Story of Prophets

 TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

Dr. Weil has stated, in his Introduction to

these Legends, that he chiefly extracted them

from original Arabic records, which are still re-

ceived by Mohammedans as the inspired biog-

raphies of the ancient patriarchs and prophets. >

It must still farther be added that the leading

ideas of these Mohammedan legends, i. e., their

prominent historical narratives, and the doc-

trines and precepts which they either state ex-

pressly or imply, are contained in the Koran.

In some instances it gives their minutest partic-

ulars. Indeed, it would seem as if these legends

formed part, at least, of what the founder of the

Mohammedan faith terms " the mother of the

book," indicating that they preceded his Koran

in order of time, and embodied the germ of that

faith which he subsequently developed.

This idea is suggested by the learned German

compiler, and is corroborated by the fact that

IV PEEFACE.

the legends were unknown to the Arabs before

Mohammed began to preach, while in the Ko-

ran he refers to them as already familiar to his

hearers.

But, be this as it may, it is certain that the

fact of their leading ideas being found in the

Koran invests them with divine authority to the

faithful Moslem, for it is a primary article of his

creed that every thing contained in the Koran

is of Allah. On first reading these legends, it

therefore occurred to the writer that they might

be a valuable acquisition, as an epitome of Mo-

hammedan theology and morals. And their

peculiar character, their constant allusion to

scriptural facts, with which most Bible readers

strongly identify themselves, their novel, and

gorgeous, and often sublime inventions, invest-

ing them at once with the fidelity of historical

detail, and the freshness and fascination of Ori-

ental fiction, seem to fit them especially for pop-

ular instruction. If it be asked what benefit

may be derived from promulgating the tenets of

a professedly erroneous system, it is replied that

a distinction ought to be observed between the

false systems that have ceased to be believed,

PREFACE. V

and those which are still maintained as divine

truths by any portion of mankind.

It may be questioned whether the former

ought at all to be taught, although there are

reasons why even the exploded mythology of

the ancients should be known ; but respecting

the second class, to which the religion of Mo-

hammed belongs, there should be but one opin-

ion.

Our Redeemer has committed to us, in part,

the propagation of his holy faith, by which alone

he declares that mankind shall attain to that ho-

liness, peace, and glory for which they have

been created. The exhibition, therefore, in the

stewards of the Gospel, of a false religion, in

which, as in the case before us, one hundred and

twenty millions of our immortal race are at thi^

moment staking their all, can not but be impor-

tant, at once to awaken within us feelings of

deep and active charity for these benighted mul-

titudes, and to furnish us with the requisite in-

telligence for effectually combating their griev-

ous errors with the weapons of truth.

Should the public feel any interest in this

work, the translator proposes, in a future vol-

A2

VI PREFACE.

ume, to discuss tlie legendary principle at some

length, and to show the analogy of its practical

working in the Jewish, the Mohammedan, and

Roman Catholic systems of religion.

INTRODUCTION.

Mohammed has been frequently reproached

with having altered and added most arbitrarily

to the religious history of the Jews and Christ-

ians, two important considerations not being

sufficiently borne in mind. In the first place,

it is probable that Mohammed learned only late

in life to write, or even to read the Arabic, and

he was unquestionably ignorant of every other

spoken or written language, as is sufficiently ap-

parent from historical testimony : hence he was

unable to draw from the Old and New Testa-

ments for himself, and was entirely restricted to

oral instruction from Jews and Christians.

Secondly, Mohammed himself declared both

the Old and New Testaments, as possessed by

the Jews and Christians of his time, to have been

falsified ; and, consequently, his own divine mis-

sion could be expected to agree with those writ-

ings only in part. But the turning-point on

which the greater portion of the Koran hinges

—the doctrine of the unity of God, a doctrine

which he embraced with the utmost consistency,

and armed with which he appeared as a prophet

before the pagan Arabs, who were addicted to

VUl INTRODUCTION.

the most diversified Polytheism— appeared to

him much obscured in the Gospels, and he was

therefore forced to protest against their genu-

ineness.

But with regard to the writings of the Jews

of the Old Testament, which he had received

from the mouth of his Jewish contemporaries,

he was induced to believe, or, at least, pretend-

ed to believe, that they too had undergone many changes, inasmuch as Ismael, from whom he

was sprung, was evMently treated therein as a

step-child, or as the son of a discarded slave,

whereas Abraham's paternal love and solicitude,

as well as the special favor of the Lord, were

the exclusive portion of Isaac and his descend-

ants. The predictions respecting the Messiah,

too, as declared in the writings of the Prophets,

appeared to him incompatible wi*h the faith in

himself as the seal of the Prophets. Moreover,

Mohammed was probably indebted for his reli-

gious education to a man who, abandoning the

religion of Arabia, his native country, had sought

refuge first in Judaism, and then in Christianity,

though even in the latter he does not seem to

have found perfect satisfaction. This man, a

cousin of his wife Kadidja, urged forward by an

irresistible desire after the knowledge o-f truth,

but, as his repeated apostasies would serve to

show, being of a skeptical nature, may have dis-

INTEODUCTION. UE

covered the errors that had crept into all the

religious system of his time; and having ex-

tracted from them that which was purely Divine,

and freed it from the inventions of men, may have propounded it to his disciple, who, deeply

affected by its repeated inculcation, at length

felt within himself a call to become the restorer

of the old and pure religion. A Judaism with-

out the many ritual and ceremonial laws, which,

according to Mohammed's declaration, even

Christ had been called to abolish, or a Christian-

ity without the Trinity, crucifixion, and salvation

connected therewith—this was the creed which,

in the early period of his mission, Mohammed preached with unfeigned enthusiasm.

It would be out of place here to exhibit in

detail the rapidly-changing character both of

Mohammed and his doctrines ; but what has

been said appeared indispensable by way of in-

troduction to the legends in this work. With

the exception of a few later additions, these le-

gends are derived from Mohammed himself.

Their essential features are found even in the

Koran, and what is merely alluded to there is

carried out and completed by oral traditions.

Hence these legends occupy a twofold place in

Arabic literature. The whole circle of the tra-

ditions, from Adam to Christ, containing, as they

do in the view of Mussulmans, real and undis-

X JNTKODUCTION.

puted matters of fact, which are connected with

the fate of all nations, forms the foundation of

the universal history of mankind ; while, on the

other hand, they are especially made use of as

the biography of the Prophets who lived before

Mohammed. It is therefore highly important

to ascertain the ground from which the source

of these legends has sprung, and to show the

transformation which they underwent in order

to serve as the fulcrum for the propagation of

the faith in Mohammed. Respecting the origin of these legends, it will

appear, from what has been said, that, with the

exception of that of Christ, it is to be found in

Jewish traditions, where, as will appear by the

numerous citations from the Midrash, they are

yet to be seen. Many traditions respecting the

Prophets of the Old Testament are found in the

Talmud, which was then already closed, so that

there can be no doubt that Mohammed heard

them from Jews, to whom they were known,

either by Scripture or tradition. For that these

legends were the common property both of

Jews and Arabs can not be presumed, inasmuch

as Mohammed communicated them to the Arabs

as something new, and specially revealed to

himself ; and inasmuch as the latter actually

accused him of having received instruction from

foreigners. Besides Warraka, who died soon

INTRODUCTION. . XI

after Mohammed's first appearance as a proph-

et, we know of two other individuals, who were

Well versed in the Jewish writings, and with

whom he lived on intimate terms, viz., Abd Al-

lah Ibn Salam, a learned Jew, and Salman the

Persian, who had long lived among Jews and

Christians, and who, before he became a Mus-

sulman, was successively a Magian, Jew, and

Christian. The monk Bahira, too, whom, how-

ever, according to Arabic sources, he only met

once, on his journey to Bozra, was a baptized

Jew. All these legends must have made a deep

impression on a religious disposition like that of

Mohammed, and have roused within him the

conviction that at various times, when the de-

pravity of the human race required it, God se-

lected some pious individuals to restore them

once more to the path of truth and goodness.

And thus it might come to pass that, having no other object than to instruct his contemporaries

in the nature of the Deity, and to promote their

moral and spiritual improvement, he might de-

sire to close the line of the Prophets with him-

self.

But these legends the more especially further-

ed his object, inasmuch as in all of them the

Prophets are more or less misunderstood and

persecuted by the infidels, but, with the aid of

God, are made to triumph in the end. They

XII INTRODUCTION.

were therefore intended by him to serve as a

warning to his opponents, and to edify and com-

fort his adherents. But the legend of Abraham

he must have seized and appropriated with pe-

culiar avidity, on account of its special use as a

weapon both against Jews and Christians, while,

at the same time, it imparted a certain luster to

all the nations of Arabia descending through

Ismael from Abraham.

It is difficult to find out with precision how much of this last legend was known in Arabia

before Mohammed ; but it is probable, that as

soon as the Arabs became acquainted with the

Scriptures and traditions of the Jews, they em-

ployed them in tracing down to Mohammed the

origin both of their race and of their temple.

But that they possessed no historical information

respecting it will appear from me fact that, not-

withstanding their genealogical skill, they con-

fess themselves unable to trace Mohammed's ancestry beyond the twentieth generation. It

is, however, quite evident, not only that the le-

gends of Abraham and Ismael, which related

much that was favorable to the latter, concern-

ing which the Bible was silent, but that all the

others in like manner were more or less changed

and amplified by Mohammed, and adapted to

his own purposes. We are, however, inclined

to ascribe these modifications to the men by

INTRODUCTION. Xl»

whom he was surrounded rather than to him-

self; for we consider him, at least during the

period of his mission, as the mere tool of certain

Arabian reformers rather than an independent

prophet, or, at all events, more as a dupe than

a deceiver. Yet to him unquestionably belongs

the highly poetical garb in which we find these

legends, and which was calculated to attract

and captivate the imaginative minds of the Arabs

much more than the dull Persian fables narrated

by his opponents.

In the legend of Christ, it is not difficult to

discover the views of a baptized Jew. He ac-

knowledges in Christ the living Word, and the

Spirit of God, in contradistinction to the dead

letter and the empty ceremonial into which Ju-

daism had then fallen. In the miraculous birth

of Christ there is nothing incredible to him, for

was not Adam, too, created by the word of the

Lord ? He admits all the miracles of the Gos-

pel, for had not the earlier prophets also worked

miracles? Even in the Ascension he finds

nothing strange, for Enoch and Elias were also

translated to heaven. But that a true prophet

should place himself and his mother on a level

with the Most High God is repugnant to his

views, and he therefore rejects this doctrine as

the blasphemous invention of the priests. He refuses also, in like manner, to believe the Cru-

B

S^V INTRODUCTION.

cifixion, because it appears to him to reflect

upon the justice of God, and to conflict with the

history of former prophets, whom He had de-

livered out of every danger.* " No man shall

suffer for the sins of his neighbor," says the Ko-ran : hence, though Christ might have followed

out his designs without the fear of death, it

seemed to him impossible that the Lord should

have permitted Christ, the innocent, to die in so

shameful a manner for the sins of other men.

But he regards as a Savior every prophet who by divine revelation, and an exemplary and pi-

ous life, restores man to the way of salvation

which Adam had abandoned at his fall ; and

such a savior he believed himself to be.

Now, as the legend of Abraham was valuable

to Mohammed on account of the pure and sim-

ple lesson which it inculcated, as well as for its

connection with the sacred things of Mecca, so

he valued the legend of Christ especially for its

promise of the Paraclete, which he believed, or

at least proclaimed himself to be, and to which

appellation the meaning of his own name at

least furnished him with a better claim than

some others who had arrogated it to themselves

* The reader is reminded of what our Savior says of all the

righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous

Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, who per-

ished between the temple and the altar.

E. T.

INTRODUCTION. JtV

before him. Here, again, we perceive that Mo-hammed was probably misinformed both by Jews and Christians, though perhaps from no

sordid motive. Some one, for instance, as

Maccavia has already observed, may have told

him that Christ had spoken of a peryclete—

word which is synonymous with Ahmed (the

much-praised one). At all events, in all the le-

gends of the Mussulmans,Mohammed is declared

even by the oldest prophets to be the greatest of

all that were to come (although there are fewer

traces of this found in the Koran) ; and wherever,

in the Jewish legends, Moses, Israel, and the

Thora are prominently brought forward, there

the Mussulmans place Mohammed, the Arabs,

and the Koran. The name to which they most

frequently appeal as their voucher is Kaab Alah-

bar, a Jew, who embraced Islamism during the

caliphate ofOmar. As translations ofthe Koran

abound in the German language, it can not be

difficult for the reader to separate those portions

of these legends composed by Mohammed from

those which were afterward interpolated, but

which were ascribed to him, and descended to

posterity as sacred traditions.

The oral traditions respecting the ancient

prophets, which are put into Mohammed's mouth,

are so numerous, and some of them so contra-

dictory, that no historian or biographer has been

XVI INTRODUCTION.

able to admit them all. It was therefore nec-

essary to select ; and in order to make them in

some degree complete, we were obliged to draw

from various sources, as it was only in this way that the unity and roundness could be obtained

in which they are here presented to the reader.

Besides the Koran and the commentaries

upon it, the following MSS. have been made use of for this little work

1. The book Chamis, by Husein Ibn Moham-med, Ibn Ahasur Addiarbekri (No. 279 of the

Arabian MSS. in the library of the Duke of

Gotha), which, as the introduction to the biog-

raphy of Mohammed, contains many legends re-

specting the ancient prophets, especially Adam, Abraham, and Solomon.

2. The book Dsachirat Alulum wanatidjal

Alfuhum (storehouse of wisdom and fruits of

knowledge), by Ahmed Ibn Zein Alabidin AI-

bekri (No. 285 of the above-mentioned MSS.),

in which also the ancient legends from Adam to Christ are prefixed to the History of Islam,

and more especially the lives of Moses and

Aaron minutely narrated.

3. A collection of legends by anonymous au-

thors. (No. 909 of the same collection.)

4. The Legends of the Prophets (Kissat Alan-

bija), by Muhammed Ibn Ahmed Alkissai. (No.

764 of the Arabic MSS. of the Royal Library

at Paris.)

CONTENTS.

Adam (a Mohammedan Legend) 19

Idris, or Enoch 48

Noah, Hud, and Salih ......... 53

Abraham 68

Joseph 97

Moses and Aaron 114

Samuel, Saul, and David 171

Solomon and the Queen of Saba 200

John, Mart, and Christ 249

2

BIBLICAL LEGENDS, FROM THE ARABIC, &c., 6cc.

ADAM. (a MOHAMMEDAN LEGEND.)

The most authentic records ofantiquity which

have come down to us state that Adam was created on Friday afternoon, at the hour of

Assr.*

The four most exalted angels, Gabriel, Mi-

chael, Israfil, and Israil, were commanded to

bring from the four corners of the earth the

dust out of which Allah formed the body of

Adam, all save the head and heart. For these

He employed exclusively the sacred earth of

Mecca and Medina, from the very spots on

which, in later times, the holy Kaaba and the

sepulchre of Mohammed were erected.

* The hour of Assr is between noon and evening, and is set

apart by the Mussulman for the performance of his third dailj

prayer.

t Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was born in 571 A.D., at

Mecca, where the Kaaba, then an ancient temple, was held ia

great veneration. In 622 the idolaters of Mecca compelled him

to emigrate to Medina, where he died in June, 632. Vide Gtu-

tavus Weill. Mohamed der Prophet, snn Lehen vnd seine Lehre,

See. Stuttgart, 1843, Bvo.

20 ADAM CREATED.

Even before it was animated, Adam's beauti-

ful form excited the admiration of (he angels

who were passing by the gates of Paradise,

where Allah had laid it down. But Iblis covet-

ed man's noble form, and the spiritual and love-

ly expression of his countenance, and said, there-

fore, to his fellows, " How can this hollow piece

of earth be well pleasing in your sight ? Noth-

ing but weakness and frailty may be expected

of this creature." When all the inhabitants of

heaven, save Iblis, had gazed on Adam in long

and silent wonder, they burst out in praises to

Allah, the creator of the first man, who was so

tall, that when he stood erect upon the earth

his head reached to the seventh heaven.

Allah then directed the angels to bathe the

Soul of Adam, which he had created a thousand

years before his body, in the sea of glory which

proceedeth from himself, and commanded her to

animate his yet lifeless form. The Soul hesita-

ted, for she was unwilling to exchange the

boundless heavens for this narrow home; but

Allah said, " Thou must animate Adam even

against thy will ; and as the punishn.ent of thy

disobedience, thou shalt one day be separated

from him also against thy will." Allah then

breathed upon her with such violence that she

rushed through the nostrils of Adam into his

head. On reaching \i\s eyes, they were opened,

ADAM ANIMATED WITU LIFE. 21

and he saw the throne of Allah, with the in-

scription, " There is but one God, and Moham-med is his Messenger." The Soul then pene-

trated to his ears, and he heard the angels prais-

ing Allah ; thereupon his own tongue was loosed,

and he cried, " Blessed be thou, my Creator, the

only One and Eternal !" and Allah answered,

"For this end wast thou created ; thou and thy

descendants shall worship me ; so shall ye ever

obtain grace and mercy." The Soul at last

pervaded all the limbs of Adam ; and when she

had reached his feet, she gave him the power to

rise ; but, on rising, he was obliged to shut his

eyes, for a light shone on him from the throne

of the Lord which he was unable to endure;

and pointing with one hand toward it, while

he sbaded his eyes with the other, he inquired,

" O Allah ! what flames are those ?" " It is the

light of a prophet who shall descend from thee

and appear on earth in the latter times. By my glory, only for his sake have I created thee

and the whole world.* In heaven his name is

Ahmed,f but he shall be called Mohammed on

earth, and he shall restore mankind from vice

and falsehood to the path of virtue and truth."

* The Midrash .Talkut (Frankfort on the O., 5469), says Rabbi

Juda, teaches that the world was created on account of the mer-

its of Israel. R. Hosiasaysit was created on account of the Thora

(the Law) ; and R. Barachia, on account of the merits of Moses.

* The much-praised One.

22 THE FALL OF s?ATAi\.

All created things were then assembled be-

fore Adam, and Allah taught him the names of

all beasts, of birds, and of fish ; the manner in

which they are sustained and propagated, and

explained their peculiarities, and the ends of

their existence. Finally, the angels were con-

voked, and Allah commanded them to bow

down to Adam, as the most free and perfect of

His creatures, and as the only one that was ani-

mated by His breath. Israfil was the first to

obey, whence Allah confided to him the book

of Fate. The other angels followed his exam-

ple : Iblis alone was disobedient, saying*,' with

disdain, " Shall I, who am created of fire, wor-

ship a being formed of the dust?" He was

therefore expelled from heaven, and the en-

trance into Paradise was forbidden him.

Adam breathed more freely after the removal

of Iblis; and by command of Allah, he address-

ed the myriads of angels who were standing

around him, in praise of His omnipotence and

the wonders of His universe ; and on this occa-

sion he manifested to the angels that he far sur^

passed them in wisdom, and more especially in

the knowledge of languages, for he knew the

name of every created thing in seventy diflferent

tongues.*

* When the Lord intended to create man, he consulted with

the angels, and said to them, " We will create man after our im-

EVB. 2S

After this discourse, Allah presented him,

through Gabriel, with a bunch of grapes from

Paradise, and when he had eaten them he fell

into a deep sleep. The Lord then took a rib

from Adam's side, and formed a woman of it,

whom he called Hava [Eve], for he said, I have

taken her from (hai) the living. She bore a per-

fect resemblance to Adam ; but her features

were more delicate than his, and her eyes shone

with a sweeter luster, her hair was longer, and

divided into seven hundred braids ; her form

was lighter, and her voice more soft and pure.

Whil^ Allah was endowing Eve with every

female charm, Adam was dreaming of a second

human being resembling himself Nor was this

strange, for had he not seen all the creatures

which had been presented to him in pairs ?

When, therefore, he awoke, and found Eve near

him, he desired to embrace her ; yet, although

her love exceeded his own, she forbade him, and

said, " Allah is my lord ; it is only with his per-

mission that I may be thine ! Besides, it is not

age." But they replied, " What is man, that thou art mindful of

him? What are his excellences?" He said, "His wisdom ex-

ceeds your own." He then took all kinds of wild beasts and

birds, and when he asked the angels to give their names, they

were not able to do so. After the creation, he brought these ani-

mals to Adam, who, on being asked their names, replied imme-

diately, " This is an ox, this is an ass, that a horse, a camel," &c.

(Compare Geiger, Was hat Moharned aus dam Judenthum auf-

genommen, p. 99, &c.)

24 THE ENTRANCE INTO PARADISE.

meet that a woman should be wedded without

a marriage gift." Adam then prayed the angel

Gabriel to intercede for him with Allah, that he

might obtain Eve for his wife, and to inquire

what marriage gift would be demanded. The angel soon returned, and said, " Eve is thine, for

Allah has created her only for thee ! Love her

as thyself, and treat her with indulgence and

kindness. The marriage gift which he requires

of thee is, that thou shouldst pray twenty times

for Mohammed, his beloved, whose body shall

one day be formed out of thy flesh and blood,

but whose soul has dwelt in Allah's presence

many thousand years before the creation of the

world."*

Rid whan, the guardian of Eden, came leading

Meimun, the winged horse, and a fleet she-camel.

The one he presented to Adam, the other to Eve.

The angel Gabriel assisted them in mounting,

and conduct-ed them to Paradise, where all the

angels and animals present saluted them with

the words, " Hail ! ye parents of Mohammed !"

* The idea that many things existed before the creation of the

world is purely Jewish. The Mussulmans adopted it. Some of

them maintained that the Koran had existed before the world,

which assertion excited many bloody contests among them. The Midrash Jalkut, p. 7, says, Seven things were in existence before

the creation of the world : the Thora, Repentance, Paradise, Hell,

the Throne of God, the name of the Messiah, and the holy Tem-

ple. Some maintain that the throne and the Thora really ex-

isted, while the Lord only thought of the other five before he cre-

ated th» world,

THE PROHIBITION. 26

In the midst of Paradise there stood a green

silken tent, supported on golden pillars, and in

the midst of it there was a throne, on which Adam seated himself with Eve, whereupon the curtains

of the tent closed around them of their own ac-

cord.

When Adam and Eve were afterward walk-

ing through the garden, Gabriel came and com-

manded them, in the name of Allah, to go and

bathe in one of the four rivers of Paradise. Al-

lah himself then said to them, " I have appointed

this garden for your abode ; it will shelter you

from cold and heat, from hunger and thirst.

Take, at your discretion, of every thing that it

contains ; only one of its fruits shall be denied

you. Beware that ye transgress not this one

command, and watch against the wily rancor

of Iblis ! He is your enemy, because he was

overthrown on your account ; his cunning is in-

finite, and he aims at your destruction."

The newly-created pair attended to Allah's

words, and lived a long time, some say five

hundred years, in Paradise without approaching

the forbidden tree. But Iblis also had listened

to Allah, and resolving to lead man into sin,

wandered constantly in the outskirts of heaven,

seeking to glide unobserved into Paradise. But

its gates were shut, and guarded by the an-

gel Ridwhan. One day the peacock came out

C

26 Satan's attempt.

of the garden. He was then the finest of the

birds of Paradise, for his plumage shone like

pearl and emerald, and his voice was so me-

lodious that he was appointed to sing the praises

of Allah daily in the main streets of heaven.

Iblis, on seeing him, said to himself, " Doubt-

less this beautiful bird is very vain : perhaps I

may be able to induce him by flattery to bring

me secretly into the garden."

When the peacock had gone so far from the

gates that he could no longer be overheard by

Ridwhan, Iblis said to him,

" Most wonderful and beautiful bird 1 art thou

of the birds of Paradise?"

" I am ; but who art thou, who seemest fright-

ened as if some one did pursue thee ?"

" I am one of those cherubim who are ap-

pointed to sing without ceasing the praises of

Allah, but have glided away for an instant to

visit the Paradise which he has prepared for the

faithful. Wilt thou conceal me under thy beau-

tiful wings ?"

" Why should, I do an act which must bring

the displeasure of Allah upon me ?"

" Take me with thee, charming bird, and I

will teach thee three mysterious words, which

shall preserve thee from sickness, age, and

death."

" Must, then, the inhabitants of Paradise die ?"

THE PEACOCK AND THE SEBPENT. 27

" All, without exception, who know not the

three words which I possess."

"Speakest thou the truth?"

" By Allah the Almighty !"

The peacock believed him, for he did not even

dream that any creature would swear falsely by its maker; yet, fearing lest Ridwhan might

search him too closely on his return, he steadily

refused to take Iblis along with him, but prom-

ised to send out the serpent, who might more

easily discover the means of introducing him

unobservedly into the garden.

Now the serpent was at first the queen of all

beasts. Her head was like rubies, and her eyes

like emerald. Her skin shone like a mirror of

various hues. Her hair was soft like that of a

noble virgin ; and her form resembled the stately

camel ; her breath was sweet like musk and

amber, and all her words were songs of praise.

She fed on saffron, and her resting-places were

on the blooming borders of the beautiful Can-

tharus.* She was created a thousand years

before Adam, and destined to be the playmate

of Eve.

" This fair and prudent being," said the pea-

cock to himself, " must be even more desirous

than I to remain in eternal youth and vigor, and

will undoubtedly dare the displeasure of Rid-

One of the rivers of Paradise.

28 THE PEACOCK AND THE SERPENT.

whan at the price of the three invaluable words,"

He was right in his conjecture, for no sooner

had he informed the serpent of his adventure

than she exclaimed, " Can it be so ? Shall I be

visited by death ? Shall my breath expire, my tongue be paralyzed, and my limbs become im-

potent? Shall my eyes and ears be closed in

night? And this noble form of mine, shall it

perish in the dust? Never, never! Even if

Ridwhan's wrath should light upon me, I will

hasten to the cherub, and will lead him into Par-

adise, so he but teach me the three mysterious

words."

The serpent ran forthwith out of the gate,

and Iblis repeated to her what he had said to

the peacock, confirming his words by an oath.

" How can 1 bring thee into Paradise unob-

served ?" inquired the serpent.

" I will contract myself into so small a bulk

that I shall find room in a cavity of thy teeth

!"

" But how shall I answer Ridwhan if he ad-

dresses me ?"

" Fear nothing ; I will utter holy names that

shall render him speechless."

The serpent then opened her mouth : Iblis

flew into it, and, seating himself in the hollow

part of her front teeth, poisoned them to all eter-

nity. When they had passed Ridwhan, who was not able to utter a sound, the serpent open-

THE TEMPTATION. 29

ed her mouth again, expecting that the cherub

would resume his natural shape, but Iblis prefer-

red to remain where he was, and to speak to

Adam from the serpent's mouth, and in her

name. After some resistance, she consented,

from fear of Ridwhan, and from her anxiety to

obtain the mysterious words. Arrived at Eve's

tent, Iblis heaved a deep sigh : the first which

envy had forced from any living breast.

" Why art thou so cast down to-day, my be-

loved serpent?" inquired Eve, who had heard

the sigh.

" I am anxious for the future destiny of thee

and of thy husband," replied Iblis, imitating the

voice of the serpent.

" How ! Do we not possess in these gardens

of Eden all that we can desire ?"

" True ; and yet the best of the fruits of this

garden, and the only one which can procure you perfect felicity, is denied you."

" Have we not fruits in abundance of every

taste and color ? why should we regret this

one?" " If thou knewest why this fruit is denied you,

all the rest would afford thee no pleasure."

" Knowest thou the reason ?"

"I do ; and it is precisely this knowledge

which fills my heart with care ; for while all

the fruits which are given you bring with them

C2

30 TH TEMPTATION.

weakness, disease, old age, and death, that is,

the entire cessation of life, this forbidden fruit

alone bestows eternal youth and vigor."

" Thou hast never spoken of these things un-

til now, beloved serpent ; whence derivest thou

this knowledge ?"

" An angel informed me of it, whom I met

under the forbidden tree."

Eve answered, " I will go and speak with

him ;" and, leaving her tent, she hurried toward

the tree.

On the instant, Iblis, who. knew Eve's curios-

ity, sprang out of the serpent's mouth, and was

standing under the forbidden tree, in the shape

of an angel, but with a human face, before Eve had reached it.

" Who art thou, singular being," she inquired,

" whose like I have never seen ?"

" I was man. but have become an angel ?"

" By what means ?"

" By eating of"this blessed fruit, which an en-

vious God had forbidden me to taste on pain of

death. I long submitted to his command, until I

became old and frail ; my eyes lost their luster

and grew dim, my ears no longer heard, my teeth decayed, and I could neither eat without

pain, nor speak with distinctness. My hands trem-

bled, my feet shook, my head hung down upon

my breast, my back was bent, and my whole

THE FORBIDDEN TREE. 31

appearance became at last so frightful that all

the inhabitants of Paradise fled from me. I then

longed for death, and expecting to meet it by

eating of this fruit, I stretched out my hands

and took of it ; but lo ! it had scarcely touched

my lips, when I became strong and beautiful as

at first ; and though many thousand years have

since elapsed, I am not sensible of the slightest

change either in my appearance or in my ener-

gies."

" Speakest thou the truth?"

" By Allah, who created me, I do."

Eve trusted to his oath, and plucked an ear

of the wheat-tree.

Now, before Adam's sin, wheat grew upon

the finest tree of Paradise. Its trunk was of

gold, its branches were of silver, and its leaves

of emerald. From every branch there sprung

seven ears of ruby ; each ear contained five

grains, and every grain was white as snow,

sweet as honey, fragrant as musk, and as large

as an ostrich's egg. Eve ate one of these grains,

and finding it more pleasant than all she had

hitherto tasted, she took a second 'one and pre-

sented it to her husband.

Adam resisted long—our doctors say, a whole

hour of Paradise, w'hich means eighty years of

our time on earth ; but when he observed that

Eve remained fair and happy as before, he yield-

82 TBE FALL.

ed to her importunity at last, and ate the second

grain of wheat, which she had had constantly with

her, and presented to him three times every day.

Scarcely had Adam received the fruit when

his crown rose toward heaven, his rings fell from

his fingers, and his silken robe dropped from him.

Eve, too, stood spoiled of her ornaments and

naked before him, and they heard how all these

things cried to them with one voice, " Woe unto

you ! your calamity is great, and your mourning

will be long : we were created for the obedient

only : farewell until tlje resurrection !" The

throne which had been erected for them in the

tent thrust them away and cried, " Rebels, de-

part !" The horse Meimun, upon which Adam attempted to fly, would not suffer him to mount,

and said, "Hast thou thus kept the covenant of

Allah r All the creatures of Paradise then turned from

them, and besought Allah to remove the human

pair from that hallowed spot. Allah himself ad-

dressed Adam in a voice of thunder,^nd said,

" Wast thou not commanded to abstain from this

fruit, and forewarned of the cunning of Iblis, thy

foe ?" Adam attempted to flee from these up-

braidings, and Eve would have followed him, but

he was held fast by the branche;s of the tree

Talh, and Eve was entangled in her own di-

sheveled hair, while a voice from the tree ex-

THE EXPULSION. 33

claimed, " From the wrath of Allah there is no

escape : submit to his divine decree ! Leave

this Paradise," continued Allah, in tones ofwrath,

" both you, and the creatures which have seduced

you to transgress : by the sweat of your brow

alone shall you earn your bread ; the earth shall

henceforth be your abode, and its possessions

shall fill your hearts with envy and malice ! Eve shall be visited with all kinds of sickness, and

bear children in pain. The peacock shall be de-

prived of his voice, and the serpent of her feet.

The darkest caverns of the earth shall be her

dwelling-place, dust shall be her food, and to kill

her bring sevenfold reward. But Iblis shall de-

part into the eternal pains of hell."

Hereupon they were hurled down from Para-

dise with such precipitancy that Adam and Eve could scarcely snatch a leaf from one of the

trees wherewith to cover themselves. Adam was flung out through the Gate of Repentance,

teaching him that he might return through con-

trition ; Eve through the Gate of Mercy ; the

peacock and the serpent through the Gate of

Wrath, but Iblis through that of the Curse.

Adam came down on the island Serendib, Eve on Djidda, the serpent fell into the Sahara, the

peacock into Persia, and Iblis dropped into the

torrent Aila.

When Adam touched the earth, the eagle said

3

34 REMORSE OF ADAM AND EVE.

to the whale, with whom he had hitherto Hved

on friendly terms, and had whiled away many an hour in pleasant converse on the shores of

the Indian Ocean, " We must now part forever

for the lowest depths of the sea and the loftiest

mountain tops will henceforth scarcely preserve

us from the cunning and malice of men."

Adam's distress in his solitude was so great

that his beard began to grow, though his face

had hitherto been smooth; and this new ap-

pearance increased his grief until he heard a

voice which said to him, " The beard is the or-

nament of man upon the earth, and distinguishes

him from the weaker woman."

Adam shed such an abundance of tears that

all beasts and birds satisfied their thirst there-

with ; but some of them sunk into the earth, and,

as they still contained some of the juices of his

food in Paradise, produced the most fragrant

trees and spices.

Eve also was desolate in Djidda, for she did

not see Adam, although he was so tall that his

head touched the lowest heaven, and the songs

of the angels were distinctly audible to him.

She wept bitterly, and her tears, which flowed

into the ocean, were changed into costly pearls,

while those which fell on the earth brought forth

all beautiful flowers.

Adam and Eve lamented so loudlv that the

SYMPATHY. 35

east wind carried Eve's voice to Adam, while

the west wind bore his to Eve. She wrung her

hands over her head, which women in despair

are still in the habit of doing ; while Adam laid

his right hand on his beard, which custom is

still followed by men in sorrow unto this day.

The tears flowed at last in such torrents from

Adam's eyes, that those of his right eye started

the Euphrates, while those of his left set the

Tigris in motion.

AH nature wept with him, and the birds, and

beasts, and insects, which had fled from Adam by reason of his sin, were now touched by his

lamentations, and came back to manifest their

sympathy. ^

First came the locusts, for they were formed

out of the earth which remained after Adatn

was created. Of these there are seven thousand

different kinds of every color and size, some even

as large as an eagle. They are governed by a

king, to whom Allah reveals his will whenever

he intends to chasten a wicked people, such as,

for instance, the Egyptians were at the time of

Pharaoh. The black letters on the back of their

wings are ancient Hebrew, and signify, " There

is but one only God. He overcomes the mighty,

and the locusts are part of his armies, which he

sends against sinners." i

When at last the whole universe grew loud

36 MERCY TO ADAM.

with lamentation, and all created beings, from

the smallest insect up to the angels who hold

whole worlds in one hand, were weeping with

Adam, Allah sent Gabriel to him with the words

which were destined to save also the pi'ophet

Jonah in the whale's belly

*' There is no God besides thee. I have sin-

ned ; forgive me through Mohammed, thy last

and greatest prophet, whose name is engraved

upon thy holy throne."

As soon as Adam had pronounced these

words with penitent heart, the portals of heaven

were opened to him again, and Gabriel cried,

"Allah has accepted thy repentance. Pray to

him, and he will grant all thy requests, and

even restore thee to Paradise at the appointed

time." Adam prayed

" Defend me against the future artifices of

Iblis my foe !"

Allah replied :

" Say continually there is no God but one, and

thou shalt wound him as with a poisoned arrow." " Will not the meats and drinks of the earth,

and its dwellings, ensnare me 1"

" Drink water, eat clean animals slain in the

name of Allah, and build mosques for thy abode

so shall Iblis have no power over thee."

" But if he pursue me with evil thoughts and

dreams in the night ?"

MERCY TO EVE. 37

" Then rise from thy couch and pray."

" O Allah ! how shall I always distinguish

between good and evil ?"

" I will grant thee my guidance : two angels

shall dwell in thy heart ; one to warn thee

against sin, the other to lead thee to the prac-

tice of good."

" Lord, assure me of thy pardon also for my future sins."

" This thou canst only gain by works of right-

eousness ! I shall punish sin but once, and re-

ward sevenfold the good which thou shalt

do."

At the same time the angel Michael was sent

to Eve, announcing to her also the mercy of

Allah.

" With what weapons," inquired she, " shall

I, who am weak in heart and mind, fight against

sin?"

** Allah has endued thee with the feeling of

shame, and through its power thou shalt subdue

thy passions, even as man conquers his own by

faith."

" Who shall protect me against the power of

man, who is not only stronger in body and

mind, but whom also the law prefers as heir and

witness ?"

" His love and compassion toward thee, which

I have put into his heart."

D

38 MEUCY TO SATAN.

" Will Allah grant me no other token of his

favor?"

" Thou shalt be rewarded for all the pains of

motherhood, and the death of a woman in child-

bed shall be accounted as martyrdom."

Iblis, emboldened by the pardon of the human

pair, ventured also to pray for a mitigation of

his sentence, and obtained its deferment until

the resurrection, as well as an unlimited power

over sinners who do not accept the word ofAllah.

" Where shall I dwell in the mean time ?"

said he.

"In ruins, in tombs, and all other unclean

places shunned by man !"

" What shall be my food ?"

" All things slain in the name of idols."

" How shall I quench my thirst ?"

** With wine and intoxicating liquors !"

" What shall occupy my leisure hours ?"

" Music, song, love-poetry, and dancing.'*

" What is my watchword ?"

"The curse ofAllah until the day ofjudgment." " But how shall I contend with man, to whom

thou hast granted two guardian angels, and who has received thy revelation ?"

" Thy progeny shall be more numerous than

his ; for every man that is born, there shall come into the world seven evil spirits ; but they shall

be powerless against the faithful."

THE COVENANT. 39

Allah then made a covenant with the de-

scendants of Adam. He touched Adam's back,

and lo ! the whole human family which shall be

born to the end of time issued forth from it, as

small as ants, and ranged themselves right and

left.

