the flame of separation did What the morning breeze did to the light of the lamp. |
The remnant of the victims of love whom fate had respited deplored their separation from his roseate cheeks like the philomel with thousand melodies.
| Distich: | The killing of this wounded one by thy sword was either not decreed by fate Or, if so, thy merciless heart cannot be blamed. |
They preferred death to life, because they could not enjoy the latter. The story of Fattimah of Syria is a corroboration of what has just been narrated, and runs as follows: One of the governors of Palestine had a daughter, sitting within the innermost curtains of innocence, who vied in the world of amiability with the rising sun, and was in the zenith of beauty on a perfect equality with the full moon.
Distich: The brow an arch, the hair a lasso;
The stature, the gait, a tall cypress.
This girl was acquainted with the Divine books and heavenly pages, and also proficient in the art of soothsaying. She knew that the true time had arrived when the seal of the prophets would issue from the loins of one of the sons of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, endued with certain qualities; would become fixed in a pure womb; would, after the expiration of the proper time, proceed from the harem of seclusion into the court of prophecy, and would invite all nations to profess the equitable religion, and so follow the true road to salvation. The lady imagined that the breeze of the favour of the Most High might perhaps fructify the tree of her hopes with the blossoms of success, and accordingly she set out for Mekkah with garlands of jewels and exquisite clothes, as well as merchandise, horses, mules, and various other things. She took no account of the toils of the journey, but traversed the desert, hoping to meet her beloved:
Distich: From love for the Ka’bah I ran with such joy
That the thorns of the desert seemed silk to me!
When she had arrived in the vicinity of Mekkah, she pitched her mansion of permanency, and raised the vault of her court to the summit of the sun and moon. One day, when A’bdullah was returning from the chase, he happened to pass near the abode of Fattimah, who perceived the whole universe to be illuminated by the sunlight of his countenance, and was convinced that the expectations raised in her mind by the perusal of ancient books were now realized. She therefore hastily ran out from her palace to request him to grant her a brief interview, whereon A’bdullah, unable to resist the entreaties of the fairy-like lady, illuminated her abode with his presence. After a suitable repast the Princess of Syria raised the veil of separation, revealed the intentions enshrined in the treasury of her mind on the salver of presentation, and requested A’bdullah to unite himself to her in wedlock; but he replied that although it would afford him the greatest pleasure to marry the princess, such an important matter could not be transacted without informing A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and to this Fattimah assented. When the day had elapsed A’bdullah left the court of Fattimah and went to his own house, where, by the decree of Divine providence, he had connection with Aminah, who became pregnant that night:
| Distich: | The water of life which Eskandar coveted |
Early in the morning A’bdullah waited on his father and informed him of what he had heard from Fattimah, and was very anxious to marry her. After having obtained permission to do so, he went rejoicing to her mansion, and informed her of his father’s consent. When, however, the beloved daughter of the Governor of Syria beheld the countenance of A’bdullah deprived of the light of prophecy, and perceived that his face, which had surpassed a fresh rose in amenity, was now without bloom, she fetched a deep sigh and said:
| Distich: | O beauteous circumstances! how thou art changed! What thou wast before, thou art now no more! |
After due inquiries she learnt that the decree of Providence had been fulfilled, and said to A’bdullah: ‘God, who knows what is revealed and what is hidden, is my witness that I was impelled to make this inquiry, neither by the inspiration of Satan nor by carnal desire, but that I wished to unite myself with thee in order to participate in the felicity which the Almighty Giver has bestowed upon all related to the infant who will be born. Although I am returning to my country with the caravan of disappointment, I wish thee joy.’
Fattimah spent the remainder of her life in melancholy and regret; but stories like this have come down from Omm43 Quttâl, the sister of Waraqah Bin Nowfel, who was one of the Christian doctors, and also from Fattimah herself; as, however, the record of similar events smacks of repetition, the reed of explanation has abstained from narrating them. Before the birth of Muhammad—u. w. b. —strange and wonderful things took place, which are contained in various chronicles.
It is said that Aminah was in the bosom of the family of her uncle Wahab, the son of A’bd Munâf, when A’bd-ul-Muttalleb sued for her hand in favour of his son A’bdullah, and that he at the same time courted Hâilah, the daughter of Wahab, for himself. Both weddings took place simultaneously, and afterwards Hâilah gave birth to Hamzah, and Aminah to the seal of prophets—u. w. b. According to an authentic tradition, A’bdullah went to Syria before the birth of the prophet of Allah; according to another he was on his return from it; and yet, according to another, he was on his way to it, whilst some say that he went to purchase dates, and that, when he reached Madinah, the destroyer of joys demolished the castle of his existence so that he died, and was buried on the premises called ‘Dâr-un-nâilah.’
| Distich: | In this frail world, which is a house with two doors, Lay no foundations; for the edifice of life passes away. |
He had attained the age of twenty-five, and according to others of thirty, years, but Allah knows best. He was the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, who was born with gray hair; but some say he had only one white hair, and was therefore called ‘the hoary’; after he had attained the age of discretion he was, on account of his great prayerfulness, called ‘the hoary devotee.’ Some state that A’bd-ul-Muttalleb became known as the servant of Muttalleb because his real father Hâshem had in some journey arrived at Madinah, had there married Solmah, the daughter of O’mru, who was of the tribe Beni An-najâr, and had, after the birth of the ‘hoary devotee,’ gone to Syria, where he fell sick, and exclaimed in that land of exile:
Distich: I travelled and broke the ties of relationship;
Perhaps I shall see Solmah’s beauty in my sleep.
When he was in the agony of death he said to his brother Muttalleb, the son of Munâf: ‘Succour thy servant who is at Yathreb,’ i.e., Spread the wings of mercy over the servant whom thou possessest at Madinah. The general opinion on this subject is, that some time after the decease of Hâshem, a man of the Qoraish happened to pass through Madinah, where he beheld an infant playing with other children, shooting arrows, and exclaiming: ‘I am the son of Hâshem!’ When the said individual returned from Madinah to Mekkah, he said to Muttalleb in the sanctuary of the Ka’bah: ‘I have seen thy brother’s son engaged in shooting arrows, and have perceived the signs of distinction and intelligence shining on his forehead, but his poverty was so evident that I was really distressed thereby.’ Muttalleb immediately swore an oath that he would go to Mekkah and take possession of his nephew ere he returned to his own house. The same man then said: ‘Behold, my she camel is ready!’ That very instant Muttalleb mounted the camel, took his brother’s son with his mother and relatives behind himself on the camel, and brought them to Mekkah; as, however, the ‘hoary devotee’ was dressed in an unbecoming garment, everyone they met on the road asked who this boy was, and Muttalleb replied: ‘He is my servant.’
Hemistich: The servant on thy camel was a freeman.
When Muttalleb arrived at home he dressed the ‘hoary devotee’ in a costly garment, introduced him to some of the Qoraish tribe, and gave them a short account of his journey to Madinah; but as he had on the road said to the people that the boy was his servant, he became known by the name of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb [the servant or, more strictly, slave of Muttalleb].
A’bd-ul-Muttalleb was in his time famous for his excellent qualities—dignity of aspect, eloquence and pleasantness of speech, and for his good deeds. He was also respected by Arabian and foreign Sultâns. One of his acts was the deepening of the well Zamzam.
RECORD OF THE CAUSES OF THE FILLING UP OF THE WELL ZAMZAM, AND ITS BEING DEEPENED IN CONSEQUENCE OF A REVELATION OF THE BENIGN SOVEREIGN, WHOSE MAGNIFICENCE BE GLORIFIED!
When during the time of the prophecy of the Lord Ebrâhim the water of the Zamzam had made its appearance near the sanctuary during the full tide of the ocean of donation, and by the propitious advent of Esma’il, as chronicles relate in detail, some men of the tribe of Jorham, who were travelling in the vicinity of Mekkah, had alighted for the purpose of rest, they beheld a flock of birds soaring round and round, as if over the surface of some water. They said to each other: ‘We have several times passed through this desert, but have never found water; has now, perhaps, a fountain burst forth around which the birds are thus circling?’
Distich: Wherever a sweet spring is found,
Men, birds and ants flock around.
After a little search and examination they discovered the water, and saw near it Hâjar [Hagar], the mother of the prophet Esma’il [Ishmael]. When the Arabs contemplated the fountain they rejoiced greatly, and after having conversed with Hâjar they knew that God, the gracious Bestower of benefits, had distinguished her son by this favour. They requested her to allow them to settle in that region, and Hâjar, considering her loneliness, readily assented, but on the condition that they would not consider that water as their own property. Thus in a short time countless numbers of people settled near the spot, who collected and heaped up so much soil near the fountain that it became a celebrated well.
