WHETHER from the rumour of Khalid's sanguinary treatment of the Bani Jadzima, or from fear of Mahomet generally, and jealousy of his aggressive career, the great and warlike tribe of the Hawazin resolved to anticipate any attack upon their liberties, by themselves assuming an offensive front. They appointed a rendezvous at Autas, a valley between Mecca and Tayif, where they began rapidly to assemble.

This movement obliged Mahomet to cut short his stay at Mecca. Although the city had cheerfully accepted his supremacy, all its inhabitants had not yet embraced the new religion, or formally acknowledged his prophetical claim. Perhaps he intended to follow the course he had pursued at Medina, and leave the conversion of the people to be gradually accomplished without compulsion. However this may have been, the threatening intelligence from Tayif called him away from Mecca after little mole than a fortnight's stay. Moadz ibn Jabal, a young citizen of Medina, well skilled in the Coran and in

all questions of religious practice, was left behind to instruct the Meccans in the tenets and requirements of Islam ; - and Attab a youthful Coreishite, of the house of Abd Shams, was placed over the secular administration of the city.¹

Four weeks had just elapsed since he had quitted Medina, when Mahomet marched forth from Mecca at the head of all his forces, swelled now, by the addition of two thousand auxiliaries from Mecca, to the large number of twelve thousand men. Safwan, at his request, made over to him one hundred suits of mail and stand of arms complete, and as many camels. The array of tribes, each with a banner waving at its head, was so imposing, that Abu Bakr broke forth, as the marshalled forces passed, with the exclamation : "We shall not this day be worsted by reason of the smallness of our numbers!" Mahomet smiled with a complacent assent.²

The vainglorious boast was remembered by the Prophet afterwards with self-reproach. In three or

¹ Moadz belonged to the Bani Khazraj; he was only twenty or twenty-one years or age at the battle of Badr, and was now twenty-six or twenty-seven.

² He was at this time but twenty-one years old, according to M. C. de Perceval, (iii. 247), though a chief of great influence. He belonged to the same branch as Othman and Abu Sofian: for its origin see vol.i. p. ccl. When Mahomet first occupied Mecca, he set over the market Said ibn Said, but this person went forth with him to Tayif. K Wackidi, 129.

³ Some attribute this saying to Mahomet himself.

four marches the army arrived near the entrance of the valley of Honein.

The greater part. of the tribes of the Bani Hawazin, including the Bani Thackif, who inhabited Tayif, having rallied round their chief Malik ibn Awf at Autas, had meanwhile also been advancing upon the valley of Honda. The women and children, the property, herds, and flocks, of the Hawazin, followed in their rear. Malik hoped, by the presence of their families, and consciousness of the disastrous results of a defeat, to nerve his troops to victory. Doreid, a very aged warrior, who accompanied the army in his litter, protested against the fatal measure. But the youthful leader derided his advice. During the night, after Mahomet's arrival in the vicinity of Honein, Malik drew up his men in a masked position, commanding a steep and narrow defile, which formed the entrance to the valley, and awaited in silence the approach of the enemy.¹

¹ Malik was only thirty years of age. K. Wackidi, 130; Hishami 372. Doreid ibn Simna was a famous chief in his day. See M. C. de Perceval, v. ii. 539 et seq. After the battle, he was cruelly put to death in cold blood, by a youth of the B. Suleim, who captured him as he was endeavouring to escape in his camel litter. The first cut of the youth's sword took no effect. "How badly has thy mother furnished thee!" said the old man, cold and unmoved at the prospect of death. "There, take that sword hung up behind the litter, and strike just between the spine and the head. it was thus I used, to slay the adversary in my day. Then go and tell thy mother that thou bait killed Doreid. Many are the days In which I have saved the lives of the women or thy tribe." He had, in fact, saved the lad's mother, and his two

Very early in the morning, while the dawn was yet gray, and the sky overcast with clouds,¹ the army of Mahomet was in motion. Clad in a full panoply, as on the day of Ohod, he rode on his white mule Duldul towards the rear of the forces. The vanguard, formed of the Bani Suleim, and led by Khalid, were defiling leisurely up the steep and narrow pass, when suddenly the Hawazin rushed forth from their ambuscade, and charged them with impetuosity. Staggered by the unexpected onslaught, the Bani Suleim broke and fell back. The shock was communicated from column to column. Aggravated by the obscurity of the hour, and the straitness and ruggedness of the road, panic seized the whole army: all turned and fled.² As

grandmothers. The skin of his legs resembled paper, from constant riding on the bare backs of horses. Hishami, 377.

