THE OPENING SÚRA (I).(1) In the name of God, the Merciful, who forgiveth aye!(2) Praise to God, the Lord of all that be,(3) The Merciful, who forgiveth aye,(4) The King of Judgment Day!(5) Thee we worship and for Thine aid we pray.(6) Lead us in the right way,(7) The way of those to whom thou hast been gracious, against whom thou hast not waxed wroth, and who go not astray!
THE OPENING SÚRA (I).
(1) In the name of God, the Merciful, who forgiveth aye!(2) Praise to God, the Lord of all that be,(3) The Merciful, who forgiveth aye,(4) The King of Judgment Day!(5) Thee we worship and for Thine aid we pray.(6) Lead us in the right way,(7) The way of those to whom thou hast been gracious, against whom thou hast not waxed wroth, and who go not astray!
About the same time, shortly before the Migration, Muḥammad dreamed that he was transported from the Ka‘ba to theThe Night journey and Ascension of Muḥammad.Temple at Jerusalem, and thence up to the seventh heaven. The former part of the vision is indicated in the Koran (xvii, 1): "Glory to him who took His servant a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, the precinct whereof we have blessed, to show him of our signs!" Tradition has wondrously embellished theMi‘ráj, by which name the Ascension of the Prophet is generally known throughout the East; while in Persia and Turkey it has long been a favourite theme for the mystic and the poet. According to the popular belief, which is also held by the majority of Moslem divines, Muḥammad was transported in the body to his journey's end, but he himself never countenanced this literal interpretation, though it seems to have been current in Mecca, and we are told that it caused some of his incredulous followers to abandon their faith.
Possessed and inspired by the highest idea of which man is capable, fearlessly preaching the truth revealed to him, leading almost alone what long seemed to be a forlorn hope against the impregnable stronghold of superstition, yet facing these tremendous odds with a calm resolution which yielded nothing to ridicule or danger, but defied his enemies to do their worst—Muḥammad in the early part of his career presents a spectacle of grandeur which cannot fail to win our sympathy and admiration. At MedÃna, whither we mustMuḥammad at MedÃna.now return, he appears in a less favourable light: the days of pure religious enthusiasm have passed away for ever, and the Prophet is overshadowed by the Statesman. The Migration was undoubtedly essential to the establishment of Islam. It was necessary that Muḥammad should cut himself off from his own people in order that he might found a community in which not blood but religion formed the sole bond that was recognised. This task heaccomplished with consummate sagacity and skill, though some of the methods which he employed can only be excused by his conviction that whatever he did was done in the name of Allah. As the supreme head of the Moslem theocracy both in spiritual and temporal matters—for Islam allows no distinction between Church and State—he exercised absolute authority, and he did not hesitate to justify by Divine mandate acts of which the heathen Arabs, cruel and treacherous as they were, might have been ashamed to be guilty. We need not inquire how much was due to belief in his inspiration and how much to deliberate policy. If it revolts us to see God Almighty introduced in the rôle of special pleader, we ought to remember that Muḥammad, being what he was, could scarcely have considered the question from that point of view.
The conditions prevailing at MedÃna were singularly adapted to his design. Ever since the famous battle of Bu‘áth (aboutMedÃna predisposed to welcome Muḥammad as Legislator and Prophet.615a.d.), in which the Banú Aws, with the help of their Jewish allies, the Banú Qurayẓa and the Banú Naá¸Ãr, inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Banú Khazraj, the city had been divided into two hostile camps; and if peace had hitherto been preserved, it was only because both factions were too exhausted to renew the struggle. Wearied and distracted by earthly calamities, men's minds willingly admit the consolations of religion. We find examples of this tendency at MedÃna even before the Migration. Abú ‘Ãmir, whose ascetic life gained for him the title of 'The Monk' (al-Ráhib), is numbered among theḤanÃfs.331He fought in the ranks of the Quraysh at Uḥud, and finally went to Syria, where he died an outlaw. Another Pre-islamic monotheist of MedÃna, Abú Qays b. Abà Anas, is said to have turned Moslem in his old age.332
"The inhabitants of MedÃna had no material interest in idol-worship and no sanctuary to guard. Through uninterrupted contact with the Jews of the city and neighbourhood, as also with the Christian tribes settled in the extreme north of Arabia onthe confines of the Byzantine Empire, they had learned, as it were instinctively, to despise their inherited belief in idols and to respect the far nobler and purer faith in a single God; and lastly, they had become accustomed to the idea of a Divine revelation by means of a special scripture of supernatural origin, like the Pentateuch and the Gospel. From a religious standpoint paganism in MedÃna offered no resistance to Islam: as a faith, it was dead before it was attacked; none defended it, none mourned its disappearance. The pagan opposition to Muḥammad's work as a reformer was entirely political, and proceeded from those who wished to preserve the anarchy of the old heathen life, and who disliked the dictatorial rule of Muḥammad."333
"The inhabitants of MedÃna had no material interest in idol-worship and no sanctuary to guard. Through uninterrupted contact with the Jews of the city and neighbourhood, as also with the Christian tribes settled in the extreme north of Arabia onthe confines of the Byzantine Empire, they had learned, as it were instinctively, to despise their inherited belief in idols and to respect the far nobler and purer faith in a single God; and lastly, they had become accustomed to the idea of a Divine revelation by means of a special scripture of supernatural origin, like the Pentateuch and the Gospel. From a religious standpoint paganism in MedÃna offered no resistance to Islam: as a faith, it was dead before it was attacked; none defended it, none mourned its disappearance. The pagan opposition to Muḥammad's work as a reformer was entirely political, and proceeded from those who wished to preserve the anarchy of the old heathen life, and who disliked the dictatorial rule of Muḥammad."333
There were in MedÃna four principal parties, consisting of those who either warmly supported or actively opposed theParties in MedÃna.Prophet, or who adopted a relatively neutral attitude, viz., the Emigrants (Muhájirún), the Helpers (Anṣár), the Hypocrites (Munáfiqún), and the Jews (Yahúd).