It is related that Esma’il the prophet—u. w. b.—was brought up by, and remained connected with, the tribe of Jorham. Afterwards he helped Ebrâhim to build the Ka’bah, and as long as Esma’il lived he was the chief of Mekkah, headman of the tribe, and governor of the Ka’bah. When he was removed from this perishable mansion to the eternal world his son Thâbat became the chief and governor; when Thâbat departed to the abode of joy his children were not yet of age, therefore the office of judging and governing devolved on Mazâz, the son of A’mru and father of the wife of Esmai’l, under whose protection and kindness the progeny of Thâbat joyfully spent their lives. After the demise of Mazâz his sons reigned from generation to generation, with whom the descendants of Esma’il never contended for supremacy, despite of their numbers and power, for the sake of the gratitude of having been brought up together and to keep up the ties of consanguinity; but when the descendants of Esma’il had increased in such a manner that Mekkah could no longer hold them, they left the vicinity of the sanctuary and established themselves in various parts of Arabia.
After some time the tribe of Jorham and the descendants of Mazâz began to be tyrannical, iniquitous, and oppressive; they laid violent hands upon the offerings sent from distant and near places to the house of the Ka’bah, commenced to misappropriate the legacies bequeathed to the house of Allah, so that inhabitants and travellers suffered from their misdeeds. The grandees and princes of the tribes around Mekkah reproved them in vain, until at last the Bani Bakr Bin Wâil and the Kananah of the descendants of Esma’il despatched a company of valiant Arabs, with an ambassador, to the Jorhamites, bearing the following message: ‘For the sake of peace, and considering our kinship, we had hitherto laid no claim to the supremacy due to us by right of inheritance; but as you have now swerved from the path of rectitude to that of crookedness, and are practising oppression and unrighteousness reproved at all times and in all places, and aspire to the sole possession of the noble city of Mekkah, we enjoin you to depart from the country of Tahâmah and to establish yourselves wherever you like.’ At first the tribe of Jorham refused to obey this summons, and resorted to arms, but perceiving their inability to cope with the Bani Bakr they sued for peace, and agreed, after long discussions, to abandon Mekkah. On that occasion their chief, A’mru, the son of Hâreth, was obliged to relinquish his command, but envy induced him to remove the black-stone from the corner of the Ka’bah, and to bury it with two golden fawns, which one of the kings of Persia had sent as a gift to the Ka’bah, and several stands of arms, in the well, which he then filled up to the level of the surrounding ground, so that it became unknown to the people, and the spring of the water Zamzam was hidden from the world like the water of life, and remained thus filled with black soil till the time of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb.
When the time was drawing near that the fountain of Muhammadan guidance—u. w. b.—should irrigate and fertilize the garden of the hopes of those who were wandering in the desert of error, A’bd-ul-Muttalleb heard in his sleep a voice saying: ‘Dig the well Zamzam.’ He asked what the word ‘Zamzam’ meant, but awoke that moment from his dream, and plunged into the sea of meditation to ascertain the signification. The next time, however, he received in his sleep the explanation that Zamzam was a water-pit, which had formerly originated by the blessed approach of Jebrâil, and had been the drinking-place of Esma’il with his followers. When A’bd-ul-Muttalleb awoke, he exclaimed: ‘O God, explain to me this dream,’ because the details of the locality were unknown to him. The third time, however, a messenger from the invisible world explained to him in a dream the signs of the place.
| Hemistich: | What a sublime dream, which is better than wakefulness! |
In short, A’bd-ul-Muttalleb was informed that the site of the well Zamzam was near the two Qoraish idols, called Asâf and Nâilah, and that on the morrow, when he perceived a raven of such and such a colour scraping the ground with his beak and discovering a nest of ants, he must begin to dig there. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb did as he had been commanded, saw the raven, and began to dig with his son, the only one he had as yet had at that time. He continued his work—despite the threats of the Qoraish, who said that they would not allow him to make a well near their idols— and swore on that day a vow that if, after succeeding in his enterprise, the Gracious Bestower of favours should bless him with more sons, he would, in imitation of his ancestor the Friend of the Merciful,44 sacrifice one of them. After great efforts he opened the ancient well, and took possession of what the chief of the tribe of Jorham had buried therein. The Qoraish knew this, and insisted that he should divide with them what he had found, as they were all descendants of Esma’il, and he had merely renewed the well again; but A’bd-ul-Muttalleb replied that these were legacies made to the holy house. The Qoraish, however, coveted the property so much that this affair ultimately resulted in strife and in contention. At last both parties agreed to go to the priestess of Bin Sa’d Bin Hudâin, who resided in Syria, in order to obtain an equitable decision from her, because at that time all persons labouring under a difficulty submitted it to her penetrating judgment. Accordingly A’bd-ul-Muttalleb started with all the chiefs of the Qoraish in that direction, but in most of the stages they found neither water nor grass.
Distich: A soil more waterless than sulphur,
The air more heart-burning than hell.
In one of these stations A’bd-ul-Muttalleb and his followers were overpowered by hunger and thirst, but endured them according to the best of their ability. When they were, however, at the height of their distress, they asked some water from their opponents; these, on the other hand, returned a cold answer, and said that if they were to give away any water the same misfortune would befall them. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb despaired of life, and wished immediately to start; but when he impelled his camel he perceived that Divine mercy had under its hoof produced a sweet fountain surpassing in salubrity and pleasantness the water of life and the well Zamzam. Therefore he thanked the Almighty Bestower, and gave all the vessels to be filled with that water, each drop whereof was more precious than a pearl of O’mân. He also told his antagonists to pour out their water, which had become heated in the air, and to draw from this cold and fresh spring as much of it as they needed, so that they might continue their journey. When the Qoraish beheld with their own eyes this strange event, they repented, and assured him that the Creator of water and earth and Supporter of the stars and heavens, who is a righteous Judge, had already decided their case. They said that henceforth no enmity should arise between them, requested him to return to his home, promised that they would always honour and obey him, besought him to pardon their error and offence, and said that he was worthy of keeping possession of whatever he had discovered [in the well Zamzam].
Hemistich: God bestows prosperity on no one by mistake.
Accordingly A’bd-ul-Muttalleb returned from that journey to his country, after having obtained his desires.
His dignity and station became higher than in former times, and he was again installed as the governor and ruler of Mekkah. Some say that at the discovery of the well Zamzam, the golden fawns and weapons concealed therein by A’mru Bin Hâreth, the Jorhamite, fell into the possession of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb; but when the Qoraish had taken some, A’bd-ul-Muttalleb reproached them with having not only not aided, but even resisted, him in digging the well, and that in order to settle this affair it would be necessary to resort to the casting of lots, according to the usual custom. They agreed to this proposal, whereon the property was divided into two shares, and the fawns became a gift to the Ka’bah, but the weapons fell to the lot of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, so that the Qoraish reaped only loss and disappointment. For the sake of ornament A’bd-ul-Muttalleb suspended the fawns, such as they were, from the door of the Ka’bah, and they were named ‘the antelopes of the Ka’bah’; he sold the arms and spent the proceeds in the expenses of his household. The fawns remained suspended until one night Abu Lahab happened to take them both down, and to sell them to merchants, as will be narrated further on.
Distich: I went like the pilgrims to the Ka’bah;
I returned like Ahmed from the ascension.45
When the number of the sons of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb began to exceed units and amounted to ten, he wished to fulfil his vow by sacrificing one of them, as was at that time customary among the Arabs. He consulted his sons, and the lot fell on the name of A’bdullah, whom he informed of the result, and the youth exclaimed:
Distich: If life be acceptable to one beloved like thee,
How could anyone retain life who has life?
The Bani Makhzum, however, who were relatives of A’bdullah, on the maternal side, dissuaded A’bd-ul-Muttalleb from taking such a step; therefore he laid the details of this matter before the penetrating mind of a priestess of the name of Shujaa’, who had no peer nor equal in the craft of soothsaying, and she asked him what the ransom of one man was in his tribe? He replied that it amounted to ten camels; thereon she ordered him to throw lots between ten camels and his son, and that in case the lot fell upon the camels he was to sacrifice them, but if not he must increase their number.
Hemistich: Until heaven itself decides the case.