At the head of the former stood Mohammed, with the prophets and the rest of the faithful,

whose radiant whiteness distinguished them from

the sinners, who were standing on Adam's left,

headed by Kabil [Cain], the murderer of his

brother.

Allah then acquainted the progenitor of man with the names and destinies of each individual

and when it camre to King David the prophet's

turn, to whom was originally assigned a lifetime

of only thirty years, Adam inquired, "How many years are appointed to me ?"

" One thousand," was the answer.*

"I will renounce seventy if thou wilt add

them to the life of David !"

Allah consented ; but, aware of Adam's for-

getfulness, directed this grant to be recorded on

a parchment, which Gabriel and Michael signed

as witnesses.f

* Nine hundred and thirty years was the lifetime of Adam,

according to Gen., v., 3.

t The Lord showed to Adam every future generation, with

their heads, sages, and scribes. He saw that David was destined

46 THE COVENANT.

Allah then cried to the agsembled human

family, " Confess that I am the only God, and

that Mohammed is my messenger." The hosts

to the right made their confession immediately;

but those to the left hesitated, some repeating

but one half of Allah's words, and others re-

maining entirely silent. And Allah continued

" The disobedient and impenitent shall suffer the

pains of eternal fire, but the faithful shall be

blessed in Paradise

!"

" So be It !" responded Adam ; who shall call

every man by name in the day of the resurrec-

tion, and pronounce his sentence according as

the balance of justice shall decide.

When the covenant was concluded, Allah

once more touched Adam's back, and the whole

human race returned to him.

And when Allah was now about to withdraw

his presence for the whole of this life from Ad-

am, the latter uttered so loud a cry, that the

to live only three hours, and said, "Lord and Creator of the

world, is this unalterably fixed ?" The Lord answered,

" It was my original design !"

" How many years shall I live ?"

" One thousand."

" Are grants known in Heaven ?"

" Certainly !"

" I grant, then, seventy years of my life to David !"

What did Adam therefore do ? He gave a written grant, set

his seal to it, and the same was done by the Lord and Metatron.

—Midrash Jalkut, p. 12.

THE TEMPLfi. 41

whole earth shook to its foundations : the All-

merciful thereupon extended his clemency, and

said, " Follow yonder cloud ; it shall lead thee

to the place which lies directly opposite my heavenly throne ; build me a temple there, and

when thou walkest around it, I shall be as near

to thee as to the angels which encompass my throne

!"

Adam, who still retained his original stature,

in a few hours made the journey from India to

Mecca, where the cloud which had conducted

him stood still. On Mount Arafa, near Mecca,

he found, to his great joy. Eve his wife, whence

also this mountain (from Arafa, to know, to rec-

ognize) derives its name. They immediately

began to build a temple with four gates, and

they called the first gate the Gate of Adam

the second, the Gate of Abraham ; the third, the

Gate of Ismael ; and the fourth, the Gate of Mo-hammed. The plan of the building they had

received fi'om the angel Gabriel, who had, at

the same time, brought them a large diamond

of exquisite brightness, which was afterward

sullied by the sins of men, and at last became

entirely black.

This black stone, the most sacred treasure of

the blessed Kaaba, was originally the angel who guard-ed the forbidden tree, and was charged to

warn Adam if he should approach it, but, hav-

D2

^ CAIN AND ABEL.

ing neglected his trust, he was changed into a

jewel, and at the day of judgment he shall re-

sume his pristine form and return to the holy-

angels.

Gabriel then instructed Adam in all the cere-

monies of pilgrimage, precisely as they were

instituted by Mohammed at a later period ; nor

was he permitted to behold Eve his wife until

the evening of Thursday, when the holy days

were ended.

On the following morning Adam returned

with his wife to India, and abode there during

the remainder of his life. But he went every

year on a pilgrimage to Mecca, until he at last

lost his original size, retaining a height of only

sixty yards. This diminution of his stature, ac-

cording to the tradition of the learned, was

caused by the excessive terror and grief which

he experienced in consequence of the murder

of Abel.

For Eve had born him two sons, whom he

named Kabil and Habil [Cain and Abel], and

several daughters, whom he gave in marriage

to their brothers. The fairest of them he in-

tended for Abel, but Cain was displeased, and

desired to obtain her, though he had a wife al-

ready. Adam referred the decision to Allah,

and said to his sons, " Let each of you offer a

sacrifice, and he to whom Allah vouchsafes a

DEATH OF ABKL. 43

sign of acceptance shall marry her." Abel of-

fered a fatted ram, and fire came down from

heaven and consumed it ; but Cain brought some

fruits, which remained untouched upon the altar.

He was thereupon filled with envy and hatred

toward his brother, but knew not how he might

destroy his life.*

One day Iblis placed himself in Cain's way as

he walked with Abel in the field, and seizing a

stone, shattered therewith the head of an ap-

proaching wolf; Cain followed his example, and

with a large stone struck his brother's forehead

till he fell lifeless to the ground. Iblis then as-

sumed the shape of a raven, and having killed

another raven, dug a hole in the earth with his

bill, and laying the dead one into it, covered it

with the earth which he had dug up. Cain did

the same with his brother,f so that Adam was Cain and Abel divided the world between them, the one

taking possession of the movable, and the other of the immovable

properly. Cain said to his brother, " The earth on which thou

Blandest is mine ; then betake thyself to the air ;" but Abel re-

plied, " The garments which thou wearest are mine ; l&ke them

oflf!" There arose a conflict between Ihem, which ended iii

Abel's death. R. Huna teaches, They contended for a twin sister

of Abel's : the latter claimed her because she was bom with him

but Cain pleaded his right of primogeniture.

Midrash, p. 11.

t The dog which had watched Abel's flocks guarded also his

corpse, protecting it against the beasts and birds of prey. Adam and Eve sat beside it, and wept, not knowing what to do. But a

raven, whose friend had died, said, " I will go and teach Adam what he must do with his son." It dug a grave and laid the dead

raven in it. When Adam saw this, he said to Eve, " Let us do

4A DISCOVERY OF ABEl/s CORPSE.

long in ignorance of the fate of his son, and

shrunk together through care and sorrow. It

was not until he had fully learned what had be-

fallen Abel that he resigned himself to the will

of Allah, and was comforted.

Now the discovery of Abel's corpse took place

in this wise : Since his expulsion from Eden,

Adam had lived on wild herbs, fruits, and meat,

when, at Allah's command, the angel Gabriel

brought him the remaining grains of wheat

which Eve had plucked, a yoke of oxen, the va-

rious implements of husbandry, and instructed

him in ploughing, sowing, and reaping.

While he was one day working in the field,

his plough suddenly stopped, nor were all the

exertions of his cattle able to move it. Adam struck the oxen, and the eldest of them said to

him,

" Why dost thou strike me ? Did Allah strike

thee when thou wast disobedient ?"

Adam prayed. " O Allah ! after thou hast

forgiven my sin, shall every beast of the field

be permitted to reprove me ?"

the same with our child." The Lord rewarded the raven, and no

one is allowed, therefore, to harm their young ; they have food in

abundance, and their cry for rain is always heard. R. Johanan

teaches, Cain was not aware of the Lord's knowledge of hidden

things ; he therefore buried Abel, and replied to the Lord's in-

quiry, " Where is Abel, thy brother ?" " Am I my brother's keep-

er?"

Midrash,p. 11.

BREAD, THE CHIEF FOOD OF MAN. 45

Allah heard him, and from that moment the

brute creation lost the power of speech. Mean-while, as the plough still remained immovable,

Adam opened the ground, and found the still

distinguishable remains of his son Abel.

At the time of harvest, Gabriel came again

and instructed Eve in making bread. Adam then built an oven, and Gabriel brought fire

from hell, but first washed it seventy times in

the sea, otherwise it would have consumed the

earth with all that it contained. When the

bread was baked, he said to Adam, " This shall be thy and thy children's chief

nourishment."

Although Adam had shed so many tears over

the labor of the plough that they served instead

of rain to moisten and to fructify the seed, yet

were his descendants doomed to still greater

toil by reason of their iniquities. Even in the

days of (Enoch) Idris, the grain of wheat was

no larger than a goose's egg: in those of Elias

it shrunk to the size of a hen's egg : when the

Jews attempted to kill Christ, it became like a

pigeon's egg ; and, finally, under Uzier's (Es-

dras's) rule it took its present bulk.

When Adam and Eve were fully instructed

in agricultural cookery, the angel Gabriel

brought a lamb, and taught Adam to kill it in

the name of Allah, to shear its wool, to strip its

46 THE FORGOTTEN GRANT.

hide, and to tan it. Eve spun and wove under

the angel's direction, making a veil for herself,

and a garment for Adam, and both Adam and

Eve imparted the information which they had

received from Gabriel to their grand-children

and great-grand-children, in number forty, or,

according to others, seventy thousand.

After the death of Abel and Cain, the latter

of whom was slain by the blood-avenging angel,

Eve gave birth to a third son, whom she called

Sheth : he became the father of many sons and

daughters, and is the ancestor of all prophets.

The 930th year of Adam's life came at last

to its close, and the Angel of Death appeared

to him in the shape of an unsightly he-goat, and

demanded his soul, while the earth opened under

his feet, and demanded his body. Adam trem-

bled with fear, and said to the Angel of Death,

" Allah has promised me a lifetime of a thou-

sand years : thou hast come too soon." " Hast

thou not granted seventy years of thy life to

David?" replied the angel. Adam denied it,

for he had indeed forgotten the circumstance ;

but the Angel of Death drew forth from his

beard the parchment in which the grant was written, and spread it out before Adam, who,

on seeing it, willingly gave up his soul.

His son Sheth washed and buried him, after

that Gabriel, or, according to others, Allah him-

DEATH OP ADAM AND EVE. 47

self, had pronounced a blessing. The same was done with Eve, who died in the following year.

In regard to the places of their burial, the

learned differ. Some have named India ; other

traditions fix on Mount Kubeis, and even on

Jerusalem. Allah alone is omniscient.

^ IDRIS, OR ENOCH.

IDRIS, OR ENOCH.

Idris, or Enoch, was the son of Jarid, the son

of Mahlalel, but was called Idris, from darasa

(to study), for he was constantly occupied with

the study of the holy books, both those which

Allah had revealed to Adam, and those which

Gabriel brought to him from heaven. He was

so virtuous and pious, that Allah anointed him to

be his prophet, and sent him as a preacher to the

descendants of Cain, who only employed in deeds

ofsin the gigantic frames and surpassing strength

with which Allah had endowed them. Enoch

exhorted them unceasingly to purity of conduct,

and was often compelled to draw his sword in

defense of his Ufe. He was the first who fought

for Allah, the first who invented the balance to

prevent deception in traffic, and the first also to

sew garments, and to write with the Kalam.

Idris longed ardently for Paradise; still he was not

desirous of death, for he was anxious to do good

on the earth ; and but for his preaching and his

sword,* the sons of Cain would have flooded

the earth with iniquity. Allah sent him the

Angel of Death in the form of a beautiful virgin,

in order to see whether he would approve him-

See the E. Translator's Preface.

THE TExMPTATION. 49

self worthy of the pecuHar favor which no man before him had ever received.

" Come with me," said the disguised angel to

Idris, " and thou shalt do an acceptable work to

Allah. My younger sister has been carried off

by an ungodly descendant of Cain, who has con-

fined her in the farthest regions of the West

Gird on thy sword, and help me to deliver

her !"

Enoch girded on his sword, and took up his

bow and the club, with which he had laid low at

a single stroke whole ranks of the enemy, and

followed the virgin from morn till eve, through

desolate and arid deserts, but he said not a word and looked not upon her. At nightfall she erect-

ed a tent, but Idris laid himself down at its en-

trance to sleep on the stony ground. On her

inviting him to share her tent with her, he an-

swered, " If thou hast any thing to eat, give it

to me." She pointed to a sheep which was

roving through the desert without a keeper, but

he said, " I prefer hunger to theft ; the sheep

belongs to another."

Next day they continued their journey as be-

fore, Idris still following the virgin and uttering

no complaint, though he was nearly overcome

with hunger and thirst. Toward evening they

found a bottle of water on the ground. The virgin took it up, and opening it, would have

4 E

50 TEMPTATION, FIRMNESS, AND REWARD.

forced Enoch to drink, but he refused, and said,

" Some luckless traveler has lost it, and will re-

turn to seek for it."

During the night, Idris having once more

baffled all the wiles of the virgin, who had again

endeavored to draw him into her tent, Allah

caused a spring of clear fresh water to gush

forth at his feet, and a date-tree to rise up laden

with the choicest fruit. Idris invited the virgin

to eat and to drink, and concealed himself be-

hind the tree, waiting her return to the tent

but when, after a long interval, she came not,

he stepped to the door and said, " Who art thou,

singular maiden? These two days thou hast

been without nourishment, and art even now unwilling to break thy fast, though Allah him-

self has miraculously supplied us with meat and

drink ; and yet thou art fresh and blooming like

the dewy rose in spring, and thy form is full

and rounded like the moon in her fifteenth

night."

" I am the Angel of Death," she replied, " sent

by Allah to prove thee. Thou hast conquered

;

ask now, and he will assuredly fulfill all thy

wishes."

"If thou art the Angel of Death, take my soul."

" Death is bitter : wherefore desirest thou to

die?"

"I will pray to Allah to animate mc once

MALIK. 51

more, that after the terrors of the grave, I may serve him with greater zeal."

" Wilt thou, then, die tv^^ice ? Thy time has

not yet come : but pray thou to Allah, and I

shall execute his will."

Enoch prayed

" Lord, permit the Angel of Death to let me taste death, but recall me soon to life ! Art thou

not almighty and merciful ?"

The Angel of Death was commanded to take

the soul of Idris, but at the same moment to re-

store it to him. On his return to life, Idris re-

quested the angel to show him Hell, that he

might be in a position to describe it to sinners

with all its terrors. The angel led him to Ma-lik, its keeper, who seized him, and was in the

act of flinging him into the abyss, when a voice

from heaven exclaimed,

" Malik, beware ! Harm not my prophet Idris,

but show him the terrors of thy kingdom."

He then placed him on the wall which sepa-

rates hell from the place appointed as the abode

of those who have merited neither hell nor heav-

en. Thence he saw every variety of scorpions

and other venomous reptiles, and vast flames of

fire, monstrous caldrons of boiling water, trees

with prickly fruits, rivers of blood and putrefac-

tion, red-hot chains, garments of pitch, and so

many other objects prepared for the torture of

52 THE TRANSLATION.

sinners, that. he besought Malik to spare him

their farther inspection, and to consign him once

more to the Angel of Death.

Idris now prayed the latter to show him Par-

adise also. The angel conducted him to the

gate before which Ridwhan kept his watch.

But the guardian would not suffer him to enter

then Allah commanded the tree Tuba, which is

planted in the midst of the garden, and is known

to be, after Sirdrat Almuntaha, the most beautiful

and tallest tree of Paradise, to bend its branches

over the wall. Idris seized hold of them, and

was drawn in unobserved by Ridwhan. The Angel of Death attempted to prevent it, but Al-

lah said, " Wilt thou slay him twice ?" Thus it

came to pass that Idris was taken alive into Par-

adise, and was permitted by the most gracious

One to remain thei'e in spite of the Angel of

Death and of Ridwhan.*

« In the Bible it is said the Lord took Enoch ; but the Midrash

adds, nine human beings entered Paradise alive : Enoch, Messi-

ah, Elias, Eliezer the servant of Abraham, the servant of the

Kmg of Kush, Chiram the King of Tyre, Jaabez, the son of the

Prince and Rabbi Juda, Serach the daughter of Asher, and Bitja

the daughter of Pharaoh.

NOAH, HUD, AND SALIH.

After the translation of Idris, the depravity

of men waxed so mightily, that Allah deter-

mined to destroy them by a flood. But the

prophet Noah, who had in vain attempted to

restore his followers to the path of virtue, was

saved : for Allah commanded him to build an

ark for himself and family, and to enter it as

soon as his wife should see the scalding waters

streaming from the oven.* This was the be-

ginning of the flood ; for it was followed by in-

cessant rains from heaven (as from well-filled

leathern bottles into which a sharp instrument

has been plunged), which mingling with the

subterraneous waters that issued forth from all

the veins of the earth, produced an inundation

which none save the giant Audj the son of Anak survived. f The ark floated during forty days

from one end of the earth to the other, passing

* The generation of the flood was chastised with scalding wa-

ter.

Midrash, p. 14.

t Besides Noah, Og the King of Bashan was saved, for he

seized hold on one of the beams of the ark, and swore to Noah

that he and his posterity would serve him as bondmen. Noah made an opening through the wall of the ark, and gave Og some

food daily, for it is written, " Only Og the King of Bashan sur-

vived of all the giants."

Midrash, p. 14.

•

r E 2

54 THE RELAPSE.

over the highest mountains ; but when it came

to Mount Abu Kubeis, on whose peak Allah had

concealed the black diamond of the Kaaba, that

it might serve in the second building of this

blessed temple, it rode seven times round the

sacred spot. At the lapse of six months the ark

rested on Mount Djudi in Mesopotamia, and

Noah left it as soon as the dove which he had

sent to examine the state of the earth returned

with an olive leaf in its mouth. Noah blessed

the dove, and Allah gave her a necklace of

green feathers ; but the raven which Noah had

sent out before the dove, he cursed, because, in-

stead of returning to him, it stayed to feast on a

carcass which it found on the earth,* wherefore

the raven is no longer able to walk like other

birds.

But, spite of the calamities of the flood, which

Allah intended to serve forever as a warning

against sin, Iblis soon succeeded in banishing

virtue and goodness from the human family as

before. Even Noah's sons, Cham and Japhet,

forgot the reverence that was due to their fa-

ther, and left him uncovered when one day they

found him asleep. Cham even derided him, and

* The Midrash, p. 15, relates the same, and draws from it the

eonclusion that no one should seek to accomplish his ends by

(unclean) unlawful means : the raven being unclean (unlawful),

but the dove being clean.

THE ENCHANTED CITY. 55

became on this account the father of all the

black races of mankind. Japhet's descendants

remained white, indeed, but it was written that

none of them should attain to the dignity of a

prophet. Sham (Shem) is the sole ancestor of

the prophets, among whom Hud and Salih, who lived immediately after the flood, attained to

high distinction.* Hud was sent to the nation

of giants which dwelt in Edom, a province of

the Southern Arabia, then governed by King Shaddad, the son of Aad. When the prophet

exhorted this king to the faith and fear of Allah,

he inquired, " What shall be the reward of my obedience ?" " My Lord," replied the prophet,

" will give thee in the life to come, gardens of

eternal verdure, and palaces of gold and jew-

els." But the king answered, " I stand not in

need of thy promises, for I can even in this

world build me gardens and pleasure-houses of

gold, and costly pearls, and jewels." He then

built Irem, and called it the City of Columns,

for each of its palaces rested on a thousand col-

umns of rubies and emeralds, and each column

was a hundred cubits high. He next construct-

ed canals, and planted gardens teeming with the

finest fruit-trees and the fairest flowers.

* Hud is probably the Eber of the Scriptures, whom the Rab-

bis esteem as a prophet, and the founder of a celebrated school

of divinity.

66 THE LOST TRIBES OF HUD AND THAMUD.

When all was completed with prodigal mag-

nificence, Shaddad said, " I am now in actual pos-

session of all tliat Hud has promised me for the

life to come." But when he would have made his entrance into the city, Allah concealed it

from him and his followers, nor has it since been

seen by man, save once in the reign ofMaccavia.

The king and his people then wandered

through the wilderness in rain and tempest, and

at last sought shelter in caves. But Allah caused

them to fall in, and only Hud escaped.

The destruction of this tribe induced their

kinsmen, the Thamudites, who numbered sev-

enty thousand warriors, to choose the regions

between Syria and Hedjaz as their abode, for

they also feared to be destroyed, and hoped to

secure themselves against the wrath of Allah by

building their houses in the rocks. Djundu Eben Omer, the king of the Thamudites, built him a

palace there, whose splendor had never been

equaled on earth, and the high-priest Kanuch erected a similar one for himself. But their

most costly and most perfect building was the

temple. In it there stood an idol of the finest

gold, and adorned with precious stones : it had

a human face, a lion's figure, a bull's neck, and

a horse's feet. One day, when Kanuch, after

his prayers, had fallen asleep in the temple, he

heard a voice which said, " Truth shall appear,

THE HIGH-PRIESTS. 57

and delusion shall vanish." He sprang to his

feet in terror, and rushed toward the idol, but

lo ! it was lying on the ground, and beside it lay

the crown which had fallen from its head. Ka-

nuch cried for help ; the king and his viziers

hastened to the spot, restored the idol to its place,

and replaced the crown on its head. But the

occurrence made a deep impression on the high-

priest's mind. His faith in the idol failed, and

his zeal to serve it cooled. The king soon dis-

covered the change that had passed within him,

and one day sent both his viziers to apprehend

and to examine him. But scarcely had his mes-

sengers left the royal palace when they were

struck blind, and were unable to find Kanuch's

dwelling. Mean while, Allah sent two angels,

who carried the high-priest to a distant valley

unknown to his tribe, where a shady grotto,

supplied with every convenience of life, was prepared for him. Here he lived peaceably in

the service of the one God, and secure against

the persecutions of Djundu, who in vain sent out

messengers in every direction to discover him.

The king gave up, at length, all hope of his cap-

ture, and appointed his own cousin, Davud, as

high-priest in Kanuch's stead. But on the third

day after his inauguration, Davud came to the

king in haste, and reported that the idol had

again fallen from its place. The king once more

58 THE BrRD FROM PARADISE.

restored it, and Iblis cried from the idol, " Be steadfast in my worship, and resist all the temp-

tations into which some innovators would lead

you." On the following feast-day, when Davud was about to offer two fat bulls to the idol, they

said to him, with a human voice, " Why will you

offer us, whom Allah has endued with life, as a

sacrifice to a dead mass of gold, which your

own hands have dug from the earth, though Al-

lah has created it ? Destroy, O Allah, so sinful

a people !" At these words the bulls fled, nor

were the swiftest riders of the king able to over-

take them. Yet it pleased Allah, in his wisdom and long suffering, to spare the Thamudites still

longer, and to send to them a prophet who should labor by many wonders to convince them

of the truth.

Ragwha, the wife of Kanuch, had not ceased

to mourn since the flight of her husband ; yet in

the third year, Allah sent to her a bird from

Paradise, to conduct her to his grotto. This

bird was a raven, but its head was as white as

snow, its back was of emerald, its feet were of

crimson, its beak was like the clearest sunbeam,

and its eyes shone like diamonds, only its breast

was black, for the curse of Noah, which made all ravens entirely black, had not fallen on this

sacred bird. It was the hour of midnight when

it stepped into Ragwha's dark chamber, where

3ALTH. 5d

she Jay weeping on a carpet, but the glance of

its eyes lit up the chamber as if the sun had sud-

denly risen therein. She rose from her couch,

and gazed with wonder on the beautiful bird,

which opened its mouth and said, "Rise and

follow me, for Allah has pitied thy tears, and

will unite thee to thy husband." She rose and

followed the raven, which flew before her, chang-

ing the night into day by the light of its eyes,

and the morning star had not yet risen when she arrived at the grotto. The raven now cried,

" Kanuch, arise, and admit thy wife," and then

vanished.

Within a year after their reunion she gave

birth to a son, who was the very image of Seth,

and the light of prophecy shone on his brow.

His father called him Salih (the pious), for he

trusted to bring him up in the faith of the one

only God, and in piety of life ; but soon after

Salih's birth Kanuch died, and the raven from

Paradise came again to the grotto to take back

Ragwha and her son to the city of Djundu,

where Salih grew rapidly in mind and body, to

the admiration of his mother, and of all who came to visit them ; and at the age of eighteen

he was the most powerful and handsome, as well

as the most gifted youth of his time.

It then came to pass that the descendants of

Ham undertook an expedition against the Tha-

60 SALIH.

mudites, and were to all appearance on the point

of destroying them. Their best warriors had

already fallen, and the rest were preparing for

flight, when Salih suddenly appeared on the bat-

tle-field at the head of a few of his friends, and

by his personal valor and excellent manoeuvres

wrested the victory from the enemy, and routed

them completely. This achievement secured to

him the love and gratitude of the more virtuous

part of his tribe, but the king envied him from

this day, and sought after his life. Yet as often

as the assassins came to Salih's dwelling to slay

him by the king's command, their hands were

paralyzed, and were only restored by Salih's in-

tercession with Allah. In this wise, the believ-

ers in Salih and his invisible God gradually in-

creased, so that there was soon formed a com-

munity of forty men, who built a mosque, in

which they worshiped in common.

One day the king surrounded the mosque with

his soldiers, and threatened Salih and his adhe-

rents with death unless Allah should save them by

a special miracle. Salih prayed, and the leaves

of the date-tree that grew before the mosque

were instantly changed to scorpions and adders,

which fell upon the king and his men, while two

doves which dwelt on the roof of the mosque ex-

claimed, '* Believe in Salih, for he is the prophet

and messenger of Allah." To this twofold won-

THE SLEEP. 61

der a second and third one were added, for at

Salih's prayer the tree resumed its former shape,

and some of the Thamudites who had been kill-

ed by the serpents returned to life again.

But the king continued in unbelief, for Iblis

spoke from the mouth of the idol, calling Salih a

magician and a demon.

The tribe was then visited by famine, but this

also failed to convert them. When Salih beheld

the stubbornness of the Thamudites, he prayed

to Allah to destroy so sinful a people.

But he too, like his father, was carried by an

angel to a subterraneous cave in sleep, and slept

there twenty years. On waking, he was about

to go into the mosque to perform his morning

devotions, for he imagined that he had slept only

one night ; but the mosque lay in ruins ; he then

went to see his friends and followers, but some

of them were dead ; others, in the idea that he

had abandoned them or been secretly slain, had

gone to other countries, or returned to idolatry.

Salih knew not what to do. Then appeared to

him the angel Gabriel, and said, " Because thou

hast hastily condemned thy people, Allah has

taken from thee twenty years of thy life ; and

thou hast passed them sleeping in the cave.*

The idea of a prophet's intercession with God is of Scrip-

tural origin. Abraham and Moses interceded with God, the one

for Sodom, the other for his people ; and, according to the He-

F

nS THE REP&OOF.

But rise and preach again. Allah sends thee

here Adam's shirt,' Abel's sandals, the tunic of

Sheth, the seal of Idris, the sword of Noah, and

the staff of Hud, with all of which thou shalt

perform many wonders to confirm thy words."

On the following day, the king, and priests, and

heads of the people, attended by many citizens,

went in procession to a neighboring chapel, in

which an idol, similar to that of the temple, was

worshiped. Salih stepped between the king

and the door of the chapel ; and when the king

asked him who he was, for Salih's appearance

had so changed during the twenty years which

he had spent in the cavern that the king did not

recognize him, he answered, " I am Salih, the

messenger of the one only God, who, twenty

years ago, preached to thee, and showed thee

many clear proofs of the truth of my mission.

But since thou, as I perceive, still persistest in

idolatry, I once more appear before thee in the

name of the Lord, and by his permission offer to

brew legend, the Jews, on hearing Isaiah denouncing the judg-

ments of God, threatened to put him to death, because he had not

sought to turn away His wrath, as Moses had done under similar

circumstances. Our Savior's parable of the gardener, who beg-

ged another year's respite for the unfruitful tree, is on the same

principle. So is also Christ's reproof to his disciples,-when they

would have called down fire from Heaven. The punishment of

Salih, therefore, however prettily introduced, must, like every

other truth of the Koran, be referred to the knowledge which the

Moslem had of the Scriptures.

E. T.

TU£ TCdT. fi3

perform before thine eyes any miracle thou may-

est desire in testimony of my prophetic calling."

The king took counsel with Shihab his broth-

er, and Davud his high-priest, who stood neai

him. Then said the latter, " If he be the messen-

ger of Allah, let a camel come forth from this

rocky mountain, one hundred cubits high, with

all imaginable colors united on its back, with

eyes flaming like lightning, with a voice like

thunder, and with feet swifter than the wind."

When Salih declared his readiness to produce

such a camel, Davud added, " Its fore legs must

be of gold, and its hind legs of silver, its head

of emerald, and its ears of rubies, and its back

must bear a silken tent, supported on four dia-

mond pillars inlaid with gold." Salih was not

deterred by all these additional requirements

and the king added, " Hear, O Salih ! if thou be

the prophet of Allah, let this mountain be cleft

open, and a camel step forth with skin, hair,

flesh, blood, bones, muscles, and veins, like other

camels, only much larger, and let it immediately

give birth to a young camel, which shall follow

it every where as a child follows its mother, and

when scarcely produced, exclaim, 'There is

but one Allah, and Salih is his messenger and

prophet.'

" And will you tuni to Allah if I pray to him,

and if he perform such a miracle before your

eyes ?'

^ GREEDY SKEPTICS.

" Assuredly !" replied Davud. " Yet must

this camel yield its milk spontaneously, and the

milk must be cold in summer and warm in

wmter." " Are these all your conditions ?" asked Salih.

" Still farther," continued Shihab ; " the milk

must heal all diseases, and enrich all the poor

and the camel must go alone to ever-' .lOuse,

calling the inmates by name, and filling all their

empty vessels vrith its milk."

" Thy will be done !" replied Salih. "Yet I

must also stipulate that no one shall harm the

camel, or drive it from its pasture, or ride on it,

or use it for any labor."

On their swearing to him to treat the camel

as a holy thing, Salih prayed : " O God ! who

hast created Adam out of the earth, and formed

Eve from a rib, and to whom the hardest things

are easy, let these rocks bring forth a camel,

such as their king has described, for the conver-

sion of the Thamudites."

Scarcely had Salih concluded his prayer,

when the earth opened at his feet, and there

gushed forth a fountain of fresh water fragrant

with musk : the tent which had been erected for

Adam in Paradise descended from heaven, and

thereupon the rocky wall which supported the

eastern side of the temple groaned like a woman in travail ; a flight of birds descended, and filling

THE MIRACLE. '65

their beaks with the watar of the fountain, sprin-

kled it over the rock, and lo ! there was seen

the head of the camel, which was gradually

followed by the rest of its body ; when it stood

upon the earth, it was exactly as it had been

described by the king, and it cried out imme-

diately, " There is no God but Allah ; Salih is

his messenger and prophet." The angel Gabriel

then came down and touched the camel with

his flaming sword, and it gave birth to a young

camel which resembled it entirely, and repeated

the confession that had been required. The camel then went to the dwellings of the people,

calling them by name, and filling every empty

vessel with its milk. On its way all animals

bowed before it,, and all the trees bent their

branches to it in reverence.

The king could no longer shut his heart to

such proofs of God's almightiness and Salih's

mission: he fell on the prophet's neck, kissed

him, and said, " I confess there is but one God,

and that thou art his messenger !"

But the brother of the king, as well as Davud

and all the priesthood, called it only sorcery and

delusion, and invented all kinds of calumnies

and falsehoods to retain the people in unbelief

and idolatry. Meanwhile, since the camel, by

constantly yielding its milk and praising Allah

as often as it went down to the water, made

F2 .

66 THE PERJURY.

daily new converts, the chiefs of the infidels re-

solved to kill it. But vv^hen many days had

passed before they ventured to approach it,

Shihab issued a proclamation, that whosoever

should kill the mountain camel should have his

daughter Ranjan to wife. Kadbar, a young

man who had long loved this maiden, distin-

guished as she was for grace and beauty, but

without daring to woo her, being only a man of the people, armed himself with a huge sword,

and, attended by Davud and some other priests,

fell upon the camel from behind while it was

descending to the waters, and wounded it in its

hoof.

At that moment all nature uttered a frightful

shriek of woe. The little camel ran moaning

to the highest pinnacle of the mountain, and

cried, " May the curse of Allah light upon thee,

thou sinful people !" Salih and the king, who had not quitted him since his conversion, went

into the city, demanding the punishment of Kad-

bar and his accomplices. But Shihab, who had

in the mean time usurped the throne, threatened

them with instant death. Salih, flying, had

only time to say that Allah would wait their

repentance only three days longer, and on the

expiration of the third day would annihilate

them like their brethren the Aaadites. His

threat was fulfilled, for they were irreclaimable.

THE DESTRUCTION. 67

Already on the next day the people grew as

yellow as the seared leaves of autumn ; and

wherever the wounded camel trod, there issued

fountains of blood from the earth. On the sec-

ond day their faces became red as blood ; but

on the third they turned black as coal, and on

the same day, toward nightfall, they saw the

camel hovering in the air on crimson wings,

whereupon some of the angels hurled down whole mountains of fire, while others opened the

subterraneous vaults of fire which are connected

with hell, so that the earth vomited forth fire-

brands in the shape of camels. At sunset, all

the Thamudites were a heap of ashes. Only

Salih and King Djundu escaped, and wandered

in company to Palestine, where they ended their

days as hermits.

68 ABRAHAM.

ABRAHAM.

Soon after the death of Salih, the prophet

Abraham was born at Susa, or, according to

others, at Babylon. He was a contemporary of

the mighty king, Nimrod, and his birth falls into

the year 1081 after the Flood, which happened

in 2242 from the Fall. He was welcomed at

his birth by the angel Gabriel, who immediately

wrapped him in a white robe. Nimrod, on the

night in which Abraham was born—it was be-

tween the night of Thursday and Friday morn-

ing—heard a voice in his dream which cried

aloud, " Woe to them that shall not confess the

God of Abraham : the truth has come to light,

delusion vanishes !" He also dreamed that the

idol which he worshiped had fallen down ; and

convened, therefore, on the following morning,

all his priests and sorcerers, communicating to

them his dream. Yet no one knew how to in-

terpret it, or to give any account of Abraham.

Nimrod had already once in a dream seen a star

which eclipsed the light of the sun and moon,

and had, therefore, been warned by his sorcerers

of a boy who threatened to deprive him of his

throne, and to annihilate the people's faith in him ;

for Nimrod caused himself to be worshiped as

THE CHILDHOOD OF ABRAHAM. 69

God. Yet, seeing that since that dream he had

commanded every new-born male to be slain at

its birth, he did not think there was any need

for farther apprehension. Abraham alone was saved of the children who were born at that time

by a miracle of heaven, for his mother had re-

mained so slender during her whole pregnancy

that no one had thought of it, and when her hour

came she fled to a cave beyond the city, where,

aided by the angel Gabriel, she was secretly de-

livered. In this cave Abraham remained con-

cealed during fifteen months, and his mother

visited him sometimes to nurse him. But he had

no need of her food, for Allah commanded water

to flow from one of Abraham's fingers, milk from

another, honey from the third, the juice of dates

from the fourth, and butter from the fifth. On stepping, for the first time, beyond the cave, and

seeing a beautiful star, Abraham said, " This is

my God, which has given me meat and drink in

the cave." Yet anon the moon rose in full

splendor, exceeding the light of the star, and he

said, " This is not God ; I will worship the moon."

But when, toward morning, the moon waxed

more and more pale, and the sun rose, he ac-

knowledged the latter as a divinity, until he also

disappeared from the horizon. He then asked

his mother, " Who is my God ?" and she replied,

« It is I."

70 CUALIL ALLAH.

" And who is thy God ?" he inquired farther.

" Thy father."

" And who is my father's God ?"

" Nimrod !"

"AndNimrod'sGod?" She then struck him on the face, and said,

" Be silent !" He was silent, but thought within

himself, " I acknowledge no other god than Him who has created heaven and earth, and all that

is in them." When he was a little older, his

father, Aser, who was a maker of idols, sent him

out to sell them ; but Abraham cried, " Who will buy what can only do him harm, and bring

no good ?" so that no one bought of him. One day, when all his townsmen had gone on a pil-

grimage to some idol, he feigned sickness, and

remaining alone at home, destroyed two-and-

seventy idols, which were set up in the temple.

It^was then that he obtained the honorable sur-

name of Chalil Allah (the friend of God). But

on the return of the pilgrims he was arrested,

and brought before Nimrod ; for suspicion soon

rested upon him, both on account of his stay at

home, and the contemptuous reflections on the

worship of idols in which he was known to in-

dulge. Nimrod condemned him to be burned

alive as a blasphemer.* The people of Babel

* The Jewish legend respecting Abraham's contempt of idola-

try aad his sentence to be burned alive is as follows : " Terah

THE PILE. 71

then collected wood for a pile during a whole

month, or, according to some of the learned, dur-

ing forty days, and at that time knew of no

more God-pleasing work than this: so that if

any one was sick, or desired to obtain any favor

from his gods, he vowed to carry a certain quan-

was an idolater, and, as he went one day on a journey, he appoint-

ed Abraham to sell his idols in his stead. As often as a purchaser

came, Abraham inquired his age, and when he replied, ' I am fifty

or sixty years old,' he said, ' Woe to the man of sixty who would worship the work of a day !' so that the purchasers went away ashamed.

•

' One day a woman came with a bowl of fine flour, and said,

' Set it before them ;' but he took a staff and broke all the idols in

pieces, and placed the staff in the hands of the largest of them.

When his father returned, he inquired, 'Who has done this?'

Abraham said, ' Why should I deny it ? there was a woman here

with a bowl of fine flour, and she directed me to set it before

them. When I did so, every one of them would have eaten first

then arose the tallest, and demolished them with the staff.' Te-

rah said, ' What fable art thou telling me ? Have they any under-

standing ?'

" Abraham replied, ' Do not thy ears hear what thy lips utter V " Whereupon Terah took him and delivered him to Nimrod,

who said to Abraham, ' Let us worship the fire !'

"

' Rather the water that quenches the fire.'

"

' Well, the water.'

"

' Rather the cloud which carries the water.'

"

' Well, the cloud.'

" ' Rather the wind that scatters the cloud.'