The Emigrants were those Moslems who left their homes at Mecca and accompanied the Prophet in his Migration (Hijra)—whenceThe Emigrants.their name,Muhájirún—to MedÃna in the year 622. Inasmuch as they had lost everything except the hope of victory and vengeance, he could count upon their fanatical devotion to himself.
The Helpers were those inhabitants of MedÃna who had accepted Islam and pledged themselves to protect MuḥammadThe Helpers.in case of attack. Together with the Emigrants they constituted a formidable and ever-increasing body of true believers, the first champions of the Church militant.
"Many citizens of MedÃna, however, were not so well disposed towards Muḥammad, and neither acknowledged him as a ProphetThe Hypocrites.nor would submit to him as their Ruler; but since they durst not come forward against him openly on account of the multitude of his enthusiastic adherents, they met him with a passive resistance which more than once thwarted his plans,their influence was so great that he, on his part, did not venture to take decisive measures against them, and sometimes even found it necessary to give way."334
"Many citizens of MedÃna, however, were not so well disposed towards Muḥammad, and neither acknowledged him as a ProphetThe Hypocrites.nor would submit to him as their Ruler; but since they durst not come forward against him openly on account of the multitude of his enthusiastic adherents, they met him with a passive resistance which more than once thwarted his plans,their influence was so great that he, on his part, did not venture to take decisive measures against them, and sometimes even found it necessary to give way."334
These are the Hypocrites whom Muḥammad describes in the following verses of the Koran:—
THE SÚRA OF THE HEIFER (II).(7) And there are those among men who say, 'We believe in God and in the Last Day'; but they do not believe.(8) They would deceive God and those who do believe; but they deceive only themselves and they do not perceive.(9) In their hearts is a sickness, and God has made them still more sick, and for them is grievous woe because they lied.335
THE SÚRA OF THE HEIFER (II).
(7) And there are those among men who say, 'We believe in God and in the Last Day'; but they do not believe.(8) They would deceive God and those who do believe; but they deceive only themselves and they do not perceive.(9) In their hearts is a sickness, and God has made them still more sick, and for them is grievous woe because they lied.335
Their leader, ‘Abdulláh b. Ubayy, an able man but of weak character, was no match for Muḥammad, whom he and his partisans only irritated, without ever becoming really dangerous.
The Jews, on the other hand, gave the Prophet serious trouble. At first he cherished high hopes that they wouldThe Jews.accept the new Revelation which he brought to them, and which he maintained to be the original Word of God as it was formerly revealed to Abraham and Moses; but when the Jews, perceiving the absurdity of this idea, plied him with all sorts of questions and made merry over his ignorance, Muḥammad, keenly alive to the damaging effect of the criticism to which he had exposed himself, turned upon his tormentors, and roundly accused them of having falsified and corrupted their Holy Books. Henceforth he pursued them with a deadly hatred against which their political disunion rendered them helpless. A few sought refuge in Islam; the rest were either slaughtered or driven into exile.
It is impossible to detail here the successive steps by whichMuḥammad in the course of a few years overcame all opposition and established the supremacy of Islam from one end of Arabia to the other. I shall notice the outstanding events very briefly in order to make room for matters which are more nearly connected with the subject of this History.
Muḥammad's first care was to reconcile the desperate factions within the city and to introduce law and orderBeginnings of the Moslem State.among the heterogeneous elements which have been described. "He drew up in writing a charter between the Emigrants and the Helpers, in which charter he embodied a covenant with the Jews, confirming them in the exercise of their religion and in the possession of their properties, imposing upon them certain obligations, and granting to them certain rights."336This remarkable document is extant in Ibn Hishám'sBiography of Muḥammad, pp. 341-344. Its contents have been analysed in masterly fashion by Wellhausen,337who observes with justice that it was no solemn covenant, accepted and duly ratified by representatives of the parties concerned, but merely a decree of Muḥammad based upon conditions already existing which had developed since his arrival in MedÃna. At the same time no one can study it without being impressed by the political genius of its author. Ostensibly a cautious and tactful reform, it was in reality a revolution. Muḥammad durst not strike openly at the independence of the tribes, but he destroyed it, in effect, by shifting the centre of power from the tribe to the community; and although the community included Jews and pagans as well as Moslems, he fully recognised, what his opponents failed to foresee, that the Moslems were the active, and must soon be the predominant, partners in the newly founded State.