A’bd-ul-Muttalleb acted as he was bid; the lot, however, fell again on A’bdullah, and continued in this way till the number of camels had reached one hundred, when it struck them, and A’bdullah, being saved from that peril, the camels were sent to graze in the meadows of eternity. Among other coincidences, it may here be observed that, according to the law of Ahmed the elect—u. w. b.—the ransom of a freeman depends upon lots:
Hemistich: When the star passed away that omen was verified.
RECORD OF THE MEETING OF A’BD-UL-MUTTALLEB WITH ABRAHAH BIN US-SUBBÂH WHEN HE WAS PROCEEDING TO MEKKAH TO DESTROY THE HOUSE OF THE KA’BAH.
When Abrahah had begun to reign in the country of Yaman, he perceived how fond the people were of visiting the house of Allah; therefore he conceived during the season of the pilgrimage an idea in his mind, which was more slender than the texture of a cobweb, namely to build a church instead of the Ka’bah, so that no one should, after that, visit and circumambulate the latter. He therefore assembled the architects of his dominions, and by his orders they built a church in the town of Sa’nâ, which was so elegant and adorned that the eyes of the firmament had seldom beheld an edifice like it; the ceiling and walls, which rivalled the vault of the sky in altitude, also contained wonderful statues and paintings, but that heedless individual knew not that the Creator of all forms was unwilling that vile loam should rub its head against heaven. When the edifice was completed he sent an embassy to the Najashi, the king of the Abyssinians— because at that time the governors of the country of Yaman were subject to the kings of Abyssinia, who were called Najashi, in the same manner as the kings of Rûm are named Qaissar, of Hind Râi, and of China Khâqân—with the following message: ‘May the shadow of your prosperity be outspread in the august name of your majesty until the world is destroyed. I have erected a house and built a church, so as to put an end to the circumambulation of the Ka’bah by pilgrims and visitors. It is my hope that this edifice will subsist for all time and eternity as a monument of your majesty’s happy reign.’ The Najashi approved of this scheme, and Abrahah invited the people to visit the church, which went by the name of Qalis.46 Crowds of worshippers arrived from the surrounding country, some of whom came to Sa’nâ for the purpose of approaching the Almighty, and others to behold the spectacle or to enjoy themselves in the gilded house. When this news became known in the Arab country, Nufil, of the tribe Kananah, felt himself called upon to go to Sa’nâ, where he deceived the guardians of the church under the pretence that he had made a vow to spend therein one night in prayer. The watchmen locked him in, and departed to their homes, but as Nufil had previously taken a purgative, he defiled the building as much as he possibly could, and when the door was opened in the morning he fled like an arrow shot from a bow, taking refuge in his own country. When Abrahah heard of what had taken place, he was incensed with wrath, said that this is but one consequence of the disposition of the Arabs, and swore by the mansion of the Giver, by the bright day, and by the azure night, that he would go to Mekkah and destroy the house of the Ka’bah. After he had determined to undertake this campaign, he called out his army, sent a messenger to the Najashi, informed the king of his intention, and asked him to send him the white elephant who was as large as a mountain, and was surnamed Mahmûd [laudable] because whatever army he accompanied gained the victory. He was extremely white and tall, his aspect was so dazzling to the sight that immediate confusion overwhelmed the beholder so that he would not recover himself; moreover, the stature of this elephant was such that, looking straight, the eye would not see higher than his knee. The Najashi complied with the request of Abrahah and sent Mahmûd with several other mountain-like elephants, who looked like demons, so that if one of them had, in his anger, struck the heart of the planet Mars with his trunk, he would have moved the whole earth. Abrahah then marched with a valiant army of soldiers and elephants from the country of Yaman to Mekkah. Zu Yaqar, who was one of the princes of the tribe of Hemiâr, being informed of this unhallowed intention, started with a large army, and attacked him, but was defeated, made captive, and condemned to death, but pardoned on condition of submission, and obliged to wear heavy fetters on his neck. When Abrahah entered the country of Hejâz, his soldiers plundered everybody and took possession of the cattle, among which were also two hundred camels belonging to A’bd-ul-Muttalleb. Some Arab tribes, such as the Qoraish and the Hozail, wished to offer resistance, but when they perceived their inability to hit the target of their intention, they threw aside the shield of their opposition. On that occasion Abrahah despatched Hanattah, the Hemiarite, to the Qoraish with the message that he did not come to the country to shed blood and wage war, but to destroy the house of the Ka’bah; in case, however, they should be inclined for fighting, he likewise possessed the implements for it. He also enjoined Hanattah to bring with him the princes of the Qoraish, in case they should be desirous for peace. When Hanattah arrived in Mekkah, he delivered the message of Abrahah, and having found the Qoraish to be peaceably disposed he brought A’bd-ul-Muttalleb to the camp, who hastened to meet Zu Yaqar on account of the friendship that had subsisted between them, and began to make inquiries about his own affairs. Zu Yaqar replied that he had no access to the king, but was acquainted with one of the courtiers named Anis, and that, if convenient, he would communicate to him some of the laudable qualities of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and thus bring him to the notice of the king. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb agreed, and in this manner he was introduced to the king. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb was a man of tall stature, handsome aspect, and commanding appearance; when Abrahah beheld him he perceived the signs of glory and of praise shining on his forehead,47 descended from the throne, betook himself to the carpet, and made A’bd-ul-Muttalleb sit by his side; but being unacquainted with each other’s language, the conversation was carried on by means of an interpreter, and Abrahah became so pleased with A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, that he determined, within himself, to spare the house of the Ka’bah if the latter were to intercede for it, and to return again from that very stage of his march. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb pleaded, however, for the recovery of his camels which the soldiers had plundered, and Abrahah was thereby so disconcerted that he lost the reins of self-possession from his hands and reproached A’bd-ul-Muttalleb in the following words: ‘Thou art a prince and a governor among the Qoraish, whose eminence chiefly consists in the possession of the house of the Ka’bah, which I have come to demolish; but thou hast not spoken one word referring thereto, and hast, from the evil disposition of thy heart, only vented thy grief for the loss of some camels, the price of which is of no great weight in the scales of common-sense; therefore I consider such a proceeding very strange, and foreign to thy dignity.’ A’bd-ul-Muttalleb replied: ‘That house belongs to the omnipotent and omniscient Lord, who is able to keep it and to guard it from the injuries of enemies, and as I am only the lord of camels, I must speak about them.’ Hereon Abrahah ordered the camels to be restored to him, with which A’bd-ul-Muttalleb returned, and exhorted the inhabitants of the holy city either to disperse or to entrench themselves in the mountains. He himself entered the Ka’bah and took refuge with the Lord of glory against the evil intentions of the inimical king, when all of a sudden his eyes alighted on a flock of Ababil birds soaring over the heads of the companions of the elephant, which sight comforted and rejoiced him greatly; and after finishing his prayers he went to Mount Harra, where he met the chiefs of the Qoraish tribe.
RECORD OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE COMPANIONS OF THE
ELEPHANT BY STONING FROM THE ABABIL BIRDS.48
One morning, when the gold-winged bird of the sun rose on the eastern horizon, proceeding towards the meridian regions, and the elephant of destiny had stretched forth the trunk of vengeance for the purpose of uprooting the vital tree of the enemies, Abrahah Bin Us-sabbâh ordered the elephants to be decorated with variegated trappings, made Mahmûd the leader of all the others, placed him in the vanguard, and countless warriors began to move like the tempestuous sea. When the elephant Mahmûd, of praiseworthy appearance, had arrived in the vicinity of the sacred house, he deflected from the line of the rook,49 began to march in a crooked way, and though the officers had, by order of the king and queen, started the Pion of admonition, impelling him to advance, he nevertheless continued to leap backwards like the knight on a chess-board. This game mated the king with his army, so that they remained astounded, stationary in their places. At this stage of events a Divine army made its appearance in the shape of a flock of Ababil birds, each carrying a stone in his beak, and two in his claws; each stone, being by the pen of Omnipotence marked with the name of one of the antagonists, was projected like rain in such a manner that on striking a trooper it issued again from the abdomen of his quadruped, and when it struck a foot-soldier it came forth from his anus, so that by the wrath of the Omnipotent the whole army and all the cattle were destroyed. Mahmûd alone escaped this fate, and though at that time also Abrahah was spared, a few days afterwards the bird of his soul was clenched by the talons of the eagle of death. The flight of Abrahah took place as follows: He left the camp on that dreadful day, and sped on the wings of celerity alone towards Abyssinia; one of the birds, however, having invested itself with the collar of attendance upon him, pursued the wretch, and Abrahah was seized on the road by a great malady, wherein the hand of fate— according to the blessed verse, ‘The hand of Allah is above their hands’—so overpowered him that the joints of all his fingers separated, and he arrived neither alive nor dead in Abyssinia, where he reported to the Najashi the story of the birds, whereat the king was greatly astonished and perplexed. Meanwhile, the bird which had accompanied Abrahah struck him with a stone, whereon he also departed to the place where his companions had gone to.