"

' Well, the wind.'

"

' Rather man, for he endures the wind.'

"

' Thou art a babbler,' replied the king. ' I worship the fire,

and will cast thee into it. May the God whom thou adorest de-

liver thee thence !'

" Abraham was thrown into a heated furnace, but was saved."

Vide Geiger, l, p. 124.

72 THE MIUACLE.

tity of wood upon his recovery, or on the fulfill-

ment of his wish. The women were especially

active ; they washed, or did other manual work,

for hire, and bought wood with their earnings.

When at last the pile had attained a height of

thirty cubits and a breadth of twenty, Nimrod

commanded it to be set on fire. Then there

mounted on high such a mighty flame, that many

birds in the air were consumed by it ; the smoke

which arose darkened the whole city, and the

crackling of the wood was heard at the distance

of a day's journey. Then Nimrod summoned

Abraham, and asked him again, " Who is thy

God ?"

" He that has power to kill and to make alive

again," Abraham replied. He thereupon con-

jured up a man from the grave who had died

many years ago, and commanded him to bring

a white cock, a black raven, a green pigeon, and

a speckled peacock. When he had brought

these birds, Abraham cut them into a thousand

pieces, and flung them in four different direc-

tions, retaining only the four heads in his hands.

Over these he said a prayer, then called each

bird by name, and behold, the little pieces came flying toward him, and, combining as they had

been, united themselves to their heads. The birds lived as before, but he who had been raised

from the dead at Abraham's command, descend-

ed again into the grave.

SYMPATHY. 73

Nimrod then caused two malefactors to be

brought from prison, and commanded one of

them to be executed, but pardoned the other,

saying, " I also am God, for I too have the dis-

posal of life and death." However childish this

I'emark was, for he only had the power of remit-

ting the sentence of a living man, not of restoring

the dead to life, Abraham did not object, but, in

order to silence him at once, said, " Allah causes

the sun to rise in the east ; if thou be Allah, let

it for once rise in the west." But, instead of re-

plying, Nimrod commanded his servants to fling

Abraham into the fire, by means of an engine

which Satan himself had suggested to him.

At the same instant, the heaven with all its

angels, and the earth with all its creatures, cried

as with one voice, "God ofAbraham ! thy friend,

who alone worships thee on earth, is being thrown

into the fire

;

permit us to rescue him." The

angel that presideth over the reservoirs was about to extinguish the flames by a deluge from

on high, and he that keepeth the winds to scat-

ter them by a tempest to all parts of the world;

but Allah, blessed be his name ! said, " I permit

every one of you to whom Abraham shall cry

for protection to assist him ; yet if he turn only

to me, then let me by my own immediate aid

rescue him from death."* Then cried Abra-

The Midrash, p. 20, says, " When the wicked Nimrod cast

G

74 DIVINE INTERPOSITION.

ham from the midst of the pile, " There is no God besides thee ; thou art supreme, and unto thee

alone belong praise and glory !" The flame had

already consumed his robe, when the angel

Gabriel stepped before him and asked, " Hast

thou need of me V But he replied, " The help of Allah alone is

what I need !"

" Pray, then, to him, that he may save thee 1"

rejoined Gabriel.

" He knows my condition," answered Abra-

ham.

All the creatures of the earth now attempted

to quench the fire : the lizard alone blew upon

it, and, as a punishment, became dumb from that

hour.

At Allah's command, Gabriel now cried to the

fire, " Become cool, and do Abraham no harm 1"

To these last words Abraham was indebted for

his escape ; for at the sound of Gabriel's voice

it grew so chill around him that he was well-nigh

freezing, and the cold had therefore to be dimin-

ished again. The fire then remained as it was,

burning on as before, but it had miraculously

lost all its warmth ; and this was not only so

Abraham into the furnace, Gabriel said, ' Lord of the world, suf-

fer me to save this saint from the fire !' but the Lord replied, 'I

am the only cue supreme in my world, and he is supreme in his ;

it is meet, therefore, that the supreme should save the supreme.'

THE PRINCESS. 75

with Abraham's pile, but with all fires lighted on

that day throughout the whole world.

Allah then caused a fountain of fresh water

to spring up in the midst of the fire, and roses

and other flowers to rise out of the earth at the

spot where Abraham was lying. He likewise

sent him a silken robe from Paradise, and an an-

gel in human shape, who kept him company

during seven days ; for so long he remained in

the fire. These seven days Abraham, in later

times, frequently called the most precious of his

life.

His miraculous preservation in the pile be-

came the cause of his marriage with Radha, the

daughter of Nimrod ; for on the seventh day af-

ter Abraham was cast into the fire, she prayed

her father for permission to see him. Nimrod

endeavored to dissuade her from it, and said,

" What canst thou see of him ? He has long

ere now been changed into ashes." Yet she

ceased not to entreat him, until he suffered her

to go near the pile. There she beheld Abra-

ham, through the fire, sitting quite comfortable in

the midst of a blooming garden. Amazed, she

called out, " O Abraham, does not the fire con-

sume thee ?" He replied, " Whoever keeps Al-

lah in his heart, and the words, ' In the name of

Allah the All-merciful,' on his tongue, over him

has fire no power."

76 nimrod's tower.

Whereupon she begged his permission to ap-

proach him ; but he said, " Confess that there is

but one only God, who has chosen me to be his

messenger !" As soon as she had made this con-

fession of her faith, the flames parted before her,

so that she was able to reach Abraham un-

harmed. But when she returned to her father,

and told him in what condition she had found the

prophet, and sought to convert him to his faith,

he tormented and tortured her so cruelly, that

Allah commanded an angel to deliver her from

his hands, and conduct her to Abraham, who had meanwhile left the city of Babel.

Still Nimrod was far from being reclaimed

he even resolved to build a lofty tower, where-

with, if possible, to scale the heavens, and to

search therein for the God of Abraham. The tower rose to a height of five thousand cubits

but as heaven was still far off, and the workmen were unable to proceed farther with the build-

ing, Nimrod caught two eagles and kept them

upon the tower, feeding them constantly with

flesh. He then left them to fast for several days,

and when they were ravenous with hunger, he

fastened to their feet a light, closed palanquin,

with one window above and another below, and

seated himself in it with one of his huntsmen.

The latter took a long spear, to which a bit of

flesh was attached, and thrust it through the up-

THE BLOOD-STAINED ARROW. 77

per window, so that the famishing eagles flew

instantly upward, bearing the palanquin aloft.

When they had flown toward heaven during a

whole day, Nimrod heard a voice, which cried

to him, "Godless man, whither goest thou?'*

Nimrod seized the bow of his huntsman, and dis-

charged an arrow, which forthwith fell back

through the window stained with blood, and this

abandoned man believed that he had wounded the God of Abraham.

But as he was now so far from the earth that

it appeared to him no larger than an egg, he or-

dered the spear to be held downward, and the

eagles and the palanquin descended.

Respecting the blood which was seen on Nim-rod's arrow, the learned are not agreed as to

whence it came : many contend it was the blood

of a fish which the clouds had carried with them

from the sea, and adduce this circumstance as

the reason why fish need not be slaughtered.*

Others suppose that Nimrod's arrow had struck

a bird which was flying still higher than the

eagles. When Nimrod, in the swell of triumph,

once more reached the pinnacle of his tower,

Allah caused it to fall in with such frightful

* The laws of the Mohammedans, and of the Jews especially,

regulate scrupulously the mode in which clean animals are to be

slain ; what part is to receive the mortal wound ; how it is to be

inflicted ; the knife to be used ; and the formula of prayer to be

uttered. But no such laws exist in regard to fish.

E. T.

G2

78 THE ARMY OF FLIES.

noise, that all people were beside themselves

from terror, and every one spoke in a different

tongue. Since that period the languages ofmen vary, and, on account of the confusion arising

from this circumstance, the capital of Nimrod

was called Babel (the confusion).

As soon, however, as Nimrod had recovered

himself, he pursued Abraham with an army

which covered the space of twelve square miles.

Allah then sent Gabriel unto Abraham to ask

him by what creature he should send him de-

liverance ? Abraham chose the fly ; and Al-

lah said, " Verily, if he had not chosen the fly,

an insect would have come to his aid, seventy

of which are lighter than the wing of a fly."

The exalted Allah then summoned the king

of flies, and commanded him to march with his

host against Nimrod. He then collected all the

flies and gnats of the whole earth, and with them

attacked Nimrod's men with such violence, that

they were soon obliged to take to flight, for they

consumed their skin, and bones, and flesh, and

picked the eyes out of their heads. Nimrod himself fled, and locked himself up in a thickly-

walled tower ; but one of the flies rushed in with

him, and flew round his face during seven days,

without his being able to catch it, the fly return-

ing again and again to his lip, and sucking it so

long that it began to swell. It then flew up

DEATH OP NIMROD. 79

into his nose, and the more he endeavored to get

it out, the more deeply it pressed into it, until it

came to the brain, which it began to devour.

Then there remained no other means of relief

to him than to run his head against the wall, or

to have some one strike his forehead with a

hammer. But the fly grew continually larger

until the fortieth day, when his head burst open,

and the insect, which had grown to the size of a

pigeon, flew out, and said to the dying Nimrod,

who even now would not come to repentance,

" Thus does Allah, whenever he pleases, permit

the feeblest of his creatures to destroy the man who will not believe in him and in his messen-

ger." The tower, in which Nimrod was, then

tumbled in upon him, and he must roll about un-

der its ruins until the day of the resurrection.

After Nimrod's death, many persons, whom the fear of the king had prevented, turned to the

only God, and to Abraham his messenger. The

first were his nephew Lot, the son of Haran, and

Lot's sister Sarah, whom Abraham afterward

married. She bore a perfect resemblance to

her mother Eve, to whom Allah had given two

thirds of all beauty, while the whole human race

have to be satisfied with the remaining third, and

even of this quota Joseph alone obtained one

third.

Sarah was so beautiful that Abraham, who, in

80 BEAUTY OF SARAH.

order to proclaim the true faith, was obliged to

make many journeys to Palestine, Syria, Egypt,

and Arabia, found it necessary to carry her with

him in a chest. One day he was arrested on the

banks of the Jordan by a publican, to whom he

was obliged to give tithe of all that he carried

with him. Abraham opened all his chests but

the one in which Sarah was confined ; and when

the publican proceeded to search it too, Abra-

ham said, " Suppose it to be filled with silks, and

let me pay the tithe accordingly." But the of-

ficer commanded him to open it. Abraham

begged him again to pass it unopened, and oflfer-

ed to give tithe as if it were filled with gold and

jewels. Still the other insisted on his seeing the

contents of the chest ; and, when he beheld Sa-

rah, he was so dazzled by her beauty, that he ran

forthwith to the king, reporting what had hap-

pened.

The king immediately summoned Abraham,

and inquired of him, " Who is the maiden whom thou earnest with thee ?" Abraham, from fear

of being put to death if he avowed the truth, re-

plied, " She is my sister !" At the same time he

told no falsehood,* for in his mind he meant,

* The learned reader must be struck with the strong likeness

existing between the moral of the Moslems and those of the San-

chez, the Escobars, the Tambourins, and the Molinas. The Bi-

ble says, indeed, " Abraham said to Pharaoh, ' She is my sister;' "

but it does not justify him by adding that he told no falsehood.

E. T.

HAGAR AND ISMAEL. 81

" She is my sister in the faith." When the king

heard this, he took her with him to his palace.

Abraham stood full of despair before it, not

knowing what to do, when Allah caused the

walls of the palace to become transparent as

glass, and Abraham saw how the king, as soon

as he had seated himself with Sarah on a divan,

desired to embrace her. But at that instant his

hand withered, the palace began to shake, and

threatened to fall. The king fell on the ground

from dread and fright, and Sarah said to him,

" Let me go, for I am the wife of Abraham." -.

Pharaoh thereupon summoned Abraham, and

reproached him for his untruth. The latter then

prayed for him, and Allah healed the king, who now gave Abraham many rich presents, and,

among others, an Egyptian slave by the name of Hagar.* She bore him a son, whom he

called Ismael. But as Sarah was barren, and

the more jealous since the light of Mohammed already shone on Ismael's forehead, she demand-

ed of Abraham to put away Hagar and her son.

He was undecided, until commanded by Allah

to obey Sarah in all things. Yet he entreated

* The Midrash, fol. 21, says that Hagar was given as a slave to

Abraham by her father Pharoah, who said, " My daughter had

better be a slave in the house of Abraham than mistress in any

other." Elimelech, in hke manner, and for the snme reason, gave

his daughter as' a bondmaid to Abraham, after he had seen the

wonders which were done for Sarah's sake.

6

"82 EAR-RINGS.

her again not to cast off her bondmaid and her

son. But this so exasperated her, that she de-

clared she would not rest until her hands had

been imbrued in Hagar's blood. Then Abra-

ham pierced Hagar's ear quickly, and drew a

ring through it, so that Sarah was able to dip

her hand in the blood of Hagar without bringing

the latter into danger.

From that time it became a custom among women to wear ear-rings.

Sarah now suffered Hagar to remain yet a

few years longer with her ; but when she had

borne Isaac, and observed that Abraham loved

him less than Ismael, her jealousy awoke afresh,

and she now insisted on Hagar's removal. Abra-

ham then went with her and Ismael on his way,

and the angel Gabriel guided them into the Ara-

bian desert, to the place where afterward the

holy temple of Mecca was built. This place

had been dedicated to the worship of Allah even

before Adam's birth.* For when Allah made known to the angels his resolve of creating man,

and they said, " Wilt thou fill the earth with sin-

ful creatures ?" Allah was so wroth at their dis-

suasion, that the angels, to reconcile Him, walk-

The sanctity which the Moslem attaches to places is akin to

the feeling in the church of the Pharisees before Christ, and of

Rome at present. But the Savior reproves it by those words,

" Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there

am 1 in the midst of them.'*

Matt., xviii., 20.—E. T.

THK KAABA. 83

ed, singing praises, seven times round His throne.

Allah pardoned them, but said, " Build me forth-

with, in a direct line downward to the earth, a

temple, which the sinners may one day encom-

pass, that they also may obtain mercy, even as

ye have now encircled my throne, and been for-

given." Allah afterward gave to Adam a dia-

mond of Paradise, which is now called the black

stone ; for it afterward grew black by the un-

clean touch of the heathen, but will one day rise

with eyes and a tongue, to bear testimony to

those who have touched it in their pilgrimage.*

This jewel was originally an angel, appointed

to watch over Adam, that he might not eat of

the forbidden tree ; but, on account of his neg-

lect, was changed into a stone. At the time of

the flood Allah lifted up this temple into heaven

yet the winds blew Noah's ark seven times round

the spot where it had stood.

After having accompanied Hagar and Ismael

unto Mecca, Abraham returned again to Sarah,

in Syria, leaving the former, at Gabriel's com-

mand, to themselves, provided with a few dates

and a bottle of water. But these provisions

were soon exhausted, and the whole region was

waste, arid, and uninhabited. When Hagar and

* The black stone of the Kaaba is to this day an object of great

veneration with the Mussulmans, and every pilgrim visiting the

temple kisses it repeatedly.

E. T. ,

84 THE SETTLERS OF MECCA.

Ismael were suffering from hunger and thirst,

the former ran seven times from Mount Susa to

Marwa,* calling upon Allah for relief: the an-

gel Gabriel then appeared to her, and stamped

upon the earth with his foot, and behold, there

started up a fountain, which is still known as the

fountain of Semsem.f But at that time its wa-

ters were as sweet as honey and as nutritious as

milk, so that Hagar was unwilling again to leave

these regions.

After some time there came two Amalekites

to her, who were seeking a camel which had

strayed there, and, finding good water, they in-

formed their tribe thereof, which had encamped

a few hours westward. They settled with her,

and Ismael grew up among them ; but Abraham visited him every month, riding on Barak, his

miraculous horse, which carried him in half a

day from Syria to Mecca.

When Ismael had attained the age of thirteen

years, Abraham heard a voice in his dream,

which cried, " Sacrifice Ismael thy son."

The Jews, and even many Mussulmans, do

indeed maintain that it was his son Isaac whom Abraham offered ; but the true believers reject

* The pilgrims to Mecca still run seven times from Mount Susa

to Marwa, frequently looking round and stooping down, to imitate

Hagar when seeking for water.

E. T.

t This fountain is within the Kaaba: its water is brackish,

though somewha^ less so than the other water of Mecca.

E. T.

THE DREAM. 85

this opinion, inasmuch as Mohammed called him-

self the son of two men who had been set apart

as sacrifices, meaning thereby Ismael and his

own father, Abd Allah, whom his grand-father,

Abdul Mattalib, intended to offer in fulfillment of

a vow, but, by the decision of a priestess, re-

deemed with a hundred camels.

When Abraham awoke, he was in doubt

whether he should regard his dream as a Di-

vine command or as the instigation of Satan.

But, when the same dream was yet twice re-

peated, he dared not to hesitate any longer, and

therefore took a knife and a rope, and said to

Ismael, " Follow me !"

When Iblis saw this, he thought within him-

self, " An act so well pleasing to Allah I must

seek to prevent," and he assumed the form of a

man, and, going to Hagar, said to her, " Know-est thou whither Abraham has gone with thy

son ?" Hagar answered, " He has gone into

the forest to cut wood." " It is false," replied Iblis ;

" he intends to

slaughter thy son."

" How is this possible ?" rejoined Hagar

" does he not love him as much as I ?"

" Yea," continued Iblis, " but he believe* that

Allah has commanded it."

" If it be so," rejoined Hagar, " let him do

what he believes pleasing to Allah."

H

86 THE TEMPTER.

When Iblis could effect nothing with Hagar,

he betook himself to Ismael, and said, " Know-est thou for what end this wood which thou

hast gathered is to serve ?"

Ismael replied, " It is for our use at home." " No !" rejoined Iblis ;

" thy father designs to

offer thee as a sacrifice, because he dreamed

that Allah had commanded him,"

" Well," replied Ismael, " if it be so, let him

fulfill on me the will of Allah."

Iblis then turned to Abraham himself, and

said, " Sheik, whither goest thou ?"

" To cut wood." " For what purpose ?"

Abraham was silent ; but Iblis continued, " I

know thou designest to offer up thy son, be-

cause Iblis has suggested it to thee in a dream ;"

but at these words Abraham recognized Iblis,

and flinging at him seven pebbles, a ceremony

since observed by every pilgrim, he said, " Get

thee gone, enemy of Allah ; I will act accord-

ing to the will of my Lord." Satan went away enraged, but stepped yet twice more in a differ-

ent form into Abraham's way, seeking to stag-

ger his resolve. Abraham discovered him each

time, and each time flung at him seven pebbles.*

* The Midrash, p. 28, says, " Abraham left Sarah early in the

morning, while she slept ; but Satan placed himself in his way

as an aged man, and said, ' Whither goest thou ?'

THE SACRIFICE OF ISMAEL. 87

When they came to Mina, upon the spot

where Ismael was to be offered, the latter said

to Abraham, " Father, bind me tightly, that I

may not resist, and thrust back thy robe, that

it may not be sprinkled with my blood, lest my mother mourn at the sight of it. Sharpen thy

knife well, that it may kill me quickly and easi-

ly, for, after all, death is hard. When thou

reachest home again, greet my mother, and

lake this robe to her as a memento."

Abraham obeyed weepingly the will of his

son, and was just on the point of slaying him,

"

' I desire to pray.'

"• But to what purpose are wood and knife V "

' I may remaio abeeot some days, and must Beeds prepare

my food.'

"

' Should a maa like thee elay his son who was given him in

old age ? how wilt tkou answer for it in the day of judgment V " ' God has commanded me.'

" He then presented himself to Isaac in the form of a youth,

aad said, ' Whither goest thou ?'

" ' To be iastnicted by my father in virtue and knowledge.'

" ' During thy lifetime or after death ? for he verily designs ta

«lay thee.'

"

' It matters not ; I shall follow him.'

" He went to Sarah, and asked her, ' Where is thy husband V "

' He has gone to his business !'

"

' And thy son ?'

'"He is with him!' "

' Didst thou not resolve that he should not go beyond thy

door alone 7'

"

' He must pray with his father.'

"'Thou shalt not see him again !'

"

' The Lord do unto my son according to His will !'

09 THE INVISIBLE COLLAR.

when the portals of heaven were opened, and

the angels looked on and cried, " Well does this

man deserve to be called the friend of Allah

!"

At this moment the Lord placed an invisible

collar of copper round Ismael's neck, so that

Abraham, spite of his utmost exertions, was un-

able to wound him. But when he put his knife

to Ismael's neck a third time, he heard a voice,

which cried, " Thou hast fulfilled the command which was imparted to thee in thy dream !"

At this call he raised his eyes, and Gabriel

stood before him with a fine horned ram, and

said, " Slaughter this ram as the ransom of thy

son."

This ram was the same which Abel offered,

and which, in the mean time, had pastured in

Paradise.*

The sacrifice over, Abraham returned to Syr-

ia, but Ismael remained with his mother among the Amalekites, of whom he took a wife.

One day Abraham desired to visit him ; but

Ismael was engaged in the chase, and his wife

was alone at home. Abraham greeted her, but

she did not return his salutation. He prayed

* Rabbi Elieser teaches : the ram came from the mountain.

Rabbi Jehoshua : an angel brought it from Paradise, where it pas-

tured under the tree of eternal life, and drank from the brook

which flows beneath it. The ram diffused its perfume through-

out the whole world. It was brought into Paradise on the even-

ing of the sixth day of the creation.

Midrash, p. 28.

HOSPITALITY. 89

her to admit him for the night, but she refused

his prayer ; he then demanded something to eat

and to drink, and she answered, " I have nothing

but some impure water." Then Abraham left

her, and said, " When thy husband returns, greet

him, and say, he must change the pillars of his

house." When Ismael came home to inquire

whether any one had been with her during his

absence, she described Abraham, and told what

he had enjoined upon her. By her description

Ismael recognized his father, and his words he

interpreted, that he should separate himself from

his wife, which he soon did.

Not long after this, the Djorhamides wander-

ed from Southern Arabia to the regions of Mec-

ca, and drove out the Amalekites, who by their

vicious courses had called down on themselves

the punishment of Allah. Ismael married the

daughter of their king, and learned of them the

Arabic tongue. This woman, too, Abraham

once found alone, and, on his greeting her, she

returned his salutation kindly, rose up before

him, and bade him welcome. On his inquii'ing

how it fared with her, she replied, " Well, my lord. We have much milk, good meat, and

fresh water."

•

" Have you any corn ?" inquired Abraham.

. " We shall obtain that too, by Allah's will.

But we do not miss it. Only alight, and come in 1"

H2

90 HOSPITALITY.

" Allah bless you !" said Abraham ; " but I

can not tarry ;" for he had given a promise to

Sarah not to enter Hagar's house.

" Suffer me, at least, to wash thy feet," said

the wife of Ismael, " for thou art indeed covered

with dust."

Abraham then placed first his right foot,* and

* This legend, which has reference to Ismael, and which, it

might be supposed, was of Arabic origin, and invented to account

for the sanctity of the second curious stone of the Kaaba, is found

in the Midrash, p. 27

•

*' Ismael married a wife of the daughters of Moab, and her name was Asia. After three years Abraham went to visit his son,

having sworn previously to Sarah not to alight from his camel.

He came toward noon to Ismdel's dwelling, in which his wife was

alone.

" • Where is Ismael V "

' He is gone into the desert with his mother to gather dates

and some other fruits.'

" * Give mo a little bread and water, for I am fatigued with trav-

eling through the wilderness.' "

' I have neither bread nor water.' "

' When Ismael returns home, tell him that he change the

door-posts of his house, for they are not worthy of him.'

" As soon as Ismael came, and she reported all that had hap-

pened, he understood what Abraham had meant, and sent her

away.

" Hagar then brought him a wife from her father's house : her

name was Fatima.

" After three years Abraham visited his son again, after having

again sworn to Sarah that he would not alight at his house.

" He arrived this time, too, at Ismael's dwelling toward noon,

and found Fatima quite alone. But she brought him immediately

all that he desired. Then Abraham prayed for Ismael to the Lord,

and his house was filled with gold and goods.

" When Ismael returned, and learned from Fatima what had

happened, he rejoiced greatly, and knew that Abraham's parental

love for him was not yet extinct."

Midrash, p. 28.

THE FOOT-PRINT. THE KAABA. 91

then his left, upon a stone which lay before Is-

mael's house, and suffered himself to be washed.

This stone was afterward employed in the tem-

ple, and the prints of Abraham's feet are visible

upon it to this day.

After she had washed him, Abraham said,

" When Ismael returns, tell him to strengthen the

pillars of his house !"

As soon as Ismael came home, his wife related

to him what had happened to her with a stran-

ger, and what message he had left.

Ismael inquired of his appearance ; and when,

from her answers, he recognized who it was, he

rejoiced greatly, and said, "It was my father

Abraham, the friend of Allah, who was doubtless

well satisfied with thy reception, for his words

signify nothing else than that I should bind thee

more closely to me."

When Abraham was a hundred and ten years

old, Allah commanded him, in a dream, to follow

after the Sakinah; that is, a zephyr with two

heads and two wings.

Abraham obeyed, and journeyed after the

wind, which was changed into a cloud, at Mec-

ca, on the spot where the temple still stands. A voice then called to him, " Build me a temple on

the spot where the cloud is resting."

Abraham began to dig up the earth, and dis-

covered the foundation-stone which Adam had

92 ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

laid. He then commanded Ismael to bring tiie

other stones required for the building. But the

black stone, which since the flood had been con-

cealed in heaven, or, according to the opinion

of some of the learned, on Mount Abu Kubeis,

the angel Gabriel brought himself. This stone

was even at that time so white and brilliant, that

it illuminated during the night the whole sacred

region belonging to Mecca.

One day, while Abraham was engaged with

Ismael in the building of the temple, there came

to him Alexander the Great, and asked what he

was building ; and when Abraham told him it

was a temple to the one only God, in whom he

believed, Alexander acknowledged him as the

messenger of Allah, and encompassed the tem-

ple seven times on foot.

With regard to this Alexander, the opinions

of the learned vary. Some believe him to have

been a Greek, and maintain that he governed the

whole world ; first, like Nimrod before him, as

an unbeliever, and then, like Solomon after him,

as a believer.

Alexander was the lord of light and darkness

when he went out with his army the light was

before him, and behind him was the darkness,

so that he was secure against all ambuscades,

and by means of a miraculous white and black

standard, he had also the power to transform the

ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 93

clearest day into midnight darkness, or black

night into noonday, just as he unfurled the one

or the other. Thus he was unconquerable, since

he rendered his troops invisible at his pleasure,

and came down suddenly upon his foes. He journeyed through the whole world in quest of

the fountain of eternal life, of which, as his sacred

books taught him, a descendant of Sam (Shem)

was to drink, and become immortal. But his

vizier, Al-kidhr, anticipated him, and drank of a

fountain in the farthest west, thus obtaining eter-

nal youth ; and when Alexander came it was

already dried up, for, according to the Divine

decree, it had been created for one man only.

His surname, the Two-cornered, he obtained,

according to some, because he had wandered

through the whole earth unto her two corners

in the east and west ; but, according to others,

because he wore two lopks of hair which re-

sembled horns ; and, according to a third opinion,

his crown had two golden horns, to designate

his dominion over the empires of the Greeks and

Persians. But, lastly, it is maintained by many,

that one day, in a dream, he found himself so

close to the sun that he was able to seize him at

his two ends in the east and west, and was

therefore tauntingly called the Two-cornered.

The learned are similarly divided respecting

the time in which he lived, his birthplace, parent-

94 PILGRIMAGE.

age, and residence. Most of them, however,

believe that there were two sovereigns of this

name among the kings of antiquity : the elder of

these, who is spoken of in the Koran, was a de-

scendant of Ham, and contemporary of Abra-

ham, and journeyed with Al-kidhr through the

whole earth in search of the fountain of eternal

life, and was commissioned by Allah to shut up

behind an indestructible wall the wild nations of

Jajug and Majug, lest they should have extirpa-

ted all the other inhabitants of the world. The

younger Alexander was the son of Philip the

Greek, one of the descendants of Japhet, and a

disciple of the wise Aristotle at Athens.

But let us return to Abraham, who, after his

interview with Alexander and Al-kidhr, contin-

ued the building of the temple until it had attain-

ed a height of nine, a breadth of thirty, and a

depth of twenty-two cubits. He then ascended

the Mount Abu Kubeis ,and cried, "O ye in-

habitants of the earth, Allah commands you to

make a pilgrimage to this holy temple. Let his

commandment be obeyed !"

Allah caused Abraham's voice to be heard by

all men both living and uncreated ; and all, even

the children still in their mothers' womb, cried

with one voice, " We obey thy commandment,

O Allah !" Abraham, together with the pilgrims,

then performed those ceremonies which are yet

DEATH OF ABRAHAM. 95

observed to this day, appointed Ismael as the

lord of the Kaaba, and returned to his son Isaac

in Palestine.

When the latter attained the age of manhood,

Abraham's beard became gray, which astonish-

ed him not a little, since no man'before him had

ever turned gray.* But Allah had performed

this vsronder that Abraham might be distinguish-

ed from Isaac. For as he was a hundred years

old when Sarah bore Isaac, the people of Pales-

tine derided him, and doubted of Sarah's inno-

cence ; but Allah gave to Isaac such a perfect

resemblance of his father, that every one who saw him was convinced of Sarah's conjugal

fidelity. But, to prevent their being mistaken

for each other, Allah caused gray hairs to grow on Abraham as a mark of distinction ; and it is

only since that time that the hair loses its dark

colour in old age. When Abraham had attain-

ed to the age of two hundred, or, as some main-

tain, of a hundred and five-and-seventy years,

Allah sent to him the Angel of Death in the

* When Sarah weaned her son, Abraham made a feast. Then

said the heathen, " Behold this aged couple, who have taken up

a child from the streets, pretending it was their own, and to ob-

tain credit more easily, have given a feast in its honor." But the

Lord made Isaac so strikingly to resemble, &c. Also, in p. 15,

among the wonders which were dor^e in honor of Abraham, is

enumerated his turning gray. And again, p. 30, " Before Abra-

ham, there was no special mark of old age," &c.

Midrash, p. 27,

15, 30

96 THE SEPULCHER OF CIIALIL.

form of an aged man. Abraham invited him

to a meal ; but the Angel of Death trembled so

much, that, before he could put a morsel into

his mouth, he besmeared therewith his forehead,

eyes, and nose. Abraham then inquired, " Why tremblest thou thus ?"

"From age," replied the Angel of Death.

" How old art thou ?"

"One year older than thyself!"

Abraham lifted up his eyes to heaven, and ex-

claimed, " O Allah ! take my soul to thee before

I fall into such a state 1"

" In what manner wouldst thou like to die,

friend of Allah ?" inquired the Angel of Death.

" I should like to breathe out my life at the rjio-

ment when I fall down before Allah in prayer."

The angel remained with Abraham until he

fell down in prayer, and then put an end to his

life.

Abraham was buried by his son Isaac, near

Sarah, in the cave of Hebron. For many ages

the Jews visited this cave, in which also Isaac

and Jacob were afterward buried. The Christ-

ians subsequently built a church over it, which

was changed into a mosque when Allah gave

this country unto the Mussulmans. But Hebron

was called Kirjath Abraham (the city of Abra-

ham), or simply Chalil (Friend), and is known by that name unto this day.

JOSEPH.

Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the

son of Abraham, was from his childhood the dar-

ling of his father ; and as he lived with an aunt

at a distance from his home, Jacob's constant

longing for him added much to the fervor of his

parental love. When he was only six years of

age, his aunt became so much attached to him,

that, in order to prevent her ever being obliged

to part with him, she invented the following ex-

pedient. She took the family girdle which she,

being the first-born, had inherited from Abraham through Isaac (it was the same which Abraham wore on his loins when thrown into the pile),

girded Joseph with it, and accused him of theft,

so that, according to the laws of those days, he

became her slave for life. It was not until after

her death that he returned again to the house of

his father, and was naturally treated by him

with greater care and tenderness than his elder

brothers. Moreover, he was his eldest son by

Rachael, the only one of his wives whom he

had truly loved.

One morning Joseph told his father that he

had seen in a dream how he and his brothers

had each set a twig in the earth, and how those

7 I

98 DREAMS.

of his brothers withered, while his began to

bloom, and shaded theirs with its foliage and

blossoms. Jacob was so absorbed with the

meaning of this dream, that he left a poor man who stood before him holding out his hand for

alms unobserved, and allowed him to depart

without a gift. It was this transgression that

brought on him all those sufferings by which he

was soon to be visited. On the following morn-

ing Joseph again related to his father : " I have

dreamed that the sun, moon, and the eleven stars

bowed down to me." Jacob could now no lon-

ger remain in doubt as to the meaning of these

dreams ; he perceived in them Joseph's future

greatness, but recommended him not to speak of

them to his brothers, who had long since envied

him for the greater tenderness of his father.

But, although Jacob knew the sentiments of his

sons toward Joseph, yet was he one day per-

suaded by them to send him with them to the

pasture. Scarcely were they alone in the open

field, when they began to beat and to mock him.

He would have sunk under their ill treatment if

Allah had not filled the heart of his brother Ju-

dah with compassion toward him. Judah said,

" Do not kill your brother ; if we but regain the

undivided love of our father, we have attained

our object. Let us therefore cast him into a pit

till a caravan passes, and then sell him as a

ENVY. 9B

slave." Judah's advice was taken, and Joseph,

stripped of his garments, was cast into a pit,

where he must have been drowned had not Al-

lah caused the angel Gabriel to place a large

stone under his feet. Gabriel at the same time

was instructed to illumine the pit by a jewel, and

to cry, " Joseph, the time will come when thou

shalt call thy brothers to account, without their

suspecting it." The brothers then left the pit,

but before returning home they slaughtered a

lamb, and besmeared Joseph's upper garment

with its blood, which can not be distinguished

from that of man. They then said to their fa-

ther, " While we were engaged in our occupa-

tions, there came a wolf and tore Joseph, who had remained with the stores ; and, on seeking

him afterward, we found this upper garment,

which we recognized as his."

" How," said Jacob, " shall I believe that a

wolf has devoured my son, while there is not a

single rent in this garment?" (for the brothers

had forgotten likewise to damage the garment).

"Besides," he added, "there has no wolf been

seen in these regions for many years."

" We imagined, indeed, that thou wouldst not

give credence to our words," said one of his

sons ; " but let us search for the wolf," he con-

tinued, turning to his brothers, " in order to con-

vince our father of the truth of our statement."

100 THE WOLF.

They then provided themselves with all kinds

of implements of the chase, and scoured the

whole region round about, until they at last

found a large wolf, which they caught alive, and

accused it before Jacob as Joseph's murderer

but Allah opened the mouth of the wolf, and he

said,

" Believe not, O son of Isaac ! the accusation

of thy envious sons. I am a wolf from a foreign

country, and have long been wandering about to

seek my young one, which one morning I miss-

ed on waking. How should I, who am mourn-

ing the loss of a wild beast, bereave the prophet

of Allah of his son ?"

Jacob then delivered the wolf from the hands

of his sons, and sent them away again, so as not

to have their faces before his eyes ; only Benja-

min, his youngest son, he kept with him. The ten brothers thereupon returned to the pit in

which they had left Joseph, and arrived at the

very moment when he was freed by some Be-

douins, who, on their march from Madjan to

Egypt, had sought to draw water from this pit,

but had brought up Joseph instead, who clung

to their bucket. '' This youth," said Judah to the

leader of the caravan, ere Joseph could utter a

word, "is our slave, whom we have confined in

this pit on account of his disobedience. If you

will take him with you to Egypt, and sell him

JOSJifH 601A) INTO JiGVFr. lOl'

there, you may buy him from us at a moderate

rate." The leader of the caravan was greatly

rejoiced at this offer, for he knew well that so

beautiful a youth would bring him much gain.

He bought him, therefore, for a few drachms

and Joseph did not break silence, for he feared

that his brothers might put him to death if he

contradicted them. Trusting in Allah, he jour-

neyed quietly with the Bedouins until he was

passing the grave of his mother. There his

grief overpowered him, and, casting himself on

the ground, he wept and prayed. The leader

of the caravan struck him, and would have drag-

ged him away by force, when suddenly a black

cloud overspread the sky, so that he started back

affrighted, and prayed Joseph so long to forgive

him, till the darkness again disappeared.

The sun was declining when the caravan en-

tered the capital of Egypt, which was then gov-

erned by Rajjan, a descendant of the Amalekites.

But Joseph's face shone brighter than the noon-

day sun, and the singular light which it diffused

attracted all the maidens and matrons to their

windows and terraces. On the following day

he was exposed for sale before the royal palace.

The richest women of the city sent their hus-

bands and guardians to buy him ; but they were

outbidden by Potiphar, the treasurer of the king,

who was childless, and designed to adopt Joseph

12

102 ZULBICHA.

as his son. Zuleicha, the wife of Potipliar, ic-

ceived Joseph kindly, and gave him new robes

she likewise appointed him a separate summer-

house for his abode, because he refused to eat

with the Egyptians, preferring to live on herbs

and fruits. Joseph lived six years as Potiphar's

gardener, and, although Zuleicha loved him pas-

sionately since his first entrance into her house,

she conquered her feelings, and was satisfied to

regard him from her kiosk as he performed his

labors in the garden. But in the seventh year

Zuleicha became lovesick : her cheeks grew

pale, her gaze was lifeless, her form was bent,

and her whole body consumed away. When no physician was able to heal her, her nurse

said one day, " Zuleicha, confess that it is not thy

body, but thy soul, which suffers in secret ; sor-

row is preying on thy health. Confide in thy

nurse, who has fed thee with her own substance,

and fostered thee since thy infancy like a moth-

er. My advice may, perhaps, be useful."