All was now ripe for the inevitable struggle with the Quraysh, and God revealed to His Apostle several verses of the Koran in which the Faithful are commanded to wage a Holy War against them: "Permission is given to those who fight because they have been wronged,—and verily God to help them has the might,—who have been driven forth from their homes undeservedly, only for that they said, 'Our Lord is God'" (xxii, 40-41). "Kill them wherever ye find them, and drive them out from whence they drive you out" (ii, 187). "Fight them that there be no sedition and that the religion may be God's" (ii, 189). In January, 624a.d., the Moslems, some three hundred strong, won a glorious victory at Badr over a greatly superior force which had marchedBattle of Badr, January, 624a.d.out from Mecca to relieve a rich caravan that Muḥammad threatened to cut off. The Quraysh fought bravely, but were borne down by the irresistible onset of men who had learned discipline in the mosque and looked upon death as a sure passport to Paradise. Of the Moslems only fourteen fell; the Quraysh lost forty-nine killed and about the same number of prisoners. But the importance of Muḥammad's success cannot be measured by the material damage which he inflicted. Considering the momentous issues involved, we must allow that Badr, like Marathon, is one of the greatest and most memorable battles in all history. Here, at last, was the miracle which the Prophet's enemies demanded of him: "Ye have had a sign in the two parties who met; one party fighting in the way of God, the other misbelieving; these saw twice the same number as themselves to the eyesight, for God aids with His help those whom He pleases. Verily in that is a lesson for those who have perception" (Kor. iii, 11). And again, "Ye slew them not, but God slew them" (Kor. viii, 17). The victory of Badr turned all eyes upon Muḥammad. However little the Arabs cared for his religion, they could not but respect the man who had humbled the lords of Mecca. He was now a power in the land—"Muḥammad, King of the Ḥijáz."338In MedÃna his cause flourished mightily. The zealots were confirmed in their faith, the waverers convinced, the disaffected overawed. He sustained a serious, though temporary, check in the following year at Uḥud, where a Moslem army was routedBattle of Uḥud, 625a.d.by the Quraysh under Abú Sufyán, but the victors were satisfied with having taken vengeance for Badr and made no attempt to follow up their advantage; while Muḥammad, never resting on his laurels, never losing sight of the goal, proceeded with remorseless calculation to crush his adversaries one after the other, until in January, 630a.d., the Meccans themselves, seeing the futility of further resistance, opened their gates to theSubmission of Mecca, 630a.d.Prophet and acknowledged the omnipotence of Allah. The submission of the Holy City left Muḥammad without a rival in Arabia. His work was almost done. Deputations from the Bedouin tribes poured into MedÃna, offering allegiance to the conqueror of the Quraysh, and reluctantly subscribing to a religion in which they saw nothing so agreeable as the prospect of plundering its enemies.
Muḥammad died, after a brief illness, on the 8th of June, 632a.d.He was succeeded as head of the Moslem communityDeath of Muḥammad, 632a.d.by his old friend and ever-loyal supporter, Abú Bakr, who thus became the firstKhalÃfa, or Caliph. It only remains to take up our survey of the Koran, which we have carried down to the close of the Meccan period, and to indicate the character and contents of the Revelation during the subsequent decade.
The MedÃna Súras faithfully reflect the marvellous change in Muḥammad's fortunes, which began with his flight from Mecca. He was now recognised as the Prophet and Apostle of God, but this recognition made him an earthly potentate and turned his religious activity into secular channels. Onewho united in himself the parts of prince, legislator, politician, diplomatist, and general may be excused if he sometimes neglected the Divine injunction to arise and preach,The MedÃna Súras.or at any rate interpreted it in a sense very different from that which he formerly attached to it. The Revelations of this time deal, to a large extent, with matters of legal, social, and political interest; they promulgate religious ordinances—e.g., fasting, alms-giving, and pilgrimage—expound the laws of marriage and divorce, and comment upon the news of the day; often they serve as bulletins or manifestoes in which Muḥammad justifies what he has done, urges the Moslems to fight and rebukes the laggards, moralises on a victory or defeat, proclaims a truce, and says, in short, whatever the occasion seems to require. Instead of the Meccan idolaters, his opponents in MedÃna—the Jews and Hypocrites—have become the great rocks of offence; the Jews especially are denounced in long passages as a stiff-necked generation who never hearkened to their own prophets of old. However valuable historically, the MedÃna Súras do not attract the literary reader. In their flat and tedious style they resemble those of the later Meccan period. Now and again the ashes burst into flame, though such moments of splendour are increasingly rare, as in the famous 'Throne-verse' (Ãyatu ’l-KursÃ):—
"God, there is no god but He, the living, the self-subsistent. Slumber takes Him not, nor sleep. His is what is in the heavensThe 'Throne-verse.'and what is in the earth. Who is it that intercedes with Him save by His permission? He knows what is before them and what behind them, and they comprehend not aught of His knowledge but of what He pleases. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and it tires Him not to guard them both, for He is high and grand."339
"God, there is no god but He, the living, the self-subsistent. Slumber takes Him not, nor sleep. His is what is in the heavensThe 'Throne-verse.'and what is in the earth. Who is it that intercedes with Him save by His permission? He knows what is before them and what behind them, and they comprehend not aught of His knowledge but of what He pleases. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and it tires Him not to guard them both, for He is high and grand."339
The Islam which Muḥammad brought with him to MedÃna was almost entirely derived by oral tradition from Christianityand Judaism, and just for this reason it made little impression on the heathen Arabs, whose religious ideas were generally of the most primitive kind. Notwithstanding its foreign character and the absence of anything which appealed to Arabian national sentiment, it spread rapidly in MedÃna, where, as we have seen, the soil was already prepared for it; but one may well doubt whether it could have extended its sway over the peninsula unless the course of events had determined Muḥammad to associate the strange doctrines of Islam with the ancient heathen sanctuary at Mecca, the Ka‘ba, which was held in universal veneration by the Arabs and formed the centre of a worship that raised no difficulties in their minds. Before he had lived many monthsThe nationalisation of Islam.in MedÃna the Prophet realised that his hope of converting the Jews was doomed to disappointment. Accordingly he instructed his followers that they should no longer turn their faces in prayer towards the Temple at Jerusalem, as they had been accustomed to do since the Flight, but towards the Ka‘ba; while, a year or two later, he incorporated in Islam the superstitious ceremonies of the pilgrimage, which were represented as having been originally prescribed to Abraham, the legendary founder of the Ka‘ba, whose religion he professed to restore.