It is related that when this dreadful catastrophe overtook the companions of the elephant,50 the Qoraish looked from the top of Mount Harra towards that army, but were unable to see it move, wherefore they desired to go in that direction. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, who had from the beginning of this contest been circumspect about its end, with a view to his own interest, endeavoured to quiet the Qoraish by telling them that possibly the halting of the enemies might be only a stratagem, the consequences whereof would become injurious, and that, as he was acquainted with Abrahah, it would be proper for him to go there and to see what had happened. The Qoraish approved of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb’s opinion, who went alone to the camp and buried all the valuables in a spot concealed from the view of strangers.
Hemistich: Riches are those which fall easily into your lap.
When he had finished this business he informed the Qoraish of what had taken place, whereon all of them fell upon the corpses and divided the remnant of the spoils among themselves; and the destruction of the companions of the elephant became an occasion of the increase of property, riches, and dignity to A’bd-ul-Muttalleb.
Distich: Hundred thousand souls and hearts were spoilt
Till Muhammad ascended one night to heaven.51
RECORD OF THE GOING OF THE QORAISH PRINCES TO THE CASTLE OF A’MDÂN, AND SAIF ZU YAZAN’S GIVING THE GLAD TIDINGS TO A’BD - UL - MUTTALLEB THAT THE PROPHET OF THE LATTER TIMES—U. W. B.—WOULD APPEAR.
Zu Yazan was of the dynasty of the kings of Hemiar and Yaman, respected and esteemed by the people on account of the nobility of his descent. At that time he was, moreover, the husband of a lady who had no equal in beauty, but was compelled by Abrahah, who had heard about her and coveted her, to surrender her to him. On account of this tyrannic act Zu Yazan laid his complaint before the court of the Qaissar, and having returned from it disappointed, he placed it before Naushirvân, the refuge of justice, where he also met with procrastination on account of the distance of the two kingdoms and the difference of the two religions, it being a long way from Madâin to the capital of Abyssinia; and the difference between Christianity, the yoke whereof Zu Yazan bore on his neck, and between ignolatry, which Naushirvân professed, was even greater. After Zu Yazan had for some time sojourned at Madâin he folded up the carpet of life, and Saif, the son of Zu Yazan, had—during the reign of Masrûq, the son of Abrahah, after the death of the latter—taken refuge with Naushirvân, and had been enrolled amongst his servants, until at last that just king took pity upon him, and liberating six hundred valiant and strong men who had for various crimes been confined in prison, sent them, under the leadership of a decrepit old man of the name of Hormuzd, under the shadow of the banners of Saif, the son of Zu Yazan, by way of the sea, which was the nearest, to Abyssinia and to Yaman. The reason why Naushirvân sent prisoners was that in case they should meet with disasters, either by sea or in Abyssinia, there would be no cause for sorrow and repentance. Accordingly, they embarked in six ships, and arrived after a prosperous voyage in Abyssinia, where Hormuzd and Saif pitched their tents in a camp which they had selected for the purpose of resting a few days; and on that occasion the adherents of Saif in the country joined him. Their antagonists, however, reported to Masrûq, the son of Abrahah, what the aim of the invaders was; therefore he sent an envoy to Hormuzd with the following message: ‘This man Saif has deceived you and your king. If you knew how large my army is you would offer your best excuses. I feel ashamed to wage war against you, and if you wish to return I shall furnish you with provisions, but if you remain in this country you will be more honoured than you ever were in Persia.’ When Hormuzd heard these words he asked, and afterwards obtained, one month’s truce, during which time many Hemiarites joined Saif, and after the expiration of it hostilities began by Masrûq’s despatching his own son with ten thousand cavalry against the enemy, to whom Hormuzd likewise opposed his own son with an equal number of horsemen. When the two armies met the Persians rained a shower of arrows upon the Abyssinians, put them to flight, and Masrûq’s son was killed. But the son of Hormuzd, who pursued them, also lost his life. The next day grief for his son impelled Masrûq with one hundred thousand cavalry to attack Hormuzd, who, having staked his life by burning his ships, and thus cutting off his own retreat, hastened to meet his antagonist with five thousand Hemiarites and six hundred Persians. Hormuzd asked for a bandage and tied it over his brows, because his hair was so long that it overshadowed his eyes; and his sight being also weak, he desired Masrûq to be pointed out to him; thereon he obtained the information that Masrûq was mounted on an elephant, and wore a crown with a ruby just over the forehead. When Hormuzd sighted the brilliancy of the ruby from a distance he said: ‘The elephant is a great vehicle; now he must be attacked.’ After a short time Masrûq alighted from the elephant and mounted a horse, of which circumstance the bystanders informed him, and he replied: ‘The horse is a noble vehicle. It is necessary to wait a little.’ Then Masrûq alighted from the horse and bestrode a mule, whereon Hormuzd said: ‘A mule is the progeny of an ass, but an ass is the vehicle of misery and scorn. Give me the bow immediately, for now is the propitious time.’ He took the bow into his hand, but ordered its hilt to be kept aiming at the ruby on the crown of Masrûq, and continued: ‘When, after shooting the arrow, you perceive the Abyssinians moving and gathering round their king, you may be sure that the arrow has taken effect; but if not, you must quickly give me another.’ In short:
Distich: When his finger touched the dart
It shot forth from the bow.
The eagle of fate, represented by the four-feathered arrow, flew forth from the nest of the bow, reached its aim, and stuck fast in the proud head of the King of Abyssinia.
Distich: Each arrow-glance of thy quiver eye had an aim
Which struck the bosom as thy heart desired.
Masrûq alighted from the mule, and the Abyssinian army surrounded him. When Saif Zu Yazan and Hormuzd perceived what had taken place, they unsheathed the scimitar of revenge, attacked and put to flight the hosts of Abyssinia, whose dead were innumerable. Zu Yazan made his triumphal entry in S’anâ, and erected the throne of his dominion in the castle of A’mdân, a building the like of which had never before existed on earth. The simple and the gentle from near and far hastened to offer their congratulations at the court of that powerful king. Among the visitors were also the princes of the Qoraish tribe, such as A’bd-ul-Muttalleb Bin Hâshem, Wahab Bin A’bd Munâf, Amanah Bin A’bd-ush-Shams, Tolhah Bin Khovilad, A’bdullah Bin Juda’an, with others who had left their country, and had come to S’anâ for the purpose of waiting upon the king. After a chamberlain had obtained an audience for them, they, with other chieftains from various places, laid the hands of courtesy on their bosoms and were admitted. After the Qoraish had offered their gifts of homage, A’bd-ul-Muttalleb requested permission to speak, and the king replied that there was no objection provided he was skilled in using language suitable to a royal court. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb then uttered congratulations at the accession of the king in suitable terms, and introduced his companions in such a manner that he was applauded by all:
Quatrain: Though no one has introduced me to thee
To say what my station and dignity are,
My speech itself is a sign of excellence,
Like the breeze that wafts from a rose-grove.
After the king had ascertained the high personal character of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, he made inquiries about his family, which were replied to. Then Saif continued his royal favours, saying: ‘Thou art the son of my mother’s sister, who likewise belongs to the noblest of the tribe of the Bani-an-najâr,’ and having expressed his joy and pleasure at their visit, he sent them to the mansion of hospitality, where they found entertainment during a whole month, without, however, being allowed either to meet him or to depart. When the just-mentioned time had expired he invited A’bd-ul-Muttalleb to his private apartments, where he treated him very courteously, and after the usual preliminaries addressed him as follows: ‘The figures of affairs now hidden, and events concealed, but which are about to happen, have appeared on the speculum of my mind, and I am unwilling to reveal them to strangers, but as you are a treasury of secret wisdom, a depository of excellent qualities, and a manifest evidence of the approach of the realization of the promised event, even the most scrupulous caution does not persuade me to conceal this matter from you:
Distich: In this bosom is a secret which I cannot reveal,
Which I cannot reveal, and cannot conceal.