¹ K. Wackidi, 131 ½. It rained that day.

² Clearly the whole army did so, from the accounts both of the Secretary and Hishami; the latter says that all fled, each for himself, none heeding his neighbour: p.374. The Secretary adds that the B. Suleim first broke, then the new soldiers from Mecca, then the whole army; which supposes the Meccans to have been in front, immediately behind the vanguard: p.130.

A number of traditions are given by Hishami of supposed spiteful speeches wade by the Meccans on the occurrence of this reverse. Abu Sofian said: "They are running so hard that they will never stop till they reach the sea!" Jabala, son of Safwan (included in his father's four months' truce, see above, p.127, note) said, "Mahomet's magic spell is this day broken." His father rebuked him: "Quiet, my son! Wottest thou not that I would rather one of the Coreish should lord it over me, than these Hawazin!" Sheiba, son of Othman ibn Abi Talha, killed at

troop by troop they hurried past him, Mahomet called out: "Whither away? The Prophet of the Lord is here! Return! return! " - but his words had no effect, excepting that a baud of devoted friends and followers gathered round him.¹ The confusion increased, the multitude of camels jostled wildly one against another; all was noise and clamour, and the voice of Mahomet was lost amid the din. At last, seeing tbe column of Medina troops bearing down in the common flight, he bade his uncle Abbas, who held his mule, to cry aloud: "O! citizens of Medina² O men of the Tree of Fealty! Ye of the Sura Bacr!" ³ Abbas had a stentorian voice, and as he shouted these words over and over again at the pitch of his voice, they were heard far and near. At once they touched a chord in the hearts of the men of Medinan They were arrested in their flight, and, "like she camels when their bowels are

Obod) vowed that he would slay Mahomet, &c. Nothing of all these tales is mentioned by the Secretary, and they look very like Abbasside fabrications. I do not find anything in the bearing of the people or chiefs or Mecca to warrant the charge of disaffection. They fled like the rest. Like the rest they returned to the charge: and were faithful ever after.

¹ The names of those who stood firm by Mahomet are given as follows ---Abbas, and his son Fadhl, Ali, Abu Sofian ibn Harith, and Rabia, his brother; Abu Bakr, Omar, Osama, and Ayman.

² Ansar, or Helpers, as explained above, vol. iii. p. 26.

³ Alluding to those who took the oath of fealty under the Acacia at Hodeibia; and to Sura Bacr, the first revealed at Medina. The double allusion would thus remind them or their conversion, and of their oath to defend Mahomet to the death.

stirred towards their young," hastened to Mahomet, crying aloud," Ya Labeik! Here we are, ready at thy call!" One hundred of these devoted followers, disengaged with difficulty from the camels that jammed the narrow pass, threw themselves upon the advancing enemy, and checked his progress. Relieved from the pressure, the army rallied gradually, and returned to the battle. The conflict Was severe; and the issue, from the adverse nature of the ground and the impetuosity of the wild Bedouins, remained for some time doubtful. Mahomet ascended an eminence, and watched the struggle. Excited by the spectacle, he began loudly to exclaim: "Now is the furnace heated: L am the Prophet that lieth not. I am the son of Abd at Muttalib! Then bidding Abbas to pick up for him a handful of gravel, he cast it towards the enemy, saying, "Ruin seize them!"

They had indeed already wavered. "They are discomfited," he cried out eagerly, "I swear by the Lord of the Kaaba! God hath cast fear into their hearts." The steadiness of the Medina band, and the enthusiasm of the rest when once recalled to their. duty, had won the day. The enemy fled, and the rout was complete. Many were slain, and so fiercely did the Moslems press the pursuit, that they killed among the rest some of the little children,- an atrocity which Mahomet had strictly forbidden.¹

¹ K. Wackidi, 130 ½. Khalid, as usual pre-eminent in cruelty, was reprimanded for slaying a woman. Hishami, 379.

