Part 28 (1/2)

Having been told about this, the Prophet rose and cut short all disputes by these words: 'Ye criticise my choice of Usama, even as ye formerly cavilled at that of Zayd, his father! Listen! To you I swear, by Allah! that Zayd was truly worthy of the post of command with which I did entrust him. I cherished him above all other men; and after him, his son is the man I prefer. Go, carry out my orders, and have confidence!'

These simple words, uttered in a tone of inspired conviction, banished all hesitation; smoothing away all jealousy as if by magic; and the n.o.blest and most famous among all the chieftains, together with the most humble soldiers, came enthusiastically to obey the commands of the stripling. When the expedition marched into the ”Farewell Pa.s.s,”

the Prophet was deeply moved as he saw his troops disappear. The superhuman faith animating the warriors at the parting hour proved to him that no obstacle could bar their way on the road to victory and that the irresistible torrent of Islam, like unto the salutary overflow of a wadi, was about to inundate the world and bring it the prolific germs of its new civilisation. Meanwhile, it was not long before the alarming news, relating to the Prophet's illness, stopped Usama's forward progress, bringing him back to Al-Madinah.

About that time, the Apostle received a letter, couched in these terms: ”Musailimah, the Prophet of Allah, to Mohammad, the Prophet of Allah. Peace be with thee, I am thy a.s.sociate. Let the exercise of authority be divided between us. Half the earth is mine, and half belongeth to the Quraish. But the Quraish are a greedy people, and will not be satisfied with a fair division.”

The author of this epistle, Musailimah, Prince of the Yamama, had recently been converted to Islam; and then, fully appreciating the majesty of the part played by the Prophet, this pretender planned with monstrous pride to play the some part in his turn.

To the envoys bringing the impudent missive, Mohammad replied: 'Were it not that your situation as amba.s.sadors causeth me to look upon your lives as sacred, I would have you beheaded.' And he handed them this answer: ”Mohammad, the Prophet of Allah to Musailimah, the Impostor.

Peace be with those who follow the right road! The earth is Allah's, and He giveth it to whom he will. Those only prosper who fear the Lord!”

Both Musailimah and Al-Aswad, another impostor, soon found out the danger run by those who enacted the part of Prophet without having been called by Allah. They expiated their temerity most cruelly.

The Prophet's illness became daily more serious. He grew so weak that he could only move about by dint of the most painful efforts.

Being in the house of Maimunah, he sent for his other wives. His usual habit was to pa.s.s the night in turn, impartially, at each of their dwellings; but feeling himself weighed down by intense suffering, he begged them to let him remain with Ayishah alone for the duration of his illness; and to this they consented.

Quoth Ayishah: ”The Prophet left the abode of Maimunah, thanks to the a.s.sistance of Al-Fadl and Ali, who held him in their arms. A bandage was bound tightly round his head, and his weakness was so great that he had no sooner set foot in my room than he swooned. When he came to, lancinating pains tortured his temples; and hoping to soothe his pangs, he asked: 'Pour over me six skinsful of water drawn from a very cold spring, so that I may be in a fit state to go forth and preach to the Faithful.' We sat him in a stone trough, borrowed from Hafsa, and poured water over him in abundance, until he bade us stop, by a wave of his hand, saying: 'Enough!'”

Momentarily invigorated, Mohammad went out through Ayishah's door which gave on to the Mosque; and again supported by his cousin Ali and Al-Fadl, he had great trouble in mounting the steps of the pulpit, from which he made the following declaration to the Faithful a.s.sembled: 'O Believers, if among you there be one whose back I have beaten, here is my back so that he may do himself justice! If there be one whose honour I may have wounded, here is my honour, let him be avenged! If there be one whose property I may have seized, here is my property, let him satisfy his claim! Let no one hesitate in fear of my resentment, for resentment formeth no part of my disposition.' After having stepped down to give out the noonday prayer, he went up in the pulpit again and repeated the same declaration.

A man arose and claimed payment of a debt amounting to three drachmas.

The Prophet handed them over to him at once, adding: 'It is easier to put up with shame in this world than in the other.'

He then evoked the remembrance of the martyrs of Uhud, to whom he devoted the best part of his prayer, imploring Allah's blessings in their favour. He wound up as follows: 'Allah hath offered one of His servants the choice between the riches of this earth and those that are to be found at His side.' At these words, divining that the Prophet was alluding to himself and the state of his health, Abu Bakr burst into tears, and exclaimed: 'Ah! why cannot we offer our lives as a ransom for thine?'--'O Believers!' replied Mohammad, 'it hath come to my ears that ye fear your Prophet may die; but before me hath any Prophet been immortal as he accomplished his Mission? How can I dwell eternally among you? Every soul is doomed to die. I must return to Allah and ye likewise will return to Him.'