I inform only very wise and discriminating persons of this secret, therefore you must communicate it neither to friend nor foe, nor even trust your own shadow as a confidant in this matter.’ Although the king had enjoined such secrecy, he informed him that soon an object would be transferred from the invisible to the visible world, which will become the cause of honour and glory to mortals in this, and of exaltation to the dead in the next world. ‘By their closer connection with that precious gift, the inhabitants of Mekkah, but more especially thy noble family, will become distinguished above all the other inhabitants of the world.’ After this, A’bd-ul-Muttalleb asked for explanations and details concerning the time when the promised event would take place, and the king replied: ‘When in the honoured sanctuary and noble city of Mekkah a merciful guest who has a mole between his shoulders makes his appearance, arriving from the invisible in the visible world, genii and men will be inclined to follow him, and by the advent of that blessed personage thou wilt be ennobled to the top of the firmament.’ A’bd-ul-Muttalleb said: ‘Praise and thanks be to Allah, because I am returning to my native country from the treasury of the exalted king, with a precious robe and costly diadem, which will be an object of pride to me and to my descendants; and if awe and respect for your majesty were not restraining me I would make such inquiries on this subject that no kind of doubt or suspicion would remain in my mind.’ The king continued: ‘The time has arrived when a person— endowed with the dignity of Nûh [Noah], with the nature of the Friend,52 with the intrepidity of Mûsa [Moses], and with the breath of I’sa53 [Jesus] — of the name of Muhammad will be, and is perhaps already born. One sign is, that in his infancy he will be separated from his parents, and will be taken care of by his grandfather and uncle. By the special favour of the Lord he will be exalted to the dignity, and will be invested with the precious robe of prophecy. Although himself unable to write, he will draw the pen of abrogation across the injunctions of previous pages of former books, and will invite the inhabitants of the world to abandon Satan and to worship Allah. He will vanquish the nations opposing him, destroy idols, demolish temples, and will quench the ardour of the ignolaters with the refulgent scimitars of his adherents, and despite his being a favourite of the Almighty, he will not cease for a single moment to worship Him.’ A’bd-ul-Muttalleb then said: ‘Trusting in your royal mercy, I hope your majesty’s pearl-dropping words will still more plainly reveal this matter to me.’ Saif Zu Yazan replied: ‘By the Lord of glory and possessor of the Ka’bah! I have, for a certainty, learnt that thou wilt be his grandfather, and what I have told thee is nothing but the pure truth, which I have ascertained from inspired books and heavenly chronicles, not intelligible to ordinary intellects.’ Hereon A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, overwhelmed with feelings of humility, placed his forehead of submission and awe upon the ground, offering praises and thanksgivings. The king continued: ‘Cease thy prostrations, because thy having received this communication is a sign that thou art worthy thereof.’ A’bd-ul-Muttalleb then raised his head and said: ‘I had a son, A’bdullah by name, who was very intelligent, acute, humane and brave. He was the most beloved of my children, and to establish him in life I married him to Aminah, the daughter of Wahab Bin A’bd Munâf. She was decorated with the ornaments of beauty and modesty, but when she became pregnant, A’bdullah, the apple of my eye and object of my existence, folded up the carpet of life in the exuberance of youth and vigour of manhood, and, removing it to the eternal world, abandoned me to the pangs of sorrow, grief, and disappointment. After this dreadful event, Aminah gave birth to an infant endued with laudable qualities and with the signs mentioned by your majesty, so we called him Muhammad [laudable], to make his qualities agree with his name. Now he has left the boundaries of infancy and has entered the stage of boyhood, but individuals of intelligence and foresight have observed signs of nobility and of blessedness on his august person, and in his company I feel as if A’bdullah were still living:
Distich: He is living, in whose family
People remain to recollect him.
When A’bd-ul-Muttalleb had brought his narrative thus far, Saif Zu Yazan advised him to keep this event [of the prophet’s birth] secret from the Jews, because they would become his enemies, as also from his own people, for fear of exciting their jealousy, and informed him that as soon as Muhammad—u. w. b.—receives his mission the Qoraish will become his foes, will contend with him, and will, for the purpose of removing him, concoct stratagems and raise troubles, wherefore his lordship will be compelled to leave Mekkah to roam in the desert of exile, and to meet the inhabitants of Madinah, who will become his adherents, where also the same faith will be established. He further continued: ‘Could I trust this perishable life, I would get ready an army and hasten to Yathreb54 to be in waiting for his advent, and to promote the victory of the true religion; but as that time is yet distant, I shall most probably not survive to witness the blessed commencement and joyful termination of his mission:
Distich: There is an angel in the azure sky
Who draws a curtain before a lover’s eye.’
After the king had thus announced the glad tidings of the advent of the lord of the immaculate family, and had completed his directions to keep them secret, he called for all the Qoraish princes, who were ten in number, and presented each one of them with ten slave-boys and ten girls, ten pieces of striped cloth, five Ratls55 of gold, ten Ratls of silver, a vase full of amber, and with one hundred camels. He presented A’bd-ul-Muttalleb with the whole amount of what he had given to each of them singly, and requested him to come again next year to the capital S’anâ for the purpose of renewing their amity. Then he bade a friendly farewell to all of them, and sent them back to the honoured city of Mekkah; and as Divine providence would have it, during that very same year the bird of this excellent king was captured, in the hunting park of life, by the fowler of death. Such details are, however, foreign to the scope of this work. Some maintain that death would not permit A’bd-ul-Muttalleb again to go and to visit the king; after all, however, the words of the latter had confirmed the belief of the former in the interpretation of the dream which he had dreamt before the birth of the prophet (u. w. b.).
RECORD OF THE DREAM OF A’BD-UL-MUTTALLEB, WITH A
SUITABLE PREFACE.
As in these pages verified dreams are occasionally described, perhaps the intelligent reader will not be displeased to meet with a definition of dreaming, and of its various species. Let it not remain hidden to the minds of the wakeful and vigilant that sleep is the state of the body during which the external senses cease to perceive sensuous manifestations, because the animal spirit has withdrawn itself to the interior. If in this state the soul receives an impression, it is called a dream, which may be either true or false. A true dream takes place when the human soul is liberated from sensuous occupations, and becomes, on account of its conformity with superior essences, and its connection with the upper entities, acquainted with some images to which it was predestined from the beginning. Sûfis and philosophers are of opinion that all the images of the nether world are existing in the celestial souls, and that human fancy may become impressed with all kinds of images. When, however, the reasoning faculty is strong, and the imaginative weak, it can neither dispose of nor alter the noble and sublime arcana revealed to it during sleep, but surrenders them as it received them to the retentive faculty, so that on awakening the sleeper finds the idea which had from the celestial reverted to the human soul impressed on his imagination. Such a dream is true, and needs no interpretation. When, on the contrary, the imagination is strong, it operates on the impressions received from the celestial soul, and having clothed them in appropriate garments, abandons them to the memory. Such a dream is true, but stands in need of an interpretation.
From these preliminary remarks it appears that a true dream is, like a dream in general, also divided into two species.
It is not unknown to the intelligent that true visions fall to the lot of such persons only as are enriched by the garlands of religion and law, and that when the spirit is weak, but the imagination strong, the latter always predominates by virtue of its supremacy over the former during the assimilations, resemblances, connections, and distribution of ideas which are taking place in dreams, and thereby prevents it from taking cognizance of the intellectual world.
Distich: The bad humour which over a temper presides,
Leaves it not. Only with death it subsides.
As the function of the imagination consists in always mixing up everything, it commingles details with each other, but occasionally separates connected portions, and in this manner produces innumerable vain and absurd images. Sometimes it happens that one of the four humours predominates in the body, and that in conformity with this state the imagination furnishes appropriate images to the spirit. Thus, for instance, when blood prevails in the body, the image—which the intellect has, by the aid of the imagination, found in a state of wakefulness—having become impressed upon the corresponding internal senses, will manifest itself in sleep. From what has just been said, it appears that false dreams are of three kinds.