Malik, taking his stand with the flower of his army upon a height at the further end of the valley, covered the escape of his broken forces; but he was unable to rescue the women and children. They fell into the hands of Mahomet, with the camp and all that it contained. Six thousand prisoners were taken ;¹ and the spoil included twenty-four thousand camels, forty thousand sheep and goats, and four thousand ounces of silver. The prisoners and the booty were removed to the valley of Jierrana, and kept there in the shelter of huts and enclosures, awaiting the return of the army from Tayif. Mahomet knew that the Bani Hawazin would seek to regain their families, and an opportunity was skillfully left open for negotiation.

The fugitive army was pursued with slaughter as far as Nakhla; from thence part fled back to Autas, and part to Tayif. The former entrenched themselves in their previous camp. A strong detachment was sent to dislodge them, which they accomplished after severe fighting, and the loss of their leader from the wound of an arrow. The dispersed fragments of the enemy found refuge in the surrounding hills.

The victory was thus complete, but not without some considerable loss on the part of Mahomet. Only five of his immediate followers are named

¹ I cannot vouch for these numbers being even approximately correct. One tradition states that there were a hundred thousand prisoners! K. Wackidi, 131 1/2. They were, no doubt, from collateral notices, a great multitude.

among the slain.¹ But some of the auxiliaries must have suffered greatly; for two tribes are spoken of as almost annihilated For these Mahomet offered up a special prayer, and said : "O Lord! recompense them because of their calamities! "²

The reverse sustained at the opening of the day, was attributed by the Prophet to the vainglorious confidence with which the believers looked upon their great army. The subsequent success was equally ascribed to the aid of invisible hosts which fought against the enemy. The engagement is thus alluded to in the Coran.

Verily God bath assisted you in many battle-fields; and on the day of Honein, when indeed ye rejoiced in the multitude of your host. But their great number did not in any wise benefit you the earth became too strait for you with all its spaciousness.³ Then ye turned your backs and fled.
"Afterwards the Lord sent down his peace ⁴ upon his Prophet and upon the Believers, and sent down Hosts which ye saw not, and punished them that disbelieved; and that is the end of the Unbelievers.
"Then God will be turned hereafter unto whom he pleaseth; for God is gracious and merciful."⁵

¹ K.Wackidi, 130 1/2. Among these was Ayman, son of Mahomet's nurse, Omm Ayman (Baraka), and uterine brother of Osama son of Zeid. He was the son of Obeid the Khazrajite.

² Their names are given as the Bani Nadhr ibn Muavia, and Bani Rubab. ibid.

³ Alluding to the narrow and precipitous character of the pass, where their great numbers, of which they had been vaingloriously proud, only added to the difficulty. See above, p.137, the vaunting remark of Abu Bakr and Mahomet.

⁴ Sekina or Shechina, as before explained; meaning, perhaps a sense of the divine presence.

⁵ Sura ix. 26-28. The last verse is construed by the commentators

As soon as the detachment had returned from Autas, Mahomet pushed forward his army by way of Nakhla, and laid siege to Tayaf. But the city was surrounded by strong battlements; it was provisioned for many months, and there was a plentiful supply of water within the walls.¹ The besiegers were received with showers of arrows, so thick and well sustained that they are described as darkening the sky like a flight of locusts. It was soon discovered that the camp was pitched too near the city. Twelve men were killed, and many wounded, among whom was a son of Abu Bakr. ² The encampment was speedily withdrawn beyond the range of the enemy's archery. A tent was erected for Omm Salma, and another for Zeinab. Both had followed their lord through all the dangers of the way. Between these tents Mahomet performed the daily prayers; and on this spot the great Mosque of Tayif was afterwards erected.

The siege did not advance, for no one dared to expose himself before the galling archery from the walls. This had been anticipated, and a remedy

as referring to the mercy afterwards shown to the B. Hawazin. It more probably means forgiveness for the vainglory and cowardice described in v.26. Au usual, the angel. are a favourite subject of tradition. Their red uniform is described. K.Wackidi; 130 ½. A cloud was observed to fill the valley like ants: this was the angelic troop, Hishami, 377.