These concessions, however, were far from sufficient to reconcile the free-living and freethinking people of the desert to a religion which restrained their pleasures, forced them to pay taxes and perform prayers, and stamped with the name of barbarism all the virtues they held most dear. The teaching of Islam ran directly counter to the ideals and traditions of heathendom, and, as Goldziher has remarked, its originality lies not in its doctrines, which are Jewish and Christian, but in the fact that it was Muḥammad who first maintained these doctrines with persistent energy against the Arabian view of life.340While we must refer the reader to Dr.Goldziher's illuminating pages for a full discussion of the conflict between the new Religion (DÃn) and the old Virtue (Muruwwa), it will not be amiss to summarise the chief points at which they clashed with eachAntagonism of Islamic and Arabian ideals.other.341In the first place, the fundamental idea of Islam was foreign and unintelligible to the Bedouins. "It was not the destruction of their idols that they opposed so much as the spirit of devotion which it was sought to implant in them: the determination of their whole lives by the thought of God and of His pre-ordaining and retributive omnipotence, the prayers and fasts, the renouncement of coveted pleasures, and the sacrifice of money and property which was demanded of them in God's name." In spite of the saying,Lá dÃna illá bi ’l-muruwwati("There is no religion without virtue"), the Bedouin who accepted Islam had to unlearn the greater part of his unwritten moral code. As a pious Moslem he must return good for evil, forgive his enemy, and find balm for his wounded feelings in the assurance of being admitted to Paradise (Kor. iii, 128). Again, the social organisation of the heathen Arabs was based on the tribe, whereas that of Islam rested on the equality and fraternity of all believers. The religious bond cancelled all distinctions of rank and pedigree; it did away, theoretically, with clannish feuds, contests for honour, pride of race—things that lay at the very root of Arabian chivalry. "Lo," cried Muḥammad, "the noblest of you in the sight of God is he who most doth fear Him" (Kor. xlix, 13). Against such doctrine the conservative and material instincts of the desert people rose in revolt; and although they became Moslemsen masse, the majority of them neither believed in Islam nor knew what it meant. Often their motives were frankly utilitarian: they expected that Islam would bring them luck; and so long as they were sound in body, and their mares had fine foals, andtheir wives bore well-formed sons, and their wealth and herds multiplied, they said, "We have been blessed ever since we adopted this religion," and were content; but if things went ill they blamed Islam and turned their backs on it.342That these men were capable of religious zeal is amply proved by the triumphs which they won a short time afterwards over the disciplined armies of two mighty empires; but what chiefly inspired them, apart from love of booty, was the conviction, born of success, that Allah was fighting on their side.
We have sketched, however barely and imperfectly, the progress of Islam from Muḥammad's first appearance as a preacher to the day of his death. In these twenty years the seeds were sown of almost every development which occurs in the political and intellectual history of the Arabs during the ages to come. More than any man that has ever lived, Muḥammad shaped the destinies of his people; and though they left him far behind as they moved along the path of civilisation, they still looked back to him for guidance and authority at each step. This is not the place to attempt an estimate of his character, which has been so diversely judged. Personally, I feel convinced that he was neither a shameless impostor nor a neurotic degenerate nor a socialistic reformer, but in the beginning, at all events, a sincere religious enthusiast, as truly inspired as any prophet of the Old Testament.
"We find in him," writes De Goeje, "that sober understanding which distinguished his fellow-tribesmen: dignity, tact, and equilibrium;Character of Muḥammad.qualities which are seldom found in people of morbid constitution: self-control in no small degree. Circumstances changed him from a Prophet to a Legislator and a Ruler, but for himself he sought nothing beyond the acknowledgment that he was Allah's Apostle, since this acknowledgmentincludes the whole of Islam. He was excitable, like every true Arab, and in the spiritual struggle which preceded his call this quality was stimulated to an extent that alarmed even himself; but that does not make him a visionary. He defends himself, by the most solemn asseveration, against the charge that what he had seen was an illusion of the senses. Why should not we believe him?"343
"We find in him," writes De Goeje, "that sober understanding which distinguished his fellow-tribesmen: dignity, tact, and equilibrium;Character of Muḥammad.qualities which are seldom found in people of morbid constitution: self-control in no small degree. Circumstances changed him from a Prophet to a Legislator and a Ruler, but for himself he sought nothing beyond the acknowledgment that he was Allah's Apostle, since this acknowledgmentincludes the whole of Islam. He was excitable, like every true Arab, and in the spiritual struggle which preceded his call this quality was stimulated to an extent that alarmed even himself; but that does not make him a visionary. He defends himself, by the most solemn asseveration, against the charge that what he had seen was an illusion of the senses. Why should not we believe him?"343
The Caliphate—i.e., the period of the Caliphs or Successors of Muḥammad—extends over six centuries and a quarter (632-1258a.d.), and falls into three clearly-marked divisions of very unequal length and diverse character.