Among the number of true dreams on record, that of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb is one, which took place as follows: One day, when he was asleep, the pen of fate wrote a wonderful line on the tablet of his mind, and the speculum of his intellect received a strange impression. Therefore he hastened with a palpitating heart to a witch, who had no equal in the art of interpreting dreams. When she saw him arrive with fear and trembling she asked about the cause, and he informed her as follows: ‘In my sleep I beheld a white chain with four ends issuing from my loins. One end touched the sky, the other the earth, the third the east, and the fourth the west. I looked with amazement at this spectacle, when all of a sudden the chain was transmuted into a green and fresh tree, loaded with all the fruits existing in the vegetable kingdom. At the foot of the tree stood two old men of serene and dignified aspect. I asked them about their names and positions, whereon one of them said: “I am called Nûh” [Noah]; the other said: “My name is Ebrâhim [Abraham] the friend.” Then they continued: “O A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, this tree of noble origin has come down to thee from thy ancestors and forefathers. has been continued by thee, and will from century to century, and from generation to generation, be propagated according to covenant and alliance.”’ The witch replied: ‘If it be true what thou hast narrated, in thy family a man will be born, the cloak of obedience and ear-ring of submission to whom will be assured by the dwellers in the tabernacles of heaven and in the regions of the earth. The chain means the strengthening of the laws of religion and the multitude of auxiliaries; the links thereof constitute the establishment and confirmation of the dignity of that blessed individual, and whoever opposes him will, like the people of Nûh, fall into the tempest of misery and vortex of annihilation. That happy man will make such efforts, and so revive the ordinances of the religion of Ebrâhim, that as long as the world endures the foundations of the castle of his prophecy and Emâmship will not experience the inroads of decay.’
RECORD OF SOME OF THE QUALITIES BY WHICH A’BD-UL-MUTTALLEB WAS DISTINGUISHED IN THE FAMILY OF A’BD MUNÂF.
It is related that during the time of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb the victory of the Qoraish over any tribe with whom they happened to be at war must be attributed to the fact that the light of prophecy manifested itself on his countenance in the circular form, which is the most perfect of figures.56 No one of the inhabitants of Mekkah doubted of its efficacy, and whenever the dwellers in the mother of cities were afflicted with any calamity they lifted their hands in prayer, and constituted him their intercessor with the Almighty; in consequence whereof their difficulties were mitigated. In confirmation of this fact it may be adduced that once famine and dearth had risen to such a height as to make the people—who were starving for want of bread— forget to covet paradise:
Distich: Dearth was so great in Damascus
That lovers forgot their love.
The princes of the Qoraish and the chiefs of the Arabs went with A’bd-ul-Muttalleb to the mountain, elected him their mediator, submissively and humbly prayed to the bountiful Giver to send them a gift [of rain], which is by itself a cause of life to the inhabitants of the world. The request of that company was most quickly responded to, so that the prairies of hope of the inhabitants of the sanctuary were gladdened and refreshed with so much rain as to revive the meadows of their aspirations with verdure and beauty. These joyful events, however, took place by the blessing of the proximity of the advent of the prince of inspired messengers and seal of prophets—u. w. b. One of the consequences of Divine favour towards A’bd-ul-Muttalleb was his being gladdened by the possession of ten sons and six daughters. The first of his sons was Hâreth, who helped him to excavate the well Zamzam. Hâreth begat Abu Sofiân, Moghairah and Naufil, the first of whom became a Moslem when Mekkah was conquered, and with reference to him the prince of the world [Muhammad] said: ‘Abu Sofiân will be the president of those who dwell in paradise’; and if it pleaseth Allah the Most High, his affairs and circumstances will be narrated; he, however, is not the Abu Sofiân who was the father of Moa’viah. The second son was Abu Lahab, also called Abu O’tbah, and was one of the thieves who stole the fawns of the Ka’bah. The occasion for this theft was that one night Abu Lahab was drinking wine with a party of the Qoraish, and dancing girls were singing, till their joy was complete; but as they knew of no money more ready than the two little golden fawns brought by A’bd-ul-Muttalleb from the well Zamzam, they stole and sold them. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb happened to pass near the house where the carousal was taking place, and to overhear the girls singing that they had performed the culpable act. He then informed the Qoraish, who took the whole company prisoners, and punished each individual of it according to his deserts. Abu Lahab, or Abu O’tbah, was married to Omm Jamil, the daughter of Harb, the sister of Abu Sofiân and the aunt of Moa’viah, to whom the verse ‘and his wife also bearing wood’57 alludes. The third was A’bd, who on account of his good qualities was surnamed Hajab [modesty]; he left no progeny. The fourth was Qawam, the son of one mother with Hamzah the prince of martyrs; besides this, however, nothing is known of the circumstances of Qawam. The fifth, Zurâr, was an Arab poet; his epithet is Abu Tâher, and he left no posterity. Zobeir, the sixth son, was likewise one of the Arab poets. The seventh was Abu Tâleb, who had six children; four sons, i.e., A’li, O’qail, Ja’far, and Tâleb, and two daughters, namely, Omm Hâni and Hâmi, whose mother was Fâttimah, daughter of the son of Asad, son of Hâshem; she was one of the believing refugee [muhâjer] women. The affairs, however, of Abu Tâleb will be narrated in these pages in connection with those of his lordship the best of creatures, if it pleaseth Allah the Most High. The eighth son, A’bdullah, was the most beautiful man of the tribe, and left no offspring except the prince of existences [Muhammad]:
Verses: Say Muhammad, and thou art saved,
For he is the boast of the country and of the religion.
What epithets is his name in need of?
The ninth son was Hamzah, who was the principal hero among the Arabs. His epithet is Abu O’mârah, which was also the name of his only son; and his daughter was called Omm Almahâ. The tenth was Abbâs, surnamed Ab-ul-Fazl, born three years before the year of the elephant,58 and who departed this life in Madinah during the Khalifate of O’thmân, after having passed through eighty-six stages [i.e., years] of the journey of existence, and O’thmân officiated in the prayers of his funeral. A’bbâs left six children, i.e., A’bdullah, Fazl, Qâsem, Moa’ved, Hâreth, and one daughter named Omm Sofiah Habshiah. Their mother was Omm Fazl, the daughter of Hâreth, daughter of Maimunah, who was one of the mothers of the believers.59
The names of the daughters of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb are as follows: Sofiah, A’atikah, Baizâ, Barrah, Aminah, and Arovi. These sixteen children were born to A’bd-ul-Muttalleb from numerous ladies. Some of his sons remained in ignorance, whilst some professed Islâm, and belonged to the company of the noble and the eminent. Six of them died before the mission, but of the four sons who lived till the time of Muhammad’s prophetship, one was A’bbâs, whose descendants are the ornaments of pulpits. The second was Abu Lahab, with reference to whom all agree that he remained an infidel; and the fourth [third (?)] was Abu Tâleb, about whose religion there is a difference of opinion, because some of the Motazzelite U’lâma and Emâmians believe that he entered into the monotheistic religion, but a number of Sunnis think that he remained to the end of his life in the religion of his fathers, and the supporters of both these opinions adduce arguments in their own favour, but Allah the Most High knows best.
It is related that A’bd-ul-Muttalleb so loved his lordship the asylum of prophecy that he preferred him to his own children, and used occasionally to say that a high destiny was in store for the boy, and that he would soon reach the acme of eminence, and attain the zenith of prosperity. It is said that in the shade of the Ka’bah a mat was spread and covered with bedding for A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and that his children were accustomed to sit there. The prophet— u. w. b.—used to come to the bedding and squat on it with great composure. His uncles prohibited him from doing so, but A’bd-ul-Muttalleb ordered his sons not to interfere with him, and when A’bd-ul-Muttalleb was asleep no one dared to awaken him except his lordship, nor could anyone else follow him when he went to his private apartment. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb always saw in his blessed motions and rests the signs of eminence, superiority, and glory from on high, and was accustomed to boast of them to acquaintances and to strangers, and when the death of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb approached he confided his lordship to the care of Abu Tâleb.
RECORD OF THE DECEASE OF A’BD-UL-MUTTALLEB, AND THE
TAKING AWAY OF MUHAMMAD—U. W. B.—BY ABU TÂLEB.