¹ Burckhardt, p.86.

² Abdallah. He never recovered ; but he did not die till after Mahomet. K. Wackidi, 130 1/2; Hishami, 388.

already sought. The Bani Dous,¹ who lived at some distance south of Mecca, were famous for their acquaintance with the use of the Testudo and Catapult. Tufeil, one of their chiefs, had joined Mahomet at Kheibar with a party of his tribe.² He had lately been despatched from Mecca or Honein to secure the allegiance of his people, and to seek their aid in the reduction of Tayif. They accepted the summons; and Tufeil, having burned their tutelary image, the famous Dzul Kaffein, joined Mahomet four days after siege had been laid to Tayif. The besieging engines were speedily prepared, and parties pushed forward under cover of them. But the citizens were prepared for the stratagem. They cast down balls of heated iron from the battlements, and set the machines on fire. The soldiers labouring under their shelter fled in alarm. A discharge of arrows opened upon them; some were killed, and many wounded before they escaped beyond their range. The testudo and catapult were not tried again.

Seeing no other way of bringing the city to terms, Mahomet gave command to cut down and burn the far-famed vineyards which surrounded the place.³ This order was being carried into

¹ They belonged to the great Azdite tribe, vol.i. p. clvi.

² K. Wackidi, 121; Hashami, 120. Tradition gives him the credit of having been converted at Mecca, before the Hegira; but this is apocryphal.

³ They lie at the foot of the low mountains encircling the

effect, as the unfortunate citizens from the wall. could descry, with merciless vigour, when they succeeded in conveying to Mahomet an earnest expostulation; they besought "for the sake of mercy and of God," that he would desist. He listened to the appeal, and stayed farther destruction. But he caused a proclamation to reach the garrison which grievously displeased them, that if any slaves came forth from the city, they would receive their freedom. Only ten men however were able to avail themselves of the offer.

The siege had now been protracted for half a month without producing the slightest effect.¹ The army was beginning to exhibit symptoms of impatience, and of anxiety for the distribution of the spoil at Jierrana. Mahomet took counsel with the principal men: "What thinkest thou," said he to Naufal, the Duilite, "what thinkest thou of this stubborn city?" "A fox in its hole," replied the astute and sententious chief. "Remain long enough and you will catch it: leave it alone, and it will not

sandy plain in the middle of which Tayif stands. They are still as famous as they were 1,200 years ago. The nearest is "now about a half or three quarters of an hour from the city." See Burckhardt, p.85, quoted above at p.201, vol. ii.

¹ The Secretary says that the siege lasted fourteen days sonic say fifteen, others eighteen days. K. Wackidi, 132. Mahomet returned to Jierrana on the 5th Dzul Cada or 26th February (K. Wackidi, 131) ; --- which would admit an extreme limit of eighteen days spent before Tayif, and eight days for the march to and from Honein.

harm you." A dream was seen by the Prophet which ratified this view.¹ It was not the Divine will that operations should be continued. The siege was therefore raised, and the army marched back to Jierrana, which it readied about the end of February.

Hee occurred an interesting incident, already described in the opening chapter of this work. An aged female among the captives, being roughly treated like the rest, warned the rude soldiery to beware, - "For," said she, "I am the foster-sister of your chief." Hearing this, they carried her to Mahomet, who recognized in the complainant the little girl that used to tend and carry him, when he was nurtured by Halima, among the Bani Sad. He seated her affectionately beside him, and offered to take her to Medina. But she preferred remaining with her tribe. And accordingly he dismissed her with a handsome present.²

¹ Mahomet dreamed that a bowl of cream was presented to him, which a hen pecked at and spilled. Abu Bakr interpreted the dream to mean that he would not at this time obtain his desire against Tayif; and Mahomet thought so too. Hishami,381.

A story told of Uyeina illustrates the feelings and motives of the Bedouin auxiliaries. He was lauding the garrison or Tayif for their brave and determined resistence. - "Out upon thee, Uyeina!" said his neighbour; "dost thou praise the enemies of the Prophet,----the very people whom thou hast come to aid him in destroying." "Verily," said the Bedouin chief, "I had another object in view in coming hither. I hoped that if Mahomet gained the victory, I should obtain one of the damsels of Tayif; and then I should have had worthy issue from her; for truly the tribe of Thackif are a warlike, noble race." Hishami,382.