Zuleicha then threw herself into the arms of

her aged friend, and avowed her love to Joseph,

and her fruitless endeavors during six years to

conquer it.

" Be of good cheer," said the matron to Zulei-

cha ; " thou hast done more than others of thy

sex, and art therefore excusable. Be thyself

again ; eat, drink, dress to advantage, take thy

THE PKISON. 103

bath, that thy former beauty return ; then shall

Joseph's love surely exceed thy own. Besides,

is he not thy slave ? and from mere habit of obe-

dience he vt^ill gratify all thy wishes."

Zuleicha followed her advice. In a short time

she was as blooming and healthful as before

for she thought that only a favorable opportunity

was needed to crown her wishes with success.

But Joseph resisted all her allurements ; and

when she at length found that all her efforts to

lead him astray were in vain, she accused him

before her husband Potiphar, who threw him

into prison ; but Allah, who knew his innocence,

changed the dark cell in which he was confined

to a bright and cheerful abode. He also com-

manded a fountain to spring up in the midst

thereof, and a tree rose at his door, which gave

him shade and pleasant fruit.

Jo?eph, who was soon universally known and

feared for his wisdom and the skill which he

possessed to interpret dreams, had not been long

in prison when the following circumstance oc-

curred : The King of the Greeks, who was then

at war with Egypt, sent an ambassador to Raj-

jan, ostensibly with the design of negotiating for

peace, but in reality only to seek the means of

slaying this heroic king. The ambassador ad-

dressed himself to a Grecian matron who had

for many years lived in Egypt, and asked her

104 TU£ GRKEK AMBAotiAUOK.

advice. " I know of no better means," said the

Grecian to her countryman, " than to bribe either

the king's chief cook or his butler to poison him."

The ambassador made the acquaintance of them

both, but, finding the chief cook the most tract-

able, he cultivated a closer intimacy with him,

until he succeeded at last, by means of a few

talents of gold, in determining him to poison the

king.

As soon as he supposed that he had secured

the object of his mission, he prepared for his

departure, but previously visited his country-

woman, with the intention of communicating to

her the chief cook's promise ; but, as she was

not alone, he could merely say that he had evey

reason to be gratified with his success. These

words of the ambassador soon reached the king's

ears ; and as they could not be referred to his

ostensible mission, since the negotiations for

peace, on account of which he alleged that he

had come, were entirely broken off, and the war

had already recommenced, some secret or other

was suspected. The Grecian was led before

the king, and tortured, until she confessed all that

she knew ; and as Rajjan did not know which

of them was guilty, he commanded that both the

chief cook and butler should mean while be put

into the same prison where Joseph was languish-

ing. One morning they came to him, and said,

THE SINGULAR INTEKfllKTATXON. 105

" We have heard of thy skill in the interpretation

of dreams ; tell us, we pray thee, what we may expect from our dreams of last night." The

butler then related that he had pressed out

grapes, and presented the wine to the king. But

the chief cook said that he had carried meats in

a basket in his hand, when the birds came and

devoured the best of them. Joseph exhorted

them first of all to faith in one God, and then

foretold the butler's restoration to his former

office, but to the chief cook he predicted the gal-

lows. As soon as he finished his speech, both

of them burst out in laughter, and derided him,

for they had not dreamed at all, and merely

meant to put his skill to the test. But Joseph

said to them, " Whether your dreams have been

real or invented, I can not say ; but what I have

prophesied is the judgment of Allah, which can

not be turned aside." He was not mistaken.

The spies of the king soon found out that the

Greek ambassador had had frequent interviews

with the chief cook, while he had seen the butler

but once ; the former was therefore condemned

to death, but the latter reinstated in his office.

On leaving the prison, Joseph entreated the

butler to remember him, and to obtain his free-

dom from the king. The butler did not remem-

ber him ; but the tree before his door withered,

and his fountain was dried up, because, instead

106 RELEASE OF JOSEPH.

of trusting in Allah, he had relied upon the help

of a feeble man.* He was seven years in prison,

when one morning he saw the butler again. He came to lead him before the king, who had had

a dream which no one was able to interpret.

But Joseph refused to appear unless he had first

convinced the king of his innocence. He then

related the cause of his imprisonment to the but-

ler, who brought his answer to the king, and the

latter immediately summoned Zuleicha and her

friends. They confessed that they had falsely

accused Joseph. Rajjan then sent a writing,

which not only restored him to liberty, but even

declared the imprisonment which he had endured

to have been unjust, and the result of a calumni-

ous chargo.f

Joseph then put on the robes which Rajjan

had sent him, and was conducted to the royal

palace, where the king had assembled about him

all the nobles, the priests, the astrologers, and

soothsayers of Egypt.

" I saw in my dream," said the king, as soon

The Midrasb says, " Joseph remained yet two years in prison,

because he had asked the chief butler to remember him."

t " Potiphar's wife looked so ill, that her friends inquired what

she complained of. She related her adventure with Joseph, and

they said, 'Accuse him before thy husband, that he may be put

in prison.' She entreated her friends to accuse him likewise to

their husbands. They did so ; and their husbands came to Pot-

iphar complaining of Joseph's audacious demeanor toward their

wives," &c.

Midrash, p. 45.

Joseph's elevation. 107

as Joseph was near him, " seven lean kine, which

devoured seven fat ones ; and seven blasted

ears, which consumed seven rank and full ones.

Canst thou tell me what this dream signifies ?"

Joseph replied, " Allah will grant to thy king-

dom seven plentiful years, which shall be suc-

ceeded by seven years of famine. Be therefore

provident, and during the first seven years let

as much grain be collected and stored up as

shall be required for the maintenance of thy sub-

jects during the seven years that shall follow."

This interpretation pleased the king so well,

that he made Joseph the high steward of his do-

minions in Potiphar's stead.

He now traveled through the country buying

the grain, which, on account of the great abund-

ance, was sold on most moderate terms, and

built store-houses every where, but especially in

the capital. One day, while riding out to in-

spect a granary beyond the city, he observed

a beggar in the street, whose whole appearance,

though most distressing, bore the distinct traces

of former greatness. Joseph approached her

compassionately, and held out to her a handful

of gold. But she refused, and said, sobbing

aloud, " Great prophet of Allah, I am unworthy

of thy gift, although my transgression has been

the stepping-stone to thy present fortune."

At these words, Joseph regarded her more

108 FAMINE IN KGVFT.

closely, and behold, it was Zuleicha, the wife of

his lord. He inquired after her husband, and

was told that he had died of sorrow and poverty

soon after his deposition.

On hearing this, Joseph led Zuleicha to a rel-

ative of the king, where she was treated like a

sister, and she soon appeared to him as bloom-

ing and youthful as at the time of his entrance

into her house. He asked her hand from the

king, and married her with his permission, and

she bore him two sons before the frightful years

of famine, during which the Egyptians were

obliged to sell to Rajjan, first their gold, their

jewelry, and other costly things, for corn ; then

their estates and slaves, and at last their own persons, their wives and children.

Yet not only in Egypt, but even in the ad-

jacent countries, a great famine prevailed.

In the land of Canaan, too, there was no more

corn to be found, and Jacob was forced to send

all his sons save Benjamin to buy provisions in

Egypt. He recommended them to enter the

capital by the ten different gates, so as not to

attract the evil eye by the beauty of their ap-

pearance, and to avoid public attention.*

•

Jacob said to his sons, " Do not enter by one gate, because

of the evil eye." Joseph expected his brothers, and therefore com-

manded the keepers of the gates to report every day the names of

arriving strangers. One day the first keeper brought him the name of Reuben ; the second the name of Simeon ; and so on, until htt

THE SPIES. 109

Joseph recognized his brothers, and called

them spies, because they had come to him sep-

arately, though, according to their own confes-

sion, they were brothers. But when, to excul-

pate themselves, they explained to him the pe-

culiar circumstances of their family, and, to jus-

tify their father's carefulness, they spoke of a lost

brother, Joseph grew so angry, that he refused

them the desired provisions, and demanded of

them to bring down their brother Benjamin with

them ; and, to be certain of their return, he de-

tained one of them as a hostage.

A few weeks after they returned again with

Benjamin.

Jacob was in<i<>^J unwilling to let his youngest

son depart, for he feared lest a misfortune similar

to that of Joseph's would befall him : yet, to

escape from famine, he was obliged to yield at

last.

Joseph now directed that the corn which they

bad desired should be measured to them, but

gave orders to his steward to conceal a silver

cup in Benjamin's sack, to seize them as thieves

had received the name of Asher, Jacob's tenth son. He then com-

manded all the store-houses but one to be closed, and said to the

keeper of that, " If such and such men come, let them be taken

and brought before me."

" You are spies," said he to his brothers when they stood before

him, " otherwise you would have entered the city by the same

gate."

Midrash, p 46, 47.

K

110 BENJAMIN.

at the gate of the city, and to lead them back to

his palace.

" What punishment," demanded Joseph of the

brethren, " is due to him that has stolen my cup?"

" Let him be thy slave," replied the sons of

Jacob, certain that none of them was capable of

committing so disgraceful an act. But when

their sacks were opened, and the cup was found

in Benjamin's, they cried to him, " Woe to thee 1

what hast thou done ? Why hast thou followed

the example of thy lost brother, who stole the

idol of Laban his grand-father, and the girdle

of his aunt ?"

Still, as they had sworn to their father not to

step before his face without Benjamin, they

prayed Joseph to keep one of their number as

his slave in Benjamin's stead. But Joseph in-

sisted on retaining Benjamin, and Reuben said

therefore to his brothers, " Journey to our father,

and tell him all that has befallen us ; but I, who am the eldest of you, and have vowed unto him

to sacrifice my life rather than to return without

Benjamin, will remain here until he himself shall

recall me. He will probably acknowledge that

such an accident could not have been foreseen,

and that, if our brother had been known to us

as a thief, we should not have pledged ourselves

for him."

JACOB LOSES HIS SIGHT. Ill

But Jacob would not credit the story of his

returning sons, and feared that they had now acted toward Benjamin as they had formerly

done toward Joseph. He burst into tears, and

wept till the light of his eyes was extinguished :

his grief for Joseph also revived afresh, though

he had never ceased to trust to the fulfillment of

his dream.

But now the brothers returned the third time

into Egypt, determined to free Benjamin by

force, for they were so powerful that they could

engage single-handed with whole hosts of war-

riors. Judah especially, when excited to wrath,

would roar like a lion, and kill the strongest men with his voice ;* nor could he be pacified until

one of his kinsmen touched the prickly bunch of

* " When Joseph would have shut up Simeon, his brothers of-

fered him their assistance, but he dechned it. Joseph command-ed seventy valiant men to put him in chains ; but when they ap-

proached him, Simeon roared so loud that the seventy fell down

at his feet and broke their teeth. Joseph said to his son Manas-

seh. who was standing at his side, ' Chain thou him.' Manasseh

struck him a single blow, and bound him instantly ; so that Sime-

on exclaimed, ' Certainly this was the blow of a kinsman !' Again,

when Joseph sent Benjamin to prison, Judah cried so loud, that

Chushim, the son of Dan, heard him in Canaan, and responded.

Joseph feared for his life, for Judah was so enraged that he wept

blood. Some say Judah wore five garments, one over the other

but when he was angry his heart swelled so much that his five

garments burst open. Joseph also cried so terribly, that one of

the pillars of his house fell in, and was changed into sand. Then Judah said, ' He is valiant, like one of us.' "

Midraah, p. 46, 47

112 THE RECOGNITION.

hair which, on such occasions, protruded from

his neck.

However, they once more endeavored by en-

treaty to move Joseph to set Benjamin free ; but

when they spoke of their father's love for him,

he inquired, "What, then, has become of Jo-

seph?"

They said, " A wolf has devoured him."

But Joseph took his cup into his hand, and

feigning to prophesy out of it, cried, " It is false

you have sold him."

When they denied this charge, Joseph told

Zuleicha to give him the parchment which Ju-

dah had with his own hand given to the Bedouin

when they sold him ; and he showed it to them.

" We had a slave whose name was Joseph,"

said Judah ; and he grew so enraged that he

was on the point of roaring aloud ; but his voice

failed him, for Joseph had beckoned to his son

Ephraim to touch his bunch of hair, which was so long that it nearly trailed on the ground.

When his brothers saw this, there remained no

doubt to them of their standing before Joseph,

for they could have no other kinsman in Egypt.

They therefore fell down before him and cried,

" Thou art our brother Joseph ; forgive us !"

" You have nothing to fear from me," replied

Joseph, " and Allah, the merciful, will also be

gracious and pardon you. But rise, and go up

JOSEPH DESIRES TO DIE A MOSLEM. 113

quickly to our father, and bring him hither.

Take my garment with you ; cast it over his

face, and his blindness will pass away."

Scarcely had they left the capital of Egypt

when the wind carried the fragrance of Joseph's

garment to their father, and when Judah, who was hastening in advance of his brothers, gave

it to him, his eyes were opened again.* They now departed together for Egypt. Joseph came

out to meet them, and, having embraced his fa-

ther, exclaimed, " Lord, thou hast now fulfilled

my dreams, and given me great power ! Cre-

ator of heaven and earth, be thou my support in

this world and the future ! Let me die the death

of a Moslem, and be gathered to the rest of the

pious !"

Neither Jacob nor Joseph left Egypt any

more ; and both ordained in their testaments

that they should be buried in Canaan by the side

of Abraham, which was also done. May the

peace of Allah be with them

* The Jewish legend relates, that when the brothers learned

Joseph's safely, they were unwilling to communicate it to their

father, fearing the violent effects of sudden joy.

But the daughter of Asher, Jacob's grand-child, took her harp

and sung to him the story of Joseph's life and greatness ; and her

beautiful music calmed his spirit. Jacob blessed her, and she was taken into Paradise without having tasted death.

E. T.

8 K2

^.

MOSES AND AARON.

When the time had come in which Allah

again designed to send a prophet on the earth,

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had three dreams in

one night. In his first dream he heard a voice

which called, " Pharaoh, repent ! The end of

thy dominion is at hand, for a youth of a foreign

tribe shall humble thee and thy people before the

whole world." The king awoke, disturbed by

his dream, but after a short time he fell asleep

again, and there appeared to him a lion, which

threatened to tear a man in pieces. The man was only armed with a rod, but stood still calmly

until the lion rushed on him, when he struck it a

single blow with his rod, and flung it dead into

the Nile. The king awoke, more disturbed than

before, and was only able to sleep again toward

morning ; but scarcely had he closed his eyes,

when he saw Asia, his virtuous wife, riding

through the air on a winged horse. The horse

flew toward heaven ; but she cried to him a last

farewell, whereupon the earth split open under

his feet, and swa^owed him up. Pharaoh sprung

up from his couch as soon as he awoke, and

summoned Haman, his vizier, commanding him

to call together immediately all the magicians,

PHAKAOH AN'D THE ASTRULOGERS. 115

the soothsayers, and astrologers of his capital.

When they, many thousands in number, were

assembled in the largest hall of the royal palace,

Pharaoh ascended the throne, and told his dreams

with a tremulous voice ; but, although their in-

terpretation was clear to every one in the whole

assembly, no one ventured to avow the truth

unto the king. Yet the latter divining from their

ghastly looks what was passing within them,

commanded the chief of the astrologers not to

conceal any thing, and assured him beforehand

of his grace, though he should predict the worst.

" Most mighty king !" said the chief of the as-

trologers, a man ofnine-and-ninety years of age,

whose silvery beard reached down to his breast,

" it never was so difficult to thy servant to obey

thy commands as at the present moment, when

I am forced to predict to thee the greatest ca-

lamity. One of thy slaves of the daughters of

Israel will bear a son, or has perhaps already

borne him, who shall hurl thee and thy people

into the lowest abyss." At these words Pharaoh

began to weep aloud : he tore his crown from

his head, rent his robes, and struck his breast

and face with clinched fists. All who were

present wept with him ; yet no one presumed to

speak a word of consolation. At last Haman,

the vizier, stepped forward and said, *' Great

king, my fidelity and attachment are known to

]16 THE MASBACRE.

thee. Pardon, therefore, thy slave, if he has the

boldness to blame thy dejection, and to suggest

a plan which will frustrate the fulfillment of thy

visions. As yet the power is in thy hand, and,

if thou wilt but use it unsparingly, so shalt thou

put to shame all the interpreters of thy dream.

Let all the children that are born this year, and

all women that are with child, be immediately

put to death, and thou mayest defy the appre-

hended peril."* Pharaoh followed this cruel

counsel. Seven thousand children of one year

and under were strangled forthwith, and as many women with child thrown into the Nile.f

One night, when Amram, an Israelite, who

* "Here the Mussulman legend diflfers from the Talmud, ac-

cording to which Bileam gave this counsel. Job was silent ; and

Jethro, the king's third counselor, endeavored to dissuade the

king from violence. Bileam was therefore destroyed by the

Israelites. Job was led into temptation, and suffered greatly for

his silence; but Jethro, who, on account of his clemency, was

forced to flee into Midian, was rewarded by becoming the father-

in-law of Moses."

Midrash, p. 52.

+ "In the year 130 after the settlement of the Israelites in

Egypt, Pharaoh dreamed of an aged man who was holding a bal-

ance in his right hand. In one of its scales he placed all the

sages and nobles of Egypt, and a little lamb in the other ; and it

outweighed them all.

" Pharaoh was amazed at the weight of the lamb, and told his

dream on -the following morning to his attendants. They were

terrified ; and one of them said, ' This dream forebodes a great af-

fliction which one of the children of Israel will bring upon Egypt.

If it please the king, let us issue a royal edict, commanding every

male child of Hebrew parents to be slain at its birth.' The king

did as he was advised."

Midrash, p. 51.

THE ASTROLOGER. Ill

was one of Pharoah's viziers, was as usual in at-

tendance on the king, the angel Gabriel appeared

to him bearing on one of his wings Johabed,

Amram's wife, the daughter of Jaser. He laid

her down near Pharaoh, who was sunk in a deep

sleep, and snored like a slaughtered bull ; and

Gabriel said to Amram, " The hour is come when

the messenger of Allah shall appear !" He van-

ished after having spoken these words, and left

Johabed with Amram until the rising of the

morning star. Then he carried her back on his

wings to her dwelling before Pharaoh awoke.

That night the king had the same dreams

again which had so much disturbed him before.

As soon as he awoke he summoned Amram, and again commanded him to convene the in-

terpreters of dreams. But he had scarcely ut-

tered the word, when the chief of the astrolo-

gfers begged for admittance. Pharaoh wel-

comed him, and inquired what had led him so

early to the palace.

" Regard for thy throne and for thy life," an-

swered the astrologer. " I read last night in the

stars that the lad who shall one day deprive

thee of life and empire has been conceived. I

could therefore scarcely await the morning star

to inform thee of this sad occurrence. Possibly

thou mayest succeed in discovering the man who, notwithstanding thy prohibition and thy

I'M VAIN PRECAUTIONS.

sage precautions, has found means of frustrating

thy design."

Pharaoh was the rathei disposed to credit the

astrologer, since the repetition of his dream in-

dicated the same. He therefore reproached

Amram for not having adopted better measures,

which might have rendered impossible the trans-

gression of his commands.

But Amram said, " Pardon thy servant if he

venture to doubt the infallibility of this master's

interpretation, but the measures which I have

adopted, and executed under my own inspection,

are of that sort, that on this occasion it is quite in-

comprehensible to me. Yesterday, as soon as I

had left the royal palace, I betook myself to the

other side of the river, and, summoning all the

men of Israel, threatened with death him who should under any pretext whatever remain be-

hind. Nevertheless, to make sure that, if airy

one had remained concealed in his dwelling, he

should still be separated from his wife, I com-

manded all women to be shut up in another quar-

ter of the city, which, like the camp of the men, I

surrounded with troops, so that no one was able

to go in or out. Mean while, I will so act as if I

were persuaded of this astrologer's statement.

If thou desire it, I will strangle the women, or

subject them to severer regulations ; we shall

discover the guiitv one, and destroy her." But

THE BIRTH OP MOSES. 119

Allah infused compassion toward the women of

Israel into Pharaoh's heart, and he contented

himself with having them more rigidly guarded.

But these measures, according to the decision

of Allah, proved abortive ; for, as Amram was

not permitted to move out of the royal palace,

Haman did not in the least suspect Johabed, and

made her an exception from the common rule,

as she was the vizier's wife. Within a twelve-

month from that time Johabed gave birth to a

man child, whom she called Musa (Moses). She

was delivered without a pain.*

But the sorrow of her heart was the greater

when she cast her eyes on the little child, whose

face beamed like the moon in her splendor, and

thought of his death, which was drawing nigh.

Yet Moses rose, and said, " Fear nothing, my mother ; the God of Abraham is with us."

In the night when Moses was born the idols

* On these words, " And she saw that the child was fair,"

the Mid rash offers the following reflection : " The learned main-

tain that at the birth of Moses there appeared a light which

shone over the whole world, for in the account of the creation

we have the same phrase : «-The Lord saw the light that it was

good.'

It is somewhat difficult to apprehend the precise point of the

Rabbis. At the creation of the light it is said God saw the light

that it was good. The subject of which it was predicated that it

was good, then shone over the whole world. Hence it is argued,

that, as the same predicate is applied to Moses's face, it must fol-

low '.hat it shone with similar brightness. This is no bad speci-

av )f Babbiuical logic.

E. T,

F

120 MOSES IN THE OVEN.

in all the temples of Egypt were dashed down.

Pharaoh heard a voice in his dream, which called

to him, " Turn to the only God, the Creator of

heaven and earth, or thy destruction is inevita-

ble." In the morning the astrologer appeared

again, and announced to Pharaoh the birth of

the lad who would one day be his destruction.

Haman now commanded all the dwellings of the

Israelitish women to be searched afresh, and

made no exception even with Johabcd's, fearing

lest some other woman might have concealed

her ch.ld therein. Johabed had gone out when Haman entered her house, but had previously

hid her child in the oven, and laid much wood before it. Finding nothing in the whole house,

Haman commanded the wood in the oven to be

lighted, and went away, saying, " If there be a

child concealed there, it will be consumed."

When Johabed returned, and saw the blazing

fire, she uttered a frightful cry of woe : but Mo-ses called to her, "Be calm, my mother; Allah

has given the fire no power over me." But as

the vizier frequently repeated his visits, and Jo-

habed feared lest he might one day have the

wood removed instead of lighting the oven, she

resolved to intrust her child to the Nile rather

than to expose it to the danger of being dis-

covered by Haman. She obtained, therefore, a

little ark from Amram, laid Moses in it, and car-

FROVIDENCE. 121

ried it to the river at midnight ; but, passing a

sentinel, she was stopped, and asked what the

aric contained which she carried under her arm.

At that instant the earth opened under the sen-

tinel's feet, and ingulfed him up to his neck

and there came a voice out of the earth, which

said, " Let this woman depart unharmed ; nor

let thy tongue betray what thy eyes have seen,

or thou art a child of death." The soldier shut

his eyes in token of obedience, for his neck was already so compressed that he could not speak,

and as soon as Johabed had passed on, the earth

vomited him forth again. When she arrived at

the place on the shore where she designed to

conceal the ark among the rushes, she beheld a

huge black serpent : it was Iblis, who placed

himself in her way in this form, with the inten-

tion of staggering her resolve. Affrighted, she

started back from the vile reptile ; but Moses

called to her from the ark, " Be without fear,

my mother

;

pass on : my presence shall chase

away this serpent." At these words Iblis van-

ished. Johabed, then opening the ark once

more, pressed Moses to her heart, closed it, and,

weeping and sobbing, laid it among the reeds,

in hopes that some compassionate Egyptian

woman would come and take it up. But as she

departed, she heard a voice from heaven ex-

claim, " Be not cast down, O wife of Amram I

L

122 THE CURE OF THE SEVEN PRINCESSES.

we will bring back thy son to thee ; he is the

elected messenger of Allah."

To manifest the weakness of human machi-

nations against that which the Kalam has written

on the heavenly tablets of Fate, Allah had or-

dained that the child now at the mercy of the

floods should be saved by Pharaoh's own family.

He commanded, therefore, as soon as Johabed

had left the Nile, that the angel who was set

over the waters should float the ark in which

Moses lay into the canal which united Pharaoh's

palace with the river; for, on account of his

leprous daughters, to whom his physicians had

prescribed bathing in the Nile, he had con-

structed a canal, by which the water of that

river was guided into a large basin in the midst

of the palace gardens. The eldest of the seven,

princesses first discovered the little ark, and

carried it to the bank to open it. On her re-

moving the lid, there beamed a light upon her

which her eyes were not able to endure. She

cast a veil over Moses, but at that instant her

own face, which hitherto had been covered with

scars and sores of all the most hideous colors

imaginable, shone like the moon in its brightness

and purity, and her sisters exclaimed in amaze-

ment, *' By what means hast thou been so sud-

denly freed from leprosy ?"*

* The daughter of Pharaoh went to the river, for she was a lep.

PRESENTIMENTS. 123

" By the miraculous power of this child," re-

plied the eldest. " The glance which beamed

upon me when I beheld it unveiled has chased

away the impurity of my body, as the rising

sun scatters the gloom of night."

The six sisters, one after the other, now lifted

the veil from Moses's face, and they too became

fair as if they had been formed of the finest sil-

ver. The eldest then took the ark on her head,

and carried it to her mother Asia, relating to

her in liow miraculous a manner both she and

her sisters had been healed.

Asia took Moses from the ark, and brought

him to Pharaoh, followed by the seven princess-

es. Pharaoh started involuntarily when Asia

entered his chamber, and his heart was filled

with dark presentiments; besides, it was not

customary for his women to come to him unin-

vited. But his face regained its cheerfulness

when he beheld the seven princesses, whose

beauty now surpassed all their contemporaries.

" Who are these maidens ?" he inquired of

Asia. " Are they slaves whom some tributary

prince has sent to me ?"

er, and not permitted to use warm baths ; but she was healed as

soon as she stretched out her hand to the crying infant, whose

life she preserved. She said within herself, " He will live to be a

man; and whoever preserves a life is like the savior of a world."

For this cause also she obtained the blessings of the life to come.

—Midrash, p. 51,

124 PRESENTIMENTS.

" They are thy daughters, and here upon my arm is the physician who has cured them of

their leprosy."

She then narrated to the king how the prin-

cesses had found Moses, and how they had

recovered from their distemper on beholding

him.

Pharaoh was transported with joy, and for

the first time in his hfe embraced his beloved

daughters. But after a little while his features

were overcast again, and he said to Asia," This

child must not live : who knows whether his

mother be not an Israelite, and he the child of

whom both my dreams, as well as my astrolo*

gers, have foreboded me so much evil ?"

*' Dost thou still believe in idle dreams, the

mere whispers of Satan, and in the still more

idle interpretations given by men who boast of

reading the future in the stars ? Hast thou not

slain the young mothers of Israel and their chil-

dren, and even searched their houses ? Besides,

will it not always be in thy power to destroy

this fragile being? Meanwhile, take it to thy

palace, in gratitude for the miraculous cure of

thy daughters."

The seven princesses seconded the prayers

of Asia, until Pharaoh relented, permitting the

child to be brought up in the royal palace*

Scarcely had he pronounced the words of grace,

Moses brought ui* in the palace. 125

when Asia hastened back to hei- apartments

with the child, and sent for an Egyptian nurse

but Moses thrust her away, for it was not the

will of the Highest that he should receive nour-

ishment from a worshiper of idols.* Asia com-

manded another nurse to be brought ; but her

also, as well as a third one, Moses would not

embrace. On the following morning the queen

made known that any woman, who would en-

gage to nurse a strange child for a handsome

remuneration, should repair to the royal palace.

After this the entire court of the castle was filled

with women and maidens, many of whom had

come from curiosity only. Among the latter

was Kolthum (Miriam), the sister of Moses.

When she heard that the child had been found

in an ark floating on the water, and that it still

refused to take nourishment, she ran quickly and

told her mother. Johabed hastened to the pal-

ace, and was announced to Asia as a nurse, for

the severe regulations against the Israelitish

women were now removed. Moses scarcely

beheld his mother, when he stretched out his

arms toward her, and as he embraced her im-

* From these words, his sister said to the daughters of Pharaoh,

" Shall I call a Hebrew nurse ?" We may conclude that they had

taken him (Moses) to all the Egyptian women, but that he re-

fused to receive food from them, for he thought, " Shall the lips

which are destined to speak with the Shekinah touch that which

is unclean V^—Midrash, p. 51.

L2

126 SUAUOVVrf OK COMIXG EVENTS.

mediately, she was engaged as a nurse for the

space of two years. After the expiration of that

time, Asia sent her away with many rich pres-

ents, but kept Moses with her, intending to adopt

him as her son, since she had no male descend-

ants. Pharaoh himself became daily more at-

tached to the child, and often spent whole hours

together in playing with him. One day—Moses

was then in his fourth year—while Pharaoh was

playing with him, he took the crown from the

king's head, and throwing it on the ground, thrust

it away with his foot. The king's suspicion was

roused afresh : enraged, he ran to Asia, re-

proaching her for having persuaded him to let

Moses live, and manifested once more a desire

to put him to death ;* but Asia laughed at him

In the third year after the birth of Moses, Pharaoh was sit-

ting on his throne, the queen was at his right hand, his daughter,

holding Moses, at his left, and the princes of Egypt were seated

round a table before him. Moses stretched out his hand, took

the king's crown, and placed it on his own head. The courtiers

were terrified; and Bileam the magician said, "Remember, O king ! thy dreams, and their interpretations : this child is doubt-

less of the Hebrews, who worship God in their hearts ; and he has,

by a movement of his precocious wisdom, laid hold on the govern-

ment of Egypt. (Here follow examples from Abraham to Joseph,

showing the ambition of the Hebrews to usurp the Egyptian

throne.) If it please the king, let us shed this child's blood be-

fore he be strong enough to destroy thy kingdom." But the Lord

sent an angel in tha form of an Egyptian prmce, who said, " If it

please the king, let two bowls, the one filled with Shoham stones,

the other with burning coals, be presented to the child," &c.

Midrash, p 52.

THE TRIAL. 12T

for permitting the naughtiness of a child to ex-

cite in him such gloomy thoughts.

" Well, then," said Pharaoh, " let us see wheth-

er the child has acted thoughtlessly or with re-

flection? Let a bowl with burning coals and

one with coin be brought. If he seize the former,

he shall live ; but if he stretch out his hand to

the latter, he has betrayed himself."

Asia was forced to obey, and her eyes hung

in painful suspense on Moses's hand, as if her

own life had been at stake. Endowed with

manly understanding, Moses was on the point

of taking a handful of the shining coin, when Al-

lah, watching over his life, sent an angel, who,

against the child's will, directed his hand into

the burning coals, and even put one to his mouth.

Pharaoh was again reassured, and entreated

Asia for forgiveness ; but Moses had burned his

tongue, and was a stammerer from that day.*

When Moses was six years old, Pharaoh one

day teased him so much, that in his anger he

pushed with his foot so violently against the

throne on which Pharaoh sat, that it was over-

thrown. Pharaoh fell on the earth, and bled

profusely from his mouth and nose. He sprang

* The Jewish legend accounts from this occurrence for the

words of Moses in Exodus, chap, iv., ver. 10 : " O my Lord ! I

am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken

to thy ser\ant ; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue."

—E T

128 THE YOUTH OF MOSES.

to his feet, and drew his sword against Moses

to thrust him through. Asia and the seven prin-

cesses were present, yet all their endeavors to

calm him were in vain. Then there flew a

white cock toward the king, and cried, " Pha-

raoh, if thou spill the blood of this child, thy

daughters shall be more leprous than before."

Pharaoh cast a glance on the princesses ; and

as from dread and fright their faces were already

suffused with a ghastly yellow, he desisted again

from his bloody design.

Thus Moses grew up in Pharaoh's house, amid

every variety of danger, which God, however,

warded off in a miraculous manner. One morn-

ing—he was then already in his eighteenth year

—he was performing his ablutions in the Nile,

and prayed to Allah. An Egyptian priest saw

him, and observed that he prayed unlike the

other Egyptians, who always turn their faces

toward Pharaoh's palace, while the eyes of Mo-ses were directed on high.

"Whom worshi pest thou?" inquired the priest,

in great astonishment.

Moses, having finished his prayer, replied,

" My Lord !"

" Thy father Pharaoh ?"

" May Allah curse thee, and all those who worship the king as God !"

THE PERFIDIOUS BIGOT. ISO

*' Thou shalt atone with thy life for this impre-

cation. I will forthwith go to thy father, and

accuse thee before him."

Then Moses prayed. " Lord of the waters

who hast destroyed by the floods the whole hu-

man race, save Noah and Audj, let them even

now overflow their banks, to ingulf this blas-

phemous priest."

He had scarcely pronounced these words,

when there arose such waves in the Nile as only

the fiercest tempest excites in the mighty ocean.

One of them rolled over the shore, and swept

away the priest into the stream.

When he saw his life in danger, he cried out,

" Mercy ! O Moses, have mercy ! I swear that

I will conceal what I have heard from thee."

"But if thou break thine oath?"

" Let my tongue be cut out of my mouth."

Moses saved the priest, and went his way;

but when ho came to the royal palace he was

summoned before Pharaoh, beside whom sat the

priest, who had evidently betrayed him.

" Whom worshipest thou?" inquired Pharaoh.

** My Lord," replied Moses, " who gives me meat and drink, who clothes me, and supplies all

my wants." Moses thereby intended the only

God, the Creator and Preserver of the world,

unto whom we are indebted for all things.

But Pharaoh, according to the will of Allah,

8

130 MANSLAUGHTER.

referred this reply to himself, and commanded that the priest, as a calumniator, should have his

tongue cut out, and be hanged before the palace.

Having attained the age of manhood, Moses

frequently conversed with the Israelites during

his excursions, and listened eagerly to their ac-

counts of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but espe-

cially of Joseph, for his mother had long ere this

revealed to him the secret of his birth. One day

he beheld how a Kopt was most cruelly treating

an Israelite, by name Samiri. The latter im-

plored his protection, and Moses struck the

Egyptian a blow which stretched him lifeless on

the earth. On the following morning Samiri

was again striving with an Egyptian, and prayed

Moses again to help him ; but the latter reproach-

ed him for his quarrelsome disposition, and raised

his hand threateningly against him. When Sa-

miri saw this, he said, " Wilt thou kill me as thou

didst the Kopt yesterday ?" The Egyptian who was present heard it, and accused Moses ofmur-

der before Pharaoh. The king directed that he

should be deUvered to the relations of the slain;

but one of the royal household, a friend of Moses,

informed him immediately ofPharaoh's sentence,

and he succeeded in making his escape in time.

Moses wandered many days through the wil-

derness, until Allah sent him an angel in the form

THE FLIGHT. 131

of a Bedouin, who guided him into Midian, where

the faithful priest Shuib (Jethro) dwelt, in the

midst of idolaters. The sun was declining when

he arrived before a well at the outskirts of the

little town, and there stood Lija and Safurja, the

two daughters of Shuib, with their flocks.*

" Why do you not water your cattle," in-

quired Moses, " since the night will soon over-

take you?" " We do not venture to do so," replied Lija,

" until the other shepherds, who hate us and our

father, have first watered theirs."

* According to the Jewish legend, there intervened many years

between the flight of Moses from Egypt and his arrival in Midian

these years, they say, he spent in Ethiopia, where Bilaam had

gone before him ; and while the king of that country made war against Syria and other nations, he (Bilaam) treacherously seized

on the capital, fortifying it with ditches and walls on three sides,

and guarding the fourth by venomous serpents. The king return-

ed, and had laid siege to this city during nine years without suc-

ceeding in capturing it, when Moses arrived in his camp. He ad-

vised him to take all the storks' eggs from the neighboring forests,

to rear the young, and having withheld their food from them for

some days, to send them against the serpents. The king did so

the storks destroyed the serpents, and the city was taken ; but

Bilaam escaped through an opposite gate, and again excited Pha-

raoh against the people of Israel. The Ethiopians made Moses

their first vizier, and afterward their king, giving to him the de-

ceased king's widow in marriage. But as she was an idolater, he

refused to treat her as his wife, nor did he participate in the re

ligious observances of the people : the queen therefore accused

him publicly, and proposed her own son to reign in his stead ; but

Moses fled to Midian ; and Jethro, fearing the Ethiopians, im-

prisoned him during ten years without giving him any food ; but

Zipora secretly supplied him with bread and water, &c.

132 CHIVALRY.

Then Moses himself led their cattle to the well,

and said, " If any of the shepherds has aught

against you, I myself will see to the matter."

The maidens yielded ; nor did any of the shep-

hei'ds, who assembled around, dare to oppose

Moses, for his holy appearance filled them with

awe.

When Shuib, astonished at the unusually early

return of his daughters, heard from them that a

stranger had watered their cattle, he sent Safur-

ja to the well to invite him to his house. But

Moses, although suffering with hunger, did not

touch the refreshments that were set before him

and when Shuib inquired why he rejected his

hospitality, he replied, " I am not of those who accept a reward for any good deed that they

have done."

" In like manner, I," replied Shuib, " am not

of those who show hospitality only to their bene-

factors. My house is open to every stranger

and as such, not as the protector of my daugh-

ters, thou mayest accept my invitation."

Moses then ate till he was satisfied, and re-

lated during his repast what had befallen him in

Egypt.

" As thou mayest not return to thy home,"

said Shuib, when he had come to the conclusion

of his narrative, " remain with me as my shep-

herd, and, after serving me eight or ten years

faithfully, I will give thee my daughter Safurja

to wife."