Quoth Ayishah: ”After this effort, when the Prophet came back to my room, he fainted away again. When the call of the Muazzin was heard, he rose up and asked for water wherewith to perform his ablutions, meaning to lead the prayers. He swooned three times.

”As the Faithful awaited his coming in the Mosque, he sent Bilal to fetch Abu Bakr, so that he could perform the duties of Imam instead of the Prophet. The crowd, guessing the reason of this change, broke out into fits of sobbing....

”The Prophet was frequently seized with delirium. One Thursday, whilst all his companions gathered round his bed, he said to them: 'Bring hither to me ink and parchment; I would place on record a book for you which shall prevent your going astray for evermore.'--'Allah's Messenger is burdened by pain,' said Umar; 'have we not the Qur'an?

Allah's Book sufficeth for us.'

”Several of his companions, accustomed never to argue about anything said by the Prophet and remembering that he was illiterate, thought that in this supreme moment a miracle was about to be accomplished.

Therefore they wanted to give him what he asked for. They were opposed by his partisans sharing Umar's opinion, and a quarrel began, the Prophet recovering his senses by the noise. He told them reproachfully: 'It is not seemly to quarrel thus at a Prophet's bedside. Go away!'

”To soothe his unbearable pain, he dipped his hands in a pitcher of cold water and pa.s.sed his wet palms over his face, as if to wipe it: 'O Allah!' he cried, 'help me to support the terrors of the death struggle!'

”He had Fatimah, his beloved daughter, fetched to him twice and spoke to her secretly, whispering in her ear. The first time, Fatimah's face was bathed in tears; the second time, her features were lit up by a smile. We asked her the reason of her changed expression, and she told us: 'The first time, my father warned me that he must soon succ.u.mb to his illness, and I could not repress my tears. The second time, he informed me that of all his family, I should be the first to rejoin him, and so great was my joy that I could not stop myself from smiling.'”

On the Monday, the twelfth day of Rabi'u'l-Awwal, Abu Bakr was saying prayers in the presence of the Faithful, when Ayishah's door, giving into the Mosque, was thrown open. Supported by Ali and Al-Fadl, the Prophet appeared. His turban was twisted tightly round his head, and his benumbed feet dragged along the ground. On seeing him, the Faithful were comforted by a ray of hope and a wave of emotion stirred them all. Without turning round, Abu Bakr guessed that only the arrival of the Prophet could have given rise to such a manifestation while prayers were being said, and he moved away to join the ranks of the wors.h.i.+ppers and let his place be taken by Mohammad. But he made Bakr go back; pulling him by his garment, as he said: 'Continue to lead the prayers.'

He then sat down on Abu Bakr's right hand, under the pulpit, and his face beamed with happiness, at the sight of the piety of the congregation. When prayers had been said, he spoke to the Believers for the last time; and in tones firm enough to be heard outside the Mosque, he preached a sermon predicting terrible ordeals and charging them with the strictest observance of the principles of the Qur'an, for such would be the only way leading to Salvation. Leaning against one of the palm-tree trunk pillars, he chatted familiarly with some of his companions, and then went back to his room.

Quoth Ayishah: ”After this last effort, the Prophet was again overtaken by greater pain than ever, and covered his face with a black garment, which he threw off again, as it stifled him....

”Just then, Abdu'r Rahman, son of Abu Bakr, came in, holding in his hand a small twig of green ”araq,” with which he was picking his teeth. The Prophet stared at the little stick and I made out that he would have liked it. So I took it out of Abdu'r Rahman's hand. Cutting off the end of the toothpick, I shook it, cleaned it and gave it to Allah's messenger who immediately made use of it, picking his teeth more carefully than ever before. When he had finished, he let the little stick drop from between his faltering fingers. He raised his eyes to heaven, repeating three times: 'O Allah! with the Compa.s.sionate on High....!' And I felt his head, resting between my chin and shoulder, grow heavy on my arm.

”I guessed that the Prophet had chosen the eternal dwelling and that his n.o.ble soul had just been taken by the Angel of Death. I placed my head on the pillow and uttered a great cry of distress.... His wives came running in; and all together, we went down on our knees, and tore our faces with our nails.”