When disease had overpowered A’bd-ul-Muttalleb and his nature succumbed to the mighty enemy, he assembled his sons, and said: ‘The event inevitable to all mortals is approaching me, and I have no inquietude on my mind except sorrow for Muhammad, who has neither mother nor father. Therefore my sons must enter into a covenant to take care of him after my demise.’ Hereon Abu Lahab and some of his brothers offered themselves, but were not accepted; Abu Tâleb therefore spoke to his father as follows: ‘If it be the good pleasure of the prince of the Qoraish and of the Arab country, I shall make the utmost efforts to promote, raise, and educate thy darling Muhammad, and shall never allow the dust of vexation to settle upon the countenance of his circumstances and hopes.’ A’bd-ul-Muttalleb assented to this request, and answered: ‘As I was, notwithstanding Muhammad’s infancy, accustomed to make him my confidant in everything, I must consult him also in this affair, and make him the arbiter of it.’ After saying these words he turned his face to the lord of the world [i.e., to Muhammad], saying: ‘With the sting of separation and grief of departure from thee, I am going to exchange this perishable for the eternal world, and I ask thee whom of thy uncles thou lovest most, that I may make arrangements with him to take care of thee.’ The lord of the world—u. w. b.—then arose, embraced Abu Tâleb and sat down on his knee. A’bd-ul-Muttalleb continued: ‘Praise be to Allah, thou agreest with my choice.’
Distich: Whatever is thy wish
Is mine likewise.
Then he said to Abu Tâleb: ‘I surrender Muhammad to thee; thou must carefully guard him, and never relax thy vigilance, because in a short time this beloved child will not only become the prince of his nation, but of the whole world. If good fortune is propitious to thee, and thou livest to see the beginning of his mission, thou wilt become aware that I was the man who was in this world best acquainted with his circumstances.’ Abu Tâleb received this injunction of his father with all his heart, took him by the hand and made a covenant, after which A’bd-ul-Muttalleb exclaimed: ‘Now the agony of death, and the bitterness of spirit connected therewith, have become easy to me,’ and beginning to kiss the blessed face of his lordship the prophet—u. w. b.—said: ‘I have found none of my own children more sweet and agreeable than thee;’ and when he had completed his last will, he expired.
Distich: Verily the builders of grief have cemented the edifice of
life with the loam of suffering;
They have inscribed the floor of the magazine of existence
with the words, ‘Everything therein is perishable.’
When A’bd-ul-Muttalleb died he was one hundred and twenty years old, and his lordship the prophet had attained the age of eight. The latter remained almost always till the time of the exile [hejret] at Mekkah, living contentedly under the protection of Abu Tâleb, who remained faithful to the covenant till the end of his life.
The connection of A’li—u. w. b.—the commander of the faithful with the prophet—u. w. b.—originated in the family of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, A’li having been the son of Abu Tâleb, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, the son of Hâshem whose name was O’mar, called O’mrân the high, on account of his dignity. During a year of famine and hardship O’mrân had gone to Syria, and thence imported bread, on an infinite number of dromedaries, to the sanctuary, so that every day two camels were slaughtered and roasted; and the dry breads, having been moistened, were distributed twice daily. He was the first among the Arabs who invited guests to a repast prepared of moistened bread, and was therefore surnamed Hâshem. Other chroniclers, again, have said that Hâshem means one who breaks bread in a cup to make a kind of porridge, but the difference between the two meanings is obvious.60 Hâshem was proverbial for his liberality and unrivalled in gracefulness; the luminous beams of distinction radiated in such a manner from his forehead that whoever beheld his countenance had not the boldness to contemplate it, but looked to the ground. This the Christian sovereigns knew from their sacred books, and wished to enter into connection with him. One of these was Harqal,61 who sent him an ambassador and offered him a virgin whom he guarded in his private apartments, but Hâshem refrained from complying with his petition. Afterwards, however, he entered—in consequence of a dream he had had—into a matrimonial alliance, at Madinah, with Solma, one of the noblest ladies of the Beni Najjâr, who was decorated with the ornaments of intellect and sagacity, on condition that her confinement should take place in her own house. After the consummation of the marriage the lady was taken to Mekkah, but on her becoming pregnant with A’bd-ul-Muttalleb she was on account of the condition again conveyed back to Madinah, but after she had given birth to A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, Hâshem went to Syria, fell sick in the vicinity of Damascus, and gave directions in his last agony to surrender the bow of the prophet Esma’il, the banner, and the key of the house of the Ka’bah, which he had inherited from his forefathers, to Abd-ul-Muttalleb, and having, though young, bidden farewell to this perishable world, he was buried in that country, where his tomb is still known and visited. Some say that Hâshem went to Syria before the birth of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and that he had himself given the just-mentioned articles to his brother Muttalleb, to whom he had also transferred the gubernatorial office, whilst the latter, in his turn, surrendered everything to A’bd-ul-Muttalleb. But Muttalleb was the son of A’bd Munâf whose name was [also] Moghairah and surname A’bd-ush-Shams,62 but Munâf was likewise the name of an idol. On account of his great beauty, he was also named Qamar [full moon], and because he had inherited the sovereignty from his father, the surrounding kings hastened to join A’bd Munâf. He had four sons63: one of them was Hâshem, about whom some circumstances have already been recorded above. A’bd-ush-Shams was the ancestor of the Beni O’mmayya [called Ommiade Khalifs by European authors]; Naufil was the forefather of Habib the son of Mua’zim, and Muttalleb of A’li Shâfa’i; the latter was thus surnamed because it is related that Hâshem and A’bd-ush-Shams were twins, whose foreheads were connected at their birth and could not be separated, until at last the sword was resorted to. An intelligent man, who had been informed of this proceeding, considered it to be a sign that the descendants of the two brothers would decide their quarrels with the sabre, which prediction was actually fulfilled in the enmity between his lordship the prophet and Abu Sofiân, between A’li—u. w. b.—the select and Moa’viah, and between the Emâm Husain— u. w. b.—and Yazid I.
As for O’thmân, his relationship to the prophet—u. w. b. —is as follows: O’thmân was the son of O’ffân, son of Abu A’ass, son of O’mmayya, son of A’bd-ush-Shams, son of A’bd Munâf, who was the son of Qossai, whose name was Zaid and epithet Mujmi’ [collector], because, after the Qoraish had dispersed, he again collected them, which happened as follows: They had once expelled the Beni Khazifah from Mekkah, and he, having assembled the Qoraish, distributed sites to them. To the more distinguished he assigned places within, and to those who were less so, without the city of Mekkah, wherefore the former were called insiders [bâttah] and the latter outsiders [zoâher], and for this reason his lordship’s epithet is Battahi.
With reference to Qossai, the saying was current: ‘Your father, O Qossai, was an adversary of Mujmi’, and verily Allah caused the nations to hear.’ He was named Marfahi and Qossai because he had, after the demise of his father, gone in the service of his mother to the limits of Syria, where he dwelt for some time, and as he was remote [Qossai], namely, distant from his tribe, he was surnamed Qossai. He had built the house of assembly wherein the Qoraish transacted all their business; there, also, the people congregated and conversed. He used to enjoin his family to guard themselves from Divine wrath and punishment, to respect the rights of their fellow-citizens, to restrain their tongues and hands from evil, to make veracity their motto, to eat in such a way as to deserve reproach neither in this nor in the next world, and to act in such a way as to merit the praise of all their descendants. He bequeathed dignity and greatness to his sons, and after he had completed his last injunctions he appointed every one of them to a certain office. A’bd Munâf he installed as governor and magistrate; A’bdullah he intrusted with the Hejâba and the banner; but A’bd-ul-U’zza was made administrator of the pilgrims, of the well Zamzam, and of the Ka’bah.64
The connection of Zobeir with the prophet—u. w. b. —was as follows: Zobeir was the son of A’wâm, son of Jaluvid, son of Asad, son of A’bd-ul-U’zza, son of Qossai, son of Kallâb, who was the most exalted individual among the Qoraish, and the most noble of the tribe A’dnân. When the sight of Kallâb was illuminated by the pulchritude of Qossai, he said: ‘Glad tidings to you, tribe of the Qoraish, because my children will be ennobled by the founder of a religion, who will come forth from among them; and your offspring will likewise participate in that nobility. Whoever will treat him well shall remain free from the afflictions of time and eternity, but woe to the man who attacks, slights, or opposes him.’ These words, however, remained unknown to the people till the rise of Islâm.