Moses accepted this offer, and pledged him-

self to eight years' service, but added that he

should cheerfully remain two years longer, if he

had nothing to complain of; and he abode ten

years with him. On the morning following his

arrival, he accompanied the daughters of Shuib

to the pasture ; but as he had fled from Egypt

without a staff, Safuija brought to him the mirac-

ulous rod of her father, which had served for the

support and defense of the prophets before him.*

Adam had brought it with him from Paradise

after his death it passed into the hands of Sheth

after that it wen^ to Idris, then to Noah, Salih,

and Abraham. Moses was thirty years old

when he entered the service of Shuib, and thir-

ty-eight on his marriage with Safurja. In his

* The rod of Moses was created on the sixth day, and given to

Adam while yet in Paradise : he left it to Enoch, and he gave it

to Shem ; from him it descended to Isaac and Jacob. The latter

took it with him into Egypt, and before his death presented it to

Joseph. When he died it was taken, with the rest of his goods,

to Pharaoh's house, where Jethro, being one of the king's magi-

cians, saw it : and taking it with him to Midian, he planted it in

his garden, where no one was able to approach it until the arrival

of Moses. He read the mysterious words written upon the staff",

and took it without difficulty from the ground. Jethro, who saw

this, exclaimed, " This is the man who shall deliver Israel !" and

gave him his daughter Zipora. With this staff Moses kept Je-

thro's flock during forty years, without being attacked by wild,

beasts and without losing any from his fold.

Midrash, p. 53.

M

184 THE MISSION.

fortieth year he determined to return to Egypt,

in order to inquire after his relatives and breth-

ren in the faith. It was a cold and stormy day

when he drew near to Mount Thur, on which a

bright fire was blazing ; and he said to his wife,

"Rest here in the valley; I will see what this

flame signifies, and bring thee a few brands on

my return." But when Moses came near the

fire, he heard a voice out of the midst of the

burning and yet unconsumed bush exclaim,

" Take off thy shoes, for thou art in the presence

of thy Lord, who manifests himself to thee as

The Light, to sanctify thee as his prophet, and

to send thee to Pharaoh, whose unbelief and

cruelty are so great, that long ere this the

mountains would have crushed him, the seas

have swallowed him up, or the flames of heaven

consumed his soul, if I had not determined to

give in his person a proof of my omnipotence

unto the whole world."

Moses fell down and said, " Lord, Lhave slain

an Egyptian, and Pharaoh will put me to death

if I appear before him ; besides, my tongue has

been paralyzed since my infancy, so that I am not able to speak before kings."

" Fear not, son of A mram !" replied the voice

from the fire. " If thy Lord had not watched

over thee, thou wouldst have been changed into

dust even before thy birth ; but as regards thy

THE SIGN. • 135

imperfect speech, it shall not prevent the exer-

cise of thy calling, for I give to thee thy brother

Aaron as vizier, who shall communicate my will

to Pharaoh.

" Go fearlessly to Pharaoh ; the staff which is

in thy hand shall protect thee from violence.

Thou canst persuade thyself of it if thou wilt but

lay it down on the earth."

Moses threw away his staff, and behold ! it

was changed into a large living serpent. He would have fled from it, but the angel Gabriel

held him back, and said, " Lay hold of it ; it call

do thee no harm." Moses stretched out his hand

toward it, and it once more was changed into a

staff. Strengthened by this miracle, he was

about to return to Safurja to pursue with her his

way to Egypt ; but the angel Gabriel said to

him, " Thou hast now higher duties than those

of a husband. By command of Allah, I have

already taken back thy wife to her father, but

thou shalt fulfill thy mission alone."

On the night that Moses was treading Egyp-

tian ground, there appeared unto Aaron, who had

succeeded his father Amram as vizier to Phara-

oh, an angel with a crystal cup filled with the

rarest old wine ; and said, as he handed him the

cup, " Drink, Aaron, of the M'ine which the Lord

Has sent thee in token of glad tidings. Thy

19f AARON.

brother Moses has returned to Egypt : God has

chosen him to be his prophet, and thee to be his

vizier. Arise, and go to meet him."

Aaron instantly left Pharaoh's chamber, in

which he, as once his father before him, was

obliged to watch, and went beyond the city to-

ward the Nile. But when he reached the bank

of the stream, there was not a single boat at

hand to ferry him over. Suddenly he beheld a

light at a distance ; and on its nearer approach

he discovered a horseman, who flew toward him

with the speed of the wind. It was Gabriel

mounted on the steed Hizam, which shone like

the purest diamond, and whose neighings were

celestial songs of praise. Aaron's first thought

was that he was pursued by one of Pharaoh's

men, and he was on the brink of casting himself

into the Nile ; but Gabriel made himself known in time to prevent him, and lifted him on his

winged horse, which carried them both to the

opposite bank of the Nile. Here Moses was

standing ; and as soon as he beheld his brother,

he cried aloud, " Truth has come, and falsehood

has fled !" Gabriel then placed Moses also be-

side him, and set him down before the house of

his mother ; but Aaron he carried back into the

royal palace, and when Pharaoh awoke, his

vizier was again at his post. Moses spent the

remainder of that night and the whole of the

THE NIGHT VISIT. 137

next day with his mother, to whom he was obliged to relate all that had befallen him in a

foreign land since the day of his flight from

Egypt. The second night he spent with Aaron

in Pharaoh's chamber. All the doors of the pal-

ace, however fast they were closed, opened of

their own accord as soon as he touched them

with his rod, and the guards standing before

them became as if petrified. But when they re-

ported in the morning what they had seen, and

the porter who came in with his keys to open

the doors of the palace found them wide open,

while neither door nor lock exhibited any mark

of violence, and nothing of the costly things

scattered through the various saloons were miss-

ing, Haman said to Pharaoh, " Aaron, who has

watched by thee, must explain this matter ; for,

as thy chamber has Ukewise been opened, the in-

truder can have had no other object than to con-

verse with him."*

Rabbi Meier says, " Pharaoh's palace had 400 gates, 100 on

each side ; and before each gate stood 60,000 tried warriors." It

was therefore necessary for Gabriel to introduce Moses and Aaron

by another way. On seeing them, Pharaoh said, " Who has ad-

mitted them ?" He summoned the guards, and commanded some

of them to be beaten, and others to be slain. But as Moses and

Aaron returned the next day again, the guards, when called in,

said, " These men are sorcerers, for they certainly have not come

in through the gates." On the same page it is said, " Before the

gate of the royal palace were two lionesses, which did not suffer

any one to pass through without the express command of Pharaoh,

and they would have rushed upon Moses ; but he raised his staff,

M2

IJ8 THE " DENOUEMENT."

Pharaoh immediately summoned Aaron be-

fore him, and threatening him with the rack, de-

manded who his nightly visitor had been. Aaron,

in the conviction that Allah would not leave his

prophet in the power of an infidel king, avowed

that it was his brother Moses who had been

with him. Pharaoh immediately sent Haman with a detachment of the royal body-guard into

Moses's dwelling, in order to bring him to judg-

ment in the presence of all the viziers and high

officers of state, who were forthwith ordered to

assemble in the grand hall. He himselfpresided

on his throne, which was entirely of gold, and

adorned with the most costly pearls and dia-

monds. When Moses stepped into the judg-

ment hall, Pharaoh swooned away, for he recog-

nized in him the child that had been saved by

his daughters, and now feared him the more, in-

asmuch as he knew that he was Aaron's brother,

and consequently an Israelite. But he soon re-

covered, on their sprinkling him with rose-wa-

ter, and with his consciousness also returned his

former stubbornness of heart. Pretending never

their chains fell off, and they followed him joyfully into the pal

ace, as a dog follows his master after a long separation," &c.

And again, " The 400 gates of the palace were guarded by bears,

lions, and other ferocious beasts, who suffered no one to pass un

less they fed them with flesh. But when Moses and Aaron came,

they gathered about them, and licked the feet of the prophets, aC'

companying them to Pharaoh."

Midrash, p. 44, 45.

THE ROBE OF IIONOU. 139

to have seen him before, he inquired, " Who art

thou?"

"I am the servant ofAllah, and his messenger."

" Art thou not Pharaoh's slave ?"

" I acknowledge no other lord than the only

Allah."

" To whom art thou sent ?"

" To thee, in order to admonish thee to faith

in Allah and in me his messenger, and to lead

forth the Israelites out of thy country."

" Who is the Allah in whose name thou speak-

est to me ?"

" The only One, the Invisible, who hath creat-

ed heaven and earth, and all that in them is."

Pharaoh then turned to Aaron, and inquired

of him, " What thinkest thou of the words of

this foolhardy man?" " I believe in the only God, whom he pro-

claims, and in him as his messenger."

On hearing this, Pharaoh said to Haman, " This man has ceased to be my vizier: take off

forthwith his robe of honor !"

Haman then took his purple robe from him,

and he stood ashamed, for the upper part of his

body was uncovered. Moses cast over him his

woolen garment ; but, as he was not accustom-

ed to such coarse raiment, he trembled in all his

limbs. At that moment the ceiling of the hall

was opened, and Gabriel flung a robe round

140 THE MEriSli.NUEK OK ALLAH.

Aaron glittering with so many diamonds that

all who were present were dazzled, as if the

lightning had flashed through the darkest night.

Pharaoh admired this robe, which had not a

single seam, and inquired of his treasurer what

might be its value.

" Such a garment," replied the troubled treas-

urer, " is priceless, for the meanest of the jewels

is worth ten whole years' revenue of Egypt.

Such diamonds I have never beheld in any ba-

zar, nor are the like to be found among all the

treasures that have been amassed in this palace

from the earliest times. None but sorcerers can

obtain possession of such jewels by Satanic arts.'*

" Ye are then sorcerers !" said Pharaoh to

Moses and Aaron. "Be it so. I esteem sor-

cerers highly, and will make you the heads of

this fraternity, if ye will swear not to use your

art to my prejudice."

" The Lord of the distant east and west," re-

joined Moses, " has sent me as a prophet unto

thee, in order to convert thee. We are no sor-

cerers."

" And wherewithal wilt thou prove thy mis^

sion ?"

Moses flung his staff* on the ground, and in-

stantly it was changed into a serpent as huge as

the largest camel. He glanced at Pharaoh

with fire-darting eyes, and raised Pharaoh's

HARDNESS OF HEART. 141

throne aloft to the ceiling, and opening his jaws,

cried, " If it pleased Allah, I could not only-

swallow up thy throne, with thee and all that

are here present, but even thy palace and all

that it contains, without any one perceiving the

slightest change in me."

Pharaoh leaped from his throne, and adjured

Moses, by Asia his wife, to whom he was in-

debted for life and education, to protect him

against this monster. At the mention of Asia's

name, Moses felt compassion toward Pharaoh,

and called the serpent to him. The serpent

placed the throne in its proper position, and

stepped like a tender lamb before Moses. He put his hand into his jaws, and seized him by

his tongue, whereupon he once more became a

staff. But scarcely was this peril warded off

from Pharaoh, when his heart again opened to

the whispers of Satan, and instead of lending

his ear to Moses, he demanded of the viziers to

counsel him what he should do.

•

• Let the heads of these two rebels be cut off,"

said Haman, " and fear nothing from them ; for

all that they represent as divine wonders is

nothing but idle delusion."

" Do not follow this counsel, mighty king

!"

cried Hiskil, the treasurer : " think of the con-

temporaries of Noah, and the nations of Aad and Thamud. They also believed Noah, Hud,

14S SEVENTY THOUSAND SORCERERS.

ajid Salih, the prophets whom Allah had sent,

to be demons and deceivers, until the wrath of

Allah fell on them, destroying them and their

possessions by fire and water."

But now uprose Haman's predecessor, a hoary

man of a hundred and twenty years of age, and

said, " Permit me also, O king of kings ! before

I descend to the grave, to impart to thee my opinion. What king can boast of having so

•

many magicians in his kingdom as thou? I

therefore hold it to be the wisest plan that thou

fix on a day in which they all may assemble to-

gether, and have a meeting with Moses and

Aaron. If these are nothing but sorcere*s, the

Egyptian masters of this art will not be a whit

inferior to them ; and then thou art still at liber-

ty to do with them according to thy high will.

But if they put thy sorcerers to shame, then are

they indeed the servants of a mightier God, to

whom we shall be forced to submit."

Pharaoh approved of the counsel of his aged

vizier, and commanded all the sorcerers of

Egypt, seventy thousand in number, to repair

to the capital at the expiration of a month.

When they were assembled, the king com-

manded them to choose seventy chiefs from

their body, and these seventy were again to be

represented by the two most renowned among

them, in order to contend in magic arts with

CONTEST AND VICTORY. 143

Moses and Aaron in the face of the whole peo-

ple. Pharaoh's command was punctually obey-

ed, and the choice of the magicians fell on Ri-

sarn and Rejam, two men of Upper Egypt, who were no less esteemed and feared throughout

the whole country than Pharaoh himself

On an appointed day, Pharaoh, for whom a

large silken tent, embroidered with pearls and

supported on silver pillars, had been erected,

proceeded to a large plain beyond the city, ac-

companied by his viziers and the nobles of his

kingdom : Risam and Rejam on the one side of

the tent, and Moses and Aaron on the other,

awaited his commands ; and the whole popula-

tion of Egypt was on the field of contest from

early dawn, anxious to see which party would

obtain the victory. Pharaoh demanded of the

two Egyptians to change their rods into ser-

pents : this was done, and Haman said to Pha-

raoh, " Did not I tell thee that Moses and Aaron

were no more than other sorcerers, who deserve

chastisement for having abused their art?"

" Thou art too hasty in thy judgment," said

Hiskil. " Let us see first whether Moses will

not be able to do still greater things than these."

At a sign from the king, Moses stepped for-

ward and prayed to Allah that he would glorify

his name in the face of all Egypt. Allah then

144 MARTYRS.

brought to naught the charm of the Egyptians,

which was mere illusion, and it was -unto all

present as if a dark veil was removed from their

eyes ; and they recognized again as staffs what

had appeared before as serpents. Moses threw

his staff upon the earth, and it became a serpent

with seven heads, which did not remain motion-

less like those of the magicians, but pursued the

two sorcerers with open jaws. They threw

themselves to the earth, and exclaimed, " We believe in the Lord of the World, the God of

Moses and Aaron."

Pharaoh cried to them wrathfully, " How dare

you confess yourselves to another faith without

my permission, simply because these sorcerers

are more dexterous than you? Unless you re-

call your words, I shall cause your hands and

feet to be cut off, and shall hang you on the gal-

lows,"

" Wilt thou punish us," replied the sorcerers,

" because we can not deny the signs of Allah?

Behold, we are prepared to yield up our lives

in support of our faith."

Pharaoh, in order to set a terrible example,

caused the thi'eatened punishment to be executed

on them, and they died the first martyrs to the

faith of Moses.

The king now waxed daily more cruel ; every

believer was put to death with the most excru-

THE PLAGUES, 145

dating tortures. He did not even spare his

own daughter, Masheta, the wife of Hiskil, on

learning that she no longer honored him as God.

She endured with admirable fortitude the death

by fire, after seeing all her children slaughtered

before her eyes at Pharaoh's command.

Asia herself was now accused before him of

apostasy, and even she was condemned to death

but the angel Gabriel comforted her with the

annunciation that she should hereafter be united

with Mohammed in Paradise, and gave her a

potion by which she died without pain.

Pharaoh now conceived, like Nimrod before

him, the iniquitous design to war against the

God of Moses. He therefore caused a tower to

be built, at which fifty thousand men, mostly Is-

raelites, were compelled to labor day and night,

he himself riding up and down among them to

urge on the indolent. But Moses prayed to Al-

lah, and the tower fell in, crushing under its ruins

all those Egyptians who had committed violence

against the Israelites. But even this judgment

made only a passing impression on the heart

of Pharaoh, for Allah desired to perform still

greater wonders before he condemned the soul

of the king to eternal hell. First he visited him

with a flood. The Nile overflowed its banks,

and the waters rose so high that they reached

to the neck of the tallest man. After that, a

10 N

146 THE J'LAGUES.

host of locusts invaded the land, which not only

consumed all provisions, but even copper and

iron. Then followed all kinds of disgusting ver-

min, which defiled all meats and drinks, and filled

all garments and beds, so that Pharaoh, however

often he might change his raiment, had not a

moment's rest. When this plague disappeared,

and Pharaoh still resisted the wishes of Moses,

all the waters were changed to blood as soon as

an Egyptian took them in his hand, but remained

unchanged for the Israelites.*

Finally, many of the Egyptians, especially the

more eminent, who had strengthened Pharaoh

in his unbelief, were turned into stone, together

with all their goods. Here, one might see a

petrified man, sitting in the bazar, with a balance

in his hand ; there, another, marking something

with the Kalam, or counting gold ; and even the

gate-keeper of the palace stood there turned to

stone, holding a sword in his right hand. Omar Ibn Abd Alas'sf had in his possession all kinds

* " All the water kept in vessels was changed into blood ; even

the spittle in the mouth of the Egyptians ; for it is written, ' there

was blood throughout the land of Egypt.' Rabbi Levi informs

us that this plague enriched the Jews ; for if a Jew and an Egyp-

tian lived together in the same house, and the Egyptian went to

draw water, it was changed into blood ; but if the Jew went, it

remained pure. Drinking out of the same vessel, the Jew ob-

tained water, and the other blood ; but if the latter bought it of a

Jew, it remained pure."

Midrash, p. 56.

t This Omar was the eighth caliph of the house of Omiirides.

TUE PLAGUES. 147

of petrified fruits of those times, and frequently

showed them to his guests as a warning against

unbelief. At Moses's prayer, Allah revived the

petrified men ; but when Pharaoh refused afresh

to permit the Israelites to depart, there burst out

upon the land so thick a darkness, that whoever

happened to be standing could not sit down, and

whoever happened to be sitting had no power to

rise. Thereupon the Nile was dried up, so that

man and beast died of thirst. On this occasion,

Pharaoh himself ran to Moses, and adjured him

to pray for him once more, that the water might

flow back into the Nile. For the last time Mo-ses prayed for him, and the Nile was not only

filled to its banks, but there also streamed from

it a little brook, which followed Pharaoh whither-

soever he went, so that at any moment he was

able to supply with water both man and beast.

But instead of turning to Allah, the king made use of this special favor also as a means of in-

ducing the people to reverence him still as

God.

The long-suffering of the Lord was now ex-

hausted, and the king was himself to pronounce

his sentence, and to choose the manner of death

which his wickedness had deserved. Gabriel

assumed the appearance of a noble Egyptian,

He ascended the throne in the 99th year of the Hegira, and was

previously governor of Egypt.

148 THE SENJ'ENCE.

and accused before Pharaoh one of his slaves,

who, in his absence, had proclaimed himself the

lord of the house, and constrained the other do-

mestics to serve him. " This impostor," said

Pharaoh, " deserves to die."

" How shall I put him to death?"

" Let him be thrown into the water."

*• Give me a written warrant."

Pharaoh commanded an instrument to be

drawn up, according to which any slave who usurped the honors of his master was to be

drowned.

Gabriel left Pharaoh, and gave Moses the

command to quit Egypt with his people. Pha-

raoh pursued them with his host, and enclosed

them on all sides, so that there remained no other

way of escape to Israel than toward the Red

Sea. Hemmed in between the Egyptians and

the sea, they fell with reproaches upon Moses,

who had brought them into this dangerous po-

sition ; but he raised his staff toward the waters,

and instantly there were twelve paths opened

through the sea for the twelve tribes of Israel,

each of which was separated from the rest by a

lofty, yet quite transparent wall.

When Pharaoh reached the sea-shore, and

beheld the dry paths in the midst of the sea, he

said to Haman, " Now Israel is lost to us, for

even the waters seem to favor their flight."

THE DEATH-VVAltRANT. 149

But Hainan replied, " Are not those paths

opened likewise for us ? We shall soon over-

take them with our horse."

Pharaoh took the path in which Moses march-

ed with the tribe of Levi ; but his steed grew restiff, and was unwilling to go forward. Then mounted Gabriel, in human form, on the horse

Ramka, and rode in before Pharaoh. This

horse was so beautiful, that as soon as the king's

steed saw him, he plunged in behind.

But when Pharaoh and his whole host were

in the sea, the angel Gabriel turned to the king,

and showed him the warrant of the previous

day, bearing the royal seal, and said, "Frail

mortal, who didst desire to be worshiped as

God ! behold, thou hast condemned thyself to

die by water.*' At these words, the twelve

walls tumbled in, the floods burst forth, and

Pharaoh and all that followed him perished in

the waters. But in order to convince both the

Egyptians who had remained behind, as well

as the Israelites, of Pharaoh's death, Allah com-

manded the waves to cast his body, first on the

western and then on the eastern shore of the

Red Sea.

But now Moses had no less to contend against

the Israelites than formerly against Pharaoh

for they seemed unable to tear themselves from

the service of idols, notwithstanding all the

N2

150 THE GOLDEN CALF.

wonders of the only Lord, which he had per-

formed.

Yet as long as he tarried with them they pre-

sumed not to demand an idol ; but when Allah

called him to himself on Mount Sinai, they

threatened Aaron, whom he had left behind as

his representative, with death, if he would not

give them an idol.

Samiri now admonished them to bring all

their gold, including even the ornaments of their

women, and cast it into a copper caldron, under

which a strong fire was lighted. As soon as

the gold was melted, he flung into it a handful

of sand, which he had taken up from under the

hoof of Gabriel's horse, and lo ! there was form-

ed out of it a calf, which ran up and down like

a natural one.

" Here is your Lord, and the Lord of Moses!"

then cried Samiri; "this God we will worship!"*

While the Israelites, notwithstanding the ad-

monition of Aaronj had abandoned Allah, the

angel Gabriel uplifted Moses so high into the

heavens that he heard the scribbling of the Ka-

lam which had just received the command to

* According to the Rabbinical legends, Samael (Satan) rushed

into the calf, and groaned so loudly that the Israelites believed it

living. The Rabbis also maintained that it was not Aaron, but

some other person (some say Micah), who made the calf,—Vide

Seiner, p. 1 67,

THE CHOSEN PEOPLE. 161

engrave the Decalogue for him and for his peo-

ple on the eternal tablets of Fate.

But the higher Moses rose, the stronger grew his desire to behold Allah himself in his glory.

Then commanded Allah all the angels to sur-

round Moses, and to commence a song of praise.

Moses swooned away, for he was wanting in

strength both to behold these hosts of shining

forms as well as to hear their thrilling voices.

But when he came to himself again, he con-

fessed that he had asked a sinful thing, and re-

pented. He then prayed to Allah that he would

make his people the most excellent of the earth.

But Allah replied, "The Kalam has already

marked down as such the people of Mohammed, because they shall fight for the true faith untjl it

cover the whole earth."

"Lord," continued Moses, "reward tenfold

the good deeds of my people, and visit sin but

once ; let also each good intention, though not

carried into effect, obtain a recompense, but

pass by each evil thought unpunished."

" These are privileges," replied Allah, " ac-

corded to those only who believe in Mohammed, in whose name even Adam prayed to me. Ad-

monish, therefore, thy people to faith in him, for

he shall rise first on the day of the resurrection

from his grave, and enter into Paradise at the

head of all the prophets. He also shall obtain

152 THE WANDERING JEW.

the grace of revealing to his people the com-

mandment of the five daily prayers and the fast

of Ramadhan."*

When Moses returned again to his own peo-

ple, and found them worshiping before the golden

calf, he fell upon Aaron, caught him by the beard,

and was on the point of stranghng him, when Aaron swore that he was innocent, and pointed

out Samiri as the prime mover of this idolatry.

Moses then summoned Samiri, and would

have put him to death instantly, but Allah di-

rected that he should be sent into banishment.

Ever since that time he roams like a wild

beast throughout the world ; every one shuns

him, and purifies the ground on which his feet

have stood, and he himself, whenever he ap-

proaches men, exclaims, " Touch me not

!"

Yet, before Moses expelled him from the camp of the Israelites at Allah's command, he caused

the calf to be broken into pieces, and having

ground it to dust, forced Samiri to defile it. It

was then put into water, and given the Israelites

to drink.

After Samiri's removal, Moses prayed Allah

* It is well known that the Mussulmans keep a yearly fast,

which lasts from sunrise to sunset for a whole month. And they

even exceed the Jews in strictness, for they not only take neither

meat nor drink, but also abstain from smoking during the fast.

As their year is lunar, the month of Ramadhan falls at every sea*

son of the year.

THE EXPIATION. 153

to have mercy on his people ; but Allah replied,

"I can not pardon them, for sin yet dwells in

their inward parts, and will only be washed

away by the potion which thou hast given them."

On returning to the camp, Moses heard woe-

ful shriekings. Many of the Israelites, with

ghastly faces and with bodies frightfully swollen,

cast themselves down before him, and cried,

" Moses, help us ! the golden calf is tearing our

vitals ; we will repent, and die cheerfully, if Al-

lah will but pardon our sin." Many repented

really of their sins ; but from others only pain

and the fear of death had extorted these ex-

pressions of repentance.

Moses commanded them, therefore in the

name of Allah, to slay each other.

Then there rose a darkness, like unto that

which Allah had sent upon Pharaoh. The in-

nocent and reclaimed hewed with the sword to

the right and to the left, so that many slew their

nearest kinsmen ; but Allah gave their swords

power over the guilty only. Seventy thousand

worshipers of idols had already fallen, when Moses, moved by the cries of women and chil-

dren, implored God once more for mercy.

Instantly the heavens grew clear, the sword

rested, and all the remaining sick were healed.

On the following day Moses read unto them

the Law, and admonished them to obey scru-

154 THE LAW. MOUNT SINAI.

pulously its prescriptions. But many of the peo-

ple exclaimed, " We shall not submit to such a

code." The laws especially obnoxious to them

were those wiiich regulated the revenge of blood,

and punished the pettiest theft with the loss of

the hand. At that instant, Mount Sinai became

vaulted over their heads, excluding the very

light of heaven from them, and there cried a

voice from the rocks, " Sons of Israel, Allah has

redeemed you from Egypt merely to be the

bearers of his laws : if you refuse this burden,

we shall fall in upon you, and thus you shall be

compelled to support a weightier mass until the

day of the resurrection."

With one voice they then exclaimed, " We are ready to submit to the Law, and to accept

it as the rule of our life."

When Moses had instructed them fully in the

Law, and expounded what was pure and what

impure, what lawful and what unlawful, he gave

the signal to march for the conquest of the prom-

ised land of Palestine.

But, notwithstanding all the wonders of Al-

lah, who fed them with manna and quails in the

wilderness, and caused twelve fresh fountains to

spring out of the rocky ground wherever they

encamped, they were still faint-hearted, and

would not depart until they had obtained better

information respecting the country and its in-

habitants through spies,

THE LAND OF GIANTS. 155

Moses was obliged to yield, and sent a man out of every tribe into Palestine.

The spies, on their return, related, " We have

seen the land which we are to subdue by the

sword : it is good and fruitful.

" The strongest camel is scarcely able to car-

ry one single bunch ofgrapes ; a single ear yields

sufficient corn to satisfy a whole family, and the

shell of a pomegranate can easily contain five

armed men.

" But the inhabitants of that country and their

cities are of a size proportionate to the products

of their soil. We have seen men the smallest

of whom was six hundred cubits high. They stared at our dwarfish appearance, and derided

us. Their houses naturally correspond with

their size, and the walls which surround their

cities are so high that an eagle rs scarcely able

to soar to the summit thereof"

When the spies had finished their report, they

dropped down dead ; only two of them, Joshua,

the son of Nun, and Caleb, who had kept silence,

remained alive. But the Israelites murmured against Moses, and said, " We shall never fight

against such a gigantic people. If thou hast a

mind to do so, march alone with thy God against

them."

Thereupon Moses announced to them, in the

name of Allah, that by reason of their distrust

166 MOSES AND JOSHUA.

in the help of Him who had divided the sea for

their safety, they were doomed to wander forty

years through the wilderness. He then took

leave of them, and journeyed, preaching the true

faith through the whole earth from east to west,

and from north to south.

When Moses was one day boasting of his wis-

dom to his servant Joshua, who accompanied

him, Allah said, "Go to the Persian Gulf, where

the seas of the Greeks and the Persians com-

mingle, and thou shalt there find one of my pious

servants who surpasses thee in wisdom."

" How shall I recognize this wise man ?"

" Take with thee a fish in a basket : it will

show thee where my servant lives."

Moses now departed with Joshua toward the

country which Allah had pointed out, and con-

stantly carried with him a fish in a basket. On one occasion he laid himself down, quite exhaust-

ed, on the sea-shore, and fell asleep. It was late

when he awoke, and he hurried on to reach the

desired inn ; but Joshua had, in his haste, neg-

lected to take the fish with him, and Moses for-

got to remind him of it. It was not until the

next morning that they missed their fish, and

were on the point of returning to the spot where

they had rested on the preceding day ; but, on

reaching the sea-shore, they beheld a fish gliding

AL CHIDHR. 157

quite erect on the surface of the water, instead

of swimming therein, as fish are wont to do

they soon recognized it as theirs, and therefore

went after it along the shore. After having, for

a few hours, followed their guide, it suddenly-

dived below : they stood still, and thought,

" Here the God-fearing man whom we are seek-

ing must dwell ;" and soon they descried a cave,

over whose entrance was written, " In the name

ofAllah, the All-merciful and All-gracious." On stepping in, they found a man who appeared in

all the bloom and vigor of a youth of seventeen,

but with a snow-white beard flowing even to his

feet. It was the prophet Chidhr, who, though

gifted with eternal youth, was withal endowed

with the finest ornament of hoary age.

After mutual salutation, Moses said, " Accept

me as thy disciple, and permit me to accompany

thee in thy wanderings through the world, that

I may admire the wisdom which Allah has be-

stowed on thee."

" Thou canst not comprehend it, and wilt

therefore not remain long with me."

" If Allah pleases, thou shalt find me both obe-

dient and patient. Reject me not

!"

" Thou mayest follow me, yet must thou ask

me no question until I shall, of my own accord,

explain my actions."

When Moses had submitted to this condition.

158 MYSTERIES.

Al Chidhr took him to the shore of the sea, where

a vessel was lying at anchor. He took an axe

and struck out two planks of the vessel, so that

it sank immediately.

" What dost thou ?" cried Moses : " the men

that are in it will now perish."

" Did I not say," replied Al Chidhr, " thou wilt

not long continue patiently with me ?"

*• Pardon me," said Moses ; " I had forgotten

my promise."

Al Chidhr then journeyed farther with him,

until they met a beautiful boy, who was playing

with shells on the sea-shore. Al Chidhr drew his

knife, and cut the throat of the child.

Moses cried, " Why murderest thou an inno-

cent child, who can in no wise have deserved

death ? Thou hast committed a great crime !"

" Did I not tell thee," replied Al Chidhr, " thou

canst not travel long in my company ?"

" Pardon me yet this once," replied Moses

" and if I inquire again, then mayest thou reject

me!" " They now traveled long to and fro, until

they arrived, weary and hungry, in a large city.

Yet no one would lodge them, nor give them

meat or drink without money. Suddenly Al

Chidhr beheld how the walls of a beautiful inn,

out of which they had just been driven, threat-

ened to fall in ; he then stepped before them,

O

EXPLANATION. 1^

and supported them until they stood upright

again ; and when he had strengthened them, he

went his way.

Then said Moses to him, " Thou hast now performed a work which would have occupied

many masons during several days ; why hast

thou not at least demanded a reward, that we might have bought some provisions ?"

"Now we must separate," said AI Chidhr;

" yet, ere we part, I will explain to thee the mo-

tives of my conduct. The vessel which I have

damaged, but which may be easily repaired, be-

longed to poor men, and formed their only

source of maintenance. At the time I struck it,

many ships of a certain tyrant were cruising ia

those seas, capturing every serviceable craft.

By me, therefore, these poor sailors have saved

their only property.

" The child whom I have slain is the son of

pious parents ; but he himself (I perceived it in

his face) was of a depraved nature, and would,

in the end, have led his parents into evil. I have

therefore preferred to slay him : Allah will give

them pious children in his stead.

" As for the wall of the inn which I have

raised up and strengthened, it belongs to two

orphans whose father was a pious man. Be-

neath the wall there is a treasure hid, which the

present owner would have claimed if it had fall-

160 PEOVIDENCK.

en : I have therefore' repaired it, that the treas-

ure may be left secure until the children shall

have grown up.

" Thou seest, then," continued Al Chidhr, " that

in all this I have not followed blind passion, but

have acted according to the will of my Lord."*

* This legend.i^evidently of Jewish origin. It is related re-

epecting Moses, t^t while on Mount Sinai, the Lord instructed

him in the mysteries of his providence. Moses having complained

of the impunity of vice and its success in this world, and the fre-

quent sufiferings of the innocent, the Lord took him to a rock

which projected from the mountam, and where he could overlook

the vast plain of the desert stretching at his feet.

On one of its oases he beheld a young Arab asleep. He awoke,

and, leaving behind him a bag of pearls, he sprung into his saddle,

and rapidly disappeared from the horizon. Another Arab came to

the oasis : he discovered the pearls, took them, and vanished in

the opposite direction.

Now an aged wanderer, leaning on his staff, bent his weary

steps toward the shady spot : he laid himself down, and fell asleep.

But scarcely had he closed his eyes, when he was rudely roused

from his slumber ; the young Arab had returned, and demanded

his pearls. The hoary man replied, he had not taken them. The other grew enraged, and accused him of theft. He swore that he

had not seen his treasure ; but the other seized him ; a scuffle en-

sued ; the young Arab drew his sword, and plunged it into the

breast of the aged man, who fell lifeless on the earth.

" O Lord, is this justice ?" exclaimed Moses, with terror. " Be

silent I Behold, this man, whose blood is now mingling with the

waters of the desert, many years ago, secretly, on the same spot,

murdered the father of the youth who has now slain him. His

crime remained concealed from men, but vengeance is mine : I

will repay !"

The reader must be struck with the similarity of these fictions

and the beautiful poem on the same subject by Barnell, who, if

unacquainted with the Arabic legend, may have read the one we have related in Schiller's " Sendung Moses."

E. T.

THE NORTH. 161

Moses prayed Al Chidhr once more to pardon

him, but did not venture to ask permission to

remain with him.

During the last thiBty years Mose§ had passed

through the southern, eastern, and western parts

of the earth, and there were yet left to him ten

years for wandering in the north, which, not-

withstanding the f^'ocity of the nations of that

region, and the rigidity of its climate, he visited

in every direction until he came to the great iron

wall which Alexander had erected to protect the

inhabitants against the predatory incursions of

the nations of Jadjudj and Madjudj. After he

had admired this wall, which is cast in one piece,

he praised the omnipotence of Allah, and re-

traced his steps toward the Arabian desert.

Nine-and-thirty years had already elapsed

since he had separated from his brethren. Most

of the Israelites whom he had left in their prime

had mean while died, and another generation

had risen in their stead.

Among the few aged men who yet remained

was his kinsman Karun (Korah), Ibn Jachar,

Ibn Fahitz. He had learned from Moses's sister,

Kolthum. (Miriam), who was his wife, the sci-

ence of alchemy, so that he was able to convert

the meanest metal into gold. He was so rich

that he built lofty walls of gold round his gar-

dens, and required forty mules to carry the kevs

U 03

162 KORAH.

of his treasuries when he traveled.* By means

of his wealth he had succeeded in acquiring a

truly regal influence during Moses's absence.

But when, at Moses's return, his importance di-

minished, he resolved on his destruction. He therefore visited a maiden whom Moses had

banished from the camp on account of her aban-

doned courses, and promised to marry her if

she would declare before the elders of the con-

gregation that Moses had expelled her only be-

cause she had refused to listen to his proposals.

She promised Korah to act entirely after his

will. But when she arrived before the elders

with the intention of calumniating Moses, she

was not able to prefer her charge. Allah put

different words into her mouth: she acknowl-

edged her guilt, and confessed that Korah had

induced her, by innumerable promises, to bring

a false accusation against Moses. Moses pray-

ed to Allah for protection against the malignity

of his kinsman ; and lo ! the earth opened under

the feet of Korah, and devoured him, with all

his associates and goods.

As the fortieth year was hastening to its close,

Moses marched with the Iraelites toward the

frontier of Palestine.

But when Jalub Ifn Safum, the king of Balka,

* The Midrash says, " Korah had 300 white mules, which tar-

ried the keys of his treasuries. His wealth was his ruin !"

BALAAM. 163

received intelligence of the approach of the Is-

raelites, who had already, in their march, con-

quered many cities, he called to him BeUam the

sorcerer, the son of Baur, in hopes to be enabled,

by his counsel and aid, to withstand the Israel-

ites. But an angel appeared to Beliam in the

night, and forbade him to accept the invitation

of Jalub. When, therefore, the messengers of

the king returned to Balka without Beliam, Jalub

purchased the most costly jewels, and sent them

secretly by other messengers to Beliam's wife,

to whom the sorcerer was so much attached as

to be quite under her control. Beliam's wife

accepted the presents, and persuaded her hus-

band to undertake the journey. The king, ac-

companied by his viziers, rode out some distance

to meet him, and appointed one of the most beau-

tiful houses of the city for his abode. Accord-

ing to the custom of the country, the guest was provided three days from the royal tables, and

the viziers visited him from time to time, with-

out speaking, however, of the object for which

he had been called to Balka. It was not until

the fourth day that he was summoned to the

king, and entreated to curse the people of Israel.

But Allah paralyzed the tongue of Beliam, so

that, notwithstanding his hatred toward the

people, he was not able to utter a word of im-

precation.

164 THE TEMPTER.

When the king saw this, he prayed him at

least to assist with his counsel against the invad-

ing nation.