² See vol. i. p.26, and references there quoted. The mark of

Encouraged by the kind treatment of their kins-woman, a deputation from the various tribes of the Hawazin presented themselves before the Prophet. Among them was an aged man who claimed to be his foster-uncle.¹ They professed their submission to the authority of their conqueror, recounted the calamities which had befallen them, and thus urged their special claims to favour: "There, in these huts among the prisoners, are thy foster mothers and foster sisters, - they that have nursed thee and fondled thee in their bosoms. We have known thee a suckling, a weaned child, a youth generous and noble: and now thou hast risen to this dignity. Be gracious therefore unto us, even as the Lord hath been gracious unto thee!"² Mahomet could not withstand the appeal. Turning kindly to them, he said: "Whether of the two, your families or your property, is the dearer to you?" "Our women and our children," they replied; "we would not give anything in exchange for them." "Then," continued the Prophet," whatsoever prisoners fall to my portion and that of my family, I give them up unto you: and I will presently speak unto the people concerning the rest. Come ye again unto me at the mid-day prayer, when they are assembled, and

a bite, recognized by Mahomet as having been inflicted by himself; on Shima's back, is no doubt a traditional embellishment.

¹ His name is variously stated by the Secretary. K.Wackidi, 21 and 131.

² See vol .i. p.25.

beg publicly of me to make intercession with them for you." At the appointed time they appeared and made their petition. The men of Medina and of Mecca cheerfully followed the example of Mahomet. But some of the allies, as the Bani Tamim, and the Bani Fazara, with Uyeina at their head, declined to do &c. Mahomet urged the claims of his new converts, and promised that such of the allies as were unwilling to part with their share of the prisoners should be recompensed hereafter from the first booty the Lord might give into their hands, at the rate of six camels for every captive. To this they agreed, and the prisoners were all released.

I ought not here to omit a curious illustration of the Prophet's mode of life. Among the captives were three beautiful women, who were brought to Mahomet. One, named Reeta, was presented by him to Ali; the second, Zeinab, to Othman; and the third to Omar. Omar transferred the latter to his son Abdallah, who returned her uninjured to the tribe, when the prisoners were given up.¹ Whether the other two were restored likewise is not stated : but be this as it may, it throws a strange light on the domestic history of Mahomet, that he should have presented such gifts as captive damsels to the father

¹ Abdallah had sent this slave girl to be kept in readiness for him after he had visited the Kaaba; but mean while the prisoners were given up. It does not appear from the tradition that Abdallah felt himself debarred from consorting with hemself till the period of Istibra had expired. See above, p.76.

of one of his wives, and to the husbands of two of his own daughters.

Having arranged for the restoration of the prisoners, Mahomet had already mounted his camel and was proceeding to his tent, when the people, fearing lest the spoil, as well as the prisoners, should slip from their grasp,¹ crowded round him with loud cries: "Distribute to us the booty, the camels and the flocks!" The crowd thronged him so closely and so rudely, that be was driven to seek for refuge under a tree. While thus pressed on every side, his mantle was torn from his shoulders. "Return to me my mantle, O man!" cried Mahomet, who had now secured a more free position. "Return my mantle: for I swear by the Lord that if the sheep and the camels were as many as the trees of the Tihama in number, I would divide them all amongst you. Ye have not heretofore found me niggardly or false." Then he plucked a hair from his camel's hump, and holding it aloft said: "Even

¹ This, I think, may safely be assumed as the cause of Mahomet's being mobbed, since Hashami makes it to follow immediately upon the restoration of the prisoners. I might have been inclined to connect this display of popular displeasure with the gifts invidiously made to the Meccan and Bedouin chiefs, but that Hishami makes the presentation of the gifts a subsequent transaction; and they were, in fact, probably intended to calm this excitement. The Secretary, indeed, makes the giving of the presents to come first: but I do not place confidence in his version, for he omits the mobbing altogether. Hishami 385 ; K. Wackidi 130 ½.

to a hair like this, I shall not keep back aught but the fifth,¹ and that, too, I give up unto you." The people were pacified, and Mahomet went on his way.

