Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 5 (1897).djvu/397

OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 375 peased by the weight and moderation of Abubeker. " Is it Mahomet/' said he to Omar and the multitude, "or the God of Mahomet, whom you worship ? The God of Mahomet hveth for ever, but the apostle was a mortal like ourselves, and, according to his own prediction, he has experienced the common fate of mortality." He was piously interred by the hands of his nearest kinsman, on the same spot on which he expired ; ^•'■^ Medina has been sanctified by the death and burial of Mahomet ; and the innumerable pilgrims of Mecca often turn aside from the way, to bow in voluntary devotion ^"* before the simple tomb of the prophet. ^•'^ At the conclusion of the life of Mahomet, it may perhaps be Hig character expected that I should balance his faults and virtues, that I should decide whether the title of enthusiast or impostor more properly belongs to that extraordinary man. Had I been inti- mately conversant with the son of Abdallah, the task would still be difficult, and the success uncertain : at the distance of twelve centuries, I darkly contemplate his shade through a cloud of religious incense ; and, could I truly delineate the portrait of an hour, the fleeting resemblance would not equally apply to the solitary of mount Hera, to the preacher of Mecca, and to the conqueror of Arabia. The author of a mighty revolution appears to have been endowed with a pious and contemplative disposition : so soon as marriage had raised him above the pressure of want, he avoided the paths of ambition and avarice ; and, till the age of forty, he lived with innocence, and would have died without a name. The unity of God is an idea most congenial to nature i"-'" The Greeks and Latins have invented and propagated the vulgar and ridicu- lous story that Mahomet's iron tomb is suspended in the air at Mecca (cnj/ixa /LieTtwpt^o/iti'oi', Laonicus Chalcocondyles de Rebus Turcicis, 1. iii. p. 66), by the action of equal and potent loadstones (Dictionnaire de Bayle, Mahomet, Rem. EE, FF). Without any philosophical inquiries, it may suffice that, i. The prophet was not buried at Mecca ; and, 2. That his tomb at Medina, which has been visited by millions, is placed on the ground (Reland de Relig. Mohara. 1. ii. c. 19, p. 209- 211 ; Gagnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 263-268). i*Al Jannabi enumerates (Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 372-391) the multi- farious duties of a pilgrim who visits the tombs of the prophet and his companions ; and the learned casuist decides that this act of devotion is nearest in obligation and merit to a divine precept. The doctors are divided, which, of Mecca and Medina, be the most e.xcellent (p. 391-394). 16^ The last sickness, death, and burial of Mahomet are described by Abulfeda and Gagnier (Vit. Moham. p. 133-142, Vie de Mahomet, tom. iii. p. 220-271). The most private and interesting circumstances were originally received from Ayesha, Ali, the sons of Abbas, &c. ; and, as they dwelt at Medina and survived the prophet many years, they might repeat the pious tale to a second or third genera- tion of pilgrims.