" The best means against the Israelites," said

Beliam, " who are so terrible only through the

assistance of Allah, is to lead them into sin.

Their God then forsakes them, and they are un-

able to resist any foe. Send, therefore, the

most beautiful women and maidens of the capi-

tal to meet them with provisions, that they may yield to sin, and then thou shall easily overcome

them."

The king adopted this counsel ; but Moses

was apprised thereof by the angel Gabriel, and

caused the first Israelite who was led into sin to

be put to death, and as a warning, commanded

his head to be carried on a spear throughout the

camp. He then instantly led on the attack:

Balka was taken, and the king, with Beliam and

his sons, were the first to perish in the fight.

Soon after the conquest of Balka, Gabriel ap-

peared, and commanded Moses, together with

Aaron and his sons, to follow him to a lofty

mountain which lay near the city. On reaching

the pinnacle of the mountain they beheld a

finely-wrought cave, in the midst of which there

stood a coffin, with the inscription, " I am des-

tined for him whom I fit." Moses desired to

lay himself first into it, but his feet protruded

THE DEATH OF AARON. 165

then Aaron placed himself in it, and behold, it

fitted him as if his measure had been taken.

Gabriel then led Moses and Aaron's sons be-

yond the cave, but he himself returned to wash and to bless Aaron, whose soul had mean while

been taken by the Angel of Death. When Mo-ses returned to the camp without Aaron, and

announced his death to the Israelites who in-

quired for his brother, he was suspected of hav-

ing murdered him ; many, even, were not afraid

to proclaim their suspicions in public. Moses

prayed to Allah to manifest his innocence in the

presence of all the people, and behold, four an-

gels brought Aaron's coffin from the cave, and

raised it above the camp of the Israelites, so

that every one could see him, and one of the an-

gels exclaimed, " Allah has taken Aaron's soul

to himself."* Moses, who now anticipated his

approaching end, pronounced a long discourse

before the Israelites, in which he enforced on

them the most important laws. At the close,

he warned them against falsifying the Law, which had been revealed to them, and in which

the future appearance of Mohammed, in whom they were all to believe, was quite clearly an-

nounced. A few days after, while he was read-

ing in the Law, the Angel of Death visited him.

Moses said, " If thou be commanded to receive

* In perfect accordance with the Midrash, p. 255.

166 THE DEATH OF MOssE^S.

my soul, take it from my mouth, for it was con-

stantly occupied with the word of Allah, and

has not been touched by any unclean thing."

He- then put on his most beautiful robes, ap-

pointed Joshua his successor, and died at an age

of one hundred and twenty, or, as some of the

learned' maintain, of one hundred and eighty

years. The mercy oT Allah be with him !

Others relate the particulars of Moses's death

as follows : When Gabriel announced to him his

approaching dissolution, he ran hurriedly to his

dwelling, and knocked hastily at the door. His

wife Safurija opened it, and beholding him quite

pale, and with ruffled countenance, inquired,

" Who pursueth thee, that thou runnest hither

in terror and lookest dismayed ! Who is it that

pursueth thee for debt ?"

Then Moses answered, " Is there a mightier

creditor than the Lord of heaven and earth, or

a more dangerous pursuer than the Angel of

Death ?"

" Shall, then, a man who has spoken with Al-

lah die ?"

" Assuredly, even the angel Gabriel shall be

delivered to death, and Michael and Israfil, with

all other angels. Allah alone is eternal, and

never dies."

Safurija wept until she swooned away ; but

THE DEATH OF MOSES. 167

when she came to herself, Moses inquired,

" Where are my children V " They are asleep."

" Awake them, that I may bid them a last fare-

well."

Safurija went before the couch of her children,

and cried, " Rise, ye poor orphans ; rise, and take

leave of your father, for this day is his last in

this world and his first in the next."

The children started from their sleep in af-

fright, and cried, " Woe unto us ! who will have

compassion upon us when we shall be fatherless ?

Who will with solicitude and affection step over

our threshold ?"

Moses was so moved that he wept bitterly

Then said Allah to him, " Moses, what signify

these tears ? Art thou afraid of death, or de-

partest thou reluctantly from this world?"

" I fear not death, and leave this world with

gladness ; but I have compassion on these chil-

dren, from whom their father is about to be torn."

*' In whom trusted thy mother when she con-

fided thy life to the waters ?"

" In Thee, O Lord."

" Who protected thee against Pharaoh, and

gave thee a staff with which thou dividedst the

sea?"

« Thou, O Lord."

"Go, then, once more to the sea-shore, lift up

168 THli UKATH Ui' MOSEs).

thy stall" over the waters, and thou shall see an-

other sign of my omnipotence."

Moses followed this command, and instantly

the sea was divided, and he beheld in the midst

thereof a huge black rock. When he came near

it, Allah cried to him, " Smite it with thy staff."

He smote it ; the rock was cleft in twain, and

he saw beneath it, in a sort of cave, a worm with a green leaf in his mouth, which cried three

times, " Praised be Allah, who doth not forget

me in my solitude ! Praised be Allah, who hath

nourished and raised me up !" The worm was

silent ; and Allah said to Moses, " Thou seest

that I do not forsake the worm under the hidden

rock in the sea, and how should I forsake thy

children, who do even now confess that God is

One, and that Moses is his prophet ?"

Moses then returned, reproved, to his house,

comforted his wife and children, and went alone

to the mountain. There he found four men, who were digging a grave, and he inquired of them,

" For whom is this grave ?" They replied, " For

a man whom Allah desires to have with him in

heaven." Moses begged permission to assist at

the grave of so pious a man. When the work

was done, he inquired, *' Have you taken the

measure of the dead ?" " No," they said, " we have forgotten it ; but he was precisely of thy

form and stature : lay thyself in it, that we may

Ttl£ UEATU Of MUdES. 1^9

see whether it will fit thee: Allah will reward

thy kindness." But when Moses had laid him-

self down within it, the Angel of Death stepped

before him, and said, " Peace be upon thee, Mo-

ses !"

" Allah bless thee, and have pity upon thee 1

Who art thou?"

" I am the Angel of Death ! Prophet of Allah,

and come to receive thy soul."

" How wilt thou take it

" Out of thy mouth."

" Thou canst not, for my mouth hath spoken

with God."

" I will draw it out of thine eyes."

" Thou raayest not do so, for they have seen

the light of the Lord."

" Well, then, I will take it out of thine ears."

" This also thou mayest not do, for they have

heard the word of Allah."

" I will take it from thy hands."

" How darest thou ? Have they not borne

the diamond tablets on which the Law was en-

graved ?"

Allah then commanded the Angel of Death to

ask of Ridwhan, the guardian of Paradise, an

apple of Eden, and to present it to Moses.

Moses took the apple from the hand of the

Angel of Death to inhale its fragrance, and at

that instant his noble soul rose through his nos-

P

17U ma sKFUL.ou£a.

trils to heaven. But his body remained in this

grave, which no one knew save Gabriel, Michael,

Israfil, and Azrail, who had dug it, and whom Moses had taken for men.

SAMUEL, SAUL, AND DAVID.

The Israelites lived under Joshua (who was,

however, not a prophet, but merely a virtuous

prince and valiant chief) conformably to the laws

revealed by Moses ; the Lord therefore enabled

them to expel the giants from the land of Ca-

naan, and at their cry, " Allah is great," the loft-

iest walls of fortified cities fell in.

But after Joshua's death they relapsed into all

those iniquities on account of which the Egyp-

tians had been so severely punished ; wherefore

Allah, in order to chastise and to reclaim his peo-

ple, sent the giant Djalut (Goliath) against them,

who defeated them in numerous engagements,

and even took from them the Tabut (the sacred

ark of the Covenant), so that the protection of

Allah entirely departed from them.

One day, when the heads of the people were

assembled to consult in what manneT the mighty

Goliath might be resisted, there came a man to

them of the family of Aaron : his name was Ish-

mawil Ibn Bal (Samuel), and said, " The God of

your fathers sent me to you, to proclaim speedy

help if you will turn to him, but utter destruc-

tion if you continue in your wicked courses."

172 tiAMUEL.

'« What shall we do," inquired one of the eld-

ers, " to obtain the favor of Allah ?"

Samuel replied, " You shall worship Allah

alone, and offer no sacrifices unto idols ; nor eat

that which has died of itself, nor swine's flesh,

nor blood, nor any thing that has not been slaugh-

tered in the name of Allah. Assist each other

in doing good, honor your parents, treat your

wives with kindness, support the widow, the or-

phan, and the poor. Believe in the prophets

that have gone before me, especially in Abra-

ham, for whom Allah turned the burning pile

into a garden of delight ; in Ismael, whose neck

he rendered invulnerable, and for whom he

caused a fountain to spring up in the stony des-

ert ; and in Moses, who opened with his rod

twelve dry paths through the sea.

" Believe, in like manner, in the prophets that

shall come after me ; above all, in Isa Ibn Ma-riam, the spirit of Allah (Christ), and in Moham-med Ibn Abd Allah."

"Who is Isa?" inquired one of the heads of

Israel.

" He is the prophet," replied Samuel, " whom the Scriptures point out as the Word of Allah.

His mother shall conceive him as a virgin by

the will of the Lord and the breath of the angel

Gabriel. Even in the womb he shall praise the

omnipotence of Allah, and testify to the purity

CHRIST AND MOHAMMED. 173

of his mother ; but at a later period he shall heal

the sick and leprous, raise the dead, and create

living birds out of clay. His godless contempo-

raries will afflict and attempt to crucify him ; but

Allah shall blind them, so that another shall be

crucified in his stead, while he, like the prophet

Enoch, is taken up into heaven without tasting

death."

" And Mohammed, who is he ?" continued the

same Israelite ; " his name sounds so strangely

that I do not remember ever having heard it in

Israel.^'

" Mohammed," Samuel replied, " does not be-

long to our people, but is a descendant of Ismael,

and the last and greatest prophet, to whom even

Moses and Christ shall bow down in the day of

the resurrection.

" His name, which signifies the ' Much-praised-

One,' indicates of itself the many excellences

for which he is blessed by all creatures both in

heaven and on earth.

" But the wonders which he shall perform are

so numerous that a whole human life would not

suffice to narrate them. I shall content myself,

therefore, with communicating to you but a part

of what he shall see in one single night.*

* The following narrative, which Samuel is made to utter, de-

scribes the Night Journey of Mohammed. He revealed it to his

followers in the 12th year of his mission ; and though his Arabs

were given to the marvellous, yet this staggered even their ere-

P3

174 THE NIGHT JOURNEY.

" In a frightfully tempestuous night, when the

cock refrains from crowing, and the hound from

baying, he shall be roused from his sleep by

Gabriel, who frequently appears to him in human form ; birt who on this occasion comes as Allah

created him, with his seven hundred radiant

wings, between each of which is a space which

the fleetest steed can scarcely traverse in five

hundred years.

"He shall lead him forth to a spot where

Borak, the miraculous horse, the same which

Abraham used to mount on his pilgrimaged from

Syria to Mecca, stands ready to receive him.

" This horse also has two wings like an eagle,

feet like a dromedary; a body of diamonds,

which shines like the sun. and a head like the

most beautiful virgin.

" On this miraculous steed, on whose forehead

is engraved * There is no Lord but Allah, and

Mohammed is his messenger,' he is carried first

to Medina, then to Sinai, to Bethlehem, and to

Jerusalem, that he may pray on holy ground.

From thence he ascends by a golden ladder,

whose steps are of ruby, of emerald, and hya-

cinth, into the seventh heaven, where he is ini-

tiated in all the mysteries of creation, and the

government of the universe.

dulity, and would have proved his utter ruin but for the resolute

interposition of Abu Bekr.

E. T.

THE NIGHT JOURNEY. 175

" He beholds the pious amid all their felicities

in Paradise, and sinners in their varied agonies

in hell. Many of them are roaming there like

ravenous beasts through barren fields ; they are

those who in this life enjoyed the bounties of

Allah, and gave nothing thereof to the poor.

" Others run to and fro, carrying fresh meat

m one hand, and corroded flesh in the other

but as often as they would put the former into

their mouths, their hands are struck with fiery

rods until they partake of the putrefied morsel.

This is the punishment of those who broke their

marriage vow, and found pleasure in guilty in-

dulgences.

" The bodies of others are terribly swollen,

and are still increasing in bulk : they are such

as have grown rich by usury, and whose ava-

rice was insatiable.

" The tongues and lips of others are seized

and pinched with iron pincers, as the punish-

ment of their calumnious and rebellious speech-

es, by which they caused so much evil in the

earth.

" Midway between Paradise and hell is seated

Adam, the father of the human race, who smiles

with joy as often as the gates of Paradise are

thrown open, and the triumphant cries of the

blessed are borne forth, but weeps when the

gates of hell are unclosed, and the sighs of the

damned penetrate to his ear.

176 THE MGHT JOURNEY.

" In that night Mohammed beholds, besides

Gabriel, other angels, many of whom have sev-

enty thousand heads, each head with seventy

thousand faces, each face with seventy thousand

mouths, and each mouth with seventy thousand

tongues, each of which praises Allah in seventy

thousand languages. He sees, too, the Angel

of Reconciliation, who is half fire and half ice :

the angel who watches with scowling visage

and flaming eyes the treasuries of fire : the An-

gel of Death, holding in his hand a huge tablet,

inscribed with names, of which he effaces hun-

dreds every instant: the angel who keeps the

floods, and measures out with an immense bal-

ance the waters appointed unto every river and

every fountain ; and him, finally, who supports

the throne of Allah on his shoulders, and is

holding a trumpet in his mouth, whose blast

shall one day wake the sleepers from the grave.

" He is at last conducted through many oceans

of light, into the vicinity of the holy throne itself,

which is so vast, that the rest of the universe

appears by its side like the scales of a coat of

armor in the boundless desert.

" That which shall be revealed to him there,"

continued Samuel, "is as yet concealed from

me ; but this I know : He shall gaze on the glory

of Allah at the distance of a bow-shot; shall

then descend to earth by the ladder, and return

on Borak to Mecca as rapidly as he came.

SAUL. 177

" To accomplish this vast journey, including

his stay in Medina, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and

in heaven, he requires so little time, that a wa-

ter vase, which he overturns in rising from his

couch, will not have emptied its contents at his

return."

The assembled Israelites listened attentively

to Samuel, and when he had finished, they ex-

claimed with one voice, " We believe in Allah,

and in his prophets which were and are to

come; only pray that He may deliver us from

the tyranny of Goliath."

Samuel prayed and fasted till at length Allah

sent an angel, who commanded him to go out

of the city, and to proclaim the first man who should meet him king over Israel, since in his

reign the Israelites should regain their independ-

ence from foreign bondage.

Samuel did as he was commanded, and met

Talut [Saul], the son of Bishr, the son of Ahnun,

the son of Benjamin, who was a husbandman

of lofty stature, but not otherwise remarkable,

though Allah had put much wisdom into his

heart.

He was wandering about in search of a heifer

which had broken away from her plough and

run at large. Samuel assisted him in her re-

covery, and then took Saul home with him,

anointed him with oil, and presented him to the

12

178 SAUL.

heads of Israel as their king and divinely-com-

missioned deliverer.

But they refused to accept as their king a

common peasant, who hitherto had not distin-

guished himself in any vi^ise ; and they demand-

ed a miracle.

" Allah," replied Samuel, " will, in token of

his ratifying this kingly election, restore to you

the ark of the covenant."

From that day the Philistines were visited

with the most painful and disgusting leprosy,

whose origin no physician could discover, and

which no physician could cure. But as the

plague fell most heavily on that city where the

ark of the covenant, which had been carried in

triumph from one place to another, happened to

be, no one would retain it any longer, and it

was at last left standing in a wagon in the open

field.

Allah then commanded two invisible angels

to carry it back into the midst of the camp of

Israel, who thereupon no longer hesitated to do

fealty unto Saul as their king.

As soon as he was elected, Saul mustered the

host of Israel, and marched against the Philis-

tines at the head of seventy thousand men.

During their march through the wilderness,

they were one day in want of water, so that a

universal murmuring arose against Samuel and

FKNANCE. 179

Sau]. Samuel, who was following after the ark

of the covenant, prayed to the Lord, and there

sprung from out the rocky ground a fountain

of water, which was as fresh as snow, as sweet

as honey, and as white as milk. But when the

soldiers came rushing toward it, Samuel cried,

" You have grievously sinned against your king

and against your God by reason of discontent

and rebellion. Forbear to touch this water, that

by abstinence you may atone for your sin !"

But Samuel's words met with no regard.

Only three hundred and thirteen men—as many as fought in the first engagement of the Mussul-

mans against the Infidels—mastered their appe-

tite, barely refreshing themselves, while all the

rest of the army yielded to the temptation, and

drank in full draughts from the fountain.

When Talut beheld this, he disbanded the

whole army, and, relying on the aid of Allah,

marched against the enemy with the small num-

ber of his men who had conquered their desire.

Among this little band were six sons of a vir-

tuous man whose name was Isa. Davud [Da-

vid], his seventh son, had remained at home to

nurse his aged father.

But when, for a long time, no engagement took

place between Israel and the Philistines, since

no one had accepted the challenge to single

combat with Goliath, by which a general battle

180 UAVID.

was to be preceded, Isa sent also his seventh son

into the camp, partly to carry fresh provisions

to his brothers, and partly to bring him tidings

of their welfare.

On his way he heard a voice from a pebble

which lay in the midst of the road, calling to

him, " Lift me up, for I am one of the stones

with which the prophet Abraham drove Satan

away when he would have shaken his resolve

to sacrifice his son in obedience to his heavenly

vision."

David placed the stone, which was inscribed

with holy names, in the bag which he wore in

his upper garment, for he was simply dressed

like a traveler, and not as a soldier.

When he had proceeded a little farther, he

again heard a voice from another pebble, crying,

" Take me with thee, for I am the stone which

the angel Gabriel struck out from the ground

with his foot when he caused a fountain to gush

forth in the wilderness for Ismael's sake."

David took this stone also, and laying it be-

side the first, went on his way. But soon he

heard the following words proceeding from a

third stone : " Lift me up, for I am the stone

with which Jacob fought against the angels

which his brother Esau had sent out against him."

David took this stone likewise, and continued

his journey without interruption until he came

GOLIATH. 181

to his brothers in the camp of Israel. On his

arrival there, he heard how a herald proclaimed,

" Whoever puts the giant Goliath to death shall

become Saul's son-in-law, and succeed hereafter

to his throne."

David sought to persuade his brothers to ven-

ture the combat with Goliath, not to become the

king's son-in-law and successor, but to wipe off

the reproach that rested on their people.

But, since courage and confidence failed them,

he went to Saul, and offered to accept the gi-

ant's challenge. The king had but little hopes

indeed that a tender youth, such as David then

was, would defeat a warrior like Goliath

;

yet

he permitted the combat to take place, for he

believed that even if he should fall, his reproach-

ful example would excite some others to imitate

his heroic conduct.

On the following morning, when Goliath, as

usual, challenged with proud speech the war-

riors of Israel, David, in his traveling apparel,

and with his bag containing the three stones,

stepped down into the arena. Goliath laughed

aloud on seeing his youthful antagonist, and said

to him, " Rather hie thee home to play with lads

of thine own years. How wilt thou fight with

me, seeing that thou art even unarmed ?"

David replied, " Thou art as a dog unto me,

whom one mav best drive awav with a stone ;"

182 Saul's jealousy.

and before Goliath was yet able to draw his

sword from its scabbard, he took the three stones

from his bag, pierced the giant with one of them,

so that he instantly fell lifeless on the ground, and

drove with the second the right wing of the Phi-

listines into flight, and their left wing with the

third.

But Saul was jealous of David, whom all Is-

rael extolled as their greatest hero, and refused

to give him his daughter until he brought the

heads of a hundred giants as the marriage gift.

But the greater David's achievements were, the

more rancorous grew the envy of Saul, so that

he even sought treacherously to slay him. Da-

vid defeated all his plans ; but he never revenged

himself, and Saul's hatred waxed greater by

reason of this very magnanimity.

One day he visited his daughter in David's

absence, and threatened to put her to death un-

less she gave him a promise, and confirmed it

by the most sacred oaths, that she would deliver

her husband unto him during the night.

When the latter returned home, his wife met

him in alarm, and related what had happened

between her and her father. David said to her,

" Be faithful to thine oath, and open the door of

my chamber to thy father as soon as I shall be

asleep. Allah will protect me even in my sleep,

and give me the means of rendering Saul's sword

Saul's jealousy, 183

harmless, even as Abraham's weapon was im-

potent against Ismael, who yielded his neck to

the slaughter."

He then went into his forge, and prepared a

coat of mail, which covered the whole upper

part of his body from his neck downward. This

coat was as fine as a hair, and, clinging to him

like silk, resisted every kind of weapon ; for Da-

vid had been endowed, as a special favor from

Allah, with the power of melting iron without

fire, and of fashioning it like wax for every con-

ceivable purpose, with no instrument but his

hand.

To him we are indebted for the ringed coat

of mail, for up to his time armor consisted of

simple iron plates.

David was wrapped in the most peaceful slum-

ber, when Saul, guided by his daughter, entered

his chamber ; and it was not until his father-in-

law haggled the impenetrable mail with his

sword as with a saw, bearing on it with all his

strength, that David awoke, tore the sword from

his hand, and broke it in pieces as if it had been

a morsel of bread.

But after this occurrence, he thought it no

longer advisable to tarry with Saul, and there-

fore retired to the mountains, with a few of his

friends and adherents. Saul made use of this

pretext to have him suspected of the people, and

184 SAUL AND DAVID RECONCILED.

at last, accusing him of treason, marched against

him at the head of one thousand soldiers. But

David was so endeared to the inhabitants of the

mountain, and knew its hiding-places so well,

that it was impossible for Saul to take him.

One night, while Saul was asleep, David left

a cave which was quite near to the king's en-

campment, and took the signet ring from his fin-

ger, together with his arms and a standard

which were lying by his side. He then retreat-

ed through the cave, which had a double en-

trance, and the next morning appeared on the

pinnacle of a mountain which stood opposite to

the camp of the Israelites, having girt on Saul's

huge sword, and waving his standard up and

down, and stretching out his finger on which he

had placed the king's ring.

Saul, who could not understand how a thief

could have penetrated into the midst of his well

guarded camp, recognized David and the arti

cles which had been taken from him. This new

proof of his dexterity and magnanimous dispo

sition overcame at last the king's envy and dis-

pleasure ; he therefore dispatched a messenger,

who in the royal name begged forgiveness for

all the grievances he had inflicted, and invited

David to return to his home.

David was overjoyed at a reconciliation with

his father-in-law, and they now lived together in

THE ROYAL SINGER. 186

peace and harmony until Saul was slain, in a

disastrous engagement with the Philistines.

After Saul's death David was unanimously-

elected King of Israel, and by the help of Allah

he soon reconquered the PhiUstines, and extend-

ed the boundaries of his kingdom far and wide.

But David was not only a brave warrior and

a wise king, but likewise a great prophet. Allah

revealed to him seventy psalms, and endowed

him with a voice such as no mortal possessed

before him. In height and depth, in power and

melody combined, no human voice had ever

equaled it. He could imitate the thunders of

heaven and the roar of the lion as well as the

delicious notes of the nightingale ; nor was there

any other musician or singer in Israel as long

as David lived, because no one who had once

heard him could take pleasure in any other per-

formance. Every third day he prayed with the

congregation, and sung the psalms in a chapel

which was hewn out of the mountain rocks.

Then not only all men assembled to hear him,

but even beasts and birds came from afar, at-

tracted by his wonderful song.

One day, as he was on his return from prayer,

he heard two of his subjects contending which

of the two was the greater prophet, Abraham

or himself. " Was not Abraham," said the one,

" saved from the burning pile ?" " Has not Da-

Q8

186 PRESUMPTION AND FALL.

vid," replied the other, " slain the giant Djalut?"

" But what has David achieved," resumed the

first, " that might be compared with Abraham's

readiness to sacrifice his son ?"

As soon as David came home, ne fell down before Allah and prayed :

" Lord, who hast

proved on the pile Abraham's fidelity and obe-

dience, grant unto me too an opportunity to

show unto my people that my love to thee with-

stands every temptation."

David's prayer was heard: when, three days

afterward, he ascended- his pulpit, he perceived

a bird of such beautiful plumage that it attract-

ed his whole attention, and he followed it with

his eyes to every comer of the chapel, and to

the trees and shrubs beyond. He sung fewer

psalms than he was wont to do ; his voice failed

him as often as he lost sight of this graceful

bird, and grew soft and playful in the most sol-

emn parts of the worship whenever it reap-

peared.

At the close of the prayers, which, to the as-

tonishment of the whole assembly, were conclud-

ed on this occasion several hours sooner than

usual, he followed the bird, which flew from

tree to tree, until he found himself, at sunset, on

the margin of a little lake. The bird disappear-

ed in the lake, but David soon forgot it ; for in

its stead there rose up a female form, whose

REBUKE. 187

beauty dazzled him like the clearest midday

sun. He inquired her name : it was Saja, the

daughter of Josu, the wife of Uriah Ibn Haman, who was with the army. David departed, and

on his return commanded the chief of his troops

to appoint Uriah to the most dangerous post in

the vanguard of the army. His command was

executed, and soon afterward the death of Uriah

was reported. David then wooed his widow,

and married her at the expiration of the pre-

scribed time.

On the day after his marriage, there appeared,

at Allah's command, Gabriel and Michael in hu-

man form before David, and Gabriel said," The man whom thou seest here before thee is the

owner of ninety-nine sheep, while I possess an

only one ; nevertheless, he pursues me without

ceasing, and demands that I should give up my only sheep to him.'*

" Thy demand is unreasonable," said David,

" and betrays an unbelieving heart and a rude

disposition.'*

But Gabriel interrupted him, saying, "Many a noble and accomplished believer permits him-

self more unjust things than this."

David now perceived this to be an allusion

to his conduct toward Uriah ; and, filled with

wrath, he grasped his sword,* and would have

* The Scriptures teach that Davjd acknowledged his sin on

188 EEBUKE.

plunged it into Gabriel ; but Michael gave a

laud laugh of scorn; and when Gabriel and him-

self had ascended above David's head on their

angels' wings, he said to David, " Thou hast

pronounced thine own sentence, and called thine

act that of a barbarous infidel : Allah will there-

fore bestow upon thy son a portion of the power

which he had originally intended for thee. Thy guilt is so much the greater, since thou prayedst

Nathan's reproof. The whole narrative is so beautiful, that we subjoin it, as given in 2 Sam., xii., 1-8, 13.

"And the Lord sent Nathan unto David And he came unto

him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city, the

one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many

flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothmg save one little

ewe Iamb, which he had bought and nourished up; and it grew

up together with him, and with his children : it did eat of his

own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and

was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto

the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his

own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto

him, but took the poor man's Iamb, and dressed it for the man

that was come to him. And David's anger was greatly kindled

against the man ; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the

man that hath done this thing shall surely die ; and he shall re-

store the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he

had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Is-

rael, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul ; and I gave

thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosoin,

and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah ; and if that had

been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and

such things,

"And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the

Lord,"

PENITEXCE. ABSALuM. 189

that thou mightst be led into temptation with-

out having the power of resisting it."

At these words the angels vanished through

the ceiling ; but David felt the whole burden of

his sin. He tore the crown from his head, and

the royal purple from his body, and wandered

through the wilderness wrapped in simple wool-

en garments, and pining with remorse, weeping

so bitterly that his skin fell from his face, and

that the angels in heaven had compassion on

him, and implored for him the mercy of Allah.

But it was not until he had spent three full years

in penitence and contrition that he heard a voice

from heaven, which announced to him that the

All-compassionate Allah had at length opened

the gate of mercy. Pacified and strengthened

by these words of consolation, David soon re-

covered his physical powers and his blooming

appearance, so that on his return to Palestine no

one observed in him the slightest change.

But, during the king's long absence, many of

the rabble, whom he had banished, gathered

round his son Absalom, and made him king over

Israel. He was therefore compelled, as Absa-

lom would not renounce the throne, to make war

against him. But no engagement took place

for when the prince was about to join his forces,

Allah commanded the Angel of Death to take

him from his horse and hang him on a tree by

11M> THK TUBK ANU liKLh.

his long hair, that to all future time rebellious

sons might take warning by his fate. Absalom

remained hanging there until one of David's

chieftains passed by and slew him with the

sword. But, although David soon came to be

esteemed and beloved by his people as before,

yet, mindful of what had taken place with the

two angels, he ventured not again to execute

judgment. He had already nominated a kadhi,

who was to adjust in his stead all disputes that

might arise, when the angel Gabriel brought him

an iron tube with a bell, and said, " Allah has

beheld thy diffidence with pleasure, and there-

fore sends thee this tube and bell, by means of

which it will be easy for thee to maintain the

law in Israel, and never to pronounce an unjust

sentence. Suspend this tube in thy hall of judg-

ment, and hang the bell in the midst thereof:

place the accuser on one side of it, and the ac-

cused on the other, and always pronounce judg-

ment in favor of him who, on touching the tube,

elicits a sound from the bell." David was greatly

delighted at this gift, by means of which he who was in the right was sure to triumph, so that

soon no one dared to commit any injustice, siiice

he was certain to be detected by the bell.

One day, however, there came two men be-

fore the judgment seat, one of whom maintained

that he had given a pearl into the keeping of the

TUK TfilBUNAL. 191

Other, who now refused to restore it. The de-

fendant, on the other hand, swore that he had

already given it back. As usual, David com-

pelled them both, one after the other, to touch

the tube ; but the bell uttered no sound, so that

he did not know which of the two spoke truth,

and was inclined to doubt the farther virtue of

the bell. But when he had repeatedly directed

both to touch the tube, he observed that as often

as the accused was to pass the ordeal, he gave

his staff to be holden by his antagonist. David

now took the staff in his own hand, and sent the

accused once more to touch the tube, when in-

stantly the bell began to ring aloud. David then

caused the staff to be inspected, and behold, it

was hollow, and the pearl in question was con-

cealed within it. But on account of his thus

doubting the value of the tube which Allah had

given him, it was again removed to heaven, so

that David frequently erred in his decisions,

until Solomon, whom his wife Saja, the daughter

of Josu, had borne him, aided him with his coun-

sel. In him David placed implicit confidence,

and was guided by him in the most difficult

questions, for he had heard in the night of his

birth the angel Gabriel exclaim, "Satan's do-

minion is drawing to its close, for this night a

child is born, to whom Iblis and all his hosts, to-

gether with all his descendants, shall be subject.

192 SOLOMON.

The earth, air, and water, with all the creatures

that live therein, shall be his servants : he shall

be gifted with nine tenths of all the wisdom and

knowledge which Allah has granted unto man-

kind, and understand not only all the languages

of men, but those also of beasts and of birds."

One day—Solomon was then scarcely thir-

teen years of age—there appeared two men be-

fore the tribunal, the novelty of whose case ex-

cited the astonishment of all present, and even

greatly confounded David. The accuser had

bought some property of the other, and in clear-

ing out a cellar, had found a treasure. He now demanded that the accused should give up the

treasure, since he had bought the property with-

out it ; while the other maintained that the ac-

cuser possessed no right to the treasure, since

he had known nothing of it, and had sold the

property with all that it contained. After long

meditation, David adjudged that the treasure

should be divided between them. But Solomon

inquired of the accuser whether he had a son,

and when he replied that he had a son, he in-

quired of the other if he had a daughter, and

he also answering in the affirmative, Solomon

said, " If you will adjust your strife so as not to

do injustice one to the other, unite your children

in marriage, and give them this treasure as their

dowry."

DECISIONS. 193

On another occasion, there came a husband-

man and accused a shepherd whose flock had

pastured on the grain of his field. David sen-

tenced the shepherd to give part of his flock in

restitution to the husbandman ; but Solomon dis-

approved of this judgment, and said, " Let the

shepherd give up to the husbandman the use of

his flock, their work, their milk, and their yoiyig

ones, until the field shall be restored to the con-

dition in which it was at the time of the flock's

breaking in, when the sheep shall once more

return to their owner."

David, however, one day observed that the

high tribunal over which he presided beheld with

displeasure the interference of Solomon in their

transactions, although they were obliged to con-

fess that his views were always better than their

own. The king therefore demanded of them to

examine Solomon, in the face of all the great and

noble men of his kingdom, in all the doctrines

and laws of Moses. " Ifyou have satisfied your-

selves," he added, " that my son knows these

perfectly, and consequently never pronounces

an unjust judgment, you must not slight him by

reason of his youth, if his views regarding the

application of the law often diflfer from mine and

yours. Allah bestows wisdom on whomsoever

he pleaseth."

The lawvers were indeed persuaded of Solo-

13 R

194 THE EXAMINERS EXAMINED.

mon's erudition ; nevertheless, hoping to con-

found him by all manner of subtle questions,

and thus to increase their own importance, they

accepted David's proposal, and made arrange-

ments for a public examination. But their ex-

pectations were disappointed ; for, before the

last word of any question put to Solomon was

yet pronounced, he had already given a striking

answer, so that all present firmly believed that

the whole matter had been arranged beforehand

with his judges, and that this examination was

instituted by David merely to recommend Solo-

mon as his worthy successor to the throne. But

Solomon at once effaced this suspicion, when,

at the close of this examination he arose, and

said to his judges, " You have exhausted your-

selves in subtleties in the hope of manifesting

your superiority over me before this great as-

sembly ; permit me now, also, to put to you a

very few simple questions, the solution of which

needs no manner of study, but only a little in-

tellect and understanding. Tell me what is

Every thing, and what is Nothing. Who is

Something, and who is less than Nothing?"

Solomon waited long; and when the judge

whom he had addressed was not able to answer,

he said, " Allah, the Creator, is Every thing, but

the world, the creature, is Nothing. The be-

liever is Something, but the hypocrite is less

THE EXAMINERS EXAMINED. 195

than Nothing." Turning to another, Solomon

inquired, " Which are the most in number, and

which the fewest t What is sweetest, and what

most bitter ?" but as the second judge also was

unable to find a proper answer to these ques-

tions, Solomon said, " The most numerous are

the doubters, and they who possess a perfect

assurance of faith are the fewest in number.

The sweetest is the possession of a virtuous

wife, excellent children, and a respectable com-

petency ; but a wicked wife, undutiful children,

and poverty are the most bitter." Finally, Sol-

omon put the following questions to a third

judge : " Which is the vilest, and which the

most beautiful? What the most certain, and

what the least so?" But these questions also

remained unanswered, until Solomon said, " The vilest thing is when a believer apostatizes, and

the most beautiful when a sinner repents. The most certain thing is Death and the Last Judg-

ment, and the most uncertain. Life and the Fate

of the Soul after the resurrection. You per-

ceive," he then continued, " it is not the oldest

and most learned that are always the wisest.

True wisdom is neither of years nor of learned

books, but only of Allah, the All-wise."

Solomon excited by his words the greatest

astonishment in all that were present ; and the

heads of the people exclaimed with one voice.

196 David's last wish.

** Blessed be the Lord, who has given to our

king a son who in wisdom surpasses all the men of his time, and who is worthy one day to sit on

the throne of his father !"

David, in like manner, thanked Allah for the

grace which he had shown to him in Solomon,

and now only desired, before his death, to meet

with his future companion in Paradise.

" Thy request is granted !" cried a voice from

heaven ; " but thou must go and seek him alone;

and, in order to reach his presence, thou must

renounce thy earthly pomp, and wander as a

poor pilgrim through the world."

The next day David nominated Solomon as his

representative, laid aside his royal robes, wrap-

ped himself round with a simple woolen gar-

ment, put on his sandals, took a staff in his hand,

and left his palace. He now wandered from

city to city, and from village to village, inquiring

every where for such of the inhabitants as were

most distinguished for piety, and endeavoring to

make their acquaintance ; but for many weeks he

found no one whom he had reason to consider

as his destined companion in the life to come.

One day, on reaching a village on the shores

of the Mediterranean Ocean, there arrived at

the same time with him a poorly-clad aged man,

who was carrying a heavy burden of wood on

his head. The appearance of the hoary man

THE HKHMIT. 197

was SO venerable, that David followed him to

see where he lived. But he entered into no

house at all, and sold his wood to a merchant

who stood at the door of his warehouse, then

gave to a poor man who begged him for alms

the half of the little money which he had earned,

bought with the rest a small loaf of bread, of

which also he gave a large portion to a blind

woman, who implored the compassion of the

faithful, and then returned on his way to the

mountain from whence he had come. " This

man," thought David, " might well be my com-

panion in Paradise ; for his venerable appear-

ance, and his actions which I have just witness-

ed, testify to a rare piety. I must therefore

seek to become better acquainted with him.'*

He then followed the aged man at some dis-

tance, until, after a march of several hours over

steep mountains, crossed by deep ravines, the

latter entered into a cave, which admitted the

light of heaven through a crevice of the rock.

David remained standing at the entrance of the

cave, and heard how the hermit prayed fervent-

ly, and then read the Law and the psalms, until

the sun had set. He then lighted a lamp, and

pronounced the evening prayer, drew from his

bag the bread which he had bought, and con-

sumed about half thereof.

David, who had hitherto not ventured to dis-

R2

198 THE COMPANION IN PARADISE.

turb the man in his devotions, now stepped into

the cave and greeted him.

" Who art thou ?" said the other, after having

returned the salutation ; " for, save the God-

fearing Mata Ibn Juhanna, King David's future

companion in Paradise, I never saw any human

being in these regions."

David gave his name, and begged for farther

particulars respecting Mata.

But the hermit replied, " I am not permitted

to point out to thee his dwelling; but if thou

searches! this mountain with attention, it can not

escape thee."