The first division begins with the election of Abú Bakr, the first Caliph, in 632, and comes to an end with the assassinationThe Orthodox Caliphate (632-661a.d.).of ‘AlÃ, the Prophet's son-in-law and fourth successor, in 661. These four Caliphs are known as the Orthodox (al-Ráshidún), because they trod faithfully in the footsteps of the Prophet and ruled after his example in the holy city of MedÃna, with the assistance of his leading Companions, who constituted an informal Senate.
The second division includes the Caliphs of the family of Umayya, from the accession of Mu‘áwiya in 661 to the greatThe Ummayyad Caliphate (661-750a.d.).battle of the Záb in 750, when Marwán II, the last of his line, was defeated by the ‘Abbásids, who claimed the Caliphate as next of kin to the Prophet. According to Moslem notions the Umayyads were kings by right, Caliphs only by courtesy. They had, as we shall see, no spiritual title, and little enough religion of any sort. This dynasty, which had been raised and was upheld by the Syrian Arabs, transferred the seat of government from MedÃna to Damascus.
The third division is by far the longest and most important. Starting in 750 with the accession of Abu ’l-‘Abbás al-Saffáh,The ‘Abbásid Caliphate (750-1258a.d.).it presents an unbroken series of thirty-seven Caliphs of the same House, and culminates, after the lapse of half a millennium, in the sack of Baghdád, their magnificent capital, by the Mongol Húlágú (January, 1258). The ‘Abbásids were no less despotic than the Umayyads, but in a more enlightened fashion; for, while the latter had been purely Arab in feeling, the ‘Abbásids owed their throne to the Persian nationalists, and were imbued with Persian ideas, which introduced a new and fruitful element into Moslem civilisation.
From our special point of view the Orthodox and Umayyad Caliphates, which form the subject of the present chapter, are somewhat barren. The simple life of the pagan Arabs found full expression in their poetry. The many-sided life of the Moslems under ‘Abbásid rule may be studied in a copious literature which exhibits all the characteristics of the age; but of contemporary documents illustrating the intellectual history of the early Islamic period comparativelyEarly Islamic literature.little has been preserved, and that little, being for the most part anti-Islamic in tendency, gives only meagre information concerning what excites interest beyond anything else—the religious movement, the rise of theology, and the origin of those great parties and sects which emerge, at various stages of development, in later literature.
Since the Moslem Church and State are essentially one, it is impossible to treat of politics apart from religion, nor canUnity of Church and State.religious phenomena be understood without continual reference to political events. The following brief sketch of the Orthodox Caliphate will show how completely this unity was realised, and what far-reaching consequences it had.
That Muḥammad left no son was perhaps of less moment than his neglect or refusal to nominate a successor. TheArabs were unfamiliar with the hereditary descent of kingly power, while the idea had not yet dawned of a Divine right resident in the Prophet's family. It was thoroughly in accord with Arabian practice that the Moslem community should elect its own leader, just as in heathen days the tribe chose its own chief. The likeliest men—all three belonged to Quraysh—were Abú Bakr, whose daughter ‘Ã’isha had been Muḥammad's favourite wife, ‘Umar b. al-Khaá¹á¹Ã¡b, and ‘AlÃ, Abú Ṭálib's son and Fáá¹ima's husband, who was thus connected with the Prophet by blood as well as by marriage. Abú Bakr was the eldest, he was supported by ‘Umar, andAbú Bakr elected Caliph (June, 632a.d.).on him the choice ultimately fell, though not without an ominous ebullition of party strife. A man of simple tastes and unassuming demeanour, he had earned the nameal-á¹¢iddÃq,i.e., the True, by his unquestioning faith in the Prophet; naturally gentle and merciful, he stood firm when the cause of Islam was at stake, and crushed with iron hand the revolt which on the news of Muḥammad's death spread like wildfire through Arabia. False prophets arose, and the Bedouins rallied round them, eager to throw off the burden of tithes and prayers. In the centre of the peninsula, the Banú ḤanÃfa were led to battle byMusaylima the Liar.Musaylima, who imitated the early style of the Koran with ludicrous effect, if we may judge from the sayings ascribed to him,e.g., "The elephant, what is the elephant, and who shall tell you what is the elephant? He has a poor tail, and a long trunk: and is a trifling part of the creations of thy God." Moslem tradition calls him the Liar (al-Kadhdháb), and represents him as an obscene miracle-monger, which can hardly be the whole truth. It is possible that he got some of his doctrines from Christianity, as Professor Margoliouth has suggested,344but we know too little about them to arrive at any conclusion. After a desperate struggle Musaylima was defeatedand slain by 'the Sword of Allah,' Khálid b. WalÃd. The Moslem arms were everywhere victorious. Arabia bowed in sullen submission.
