Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/588

560 MOHAMMEDANISM [MOHAMMED. to raise his power by giving him rule over a broad tract southward from Mecca. He used every means to make their conversion easy to the Koraish, and to convince them that they were losing little and gaining much. They had the sense to understand this and act accordingly ; they were soon the best of Moslems, and that for the best practical reasons. The men of Medina, as was natural, felt themselves slighted in a special degree by this petting of the Koraish. They had done all and sacrificed all for the Prophet ; were others now to reap the fruit of their labours 1 Had they by years of struggle made Mohammed Lord of Mecca, only that they might surrender in favour of Mecca the place they had hitherto held 1 Did he indeed esteem kin ship so much more than tried service to the Faith ? The Defenders had good ground for discontent, but Mohammed appeased them easily enough. He reminded them of their fellowship together in the great days of the past, of all that he had done for them, and they for him ; he promised that their town should still be his residence, and so the political capital of Islam (Madinat al-Isl&m). Then all the men wept till their beards were wet, and said : " O apostle of God, we are content with our share and lot ! " The The Defenders murmured at the preference shown to Khari- the Koraish, because they desired preference for them- jites. selves. But already there were movements of an opposi tion from principle which deemed it a falling away from Islam to give any heed to kinship instead of to faith. It is related that the beginnings of the Kharijites (Dissenters) go back to the distribution of booty in W. Ji rana. 1 Certain it is that a worldly bias, which had indeed been introduced into Islam long before, then first became visible to every eye. Certain it is that Mohammed then sowed the seeds of the deep dissensions that rent his following after his death of the struggle between religious democracy, such as Islam demanded, and the national aristocracy, which alone was really fit to hold rule in Arabia. It was Mohammed who placed the helm in the hands of the Koraish and opened the way to sovereignty for Abu Sofyan and his house, the Omayyads. If the Kharijite Dhu 1-khowaisira spoke out against the Prophet himself at Ji rdna, the feeling that moved him was quite sound. The last years of the Prophet were like the ingathering of a harvest laboriously reaped. The conquest of Mecca, so great was the impression it produced, was called " the Conquest," as if it contained in itself all others. From Conver- every side, in the next two years, the sheikhs streamed to sion of Medina to open negotiations for the acceptance of Islam ^y ^heir tribes ; if they did not come spontaneously, Mohammed sent to them. A change of heart on the part of the Arabs had no more share in these than in former conversions. It cost them no struggle to cast away their idols ; the images and the sanctuaries fell quietly enough. Heathenism was a dead thing ; superstitions could be transplanted into Islam. The unique sovereignty of Allah was clearly evidenced in the fact that no might could withstand his. It is safe to affirm that the acces sions to Islam were due to political more than religious impulses, and meant adherence to the state of Medina rather than to monotheism. The power to which that city had grown, acted as a force of attraction upon the Arabs ; and their subjection was not the mere effect of fear, but expressed also that sense of the necessity for peace and order, which had led to the founding of states in the two previous centuries. Thus it becomes intelligible that from every side, by a sort of natural necessity, the 1 Vakidi, p. 377. Ibn Hisliam, p. 884. Arabia, masses of Arabian society were drawn towards the centre of attraction at Medina, and that the Prophet received the homage of distant tribes which he could not have influenced directly. The Christian tribes were not behind the rest, they were Arabs first and Christians after. Only the Christians of Najran remained true to their faith ; so did the Jews in all parts, and the Magians in the province of Bahrain. 2 The last named, as idolaters, ought not in strictness to have been tolerated in the Moslem state ; but practical considerations broke through theory, and the men of system had to accept the incon sistency with the best grace they could. The signs of submission were (1) the performance of the five daily prayers, or at least the proclamation of the times of prayer by the Muedhdhin ; (2) the payment of the alms-tax; 3 (3) the acceptance of the Moslem Law, which was introduced by qualified delegates from Medina. Otherwise things remained as they were ; Mohammed was careful not to meddle with tribal affairs, and strengthened the existing aristocracies wherever he could do so. The change of faith was effected by treaty ; the populace was not consulted, and the whole negotiations were directed by the Elders and Chiefs. For, in fact, purely political interests were involved. A single case, about which our information is exception- Taif. ally full, will suffice in illustration. The Hawazin had joined Mohammed after the battle of Honain, and now preached the duty of holy warfare against their kinsmen, the Thakafites of Taif, who were still heathens. They made raids on the cattle pastured without the city, and made captives of those who ventured abroad. The Thaka fites were exposed, alone and helpless, to the advances of Islam ; they dared not stir a foot beyond their walls. The heads of the city found the situation untenable, and resolved to do homage to the Prophet for the sake of peace. Ten ambassadors proceeded to Medina, and nego tiations began as to the conditions of the conversion of the Thakff. The envoys desired that fornication, usury, and wine-drinking should be permitted to them ; this Moham med refused (sur. xvii. 234 ; ii. 278 ; v. 92) ; and they consented to yield the point when it was explained that, indispensable as these three practices might seem, the other Moslems had learned to give them up. There was more difficulty about the Rabba or Goddess of Taif (al- Lat). The ambassadors begged that, as a concession to the foolish multitude, they might retain her for three years. When they found Mohammed resolute, they came down successively to two years, one year, and a month. Even this was refused ; Mohammed s sole concession was that they should not be obliged to destroy their goddess with their own hands. The deputation returned, and had nearly reached Taif, when Abdyalil counselled the others to make as if they had broken off the negotiation, and not to con fess the conclusion of the pact till the Thakif showed no stomach for battle with Mohammed. With faces covered, like men who have no good news, they rode into the town, and first paid the customary visit to the temple of the Rabba. Then they told their tribesmen the conditions of treaty, declared them intolerable, and reviled Mohammed as a hard and arrogant man. "And so," they concluded, "prepare for war, lay in provisions for two years; Mohammed will surely not maintain the siege longer ; dig a fosse to protect your stronghold, and lose no time." The Thakafites at first agreed to this ; but in a few days they lost courage, and bade the negotiators return and accept the conditions. These then confessed the truth, 2 Non-Moslem subjects were made to pay an arbitrary capitation or income tax. 3 The expenditure of this tax was regxilated in the case of some

tribes by special treaty.