David now wandered up and down for a long

time without finding any traces of Mata. He was on the point of returning to the hermit, in

hopes of obtaining better directions, when, on an

eminence, in the midst of the rocky ground, he

discovered a spot which was quite moist and

soft. " How singular," thought he, " that just

here, on this pinnacle of a mountain, the ground

should thus be moistened ! Surely there can be

no fountain here !" While he was thus standing

absorbed in thought respecting this remarkable

phenomenon, there descended on the other side

of the mountain a man who was more like an

angel than a human being ; his looks were cast

down to the earth, so that he did not observe

David ; but on the moistened spot he stood still,

DEATH OF DAVID. 199

and prayed with such fervency that his tears

gushed Uke streams from his eyes. David now understood how it came to pass that the earth

was so soaked, and thought, " A man who thus

worships his God may well be my companion in

Paradise." But he presumed not to address him

till he heard how, among other things, he pray-

ed. " My God, pardon the sin of King David,

and preserve him from farther transgression

Be merciful to him for my sake, since thou hast

destined me to be his companion in Paradise."

David now went toward him, but on reach-

ing his presence he was dead.

He dug up the soft earth with his staff, wash-

ed him with the water that remained in his bot-

tle, buried him, and pronounced over him the

prayer of death. He then returned to his capi-

tal, and found in his harem the Angel of Death,

who received him with the words, " Allah has

granted unto thee thy request, but now thy Ufe

is ended."

" God's will be done !" replied David, and fell

lifeless to the earth.

Gabriel then descended to comfort Solomon,

and to bring him a heavenly robe, in which he

was to wrap his father. All Israel followed his

remains to the entrance of the cave where Abra-

ham lies buried.

SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SABA.

After Solomon had paid the last honors to

his father, he was resting in a valley between

Hebron and Jerusalem, when suddenly he swoon-

ed away. On reviving, there appeared to him

eight angels, each of whom had immeasurable

wings of every color and form, and thrice they

bowed down to him. " Who are you ?" de-

manded Solomon, while his eyes were yet half

closed. They replied, " We are the angels set

over the eight winds. Allah, our Creator and

thine, sends us to swear fealty, and to surrender

to thee the power over us and the eight winds

which are at our command. According to thy

pleasure and designs, they shall either be tem-

pestuous or gentle, and shall blow from that

quarter to which thou shalt turn thy back ; and

at thy demand they shall rise out of the earth to

bear thee up, and to raise thee above the loftiest

mountains." The most exalted of the eight an-

gels then presented to him a jewel with this

inscription : " To Allah belong greatness and

might :" and said, " If thou hast need of us, raise

this stone toward heaven, and we shall appear

to serve thee." As soon as these angels had left

him, there came four others, differing from each

THE EXTENT OF riOLOMON's DOMINION. 201

Other in form and name. One of them resem-

bled an immense whale ; the other, an eagle

the third, a lion ; and the fourth, a serpent.

"We are the lords of all creatures living in

earth and water," they said, bowing profoundly

to Solomon, " and appear before thee at the

command of our Lord, to do fealty unto thee.

Dispose of us at thy pleasure. We grant to thee

and to thy friends all the good and pleasant

things with which the Creator has endowed us,

but use all the noxious that are in our power

against thy foes." The angel who represented

the kingdom of birds then gave him a jewel with

the inscription, " All created things praise the

Lord ;" and said, " By virtue of this stone, which

thou needest only to raise above thy head, thou

mayest call us at any moment, and impart to us

thy commands." Solomon did so instantly, and

commanded them to bring a pair of every kind

of animal that live in the water, the earth, and

the air, and to present them to him. The angels

departed quick as lightning, and in the twinkling

of an eye there were standing before him every

imaginable creature, from the largest elephant

down to the smallest worm ; also all kinds of

fish and birds. Solomon caused each of them

to describe its whole manner of life ; he listened

to their complaints, and abolished many of their

abuses. But he conversed longest with the birds,

202 THE EXTENT OF SOLOMUn's DOMINION.

both on account of their delicious language,

which he knew as well as his own, as also for

the beautiful proverbs that are current among them. The song of the peacock, translated into

human language, means, " As thou judgest, so

shalt thou be judged." The song of the night-

ingale signifies, "Contentment is the greatest

happiness." The turtle-dove sings, " It were

better for many a creature had it never been

born." The hoopoo, " He that shows no nnercy

shall not obtain mercy." The bird syrdak,

" Turn to Allah, O ye sinners." The swallow,

" Do good, for you shall be rewarded hereafter."

The pelican, " Blessed be Allah in heaven and

earth !" The dove," All things pass away ; Al-

lah alone is eternal." The kata, " Whosoever

can keep silence goes through life most secure-

ly." The eagle, " Let our life be ever so long,

yet it must end in de&th." The raven, " The

farther from mankind, the pleasanter." The

cock, " Ye thoughtless men, remember your

Creator."

Solomon chose the cock and the hoopoo for

his constant attendants. The one, on account

of his monitory sentence, and the other, inas-

much as his eyes, piercing as they do through

the earth as if it were crystal, enabled him during

the travels of the king to point out the places

where fountains of water were hid, so that watei

THE EXTENT OF SOLOMON's DOMINION. 203

never failed Solomon, either to quench his thirst,

or to perform the prescribed ablutions before

prayer. But, after having stroked the heads of

the doves, he commanded them to appoint unto

their young the temple which he was about to

erect as their habitation. (This pigeon pair had,

in the course of a few years, increased so much,

through Solomon's blessed touch, that all who visited the temple walked from the remotest

quarter of the city under the shadow of their

wings.)

When Solomon was again alone, there ap-

peared an angel, whose upper part looked like

earth, and whose lower like water. He bowed

down toward the earth, and said, " I am created

by Allah to manifest his will both to the dry land

and to the sea ; but he has placed me at thy dis-

posal, and thou mayest command, through me,

over earth and sea : at thy will the highest mount-

ains shall disappear, and others rise out of the

ground ; rivers and seas shall dry up, and fruit-

ful countries be turned into seas or oceans." He then presented to him before he vanished a jewel,

with the inscription, " Heaven and earth are the

servants of Allah."

Finally, another angel brought to him a fourth

jewel, which bore the inscription, " There is no

God but one, and Mohammed is his messenger."

" By means of this stone," said the angel, " thou

204 THE EXTENT OF SULOMON's 1>0MINI0N.

obtainest the dominion over the kingdom of spir-

its, which is much greater than that of man and

beasts, and fills up the whole space between the

earth and heaven. Part of these spirits," con-

tinued the angel, " believe in the only God, and

pray to him ; but others are unbelieving. Some adore the fire ; others the sun ; others, again, the

different stars ; and many even the water. The first continually hover round the pious, to pre-

serve them from evil and sin ; but the latter seek

in every possible manner to torment and to se-

duce them, which they do the more easily, since

they render themselves invisible, or assume any

form they please." Solomon desired to see the

genii in their original form. The angel rushed

like a column of fire through the air, and soon

returned with a host of demons and genii, whose

appalling appearance filled Solomon, spite of his

dominion over them, with an inward shudder.

He had no idea that there were such misshapen

and frightful beings in the world. He saw hu-

man heads on the necks of horses, with asses'

feet ; the wings of eagles on the dromedary's

back ; and the horns of the gazelle on the head

of the peacock. Astonished at this singular

union, he prayed the angel to explain it to him,

since Djan, from whom all the genii were de-

scended, had only a simple form. " This is the

consequence," replied the angel, " of their wicked

MAGIC RING. 205

lives and their shameless intercourse with men,

beasts, and birds ; for their desires know no

bounds, and the more they multiply the more

they degenerate."

When Solomon returned home, he command-

ed the four jewels which the angels had given him

to be set in a signet ring, in order that he might

be able at any moment to rule over spirits and

animals, and over wind and water. His first

care was to subdue the demons and genii. He caused them all to come before him save the

mighty Sachr, who kept himself concealed in an

unknown island of the ocean, and Iblis, the mas-

ter of all evil spirits, to whom God had promised

the most perfect independence till the day of

judgment. When they were assembled, he

stamped his signet ring on each of their necks,

to mark them as his slaves. He obliged the

male genii to erect various public buildings

among others, also a temple after the plan of that

at Mecca, which he bad once seen during his

travels to Arabia. The female genii he obliged

to cook, to bake, to wash, to weave, to spin, to

carry water, and to perform other domestic la-

bors. The stuffs they produced Solomon dis-

tributed among the poor, and the food which they

prepared was placed on tables of two leagues

square, for the daily consumption amounted to

thirtv thousand oxen and as many sheep, with a

S

206 THE FEEDING OF ALL CREATURES.

great number of fowls and fish, of which he

could obtain as many as he chose by virtue of

his ring, notwithstanding his remoteness from

the ocean. The genii and demons sat at iron

tables, the poor at tables of wood, the chiefs of

the people and of the army at tables of silver,

but the learned and eminently pious at golden

ones, and the latter were waited on by Solomon

himself.

One day, when all the spirits, men, beasts, and

birds, had risen, satisfied, from their various ta-

bles, Solomon prayed to Allah that he might

permit him to entertain all the creatures of the

earth.

" Thou demandest an impossibility," replied

Allah ; " but make a beginning to-morrow with

the inhabitants of the sea."

Solomon thereupon commanded the genii to

load with corn one hundred thousand camels

and as many mules, and to lead them to the

sea-shore. He himself ibilowed, and cried,

" Come hither, ye inhabitants of the sea, that I

may satisfy your hunger." Then came all

kinds of fish to the surface of the sea. Solomon

flung corn unto them till they were satisfied,

and dived down again. On a sudden, a whale

protruded his head, resembling a mighty mount-

ain. Solomon made his flying spirits to pour

one sack of corn after the other into its jaws

THE FEEDING OF ALL CREATURES. 207

but it continued its demand for more, until not a

single grain was left. Then it bellowed aloud,

" Feed me, Solomon, for I never suffered so

much from hunger as to-day."

Solomon inquired of it " whether there were

more fish of the kind in the sea."

" There are of my species alone," replied the

whale, "seventy thousand kinds, the least of

which is so large that thou wouldst appear in its

body like a grain of sand in the wilderness."

Solomon threw himself on the ground, and

began to weep, and besought the Lord to par-

don his senseless demand. " My kingdom," cried Allah to him, " is still

greater than thine: arise, and behold but one

of those creatures whose rule I can not confide

to man."

Then the sea began to rage and to storm, as

if all the eight winds had set it in motion at

once ; and there rose up a sea monster so huge

that it could easily have swallowed seventy

thousand like the first, which Solomon was not

able to satisfy, and cried with a voice like the

most terrible thunder, " Praised be Allah, who alone has the power to save me from starva-

tion!"

When Solomon was returning again to Jeru-

salem, he heard such a noise, proceeding from

the constant hammering of the genii, who were

208 SACHR.

occupied with the building of the temple, that

the inhabitants of Jerusalem were no longer

able to converse with each other. He therefore

commanded the spirits to suspend their labors,

and inquired whether none of them was ac-

quainted with a means by which the various

metals might be wrought without producing

such a clamor. Then there stepped out one

from among them, and said, "This is known

only to the mighty Sachr ; but he has hitherto

succeeded in escaping from thy dominion."

" Is, then, this Sachr utterly inaccessible ?"

inquired Solomon. " Sachr," replied the genius, " is stronger than

all of us put together, and is as much our supe-

rior in swiftness as in power. Still, I know that

he drinks from a fountain in the province of

Hidjr once in every month. Perhaps thou

mayest succeed, O wise king ! to subdue him

there to thy scepter."

Solomon commanded forthwith a division of

his swift-flying genii to empty the fountain, and

to fill it with intoxicating liquor. Some of them

he then ordered to linger in its vicinity until

they should see Sachr approaching, and then

instantly to return and bring him word. A few

weeks afterward, when Solomon was standing

on the terrace of his palace, he beheld a genius

flying from the direction of Hidjr swifter than

TH£ MOTHER BIRD. 2(>9

the wind. The king inquired of him if he

brought news respecting Sachr.

" Sachr is lying overcome with wine at the

brink of the fountain," replied the genius, " and

we have bound him with chains as massive as

the pillars of thy temple ; but he will burst them

asunder as the hair of a virgin when he has

slept off his wine."

Solomon then mounted hastily the winged

genius, and in less than an hour was borne to

the fountain. It was high time, for Sachr had

already opened his eyes again ; but his hands

and feet were still chained, so that Solomon set

the signet on his neck without any hinderance.

Sachr uttered such a cry of woe that the whole

earth quaked ; but Solouion said to him, " Fear

not, mighty genius! I will restore thee -to lib-

erty as soon as thou shalt indicate the means

whereby I may work the hardest metals without

noise."

" I myself know of no such," replied Sachr

" but the raven will best be able to advise thee.

Take only the eggs from a raven's nest, and

cover them with a crystal bowl, and thou shalt

see how the mother-bird shall cut it through."

Solomon followed Sachr's advice. A raven

came and flew about the bowl ; but, finding that

she could not get access to the eggs, she flew

away, and a few hours afterward reappeared

14 S2

210 THE SAMUa STONE.

with a stone in her beak, called Samur, which

had no sooner touched the bowl than it fell in

two halves.

" Whence hast thou this stone ?" inquired

Solomon of the raven.

" From a mountain in the distant west," re-

plied the raven.

Solomon then commanded some of the genii

to follow the raven to the mountain, and to pro-

cure more of these stones ; but Sachr he set

free again, according to his promise. When the chains were taken from him, he shouted

with exultation ; but his joy sounded in Solo-

mon's ear like the laughter of scorn. As soon

as the spirits returned with the Samur stones,

he caused himself to be carried back to Jerusa-

lem by one of them, and divided the stones

among the genii, who could now continue their

labors without making the slightest noise.

Solomon then constructed a palace for him-

self, with a profusion of gold, silver, and precious

stones, the like of which no king had ever pos-

sessed before him. Many of its halls had crys-

tal floors and ceilings, and he erected a throne

of sandal-wood, covered with gold, and em-

bossed with the most costly jewels. While the

building of his palace was in progress, he made

a journey to the ancient city of Damascus, whose

environs are reckoned among the four earthly

uaradises.

THE ANTri. 211

The genius on whom he rode pursued the

straightest course, and flew over the valley of

ants, which is surrounded by such lofty cliffs,

and deep, impassable ravines, that no man had

been able to enter it before.

Solomon was much astonished to see beneath

him a host of ants, which were as large as

wolves, and which, owing to their gray eyes and

feet, appeared at a distance like a cloud.

But, on the other hand, the queen of the ants,

which had never seen a human being, was in no

small trouble on perceiving the king, and cried'

to her subjects, " Retire quickly to your cav-

erns !"

But Allah said to her, "Assemble all thy

vassals, and do homage to Solomon, who is king

of the whole creation."

Solomon, to whom the winds had wafted these

words, then at a distance of six leagues, de-

scended to the queen, and in a short time the

whole valley was covered with ants as far as

his eye could reach. Solomon then asked the

queen, who was standing at their head, " Why fearest thou me, since thy hosts are so numerous

that they could lay waste the whole earth ?"

" I fear none but Allah," replied the queen

" for if my subjects which thou now beholdest

were threatened with danger, seventy times

their number would appear at a single nod from

me.

212 TIJE aUEEN OF THE ANTS.

" Why, then, didst thou command thy ants to

retire while I was passing above thee ?"

" Because I feared lest they might look after

thee, and thus forget their Creator for a mo-

ment."

" Is there any favor that I may show thee ere

I depart ?" inquired Solomon.

" I know of none : but rather let me advise

thee so to live that thou mayest not be ashamed

of thy name, which signifies ' The Immaculate;'

beware also of ever giving away thy ring with-

out first saying, * In the name of Allah the All-

merciful.' "

Solomon once more exclaimed, " Lord, thy

kingdom is greater than mine !" and took leave

of the queen of ants.

On his return he commanded the genius to fly

in another direction, so as not to disturb the

devotions of the queen and her subjects.

On arriving at the frontiers of Palestine, he

heard how some one prayed

" My God, who hast chosen Abraham to be

thy friend, redeem me soon from this woeful ex-

isttJnce

!"

Solomon descended to him, and beheld an

aged man bowed down with years, and trem-

bhng in all his limbs.

*' Who art thou ?"

" I am an Israelite of the tribe of Judah."

THE SHOOTING STAR. 213

" How old art thou ?"

" Allah alone knows. I counted up to my three hundredth year, and since .that time full

fifty or sixty more must have passed away." " How earnest thou to so great an age, which,

since Abraham's time, no human being has at-

tained ?"

" I once saw a shooting star in the night of

Al-Kadr, and expressed the senseless wish that

I might meet with the mightiest prophet before

I died."

" Thou hast now reached the goal of thy ex-

pectations : prepare thyself to die, for I am the

king and prophet Solomon, to whom Allah has

granted a power such as no mortal before me ever possessed." Scarcely had he finished these

words, when the Angel of Death descended in

human form, and took the soul of the aged man. " Thou must have been quite close to me,

since thou camest so promptly," said Solomon to

the angel.

" How great is thy mistake ! Be it known to

thee, O king ! that I stand on the shoulders of an

angel whose head reaches ten thousand years

beyond the seventh heaven, whose feet are five

hundred years below the earth, and who, with-

al, is so powerful, that if Allah permitted it, he

could swallow the earth, and all that it contains,

without the slightest effort.

214 TUG DEAD.

" He it is who points out to me when, where,

and how I must take a soul. His gaze is fixed

on the tree Sidrat Almuntaha, which bears as

many leaves inscribed with names as there are

men Hving on the earth.

" At each birth a new leaf, bearing the name

of the newly born, bursts forth ; and when any

one has reached the end of his life, his leaf with-

ers and falls off, and at the same instant I am with him to receive his soul."

" How dost thou proceed in this matter, and

whither takest thou the souls at death ?"

" As often as a believer dies, Gabriel attends

me, and wraps his soul in a green silken sheet,

and then breathes it into a green bird, which

feeds in Paradise until the day of the resurrec-

tion. But the soul of the sinner I take alone, and

having wrapped it in a coarse, pitch-covered

woolen cloth, carry it to the gates of hell, where

it wanders among abominable vapors until the

last day."

Solomon thanked the angel for his informa-

tion, and besought him, when he should one day

come to take his soul, to conceal his death from

all men and spirits.

He then washed the body of the deceased,

buried him, and having prayed for his soul, beg-

ged for a mitigation of his bodily pains at the

THE CARPET. 215

trial he was to undergo before the angels Ankir

and Munkir.*

This journey had fatigued Solomon so much,

that he ordered the genii, on his return to Jeru-

salem, to weave strong silken carpets, which

might contain him and his followers, together

with all the requisite utensils and equipages for

traveling. Whenever he desired thereafter to

make a journey, he caused one of these carpets,

of a larger or smaller size, according to the num-

ber of his attendants, to be spread out before the

city, and as soon as all that he required was placed upon it, he gave a signal to the eight

winds to raise it up. He then seated himself on

his throne, and guided them into whatever direc-

tion he pleased, even as a man guides his horses

with bit and reins.

One night Abraham appeared to him in a

dream, and said, " Allah has distinguished thee

above all other men by thy wisdom and power.

He has subjected to thy rule the genii, who are

erecting a temple at thy command, the like of

which the earth has never borne before ; and

thou ridest on the winds as I once rode on Borak,

These two angels make inquiry of the dead concerning his

God and his faith, and torment him if he be not able to answer

properly.

Similar things are said in the " Chibut hakebar" (knocking at

the tomb) of the Rabbis.—Compare Maraccius, Prodrom., ^ iii.,

p. 90.

216 Solomon's pilgrimage.

who shall dwell in Paradise until the birth of

Mohammed. Show thyself grateful, therefore,

unto the anly God, and, taking advantage of the.

^

ease with which thou canst travel from place to

place, visit the cities of Jathrib,* where the

greatest of prophets shall one day find shelter

and protection, and of Mecca, the place of his

birth, where now the holy temple stands which

I and my son Ismael (peace be on him !) rebuilt

after the flood."

The next morning, Solomon proclaimed that

he would undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, and

that each and every Israelite would be per-

mitted to accompany him. There immediately

applied so many pilgrims, that Solomon was

obliged to have a new carpet woven by the spir-

its, two leagues in length and two in breadth.

The empty space which remained he filled

with camels, oxen, and smaller cattle, which he

designed to sacrifice at Mecca, and to divide

among the poor.

For himself he had a throne erected, which

was so studded with brilliant jewels that no one

could raise his eyes to him. The men of dis-

tinguished piety occupied golden seats near'the

throne : the learned were seated on silver, and

part of the common people on wood. The ge-

nii and demons were commanded to fly before

* The ancient name of Medina, where Mohammed died.

MEDINA AND MECCA. 217

him, for he trusted them so little that he desired

to have them constantly in his presence, and

therefore always drank out of crystal cups so as

never to lose sight of them, even when he was

compelled to satisfy his thirst. But the birds he

directed to fly above the carpet in close array,

to protect the travelers from the sun.

When the arrangements were complete, and

men, spirits, birds, and beasts were assembled,

he commanded the eight winds to raise up the

carpet, with all that it contained, and to carry it

to Medina. In the vicinity of that city, he made

a signal to the birds to lower their wings, where-

upon the winds gradually abated until the carpet

rested on the earth.

But no one was permitted to leave the carpet,

for Medina was then inhabited by worshipers

of idols, with whom the king would not suffer

his subjects to come in contact.

Solomon went unattended to the spot where, in

later times, Mohammed erected his first mosque

—it was then a burial-ground—performed his

midday devotions, and then returned to the car-

pet. The birds, at his nod, spread their wings,

the winds bore up the carpet, and swept on with

it to Mecca. This city was then governed by

the Djorhamides, who had migrated there from

the Southern Arabia, and were at that time wor-

shipers of the only God, keeping the Kaaba as

T

2y^ THE HOOPOO.

pure from idolatry as it was in the days of Abra-

ham and of Ismael. Solomon therefore entered

it, with all his attendants, performed the cere-

monies obligatory on pilgrims, and when he had^

slain the victims which he brought with him from

Jerusalem, he pronounced in the Kaaba a long

discourse, in which he predicted the future birth

of Mohammed, and exhorted all his hearers to

enforce faith in him upon their children and de-

scendants.

After a stay of three days. King Solomon re-

solved to return again to Jerusalem. But when

the birds had unfolded their wings, and the car-

pet was already in motion, he suddenly discov-

ered a ray of light striking upon it, whence he

concluded that one of his birds had left its post.

He therefore summoned the eagle, and direct-

ed him to call over the names of all the birds,

and to report which was absent. The eagle

obeyed, and soon came back with the answer

that the hoopoo was wanting.

The king grew enraged ; the more so, because

he needed the hoopoo during the journey, since

no other bird possessed its powers to descry the

hidden fountains of the desert.

" Soar aloft," he cried harshly to the eagle

;

" search for the hoopoo, and bring it hither, that

I may pluck off its feathers, and expose it naked

to the scorching sun, until the worms shall have

consumed it."

THE HOOPOO. 210

The eagle soared heavenward until the earth

beneath him appeared like an inverted bowl.

He then halted, and looked in every direction

to discover the truant subject. As soon as he

spied it coming from the south, he plunged down,

and would have seized it in his talons, but the

hoopoo adjured him by Solomon to forbear.

" Barest thou to invoke the king's protection V replied the eagle. " Well may thy mother weep

for thee. The king is enraged, for he has dis-

covered thy absence, and sworn to punish it ter-

ribly."

" Lead me to him," rejoined the other. " I

know that he will excuse my absence when he

hears where I have been, and what I have to

report of my excursion."

The eagle led him to the king, who was sitting

on his judgment throne with wrathful counte-

nance, and instantly drew the delinquent vio-

lently toward him. The hoopoo trembled in

every limb, and hung down his plumage in token

of submission. But when Solomon would have

grasped him still more tightly, he cried, " Re-

member, O prophet of Allah ! that thou, too,

shalt one day give an account unto the Lord

let me, therefore, not be condemned unheard."

" How canst thou excuse thy absenting thy-

self without my permission ?"

"J bring information respecting a country

220 THE REPORT.

and a queen whose names thou hast not even

heard of— the country of Saba, and Queen

Balkis."

" These names are indeed quite strange to

me. Who has informed thee of them ?"

"A hoopoo from those regions, whom I met

during one of my short excursions. In the

course of our conversation I spoke to him of

thee, and thy extensive dominions, and he was

astonished that thy fame should not yet have

reached his home. He entreated me, therefore,

to accompany him there, and convince myself

that it would be worth thy while to subject the

land of Saba unto thy scepter.

" On our way he related to me the whole his-

tory of that country down to its present queen,

who rules over so large an army that she re-

quires twelve thousand captains to command

it."

Solomon relinquished his hold of the hoopoo,

and commanded him to recount all that he had

heard of that country and its history, whereupon

the bird began as follows : " Most mighty king

and prophet ! be it known to thee that Saba is

the capital of an extensive country in the south

of Arabia, and was founded by King Saba, Ibn

Jashab, Ibn Sarab, Ibn Kachtan. His name was properly Abd Shems (the servant of the

Sun) ; but he had received the surname of Saba

SABA. 221

(one who takes captive) by reason of his nu-

merous conquests."

Saba was the largest and most superb city

ever constructed by the hand of man, and, at

the same time, so strongly fortified that it might

have defied the united armies of the world.

But that which especially distinguished this

city of marble palaces were the magnificent

gardens in the center of which it stood.

For King Saba had, in compliance with the

counsels of the wise Lockman, constructed vast

dikes and numerous canals, both to guard the

people from inundation during the rainy season,

and also against want of water in time of

drought.

Thus it came to pass, that this country, which

is so vast that a good horseman would require

a month to traverse it, became rapidly the rich-

est and most fertile of the whole earth. It was

covered with the finest trees in every direction,

so that its travelers knew nothing of the scorch-

ing sun. Its air, too, was so pure and refresh-

ing, and its sky so transparent, that the inhabi-

tants lived to a very great age, in the enjoyment

of perfect health.

The land of Saba was, as it were, a diadem

on the brow of the universe.

This state of felicity erwlured as long as it

pleased Allah. King Saba, its founder, died,

T 2

222 SABA.

and was succeeded by other kings, who enjoyed

the fruits of Lockman's labors without thinking

of preserving them ; but time was busy with

their destruction. The torrents, plunging from

the adjacent mountains, gradually undermined

the dike which had been constructed to restrain

and to distribute them into the various canals,

so that it fell in at last, and the whole country

was, in consequence, laid waste by a fearful

flood. The first precursors of an approaching

disaster showed themselves in the reign of King

Amru. In his time it was that the priestess

Dharifa beheld in a dream a vast dark cloud,

which, bursting amid terrific thunderings, pour-

ed destruction upon the land. She told her

dream to the king, and made no secret of her

fears respecting the welfare of his empire ; but

the king and his courtiers endeavored to silence

her, and continued, as before, their heedless,

careless courses.

One day, however, while Amru was in a

grove in dalliance with two maidens, the priest-

ess stepped before him with disheveled hair

and ruffled countenance, and predicted anew the speedy desolation of the country.

The king dismissed his companions ; and

having seated the priestess beside him, inquired

of her what new omen foreboded this evil. "On my way hither," replied Dharifa, " I met crim-

W^ SABA. 223

son rats standing erect, and wiping their eyes

with their feet ; and a turtle, which lay on its

back, struggling in vain to rise : these are cer-

tain signs of a flood, which shall reduce this

country to the sad condition in which it was in

ancient times."

" What proof givest thou me of the truth of

thy statement?" inquired Amru.

"Go to the dike, and thine own eyes shall

convince thee."

The king went, but speedily came back to the

grove with distracted countenance. " I have

seen a dreadful sight," he cried. " Three rats

as large as porcupines were gnawing the dikes

with their teeth, and tearing oflf pieces of rock

which fifty men would not have been able to

move."

Dharifa then gave him still other signs ; and

he himself had a dream, in which he saw the

tops of the loftiest trees covered with sand—an

evident presage of the approaching flood—so

that he resolved to fly from his country.

Yet, in order to dispose of his castles and

possessions to advantage, he concealed what he

had seen and heard, and invented the following

pretext for his emigration.

One day he gave a grand banquet to his high-

est officers of state and the chiefs of his army,

but arranged with his son beforehand that he

224 SABA. T\

should strike him in the face during a discussici*

When this accordingly took place at the public

table, the king sprang up, drew his sword, and

feigned to slay his son ; but, as he had foreseen,

his guests rushed in between them, and hurried

away the prince. Amru then swore that he

would no longer remain in a country where he

had suffered such a disgrace. But, when all

his estates were sold, he avowed the true motive

of his emigration, and many tribes joined them-

selves to him.

Soon after his departure the predicted calami-

ties took place, for the inhabitants of Saba, or

Mareb, as this city is sometimes called, listened

neither to the warnings of Dharifa nor the ad-

monition of a prophet whom Allah had sent

them. The strong dike fell in, and the waters,

pouring from the mountain, devastated the city

and the entire vicinity. " As, however, the men of Saba," continued the hoopoo, in his narrative

before King Solomon, " who had fled into the

mountain, were improved by their misfortune,

and repented, they soon succeeded, with the help

of Allah, in constructing new dams, and in re-

storing their country to a high degree of power

and prosperity, which went on increasing under

the succeeding kings, though the old vices too

reappeared, and, instead of the Creator of heav-

en and earth, they even worshiped the sun."

^ SABA. 325

The last king of Saba, named Sharahbil, was a

monster of tyranny. He had a vizier descend-

ed from the ancient royal house of the Himiar-

ites, who was so handsome that he found favor

in the eyes of the daughters of the genii, and they

often placed themselves in his way in the shape

of gazelles, merely to gaze upon him. One of

them, whose name was Umeira, felt so ardent

an attachment for the vizier, that she completely

forgot the distinction between men and genii,

and one day, while he was following the chase,

appeared in the form of a beautiful virgin, and

offered him her hand, on condition that he would

follow her, and never demand an account of any

of her actions. The vizier thought the daughter

of the genii so far exalted above all human beau-

ty, that he lost his self-command, and consented,

without reflection, to all that she proposed.

Umeira then journeyed with him to the island

where she lived, and married him. Within a

year's time she bore a daughter, whom she call-

ed Balkis ; but soon after that she left her hus-

band, because he (as Moses had done with Al-

kidhr) had repeatedly inquired into her motives

when unable to comprehend her actions. The vizier then returned with Balkis to his native

country, and concealed himself in one of its val-

leys at a distance from the capital : there Balkis

grew up like the fairest flower of Yemen ; but

U

226 SABA. *.

she was obliged to live in greater I'etirement the

older she became, for her father feared lest

Sharahbil might hear of her, and treat her as re-

morselessly as the other maidens of Saba.

Nevertheless, Heaven had decreed that all his

precautions should be abortive ; for the king, in

order to learn the condition of his empire, and

the secret sentiments of his subjects, once made

a journey on foot, disguised like a beggar,

throughout the land. When he came to the re-

gion where the vizier lived, he heard both him

and his daughter much spoken of, because no

one knew who he was, nor whence he had come,

nor why he lived in such obscurity. The king

therefore caused his residence to be pointed out,

and he reached it at the moment when the vizier

and his daughter were seated at table. His

first glance fell on Balkis, who was then in her

fourteenth year, and beautiful like an houri of

Paradise, for, with the grace and loveliness of

woman, she combined the transparent com-

plexion and the majesty of the genii. But how great was his astonishment, when, fixing his eye

on her father, he recognized his former vizier,

who had so suddenly disappeared, and whose

fate had remained unknown !

As soon as the vizier observed that the king

had recognized him, he fell down at his feet, im-

ploring his favor, and relating all that had be-

SABA. 827

fallen him during his absence. Sharahbil par-

doned him from love to Balkis, but demanded

that he should resume his former functions, and

at the same time presented him with a palace in

the finest situation near his capital. But a few

weeks had scarcely elapsed when the vizier

one morning returned from the city with a heav-

ily clouded brow, and said to Balkis, " My fears

are now realized ! The king has asked thy hand,

and I could not refuse without endangering my

life, although I would rather see thee laid in thy

grave than in the arms of this tyrant."

" Dismiss your fears, my father," replied Bal-

kis ; " I shall free me and my whole sex from

this abandoned man. Only put on a cheerful

brow, that he may not conceive any suspicion,

and request of him, as the only favor I demand,

that our nuptials be solemnized here in privacy."

The king cheerfully agreed to the wish of his

bride, and repaired on the following morning,

accompanied by a few servants, to the vizier's

palace, where he was entertained with royal

magnificence. After the repast, the vizier retired

with his guests, and Balkis remained alone with

the king ; but on a given signal her female slaves

appeared : one of them sang, another played on

the harp, a third danced before them, and a

fourth presented wine in golden cups. The last

was, by Balkis's directions, especially active, so

228 SABA.

that the king, whom she urged by every art to

partake of the strongest wines, soon fell back

Hfeless on his divan. Balkis now drew forth a

dagger from beneath her robe, and plunged it so

deeply into the heart of Sharahbil, that his soul

rushed instantly to hell. She then called her

father, and pointing to the corpse before her,

said, " To-morrow morning, let the most influ-

ential men of the city, and also some chiefs of

the army, be commanded, in the king's name, to

send him their daughters. This will produce a

revolt, which we shall improve to our advan-

tage."

Balkis was not mistaken in her conjecture;

for the men, whose daughters were threatened

with infamy, called their kinsmen together, and

marched in the evening to the palace of the

vizier, threatening to set it on fire unless the

king should be delivered up to them.

Balkis then cut off the king's head, and flung

it through the window to the assembled insurg-

ents. Instantly there arose the loud exultations

of the multitude ; the city was festively illumin-

ed, and Balkis, as protectress of her sex, was

proclaimed Queen of Saba. " This queen," con-

cluded the hoopoo, " has been reigning there

since many years in great wisdom and prudence,

and justice prevails throughout her now flourish-

ing empire. She assists at all the councils of her

THE MISSIVE. 229

viziers, concealed from the gaze of men by a fine

curtain, seated on a lofty throne of most skillful

workmanship, and adoi'ned with jewels ; but,

like many of the kings of that country before

her, she is a worshiper of the sun."

" We shall see," said Solomon, when the hoo-

poo had concluded the account of his journey,

" whether thou hast spoken the truth, or art to

be numbered among deceivers."

He then caused a fountain to be pointed out

by the hoopoo, performed his ablutions, and,

when he had prayed, wrote the following lines

" From Solomon, the son of David and servant

of Allah, to Balkis, queen of Saba. In the name

of Allah the All-merciful and Gracious, blessed

are they who follow the guidance of Fate I follow

thou my invitation, and present thyself before me as a believer." This note he sealed with musk,

stamped his signet on it, and gave it to the hoo-

poo, with the words, " Take this letter to Queen

Balkis ; then retire, but not so far as to preclude

thee from hearing what she shall advise with her

viziers respecting it."

The hoopoo, with the letter in his bill, darted

away like an arrow, and arrived next day at

Mared. The queen was surrounded by all her

counselors, when he stepped into her hall of

state, and dropped the letter into her lap. She

started as soon as she beheld Solomon's mighty

U

230 UUEEN BALKIS.

signet, opened the letter hurriedly, and, having

first read it to herself, communicated it to her

counselors, among whom were also her highest

chieftains, and entreated their counsel on this

important matter.

But they replied with one voice, " You may rely on our power and courage, and act accord-

ing to your good pleasure and wisdom." " Before, then, 1 engage in war," said Balkis,

" which always entails much suffering and mis-

fortune upon a country, I will send some presents

to King Solomon, and see how he will receive

my ambassadors. If he suffers himself to be

bribed, he is no more than other kings who have

fallen before our power ; but if he reject my presents, then is he a true prophet, whose faith

we must embrace."

She then dressed five hundred youths like

maidens, and as many maidens like young men,

and commanded the former to behave in the

presence of Solomon like girls, and the latter like

boys. She then had a thousand carpets prepar-

ed, wrought with gold and silver ; a crown, com-

posed of the finest pearls and hyacinths ; and

many loads of musk, amber, aloes, and other

precious products of South Arabia. To these

she added a closed casket containing an unperfo-

rated pearl, a diamond intricately pierced, and

a goblet of crystal.

RIDDLES. 231

" As a true prophet," she wrote to him, " thou

wilt no doubt be able to distinguish the youths

from the* maidens, to divine the contents of the

closed casket, to perforate the pearl, to thread

the diamond, and to fill the goblet with water

that has neither dropped from the clouds nor

gushed forth from the earth,"

All these presents and her letter she sent to

him by experienced and intelligent men, to whom she said at their departure, " If Solomon meet

you with pride and harshness, be not cast down,

for these are indications of human weakness

but if he receive you with kindness and conde-

scension, be on your guard, for you then have to

do with a prophet."

The hoopoo heard all this, for he had kept

close to the queen until the ambassadors had de-

parted. He then flew in a direct line, without

resting, to the tent of Solomon, to whom he re-

ported what he had heard. The king then com-

manded the genii to produce a carpet which

should cover the space of nine parasangs, and

to spread it out at the steps of his throne toward

the south. To the eastward, where the carpet

ceased, he caused a lofty golden wall to be

erected, and to the westward, one of silver. On both sides of the carpet he ranged the rarest

foreign animals, and all kinds of genii and de-

mons.

282 MAGNIFICENCE.

The ambassadors were greatly contused on

arriving in Solomon's encampment, where a

splendor and magnificence were displayed such

as they had never conceived of before. The first

thing they did on beholding tho immense carpet,

which their eyes were unable to survey, was to

fling away their thousand carpets which they

had brought as a present for the king. The nearer they came the greater waxed their per-

plexity, on account of the many singular birds,

and beasts, and spirits through whose ranks they

had to pass in approaching Solomon ; but their

hearts were relieved as soon as they stood be-

fore him, for he greeted them with kindness, and

inquired with smiling lips what had brought them

to him.