A’bd-ur-rahman A’wuf and Sa’d, the son of Abu Woqâss, are likewise somewhat connected, A’bd-ur-rahman having been the son of A’wuf, son of Hâreth, son of Kallâb; and Sa’d was the son of Woqâss, son of Mâlek, son of Wahab, son of A’bd Munâf, son of Qossai, son of Kallâb, son of Marrah. In all matters the Qoraish acted according to the far-seeing opinion of Marrah, and did not disobey him. He always kept food in store for the nourishment of the poor and destitute, and during seasons of famine he kept various kinds of provisions always ready on the table of his hospitality. He constantly exhorted his children to act well, to obey the Creator, and to esteem His creatures. When he was on the point of death, he assembled the members of his family, and said: ‘I have heard from my fathers and ancestors that in our family a prophet will arise, whom the Arabs will be inclined to follow, and will gird their loins in obedience to him. The kings of the earth will submit themselves to him, and his opponents will be vanquished and despised. My injunction to you is, to depose the embryo of prophecy only in wombs of purity not belonging either to fools or to infidels. Let it be known to you that whoever is of noble descent possesses a magnanimous heart; that whoever is hasty in his affairs, falls into the vortex of misery; and whoever looks to the consequences of his acts will be respected. Whoever begins anything without preparation, distrusts his own experience, and being suspicious thereof, is deserving of blame.’ He also said: ‘A’mru, the son of Yahia, has changed the religion of your fathers, Ebrâhim [Abraham] and Esma’il [Ishmael], and has led astray his children; but you must abide by the orthodox faith; for my father has imparted this commandment to me.’ A’mru, the son of Yahia, and Qama’h were two brothers, sons of Aliâs, the son of Mazar, son of Abu Bakr, son of Wurrâq, son of Quhâfah,s on of O’thmân, son of A’mru, son of Ka’b, son of Sa’id, son of Tolhah, son of A’bdullah, son of Sa’d, son of Marrah. The last-mentioned was the son of Kallâb, who administered all his life the affairs of the commonwealth, and said, when he was about to die, to his son Qossai: ‘I was governor; I dealt justly with my subordinates, I observed the injunctions of our predecessors, I protected widows and orphans, I restrained the insensate of our tribe from committing evil deeds, I implanted a desire to listen to wisdom into the assemblies of our people, and now my death is approaching. Soon, however, an individual will arise from thy seed who will reign over the earth from east to west. I command thee to enjoin thy son, and to cause him to recommend it to all his children from generation to generation, in a covenant and agreement, to act according to the dictates of intellect and knowledge, because by dealing in a contrary way no one can be happy. Know thou that the course of events produces misfortunes, veracity engenders distinction and nobility, intellect glory and high position, liberality success, amiability the love of the people, and Allah the Most High—whose name be glorified—will befriend him who makes kindness his rule, and will be inimical to him who pursues only pleasure.’
O’mar, the son of Khattâb—u. w. b.—was also connected with the prophet, and his genealogy is as follows: O’mar, son of Khattâb, son of Nasl, son of A’bd-ul-U’zza, son of Riâh, son of A’bdullah, son of Tauttah, son of Râh, son of A’da, son of Ka’b, son of Sa’d, son of Zeid, son of O’mar, son of the well-known Ba’l, who was the ancestor of the discerner;65 he was the son of Lowa, a governor of the Qoraish, always obeyed and consulted by them, and Lowa was the son of Ghâleb, one of the eminent among the princes of the Qoraish, and always consulted by them.66
On his death-bed Mâlek said to his son: ‘One of the signs of an intelligent man is, that he guards himself from a misfortune ere it befalls him; but when it unexpectedly surprises him he patiently endures it. Now that I am about to die, I recommend thee to quench the fire blazing in the oven of thy mind against the wickedness of evil-doers with the water of patience; and thou wilt be able to do this if thou considerest that every living being is liable to be beset by evil, and must fall a prey to death. What little property falls to thy lot is to be contentedly and thankfully accepted by thee, because content is not a sequel of abundance.’
He67 who has been surnamed Qoraish was the son of Mâlek,68 and there are various explanations how the epithet ‘Qoraish’ was applied to Nasser. In the first place, it is said that there exists a beast which governs all marine animals and is named Qoraish, and that when Nasser, the son of Qoraish, attained full dominion he was thus surnamed. Secondly, ‘Qoraish’ is said to be taken from ‘Taqarish,’ which means inquiry; and as he made proper inquiries into the affairs of men, and governed them justly, this epithet was attributed to him. Another statement is that this word was adopted [Qoraish meaning industry], and as he sent people to trade, he became known by that name. All these derivations may, however, be true. Some have also said that Qoraish means to collect, and that Nasser was thus named because he collected his whole progeny.
He69 was the son of Nasser, and his cognomen was Abu Nassîr. It is related that one night he was sleeping in a room and heard the following words: ‘We leave thee to choose between present dominion and eternal happiness.’ He replied: ‘O Lord! I have selected what endures for ever.’ On his death-bed he exhorted his children to practise virtue and justice in their intercourse with people, and warned them to abstain from covetousness and envy, saying: ‘Be ye to the people instead of their fathers; protect their property, etc.’ He was a prince among the Arabs, and consulted by them on important affairs. Before his departure to the eternal abode he assembled his tribe and said: ‘Ye are the children of Ebrâhim and Esma’il the prophet, and have inherited glory and praise from your ancestors; have, therefore, regard for your dignity, and thankfully exercise the gubernatorial power among the Arabs, which has been delegated to you by Allah. Laud Him, and sincerely endeavour to please Him by good deeds; also make it your duty to abstain from everything which may bring you to judgment. Keep your covenants, and do not be estranged from anyone because of his poverty, because riches are useless and perishable.’
And he70 was the son of Modrekah, whose name was A’amal, called Modrekah [attainment] because he had attained the nobility of his fathers. Others say that one day he was pursuing a hare, and attained him, wherefore he was called Modrekah; at any rate, this word is used for the purpose of distinction. He71 was the son of Aliâs, and it is said that the latter was thus named at his birth, when his parents had been rejoiced after a long despondency [iâs]. After he had acquired excellent qualities and attained nobility, he invited the sons of Esma’il, who had deflected from the law of Ebrâhim, and from the straight way, and were travelling in the vale of aberration, to follow the religion of the Friend. When the Arabs became aware of his great knowledge, perfect excellence, and benevolence, they came from far and near to gird their loins of obedience to him, and to place their heads submissively on the line of his commands. The Arab poets have composed many odes in his praise. Towards the end of his life he was attacked by tumours, and Khandaf, the mother of his children, made a vow that after the death of her husband she would not stop under the shadow of any roof, nor marry again, nor wear handsome clothes. After his demise Khandaf kept her vow, and wandered about in the valley of exile till she withdrew her head within the curtain of the grave. Aliâs endeavoured to strengthen the orthodox religion and followed the law of Ebrâhim.
There is a tradition that the lord of prophecy heard a man saying:
Distich: I am the freest of the Hemiarites, forget it not;
A man must be of our tribe, or he will not succeed.
His lordship replied: ‘These words are far from the view of God and the prophet.’ It is also related that he said:
Verses: He who sows evil, reaps repentance;
The death of a good man is glorious;
But your soul dislikes what is best for it.
And is most anxious in the pursuit of its own devices.
He72 was the son of Nazâr; his cognomen is Abu Rabia’h, and also Abu Ayad. He was called Nazâr because when born his father sacrificed one thousand camels from gratitude, and was therefore by the people called a spendthrift. He replied, however, that in return for such a blessing vouchsafed to him by the Most High he considered the sacrifice too small. Nazâr is said to have been possessed of much property, and to have in his last hour bequeathed his money to Mozar, the horses to Rabia’h, and the slaves to Ayyâd, but the remainder of the property to his other children.
He73 was the son of Moa’d, and it is said that sweetmeats and fresh dates are called by his name. It is related that his aspect was so blooming as to excite the wonder of men and genii. His cognomen is the father of Qazaa’h, who was one of his best-known sons. The Beni Moa’d are said to have been extremely brave and valiant, so that Zohâk, the son of Moa’d, attacked with forty men a number of Esrâilites, to note down whose amount is beyond the power of the Qalam.74 He took possession of their property and made them all captives, whereon they requested their prophet to curse the Beni A’dnân that a calamity might befall them. He turned his face towards the Qiblah of prayer and wished to carry out his intention; he heard, however, all of a sudden the following Divine revelation: ‘Restrain thy hand from this request, because the real, the most excellent, and the best of prophets will be a descendant of A’dnân.’
He75 was the son of A’dnân, and it is said that the latter, having once been in a solitary place, was followed by seventy men who bore enmity towards him, and was overtaken by them between two mountains. He fought with them till his steed fell; then he retreated to the top of the mountain, where his enemies again reached him, and defended himself till he became exhausted, but took refuge with the Bountiful Sovereign, whereon suddenly a hand appeared and snatched him up to the pinnacle of the mountain, and such a shout struck the ears of his foes that they all perished. And this was one of the miracles of our prophet [by anticipation, he being a descendant of A’dnân].