Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 5 (1897).djvu/396

374 THE DECLINE AND FALL minutely directed the order of his funeral ; and moderated the lamentations of his weeping friends, on whom he bestowed the benediction of peace. Till the third day before his death, he regularly performed the function of public prayer. The choice of Abubeker to supply his place appeared to mark that ancient and faithful friend as his successor in the sacerdotal and regal office ; but he prudently declined the risk and envy of a more explicit nomination. At a moment when his faculties were visibly impaired, he called for pen and ink, to write, or more properly to dictate, a divine book, the sum and accomplishment of all his revelations : a dispute arose in the chamber whether he should be allowed to supersede the authority of the Koran ; and the prophet was forced to reprove the indecent vehemence of his disciples. If the slightest credit may be afforded to the traditions of his wives and companions, he maintained in the bosom of his family, and to the last moments of his life, the dig- nity of an apostle and the faith of an enthusiast ; described the visits of Gabriel, who bid an everlasting farewell to the earth, and expressed his lively confidence not only of the mercy, but of the favour, of the Supreme Being. In a familiar discourse he had mentioned his special prerogative, that the angel of death was not allowed to take his soul till he had respectfully asked [Monday, the permission of the prophet. The request was granted ; and Mahomet immediately fell into the agony of his dissolution : his head was reclined on the lap of Ayesha, the best beloved of all his wives ; he fainted with the violence of pain ; recovering his spirits, he raised his eyes towards the roof of the house, and, with a steady look, though a faltering voice, uttered the last broken, though articulate, words : " O God ! . . . pardon ray sins . . . Yes, ... I come, . . . among my fellow-citizens on high ;" and thus peaceably expired on a carpet spread upon the floor. An expedition for the conquest of Syria was stopped by this mournful event ; the army halted at the gates of Medina ; the chiefs were assembled round their dying master. The city, more especially the house of the prophet, was a scene of clamor- ous sorrow, or silent despair : fanaticism alone could suggest a ray of hope and consolation. " How can he be dead, our witness, our intercessor, our mediator with God t By God, he is not dead ; like Moses and Jesus, he is wrapt in a holy trance, and speedily will he return to his faithful people." The evidence of sense was disregarded ; and Omar, unsheathing his scymetar, threatened to strike off the heads of the infidels who should dare to affirm that the prophet was no more. The tumult was ap- Jone 8]