He took an early opportunity of making good his promise, and at the same time of gaining, by a princely liberality, the hearts of the leading Chiefs of Mecca and of the Bedouin tribes. To those of the greatest influence, he presented each one hundred camels. Among them we find Abu Sofian, with his two sons, Yazid and Muavia; Hakim ibn Hizam, Safwan, Suheil; Huweitib, Uyeina, and several others, who but a few weeks before were the Prophet's deadly enemies. To the lesser chiefs he gave fifty camels each. And so liberal was he that, in some instances where discontent was expressed with the amount, the gift was without hesitation doubled.²

¹ This I take to refer to his intention of distributing the fifth, or a part of it, on the present occasion, among the chiefs. It is also capable of the more general meaning (as Weil, p.239) that he always employed the fifth for the advantage of his people.

² Abu Sofian and each of his sons received, besides, forty ounces of silver; the former is said to have lost an eye before Tayif. Hakim asked for an additional hundred camels, and they were given him. The following, besides those in the text, received one hundred camels each: Nadhr ibn al Harith; Oseid, a chief of the B. Thackif; Harith ibn Hisham; Cays ibn Adi; Nara, a chief of the Tatmim. Among those who got fifty camels each are Al Ala, a Thackifite chief; Makharrama ibn Noufal, Said ibn Yarbo, Omeir and Othman ibn Wahb of the B. Juwoh; Hisham of the Bani Amir; Adi ibn Cays of the B. Sahm. Abbas ibn Merdas was not contented with fifty camels, and

Although the largesses were taken from the Prophet's Fifth,¹ yet the favour and honour lavished on these recent and doubtful adherents, gave great umbrage to the old and faithful followers of Mahomet. Thus one complained that such Bedouin chieftains as Acra and Uyeina received each one hundred camels, while a faithful believer like Jueil got nothing at all.² --- "And what of that?" replied the Prophet. " I swear that Jueil is the best man that ever stepped on earth, were it filled never so full with Acras and Uyeinas; but I wished to gain over the hearts of these men to Islam, while Jueil hath no need of any such inducement."

recited verses in which he complained that, though his dignity was greater than that of Uyeina and Acra, he had received less than they. Mahomet said, "Go and cut out his tongue (i.e. quiet him) ; give him more until he be satisfied." In speaking with Abbas, Mahomet quoted his poetry, asking him what he meant thereby, and in so doing he transposed the words Uyeina and Acra, thus spoiling the metre: the story is told, like many similar ones, to show that Mahomet was not a poet, and could not even distinguish poetry from prose. See vol. ii. p.146.

¹ There appear, however, to be traditions or an opposite tenor; for the Secretary says that "those authorities which represent the presents as taken from the Fifth, appear to him to be the most certain." K. Wackidi, 181. Of course, if there had been any suspicion that the people's four-fifths were being trenched upon for this purpose, the discontent would have been much greater.

² Son of Suraca the Dhamrite. At what period he was converted, and why he is singled out in this remonstrance, I do not know. The B. Dhawra entered into treaty with Mahomet in the second year of the Hegira. See vol. iii. pp. 67, 69. He is the man so often personated by the devil.

A man of the Bani Tamim, who watched the proceeding, openly impugned its equity. Mahomet became angry, and said, "Out upon thee! If justice and equity be not with me, where will ye find them!¹ But what concerned Mahomet the most, were the murmurs of the citizens of Medina. "Truly," thus they spake among themselves, "he hath now joined his own people and forsaken us." The discontent proceeded so far that Sad ibn Obada thought right to represent it to the Prophet, who bade him calf the murmurers together. He then addressed them in these words: "Ye men of Medina,² it hath been reported to me that ye are disconcerted, because I have given into these chiefs largesses, and have given nothing unto you. Now speak unto me. Did I not come unto you whilst ye were wandering, and the Lord gave you the right direction? - needy, and he enriched you;- at enmity amongst yourselves, and he hath filled your hearts with love and unity?" He paused for a reply. "Indeed, it is even as thou sayest," they answered; "to the Lord and to his Prophet belong benevolence and grace." "Nay, by the Lord!" continued Mahomet. "But ye might

¹ Omar, as usual, threatens to decapitate the audacious caviller Khuweisra: but Mahomet desired that he would leave him alone, prophesying that he would become the author of a heresy which would have nothing of Islam left in it; and so it turned out. Hishami 387.