Although Muir and other biographers of Muḥammad have argued that Islam was originally designed for the Arabs alone,Islam a world-religion.and made no claim to universal acceptance, their assertion is contradicted by the unequivocal testimony of the Koran itself. In one of the oldest Revelations (lxviii, 51-52), we read: "It wanteth little but that the unbelievers dash thee to the ground with their looks(of anger)when they hear the Warning(i.e., the Koran);and they say, 'He is assuredly mad': but it(the Koran)is no other than aWarning unto all creatures" (dhikrunli ’l-‘álamÃn).345The time had now come when this splendid dream was to be, in large measure, fulfilled. The great wars ofConquest of Persia and Syria (633-643a.d.).conquest were inspired by the Prophet's missionary zeal and justified by his example. Pious duty coincided with reasons of state. "It was certainly good policy to turn the recently subdued tribes of the wilderness towards an external aim in which they might at once satisfy their lust for booty on a grand scale, maintain their warlike feeling, and strengthen themselves in their attachment to the new faith."346The story of their achievements cannot be set down here. Suffice it to say that within twelve years after the Prophet's death the Persian Empire had been reduced to a tributary province, and Syria, together with Egypt, torn away from Byzantine rule. It must not be supposed that the followers of Zoroaster and Christ in these countriesMoslem toleration.were forcibly converted to Islam. Thousands embraced it of free will, impelled by various motives which we have no space to enumerate; those who clung to the religion in which they had been brought upsecured protection and toleration by payment of a capitation-tax (jizya).347
The tide of foreign conquest, which had scarce begun to flow before the death of Abú Bakr, swept with amazingThe Caliph ‘Umar (634-644a.d.).rapidity over Syria and Persia in the Caliphate of ‘Umar b. al-Khaá¹á¹Ã¡b (634-644), and continued to advance, though with diminished fury, under the Prophet's third successor, ‘Uthmán. We may dwell for a little on the noble figure of ‘Umar, who was regarded by good Moslems in after times as an embodiment of all the virtues which a Caliph ought to possess. Probably his character has been idealised, but in any case the anecdotes related of him give an admirable picture of the man and his age. Here are a few, taken almost at random from the pages of ṬabarÃ.
One said: "I saw ‘Umar coming to the Festival. He walked with bare feet, using both hands (for he was ambidextrous) to draw round him a red embroidered cloth. He towered above the people, as though he were on horseback."348A client of (the Caliph) ‘Uthmán b. ‘Affán relates that he mounted behind his patron and they rode together to the enclosure for the beasts which were delivered in payment of the poor-tax. It was anHis simple manners.exceedingly hot day and the simoom was blowing fiercely. They saw a man clad only in a loin-cloth and a short cloak (ridá), in which he had wrapped his head, driving the camels into the enclosure. ‘Uthmán said to his companion, "Who is this, think you?" When they came up to him, behold, it was ‘Umar b. al-Khaá¹á¹Ã¡b. "By God," said ‘Uthmán, "this isthe strong, the trusty."349—‘Umar used to go round the markets and recite the Koran and judge between disputants wherever he found them.—When Ka‘bu ’l-Aḥbár, a well-known Rabbin of MedÃna, asked how he could obtain access to the Commander of the Faithful,350he received this answer: "Thereis no door nor curtain to be passed; he performs the rites of prayer, then he takes his seat, and any one that wishes may speak to him."351‘Umar said in one of his public orations, "By Him who sent Muḥammad with the truth, were a single camel to dieHis sense of personal responsibility.of neglect on the bank of the Euphrates, I should fear lest God should call the family of al-Khaá¹á¹Ã¡b" (meaning himself) "to account therefor."352—"If I live," he is reported to have said on another occasion, "please God, I will assuredly spend a whole year in travelling among my subjects, for I know they have wants which are cut short ere they reach my ears: the governors do not bring the wants of the people before me, while the people themselves do not attain to me. So I will journey to Syria and remain there two months, then to Mesopotamia and remain there two months, then to Egypt and remain there two months, then to Baḥrayn and remain there two months, then to Kúfa and remain there two months, then to Baá¹£ra and remain there two months; and by God, it will be a year well spent!"353—One night he came to the house of ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán b. ‘Awf and knocked at the door, which was opened by ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán's wife. "Do not enter," said she, "until I go back and sit in my place;" so he waited. Then she bade him come in, and on his asking, "Have you anything in the house?" she fetched him some food. Meanwhile ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán was standing by, engaged in prayer. "Be quick, man!" cried ‘Umar. ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán immediately pronounced the final salaam, and turning to the Caliph said: "O Commander of the Faithful, what has brought you here at this hour?" ‘Umar replied: "A party of travellers who alighted in the neighbourhood of the market: I was afraid that the thievesThe Caliph as a policeman.of MedÃna might fall upon them. Let us go and keep watch." So he set off with ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán, and when they reached the market-place they seated themselves on some high ground and began to converse. Presently they descried, far away, the light of a lamp. "Have not I forbidden lamps after bedtime?"354exclaimed the Caliph. They went to the spot and found a company drinking wine. "Begone," said ‘Umar to ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán; "I know him." Next morning he sent for the culprit and said, addressing him by name, "Last night you were drinking wine with your friends." "O Commander of the Faithful, how didyou ascertain that?" "I saw it with my own eyes." "Has not God forbidden you to play the spy?" ‘Umar made no answer and pardoned his offence.355—When ‘Umar ascended the pulpit for the purpose of warning the people that they must not do something, he gathered his family and said to them: "I have forbiddenInstructions to his governors.the