² Ansar, "helpers," as before explained; and so throughout this address.

have answered (and answered truly, for I would have verified it myself,) - Thou camest to Medina rejected as an impostor, and we bore witness to thy veracity: thou camest a helpless fugitive and we assisted thee ; an outcast, and toe gave thee an asylum; destitute, and we solaced thee. Why are ye disturbed in mind because of the things of this life, wherewith I have sought to incline the hearts of these men unto Islam, whereas ye are already stedfast in your faith? Are ye not satisfied not at others should obtain the flocks and the camels, while ye carry back the Prophet of the Lord unto your homes? No, I will not leave you for ever. If all mankind went one way, and the men of Medina another way, verily I would go the way of the men of Medina. The Lord be favourable unto them, and bless them, and their sons and their sons' sons for ever!" At these words all wept, till the tears ran down upon their beards; and they called out with one voice, - "Yea, we are well satisfied, O Prophet, with our lot!"

It will be seen that Mahomet made no attempt to hide the motive which dictated these munificent gifts. The chiefs who received them are referred to in the Coran as "those whose hearts have been gained over;¹ " and they retained the appellation ever after. The passage is as follows:-

¹ Muallafa culcubuhum.

"There are that blame thee in the (distribution of the) alms;¹ if they receive therefrom they are well pleased, but if they do not receive a part they are indignant."
"Now, if they had been well pleased with whatever God and his Apostle gave unto them, and had said,- 'God will suffice for us ; God will give unto us of his bounty, and his Prophet also, -verily unto God is our desire;-(it had been better for them).
- "Verily, Alms are for the poor and the needy, and for the collectors of the same, and for them whose hearts are (to be) gained over, and for captives, and for debtors, and for the service of God, and for the wayfarer. It is an ordinance from God; and God is knowing and wise."²

Malik, the chief who had led the Bani Hawftzin, was still in Tayif. Mahomet desired to gain him over also. So he directed his tribe to make known to him that if he embraced Islam, his family and all his property would be restored, and a present of one hundred camels bestowed upon him. He soon joined Mahomet and became an exemplary believer. Being confirmed in his chiefship, he engaged to maintain a constant warfare with the citizens of Tayif He cut off their cattle whenever they were sent beyond the precincts of the city to graze, and reduced them to great straits.³

Mahomet spent about a fortnight at Jierrana, during which period the booty captured at Honein was all distributed. Four camels, and forty sheep

¹ Sadacat; the Prophet's fifth being put aside for charity, &c. along with the tithes.

² Sura, ix. 60-62.

³ Hishami, 385.

or goats, fell to the lot of each foot soldier, and three times that amount to each horseman.

The distribution being ended, Mahomet took upon him the pilgrim vows, and fulfilled the lesser pilgrimage at Mecca. But he made no stay there. He returned to Jierrana that same night; and the following day, striking through the valleys by a direct route, joined at Sarif the main road, aud marched homewards to Medina.

The youthful Attab was confirmed in the Government of Mecca, and an allowance assigned him of one dirhem a day.¹ Attab presided over the annual pilgrimage, which took place in less than a month after Mahomet's departure. Believers and Idolaters were still permitted to join promiscuously in its ceremonies. Moadz was left behind by the Prophet to complete the spiritual instruction of the city.

After leaving Jierrana, Mahomet despatched letters to the Chiefs of Bahrein, Oman, and Yemen, the result of which will be shown in the narrative of the following year.

¹ If a man had more than one horse in the field, it gave him no claim to a larger share. K.. Wackidi, 131.

² Attab was quite content with this moderate allowance. He said, "Let the Lord make hungry that man's liver, who is hungry upon a dirhem a day. The Prophet hath appointed that as my sustenance. I have no farther claim upon any one."Hishami, 385.

The Life of Mahomet, Volume IV [Table of Contents]