people to do so-and-so. Now, the people look at you as birds look at flesh, and I swear by God that if I find any one of you doing this thing, I will double the penalty against him."356—Whenever he appointed a governor he used to draw up in writing a certificate of investiture, which he caused to be witnessed by some of theHis strictness towards his own family.Emigrants or Helpers. It contained the following instructions: That he must not ride on horseback, nor eat white bread, nor wear fine clothes, nor set up a door between himself and those who had aught to ask of him.357—It was ‘Umar's custom to go forth with his governors, on their appointment, to bid them farewell. "I have not appointed you," he would say, "over the people of Muḥammad (God bless him and grant him peace!) that you may drag them by their hair and scourge their skins, but in order that you may lead them in prayer and judge between them with right and divide (the public money) amongst them with equity. I have not made you lords of their skin and hair. Do not flog the Arabs lest you humiliate them, and do not keep them long on foreign service lest you tempt them to sedition, and do not neglect them lest you render them desperate. Confine yourselves to the Koran, write few Traditions of Muḥammad (God bless him and grant him peace!), and I am your ally." He used to permit retaliation against his governors. On receiving a complaint about any one of them he confronted him with the accuser, and punished him if his guilt were proved.358
One said: "I saw ‘Umar coming to the Festival. He walked with bare feet, using both hands (for he was ambidextrous) to draw round him a red embroidered cloth. He towered above the people, as though he were on horseback."348A client of (the Caliph) ‘Uthmán b. ‘Affán relates that he mounted behind his patron and they rode together to the enclosure for the beasts which were delivered in payment of the poor-tax. It was anHis simple manners.exceedingly hot day and the simoom was blowing fiercely. They saw a man clad only in a loin-cloth and a short cloak (ridá), in which he had wrapped his head, driving the camels into the enclosure. ‘Uthmán said to his companion, "Who is this, think you?" When they came up to him, behold, it was ‘Umar b. al-Khaá¹á¹Ã¡b. "By God," said ‘Uthmán, "this isthe strong, the trusty."349—‘Umar used to go round the markets and recite the Koran and judge between disputants wherever he found them.—When Ka‘bu ’l-Aḥbár, a well-known Rabbin of MedÃna, asked how he could obtain access to the Commander of the Faithful,350he received this answer: "Thereis no door nor curtain to be passed; he performs the rites of prayer, then he takes his seat, and any one that wishes may speak to him."351‘Umar said in one of his public orations, "By Him who sent Muḥammad with the truth, were a single camel to dieHis sense of personal responsibility.of neglect on the bank of the Euphrates, I should fear lest God should call the family of al-Khaá¹á¹Ã¡b" (meaning himself) "to account therefor."352—"If I live," he is reported to have said on another occasion, "please God, I will assuredly spend a whole year in travelling among my subjects, for I know they have wants which are cut short ere they reach my ears: the governors do not bring the wants of the people before me, while the people themselves do not attain to me. So I will journey to Syria and remain there two months, then to Mesopotamia and remain there two months, then to Egypt and remain there two months, then to Baḥrayn and remain there two months, then to Kúfa and remain there two months, then to Baá¹£ra and remain there two months; and by God, it will be a year well spent!"353—One night he came to the house of ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán b. ‘Awf and knocked at the door, which was opened by ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán's wife. "Do not enter," said she, "until I go back and sit in my place;" so he waited. Then she bade him come in, and on his asking, "Have you anything in the house?" she fetched him some food. Meanwhile ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán was standing by, engaged in prayer. "Be quick, man!" cried ‘Umar. ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán immediately pronounced the final salaam, and turning to the Caliph said: "O Commander of the Faithful, what has brought you here at this hour?" ‘Umar replied: "A party of travellers who alighted in the neighbourhood of the market: I was afraid that the thievesThe Caliph as a policeman.of MedÃna might fall upon them. Let us go and keep watch." So he set off with ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán, and when they reached the market-place they seated themselves on some high ground and began to converse. Presently they descried, far away, the light of a lamp. "Have not I forbidden lamps after bedtime?"354exclaimed the Caliph. They went to the spot and found a company drinking wine. "Begone," said ‘Umar to ‘Abdu ’l-Raḥmán; "I know him." Next morning he sent for the culprit and said, addressing him by name, "Last night you were drinking wine with your friends." "O Commander of the Faithful, how didyou ascertain that?" "I saw it with my own eyes." "Has not God forbidden you to play the spy?" ‘Umar made no answer and pardoned his offence.355—When ‘Umar ascended the pulpit for the purpose of warning the people that they must not do something, he gathered his family and said to them: "I have forbiddenInstructions to his governors.the people to do so-and-so. Now, the people look at you as birds look at flesh, and I swear by God that if I find any one of you doing this thing, I will double the penalty against him."356—Whenever he appointed a governor he used to draw up in writing a certificate of investiture, which he caused to be witnessed by some of theHis strictness towards his own family.Emigrants or Helpers. It contained the following instructions: That he must not ride on horseback, nor eat white bread, nor wear fine clothes, nor set up a door between himself and those who had aught to ask of him.357—It was ‘Umar's custom to go forth with his governors, on their appointment, to bid them farewell. "I have not appointed you," he would say, "over the people of Muḥammad (God bless him and grant him peace!) that you may drag them by their hair and scourge their skins, but in order that you may lead them in prayer and judge between them with right and divide (the public money) amongst them with equity. I have not made you lords of their skin and hair. Do not flog the Arabs lest you humiliate them, and do not keep them long on foreign service lest you tempt them to sedition, and do not neglect them lest you render them desperate. Confine yourselves to the Koran, write few Traditions of Muḥammad (God bless him and grant him peace!), and I am your ally." He used to permit retaliation against his governors. On receiving a complaint about any one of them he confronted him with the accuser, and punished him if his guilt were proved.358
It was ‘Umar who first made a Register (DÃwán) of theThe Register of ‘Umar.Arabs in Islam and entered them therein according to their tribes and assigned to them their stipends. The following account of its institution is extracted from the charming history entitledal-FakhrÃ:—
In the fifteenth year of the Hijra (636a.d.) ‘Umar, who was then Caliph, seeing that the conquests proceeded without interruptionand that the treasures of the Persian monarchs had been taken as spoil, and that load after load was being accumulated of gold and silver and precious jewels and splendid raiment, resolved to enrich the Moslems by distributing all this wealth amongst them; but he did not know how he should manage it. Now there was a Persian satrap (marzubán) at MedÃna who, when he saw ‘Umar's bewilderment, said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, the Persian kings have a thing they call aDÃwán, in which is kept the whole of their revenues and expenditures without exception; and therein those who receive stipends are arranged in classes, so that no confusion occurs." ‘Umar's attention was aroused. He bade the satrap describe it, and on comprehending its nature, he drew up the registers and assigned the stipends, appointing a specified allowance for every Moslem; and he allotted fixed sums to the wives of the Apostle (on whom be God's blessing and peace!) and to his concubines and next-of-kin, until he exhausted the money in hand. He did not lay up a store in the treasury. Some one came to him and said: "O Commander of the Faithful, you should have left something to provide for contingencies." ‘Umar rebuked him, saying, "The devil has put these words into your mouth. May God preserve me from their mischief! for it were a temptation to my successors. Come what may, I will provide naught except obedience to God and His Apostle. That is our provision, whereby we have gained that which we have gained." Then, in respect of the stipends, he deemed it right that precedence should be according to priority of conversion to Islam and of service rendered to the Apostle on his fields of battle.359Affinity to Muḥammad was also considered. "By God," exclaimed ‘Umar, "we have not won superiority in this world,The aristocracy of Islam.nor do we hope for recompense for our works from God hereafter, save through Muḥammad (God bless him and grant him peace!). He is our title to nobility, his tribe are the noblest of the Arabs, and after them those are the nobler that are nearer to him in blood. Truly, the Arabs are ennobled by God's Apostle. Peradventure some of them have many ancestors in common with him, and we ourselves are only removed by a few forbears from his line of descent, in which we accompany him back to Adam. Notwithstanding"'Tis only noble to be good."this, if the foreigners bring good works and we bring none, by God, they are nearer to Muḥammad on the day of Resurrection than we. Therefore let no man regard affinity, but let him work for that which is in God'shands to bestow. He that is retarded by his works will not be sped by his lineage."360
In the fifteenth year of the Hijra (636a.d.) ‘Umar, who was then Caliph, seeing that the conquests proceeded without interruptionand that the treasures of the Persian monarchs had been taken as spoil, and that load after load was being accumulated of gold and silver and precious jewels and splendid raiment, resolved to enrich the Moslems by distributing all this wealth amongst them; but he did not know how he should manage it. Now there was a Persian satrap (marzubán) at MedÃna who, when he saw ‘Umar's bewilderment, said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, the Persian kings have a thing they call aDÃwán, in which is kept the whole of their revenues and expenditures without exception; and therein those who receive stipends are arranged in classes, so that no confusion occurs." ‘Umar's attention was aroused. He bade the satrap describe it, and on comprehending its nature, he drew up the registers and assigned the stipends, appointing a specified allowance for every Moslem; and he allotted fixed sums to the wives of the Apostle (on whom be God's blessing and peace!) and to his concubines and next-of-kin, until he exhausted the money in hand. He did not lay up a store in the treasury. Some one came to him and said: "O Commander of the Faithful, you should have left something to provide for contingencies." ‘Umar rebuked him, saying, "The devil has put these words into your mouth. May God preserve me from their mischief! for it were a temptation to my successors. Come what may, I will provide naught except obedience to God and His Apostle. That is our provision, whereby we have gained that which we have gained." Then, in respect of the stipends, he deemed it right that precedence should be according to priority of conversion to Islam and of service rendered to the Apostle on his fields of battle.359
Affinity to Muḥammad was also considered. "By God," exclaimed ‘Umar, "we have not won superiority in this world,The aristocracy of Islam.nor do we hope for recompense for our works from God hereafter, save through Muḥammad (God bless him and grant him peace!). He is our title to nobility, his tribe are the noblest of the Arabs, and after them those are the nobler that are nearer to him in blood. Truly, the Arabs are ennobled by God's Apostle. Peradventure some of them have many ancestors in common with him, and we ourselves are only removed by a few forbears from his line of descent, in which we accompany him back to Adam. Notwithstanding"'Tis only noble to be good."this, if the foreigners bring good works and we bring none, by God, they are nearer to Muḥammad on the day of Resurrection than we. Therefore let no man regard affinity, but let him work for that which is in God'shands to bestow. He that is retarded by his works will not be sped by his lineage."360
It may be said of ‘Umar, not less appropriately than of Cromwell, that he