" We are the bearers of a letter from Queen

Balkis," replied the most eloquent ofthe embassy,

while he presented the letter.

" I know its contents," replied Solomon, " with-

out opening it, as well as those of the casket

which you have brought with you ; and I shall,

by the help of Allah, perforate your pearl, and

cause your diamond to be threaded. But I will

first of all fill your goblet with water which has

not fallen from the clouds nor gushed from the

earth, and distinguish the beardless youths from

the virgins who accompany you." He then

caused one thousand silver bowls and basins to

kiudi.es solved. 283

be brought, and commanded the male and fe-.

male slaves to wash themselves. The former

immediately put their hands, on which the water

was poured, to their faces ; but the latter first

emptied it into their right hands as it flowed

from the bowl into their left, and then washed

their faces with both their hands. Hereupon

Solomon readily discovered the sexes of the

slaves, to the great astonishment of the ambas-

sadors. This being done, he commanded a tall

and corpulent slave to mount on a young and

fiery horse, and to ride through the camp at the

top of his speed, and to return instantly to him.

When the slave returned with the steed to Sol-

omon, there poured from him whole torrents of

perspiration, so that the crystal goblet was im-

mediately filled.

" Here," said Solomon to the ambassadors,

"is water which has neither come out of the

earth nor from heaven." The pearl he perfo-

rated with the stone, for the knowledge of which

he was indebted to Sachr and the raven; but

the threading of the diamond, in whose opening

there was every possible curve, puzzled him,

until a demon brought him a worm, which crept

through the jewel, leaving a silken thread behind.

Solomon inquired of the worm how he might

reward him for this great service, by which he

had saved his dignity as a prophet. The worm

' U2

234 PROPAGATION OF THIi FAITH.

requested that a fine fruit-tree should be ap

pointed to him as his dwelling: Solomon gave

him the mulberry-tree, which from that time af-

fords a shelter and nourishment to the silk-worm

forever.

*' You have seen now," said Solomon to the

ambassadors, " that I have successfully passed

all the trials which your queen has imposed on

me. Return to her, together with the presents

destined for me, of which I do not stand in need,

and tell her that if she do not accept my faith

and do homage unto me, I shall invade her coun-

try with an army which no human power shall

be able to resist, and drag her a wretched cap-

tive to my capital."

The ambassadors left Solomon under the full-

est conviction of his might, and mission a proph-

et ; and their report respecting all that had pass-

ed between them and the king made the same

impression on Queen Balkis.

" Solomon is a mighty prophet," said she to

the viziers who surrounded her, and had listened

to the narrative of the ambassadors. " The best

plan I can adopt is to journey to him with the

leaders of my army, in order to ascertain what

he demands of us." She then commanded the

necessary preparations for the journey to be

made ; but, before her departure, she locked up

her throne, which she left \\ !th the greatest re-

INCANTATION. 286;

luctance, in a hall which it was impossible to

reach without first stepping through six other

closed halls ; and all the seven halls were in the

innermost of the seven closed apartments, of

which the palace, guarded by her most faithful-

servants, consisted.

When Queen Balkis, attended by her twelve

thousand captains, each of whom commanded several thousand men, had come within a para-

sang of Solomon's encampment, he said to his

hosts, " Which of you will bring me the throne

of Queen Balkis before she come to me as a be-

liever, that I may rightfully appropriate this cu-

rious piece of art while yet in the possession of

an infidel V

•

Hereupon a misshapen demon (who was as

large as a mountain) said, " I will bring it to thee

before noon, ere thou dismiss thy council. I am not wanting in power for the achievement, and

thou mayest intrust me with the throne without

any apprehension."

But Solomon had not so much time left, for

he already perceived at a distance the clouds of

dust raised by the army of Saba.

" Then," said his vizier Assaf, the son of Bu-

rahja, who, by reason of his acquaintance with

the holy names of Allah, found nothing too diffi-

cult, " raise thy eyes toward heaven, and before

thou shalt be able to cast them down again to

336 PAUD£NC£.

the earth, the throne of the Queen of Saba shall

stand here before thee."

Solomon gazed heavenward, and Assaf called

Allah by his holiest name, praying that he might

send him the throne of Balkis. Then, in the

twinkling of an eye, the throne rolled through

the bowels of the earth until it came to the

throne of Solomon, and rose up through the

opening ground, whereupon Solomon exclaimed,

*' How great is the goodness of Allah ! this was assuredly intended as a trial whether I should

be grateful to him or not ; but whosoever ac-

knowledgeth the goodness of Allah, does it to

himself, and whoever denieth it, does no less so.

Allah has no need of human gratitude !"

After having admired the throne, he said to

one of his servants, " Make some change on it,

and let us see whether Balkis will recognize

it again." The servants took several parts of

the throne to pieces, and replaced them differ-

ently ; but when Balkis was asked whether her

throne was like it, she replied, " It seems as if it

were the same."

This and other replies of the queen convinced

Solomon of her superior understanding, for she

had undoubtedly recognized her throne ; but

her answer was so equivocal that it did not

sound either reproachful or suspicious. But, be-

fore he would enter into more intimate relations

THE CONVERT.

with her, he desired to clear up a certain point

respecting her, and to see whether she actually

had cloven feet, as several of his demons would

have him to believe, or whether they had only

invented the defect from fear lest he might

marry her and beget children, who, as descend-

ants of the genii, would be even more mighty

than himself. He therefore caused her to be

conducted through a hall whose floor was of

crystal, and under which water, tenanted by every variety of fish, was flowing. Balkis, who had never seen a crystal floor, supposed that

there was water to be passed through, and

therefore raised her robe slightly, when the king

discovered, to his great joy, a beautifully-shaped

female foot. When his eye was satisfied, he

called to her, " Come hither ! there is no water

here, but only a crystal floor ; and confess thy-

self to the faith in one only God." Balkis ap-

proached the throne, which stood at the end of

the hall, and in Solomon's presence abjured the

worship of the sun.

Solomon then married Balkis, but reinstated

her as Queen of Saba, and spent three days in

every month with her.

On one of his 'progresses from Jerusalem to

Mareb, he passed through a valley inhabited by

apes, which, however, dressed and lived like

men, and had more comfortable dwellings than

238 THE APES.

Other apes, and even bore all kinds of weapons.

He descended from his flying carpet, and march-

ed into the valley with a few of his troops.

The apes hurried together to drive him back,

but one of their elders stepped forward and

said, " Let us rather seek safety in submission,

for our foe is a holy prophet." Three apes

were immediately chosen as ambassadors to ne-

gotiate with Solomon. He received them kind-

ly, and inquired to which class of apes they be-

longed, and how it came to pass that they were

so skilled in all human arts. The ambassadors

replied, " Be not astonished at us, for we are

descended from men, and are the remnant of a

Jewish community, which, notwithstanding all

admonition, continued to desecrate the Sabbath,

until Allah cursed them, and turned them into

apes.* Solomon was moved to compassion

and, to protect them from all farther animosity

on the part of man, gave them a parchment, in

which he secured to them forever the undis-

turbed possession of this valley.

[At the time of the Calif Omar, there came a

.division of troops into this valley ; but when they would have raised their tents to occupy it,

there came an aged ape, with a scroll of parch-

ment in his hands, and presented it to the leader

of the soldiers. Yet, as no one was able to read

Mohammed mentions this in the Koran as a fact.

NUBARA.

it, they sent it to Omar at Medinq, to whom it

was explained by a Jew, who had been convert-

ed to Islam. He sent it back forthwith, and

commanded the troops to evacuate the valley.]

Meanwhile, Balkis soon found a dangerous

rival in Djarada, the daughter of King Nubara,

who governed one of -the finest islands in the

Indian Ocean. This king was a fearful tyrant,

and forced all his subjects to worship him as a

god.

As soon as Solomon heard of it, he marched

against him with as many troops as his largest

carpet could contain, conquered the island, and

slew the king with his own hand. When he

was on the point of leaving the palace of Nuba-ra, there stepped before him a virgin who far

surpassed in beauty and grace the whole harem of Solomon, not even the Queen of Saba except-

ed. He commanded her to be led to his carpet,

and, threatening her with death, forced her to

accept his faith and his hand.

But Djarada saw in Solomon only the mur-

derer of her father, and replied to his caresses

with sighs and tears.

Solomon hoped that time would heal her

wounds, and reconcile her to her fate ; but

when, at the expiration of a whole year, her

heart still remained closed against love and joy,

he overwhelmed her with reproaches, and in-

quired how he might assuage her grief.

240 IDOLATRY. A9SAF.

^ " As it is not in thy power," replied Djarada,

•

to recall my father to life, send a few genii to

my home: let them bring his statue, and place

it in my chamber : perhaps the very sight of his

image will procure me some consolation."

Solomon was weak enough to comply with

her request, and to defile his palace with the im-

age of a man who had deified himself, and to

whom even Djarada secretly paid divine honors.

This idol worship had lasted forty days, when Assaf was informed of it. He therefore mount-

ed the rostrum, and, before the whole assembled

people, pronounced a discourse, in which he de-

scribed the pure and God-devoted life of all the

prophets, from Adam until David. In passing

to Solomon, he praised the wisdom and piety

of the first years of his reign, but regretted that

his later courses showed less of the true fear of

God.

As soon as Solomon had learned the contents

of this discourse, he summoned Assaf, and in-

quired of him whereby he had deserved to be

thus censured before the whole people.

Assaf replied, " Thou hast permitted thy pas-

sion to blind thee, and suffered idolatry in thy

palace."

Solomon hastened to the apartments of Dja-

rada, whom he found prostrate in prayer before

the image of her father, and exclaiming.

SACHR. 241

" We belong unto Allah, and shall one day-

return to Him !" he shivered the idol to pieces,

and punished the princess. He then put on new robes, which none but pure virgins had touched,

strewed ashes on his head, went into the desert,

and implored Allah for forgiveness.

Allah pardoned his sin ; but he was to atone

for it during forty days. On returning home in

the evening, having given his signet into the

keeping of one of his wives until he should re-

turn from an unclean place, Sachr assumed his

form, and obtained from her the ring. Soon

after, Solomon himself claimed it ; but he was

laughed at and derided, for the light of prophecy

had departed from him, so that no one recog-

nized him as king, and he was driven from his

palace as a deceiver and impostor. He now wandered up and down the country, and wher-

ever he gave his name he was mocked as a

madman, and shamefully entreated. In this

manner he lived nine-and-thirty days, sometimes

begging, sometimes living on herbs. On the

fortieth day he entered into the service of a fish-

erman, who promised him as his daily Wages

two fishes, one of which he hoped to exchange

for bread. But on that day the power of Sachr

came to an end ; for this wicked spirit had, not-

withstanding his external resemblance to Solo-

mon, and his possession of the signet ring, by 16 X

242 PROVIDKNCE.

which he had obtained power over spirits, men,

and aninnals, excited suspicion by his ungodly

deportment, and his senseless and unlawful or-

dinances.

The elders of Israel came daily to Assaf, pre-

ferring new charges against the king ; but Assaf

constantly found the doors of the palace closed

against him.

But when, finally, on the fortieth day, even

the wives of Solomon came and complained

that the king no longer observed any of the pre-

scribed rules of purification, Assaf, accompanied

by some doctors of the law, who were reading

aloud in the Thora, forced his way, spite of the

gate-keepers and sentinels, who would have hin-

dered him, into the hall of state, where Sachr

sojourned. No sooner did he hear the word of

God, which had been revealed to Moses,* than

he shrunk back into his native form, and flew in

haste to the shore of the sea, where the signet

ring dropped from him.

By the providence of the Lord of the universe,

* There is an allusion here to the peculiar ideas which both

Mohammedans and Jews attach to the recitation of scriptural or

imagined sacred words and sentences.

They believe their bare reading or repetition valuable

1, As being meritorious before God, independent of any reac-

tion which it may produce on their heart and understanding.

2. Because every letter is supposed to possess a (cabalistic)

charm acting with resistless power upon spirits, and even upou

the Lord himself.—£. T.

I'UNlSUilKXr OF SAClilC. 243

the ring was caught up and swallowed by a

fish, which was soon afterward driven into the

net of the fisherman whom Solomon served.

•

Solomon received this fish as the wages of his

labor, and when he ate it in the evening he

found his ring.

He then commanded the winds to take him

back to Jerusalem, where he assembled around

him all the chiefs of men, birds, beasts, and spir-

its, and related to them all that had befallen him

during the last forty days, and how Allah had,

in a miraculous manner, restored the ring which

Sachr had wilily usurped.

He then caused Sachr to be pursued, and

forced him into a copper flask, which he sealed

with his signet, and flung between two rocks

into the Sea of Tiberias, where he must remain

until the day of the resurrection.

The government of Solomon, which after this

occurrence lasted ten years, was not clouded

again by misfortune. Djarada, the cause of his

calamity, he never desired to see again, although

she was now truly converted. But Queen Bal-

kis he visited regularly every month until the

day of her death.

When she died, he caused her remains to be

taken to the city of Tadmor, which she had

founded, and buried her there. But her grave

remained unknown until the reign of Calif Wa-

344 THE TOMB OF UUEEN BALKIS.

lid, when, in consequence oflong-continued rains,

the walls of Tadmor fell in, and a stone coffin

was discovered sixty cubits long and forty wide,

bearing this inscription

" Here is the grave of the pious Balkis, the

Queen of Saba and consort of the Prophet Solo-

mon, the son of David. She was converted to

the true faith in the thirteenth year of Solomon's

accession to the throne, married him in the 14th,

and died on Monday, the second day of Rabi-

Awwal, in the three-and-twentieth year of his

reign."

The son of the calif caused the lid of the coffin

to be raised up, and discovered a female form,

which was as fresh and well preserved as if it

had but just been buried. He immediately made

a report of it to his father, inquiring what should

be done with the coffin.

Walid commanded that it should be left in the

place where it was found, and be so built up

with marble stones that it should never be dese-

crated again by human hands.

This command was obeyed ; and, notwith-

standing the many devastations and changes

which the city of Tadmor and her walls have

suffered, no traces have been found of the tomb

of Queen Balkis.

A few months after the death of the Queen

TIIF ANGKI, f)F DEATH-. 248

of Saba, the Angel of Death appeared unto Solo-

mon with six faces : one to the right, and one to

the left; one in front, and one behind ; one above

his head, and one below it. The king, who had

never seen him in this form, was startled, and

inquired what this sixfold visage signified.

" With the face to the right," replied the An-

gel of Death, " I fetch the souls from the east

with that to the left, the souls from the west;

with that above, the souls of the inhabitants of

heaven ; with that below, the demons from the

depths of the earth ; with that behind, the souls

of the people of Madjudj and Jadjudj (Gog and

Magog) ; but with thut in front, those of the

Faithful, to whom also thy soul belongs."

" Must, then, even the angels die 1"

" All that lives becomes the prey of death as

soon as Israfil shall have blown the trumpet the

second time. Then I shall put to death even

Gabriel and Michael, and immediately after that

must myself die, at the command of Allah.

Then God alone remains, and exclaims, ' Whose is the world V but there shall not a living crea-

tui^e be left to answer him ! And forty years

must elapse, when Israfil shall be recalled to life,

that he may blow his trumpet a third time, to

wake all the dead."

" And who among men shall rise first from the

grave ?"

X2

240 rilK LAST JUDfiMENT.

" Mohammed, the prophet, who shall in later

times spring from the descendants of Ismael.

" Israfil himself and Gabriel, together with

other angels, shall come to his grave at Medina,

and cry, ' Thou purest and noblest of souls ! re-

turn again to thy immaculate body, and revive

it again.' Then shall he rise from his grave,

and shake the dust from his head. Gabriel

greets him, and points to the winged Borak,

who stands prepared for him, and to a standard

and a crown which Allah sends him from Para-

dise. The angel then says to him, 'Come to

thy Lord, and mine, thou elect among all crea-

tures ! The gardens of Eden are festively

adorned for thee ; the houris await thee with

impatience.' He then lifts him upon Borak,

places the heavenly standard in his hand, and

the crown upon his head, and leads him into

Paradise. Thereupon the rest of mankind shall

be called to life. They shall all be brought to

Palestine, where the great tribunal shall be held,

and where no other intercession than that of Mo-hammed is accepted. That will be a fearful

day, when every one shall think only of himself.

Adam will cry, 'O Lord, save my soul only ! I

care not for Eve, nor for Abel.' Noah will ex-

claim, ' O Lord, preserve me from hell, and do

with Ham and Shem as thou pleasest !' Abra-

ham shall say, ' I pray neither for Ismael nor

SEVEN" BUIUGE.^. 24V

Isaac, but for my own safely only.' Even Mo-ses shall forget his brother Aaron, and Christ

his mother, so greatly shall they be concerned

for themselves. None but Mohammed shall im-

plore the mercy of God for all the faithful of his

people. They that are risen will then be con-

ducted over the bridge Sirat, which is com-

posed of seven bridges, each of which is three

thousand years long. This bridge is as sharp as

a sword, and as fine as a hair. One third of it

is an ascent, one third is even, and one third is

a descent. He alone who passes all these

bridges with success can be admitted into Para-

dise. The unbelievers fall into hell from the

first bridge ; the prayerless, from the second

the uncharitable, from the third ; whoever has

eaten in Ramadhan, from the fourth; whoever

has neglected the pilgrimage, from the fifth

whoever hath not commended the good, from

the sixth ; and whoso hath not prevented evil,

from the seventh."

" When shall the resurrection be ?"

" That is known only to Allah ; but assuredly

not before the advent of Mohammed, the last of

all prophets. Previously to it the prophet Isa

(Christ), sprung from thy own ftimily, shall

preach the true faith, shall be lifted up by Al-

lah, and be born again. The nations of Jadjudj

and Madjudj shall burst the wall behind which

2-48 DEATH OF SOLOMON.

Alexander has confined them. The sun shall

rise in the west, and many other signs and won-

ders shall precede."

" Suffer me to live until the completion of my temple, for at my death the genii and demons

will cease their labor."

" Thy hour-glass has run out, and it is not ia

my power to prolong thy life another second."

" Then follow me to my crystal hall

!"

The Angel of Death accompanied Solomon

unto the hall, whose walls were entirely of crys-

tal. There Solomon prayed ; and, leaning upon

his staff, requested the angel to take his soul in

that position. The angel consented ; and his

death was thus concealed from the demons a

whole year, till the temple was finished. It was

not until the staff, when destroyed by worms,

broke down with him, that his death was ob-

served by the spirits, who, in order to revenge

themselves, concealed all kinds of magical books

under his throne, so that many believers thought

Solomon had been a sorcerer. But he was a

pure and divine prophet, as it is written in the

Koran, " Solomon was no infidel, but the demons were unbelievers, and taught all manner of sor-

ceries." When the king was lying on the ground,

the angels carried him, together with his signet

ring, to a cave, where they shall guard him until

the day of the resurrection.

JOHN, MARY, AND CHRIST.

There once lived in Palestine a man named Amram Ibn Mathan, who had attained to a great

age without being blessed with posterity. Short-

ly before his death his wife Hanna prayed to

the Lord that he might not suffer her to die child-

less. Her prayer was heard, and when she was

with child she dedicated her offspring to the ser-

vice of the Lord ; but, contrary to her expec-

tations, she gave birth to a daughter, whom she

named Mariam (Mary), and was naturally in

doubt if her child would be accepted as a servant

in the temple, until an angel cried to her, " Allah

has accepted thy vow, although he knew before-

hand that thou shouldst not give birth to a son.

He has, moreover, sanctified thy daughter, as

well as the man-child that shall be born of her,

and will preserve him from the touch of Satan,

who renders every other child susceptible of

sin from its birth (on which account, also, all

children cry aloud when they are born)."

These words comforted Hanna, whose hus-

band had died during her pregnancy. As soon

as she had recovered from her childbed, she

carried her infant daughter to Jerusalem, and

presented her to the priests, as a child dedi-

cated to Allah. Zachariah, a priest whose wife

was related to Hanna, was desirous of taking the

250 ZACHARIAH.

child home with him ; but the other priests, who were all eager for this privilege (for, on account

of his piety, Amram had stood high in repute

among them), protested against it, and forced

him to cast lots with them for the guardianship

of Mary. They proceeded, therefore, twenty-

nine in number, to the Jordan, and flung their

arrows into the river, on the understanding that

he whose arrow should rise again, and remain

on the water, should bring her up. By the will

of Allah, the lot decided in favor of Zachariah,

who then built a small chamber for Mary in the

Temple, to which no one had access but him-

self; but when he brought her some food, she

was already supplied, and though it was in win-

ter, the choicest summer fruits were standing be-

fore her. To his inquiry whence she had ob-

tained it all, she replied, " From Allah, who sat-

isfieth every one according to his own pleasure,

and giveth no account of his proceedings."*

When Zachariah saw this, he prayed to Allah

* The general defection of the Church had, long before Mo-

hammed's time, spread into Arabia, where Christianity had been

early and extensively planted.

Many heresies respecting the Trinity and the Savior, the wor-

ship of saints and images, errors on the future state of the soul,

&c., had so completely overrun the nominal church of that coun-

try, that it is difficult to say whether one particle of truth was

left in it. More especially the worship of Mary as the mother of

God, whom the Marianites considered as a divinity, and to whom the CoUyridians even offered a stated sacrifice, was in general

practice round Mohammed ; and it is as curious as it is sad to

observe how this idolatry affected him,

E. T,

UNBELIEF. *251

to perform a miracle even in his case, and to

bless him with a son, notwithstanding his ad-

vanced age. Then Gabried called to him, " Al-

lah will give thee a son, who shall be called

Jahja (John), and bear testimony to the Word of God" (Christ). Zachariah went down to his

house filled with joy, and related to his wife

what the angel had announced to him ; but as

she was already ninety-and-eight years of age,

and her husband one hundred and twenty, she

laughed at him, so that at length he himself be-

gan to doubt the fulfillment of the promise, and

asked a sign from Allah.

" As the punishment of thy unbelief," cried

Gabriel unto him, " thou shalt be speechless for

three days, and let this serve thee as the sign

thou hast required."

On the following morning, Zachariah, as usual,

desired to lead in prayer, but was unable to utter

a single sound until the fourth day, when his

tongue was loosed, and he besought Allah to

pardon him and his wife.

Then there came a voice from heaven, which

said, " Your sin is forgiven, and Allah will give

you a son, who shall surpass in purity and holi-

ness all the men of his time. Blessed be he in

the day of his birth, as well as in those of his

death and resurrection."

Within a year's time Zachariah became the

father of a child, which, even at its birth, had a

352 MARY.

holy and venerable appearance. He now di-

vided his time between him and Mary ; and

John in the house of his father, and Mary in the

Temple, grew up like two fair flowers, to the joy

of all believers, daily increasing in wisdom and

piety.

When Mary had grown to womanhood, there

appeared to her one day, while she was alone

in her cell, Gabriel, in full human form.

Mary hastily covered herself with her veil,

and cried, " Most Merciful ! assist me against

this man."

But Gabriel said, " Fear nothing from me : I

am the messenger of thy Lord, who has exalted

thee above all the women of earth, and am come

to make known to thee his will. Thou shalt

bear a son, and call him Jsa, the Blessed One.

He shall speak earlier than all other children,

and be honored both in this world and in the

world to come !"

" How shall I bear a son," replied Mary, af-

frighted, " since I have not known a man ?"

" It is even so," replied Gabriel. '* Did not

Allah create Adam without either father or

mother, merely by his word, ' Be thou created V

Thy son shall be a sign of His omnipotence,

and as His prophet, restore the backsliding sons

of Israel to the path of righteousness."

When Gabriel had thus spoken, he raised with

BIRTH OV CHUltiT. 368

his finger Mary's robe from her bosom, and

breathed upon her.

Thereupon she ran into the field, and had

scarcely time to support herself on the withered

trunk of a date-tree before she was delivered of

a son. Then cried she, " Oh that I had died, and

been forgotten long ere this, rather than that the

suspicion of having sinned should fall upon me !"

Gabriel appeared again to her, and said, "Fear

nothing, Mary. Behold, the Lord causes a

fountain of fresh water to gush forth from the

earth at thy feet, and the trunk on which thou

leanest is blossoming even now, and fresh dates

are covering its withered branches. Eat and

drink, and when thou art satisfied, return to thy

people ; and if any one shall inquire of thee re-

specting thy child, be thou silent, and leave thy

defense to Him."

Mary plucked a few dates, which tasted like

fruit from Paradise, drank from the fountain,

whose water was even like milk, and then went,

with her child in her arms, unto her family ; but

all the people cried out to her, " Mary, what hast

thou done ? Thy father was so pious, and thy

mother so chaste

!"

Mary, instead of replying, pointed to the child.

Then said her relations, " Shall this new-born

child answer us?"

But Jesus said, " Do not sin in suspecting my Y

254 MlRACLt^.

mother. Allah has created me by his word, and

has chosen me to be his servant and prophet."

But, notwithstanding all these wonders, the

sons of Israel would not believe in Christ when,

at the age of manhood, he proclaimed to them

the Gospel which Allah had revealed to him.

He was derided and despised because he called

himself" the Word and the Spirit of Allah," and

was challenged to perform new miracles in the

sight of the whole people.

Christ then created, at the will of Allah, vari-

ous kinds of birds out of clay, which he animated

with his breath, so that they ate and drank, and

flew up and down like natural birds.* He healed in one day by his prayer fifty thousand

blind and leprous persons, whose cure the best

physicians of those times had been unable to ef-

fect. He recovered many dead, who, after he

had recalled them to life, married again, and had

children, and even raised up Sam, the son of

Noah, who, however, died again immediately.

But he not only revived men, but even isolated

parts and limbs. During his wanderings, he one

* In the original, it is said, Christ was able to tell the people

what food they had taken, and what provisions they had laid up

in store. This whole legend shows how painfully deceived Mo-hammed was by those who spoke to him of the Lord Jesus Christ

but if, even with his knowledge, he believed Him to have been a

great prophet, would he not have believed in his dirinity if he had

read the Gospels ?

TUE sKLLL. 255

day found a skull near the Dead Sea, and his

disciples asked him to recall it to life. Christ

prayed to Allah, and then, turning to the skull,

said, " Live, by the will of the Lord, and tell us

how thou hast found death, the grave, and the

future state

!"

The skull then assumed the form of a living

head, and said, " Know thou, O Prophet of Al-

lah ! that about four thousand years ago, after

taking a bath, I fell into a fever, vv^hich, notwith-

standing all the medicines which were given me,

continued seven days. On the eighth day I was

so entirely exhausted that all my limbs trembled,

and my tongue cleaved to the roof of my mouth.

Then there came to me the Angel of Death in a

terrible shape. His head touched the sky, while

his feet stood in the lowest depths of the earth.

He held a sword in his right hand, and a cup in

his left, and there were ten other angels with him,

whom I took to be his servants. I would have

shrieked so loudly at their sight that the inhabi-

tants of heaven and of earth must have been pet-

rified ; but the angels fell on me, and held my tongue, and some of them pressed my veins, so

as to force out my soul. Then said I, ' Exalted

spirits, I will give all that I possess for my life.'

But one of them struck me in the face, and al

most shattered my jaw-bone, saying, ' Enemy of

Allah ! He accepts no ransom.' The Angel of

Death then placed his sword upon my throat.

256 THE SKULL.

and gave me the cup, which I was forced to

empty to the dregs, and this was my death. My consciousness now lost, I was washed, wrapped

in a shroud, and interred ; but when my grave

was covered with earth, my soul returned to my body, and I was sorely afraid in my solitude.

But soon there came two angels, with a parch-

ment in their hands, and told unto me all the good

and all the bad that I had done while living in the

body, and I was compelled to write it down with

my own hand, and to attest it by my own signa-

ture ; whereupon they suspended the scroll on

my neck, and vanished. There then appeared

two other dark blue angels, each with a column

of fire in his hand, one single spark of which, if

it had dropped on the earth, would have con-

sumed it. They called to me, in a voice like

thunder, ' Who is thy Lord V Overcome with

fright, I lost my senses, and said, shudderingly,

* You are my lords ;' but they cried, ' Thou liest,

enemy of Allah !' and struck me a blow with the

column of fire that sent me down to the seventh

earth ; but as soon as I returned again to my grave, they said, ' O Earth ! punish the man who has been rebellious against his Lord.' Instantly

the earth crushed me, so that my bones were

almost ground to powder ; and she said, ' Enemy of God ! I hated thee while thou didst tread my surface, but, by the glory of Allah, I will avenge

me now, while thou art lying in my bowels.'

TMR SKUI.r.. m The angels then opened one of the gateways of

hell, and cried, ' Take this sinner, who did not

believe in Allah ; boil and burn him.' There-

upon I was dragged into the center of hell by a

chain which was seventy cubits in length, and

as often as the flames consumed my skin I re-

ceived a fresh one, but only to suftbr anew the

torments of burning. At the same time, I was

so hungry that I prayed for food ; but I only ob-

tained the putrefied fruit of the tree Sakum,

which not merely increasfed my hunger, but even

caused the most horrid pain and violent thirst;

and when 1 asked for something to drink, noth-

ing but boiling water was given me. At last

they urged one end of the chain with such vio-

lence into my mouth, that it came out through

my back, and chained me hand and foot."

When Christ heard this, he wept with com-

passion, but demanded of the skull to describe

hell more minutely.

" Know, then," continued the skull, " O Proph-

et of Allah ! that hell consists of seven floors,

one below the other. The uppermost is for

hypocrites, the second for Jews, the third for

Christians, the fourth for the Magi, the fifth for

those who call the prophets liars, the sixth for

idolaters, and the seventh for the sinners of the

people of the prophet Mohammed, who shall ap-

pear in later times. The last-mentioned abode

17 y 2

258 THE SKULL.

is least terrible, and sinners are saved from it

through the intercession of Mohammed ; but in

the others the torture and agony are so great,

that if thou, O Prophet of Allah ! shouldst but

see it, thou wouldst weep with compassion as a

woman who has lost her only child. The outer

part of hell is of copper, and the inner part of

lead. Its floor is punishment, and the wrath of

the Almighty its ceihng. The walls are of fire,

not clear and luminous, but black fire, and dif-

fusing a close, disgusting stench, being fed with

men and idols."

Christ wept long, and then inquired of the

skull to which family he belonged during lifetime.

He replied, " I am a descendant of the Proph-

et Elias

!"

" And what desirest thou now ?"

" That Allah would recall me to life, that 1

might serve him with my whole heart, so as one

day to be worthy of Paradise !"

Christ prayed to Allah, " O Lord ! thou know-

est this man and me better than we know our

selves, and art omnipotent."

Then Allah said to him, " I had long ago re

solved upon that which he desires ; since, in

deed, he had many excellences, and was espe-

cially benevolent to the poor, he may return to

the world through thy intercession ; and if he

serve me henceforward faithfully, all his sins

shall be forgiven,"

THE SKULL. 259

Christ cried unto the skull, " Be again a per-

fect man, through the omnipotence of God !" and

while the words were still on his lips, there rose

up a man who looked more blooming than in

his former life, and cried, " I confess that there

is but one God, and that Abraham was his friend

Moses saw him face to face, Isa is his spirit and

word, and Mohammed shall be his last and

greatest messenger. I confess, moreover, that

the resurrection is as certain as death, and that

hell and Paradise do really exist."

This man lived sixty-and-six years after his re-

suscitation, and spent his days in fasting and his

nights in prayer ; nor did he alienate a single mo-

ment from the service of the Lord until he died.

But the more wonders Christ performed be-

fore the eyes of the people, the greater was their

unbelief; for all that they were not able to com-

prehend they believed to be sorcery and delu-

sion, instead of perceiving therein a proof of his

divine mission. Even the twelve apostles whom he had chosen to propagate the new doctrine

were not steadfast in the faith, and asked of

him one day that he might cause a table, cover-

ed with viands, to descend from heaven !

"A table shall be given you," said a voice from

heaven, "but whosoever shall thereafter contin-

ue in unbelief shall suffer severe punishment."

Thereupon there descended two clouds, with

260 MIRACLES.

a golden table, on which there stood a covered

dish of silver.

Many of the Israelites who were present ex-

claimed, "Behold the sorcerer! what new de-

lusion has he wrought?" But these scoffers

were instantly changed into swine. And on

seeing it, Christ prayed, " O Lord ! let this table

lead us to salvation and not to ruin !" Then said

he to the apostles, " Let him who is the greatest

among you rise and uncover this dish." But Si-

mon, the oldest apostle, said, " Lord, thou art the

most worthy to behold this heavenly food first."

Christ then washed his hands, removed the cover,

and said, " In the name of Allah !" and behold,

there became visible a large baked fish, with

neither bones nor scales, which diffused a fra-

grance around like the fruits of Paradise. Round

the fish there lay five small loaves, and on it salt,

pepper, and other spices. " Spirit ofAllah," said

Simon, "are these viands from this world or

from the other ?" But Christ replied, " Are not

both worlds, and all that they contain, the work

of the Lord ? Receive whatever he has given

with grateful hearts, and ask not whence it

comes ! But if the appearance of this fish be not

sufficiently miraculous to you, you shall behold

a still greater sign." Then, turning to the fish,

he said, " Live ! by the will of the Lord !" The fish then began to stir and to move, so that the

apostles fled with fear. But Christ called them

MIRACLES. 261

back, and said, "Why do you flee from that

which you have desired ?" He then called to

the fish, " Be again what thou wast before !" and

immediately it lay there as it had come down from heaven. The disciples then prayed Christ

that he might eat of it first ; but he replied, " I

have not lusted for it : he that has lusted for it,

let him eat of it now." But when the disciples

refused to eat of it, because they now saw that

their request had been sinful, Christ called many aged men—many deaf, sick, blind, and lame, and

invited them to eat of the fish. There now came thirteen hundred, which ate of the fish, and were

satisfied ; but whenever one piece was cut off

from the fish, another grew again in its place,

so that it still lay there entire as if no one had

touched it. The guests were not only satisfied,

but even healed of all their diseases. The aged

became young, the blind saw, the deaf heard,

the dumb spake, and the lame regained their vig-

orous limbs. When the apostles saw this, they

regretted that they had not eaten ; and whoever

beheld the men that had been cured and invigo-

rated thereby, regretted in like manner not to

have shared in the repast. When, therefore, at

the prayer of Christ, a similar table descended

again from heaven, the whole people, rich and

poor, young and old, sick and whole, came to be

refreshed by these heavenly viands. This lasted

during forty days. At the dawn of day, the

262 MIRACL.ES.

table, borne on the clouds, descended in the face

of the sons of Israel, and before sunset it gradu-

ally rose up again, until it vanished behind the

clouds ; but as, notwithstanding this, many still

doubted whether it really came from heaven,

Christ prayed no longer for its return, and threat-

ened the unbelievers with the punishment of the

Lord. Nevertheless, in the hearts of the apos-

tles every doubt respecting the mission of their

Lord was removed, and they traveled partly in

his company, partly alone, through the whole of

Palestine, preaching the faith in Allah and his

prophet Christ, and, according to the new reve-

lation, permitting the eating of many things

which had been prohibited to the sons of Israel.

But when he would have sent them to teach

his Gospel even in distant countries, they ex-

cused themselves with their ignorance of foreign

tongues. Christ complained of their disobedi-

ence before the Lord ; and behold, on the follow-

ing day his disciples had forgotten their own language, and every one knew only the language

of the people unto which Christ desired to send

him, so that they had no longer anv reason to

disobey his commands.

But while the true faith found many followers

abroad, the hatred of the sons of Israel, but espe-

cially of the priests and the heads of the people,

toward Christ, daily waxed in rancor, until at

last, when he had attained the age of thirty-and-

LAST HOURS. 263

three years, they sought to take his life ; but

Allah overthrew their plans, and raised him to

heaven unto himself, vvrhile another man, whom Allah had caused to have a perfect resemblance

to him, was put to death in his stead.

The farther particulars of the last moments of

this prophet are variously narrated by the learn-

ed, but most of them run as follows : On the

evening before the Passover feast, the Jews took

Christ captive, together with his apostles, and

shut them up in a house, with the intention of

putting Christ publicly to death on the following

morning. But in the night Allah revealed to

him, " Thou shalt receive death from me, but im-

mediately afterward be raised up to heaven, and

be delivered from the power of the unbelievers."

Christ gave up his spirit, and remained dead for

the space of three hours. In the fourth hour the

angel Gabriel appeared, and raised him unper-

ceived by any through a window into heaven.

But an unbelieving Jew, who had stolen into the

house to watch Christ that he might by no means

escape, became so like him that even the apos-

tles themselves took him to be their prophet.

He it was who, as soon as the day dawned, was

chained by the Jews and led through the streets

of Jerusalem, every body crying to him, " Hast

thou not revived the dead ! Why shouldst thou

not be able to break thy fetters ?" Many prick-

ed him with rods of thorn, others spit in his facci

264 I-AST HOUKS.

until he at last arrived at the place of execution,

where he was crucified, for no one would believe

that he was not the Christ.

But when Mary had wellnigh succumbed from

grief at the shameful death of her supposed son,

Christ appeared to her from heaven, and said,

" Mourn not for me, for Allah has taken me to

himself, and we shall be reunited in the day of

the resurrection. Comfort my disciples, and tell

them that it is well with me in heaven, and that

they shall obtain a place beside me if they con-

tinue steadfast in the faith. Hereafter, at the

approach of the last day, I shall be sent again

upon the earth, when I shall slay the false proph-

et Dadjal and the wild boar (both of which cause

similar distress in the earth), and such a state of

peace and unity shall ensue, that the lamb and

the hyena shall feed like brothers beside each

other. / shall then hum the Gospel, which has

been falsified hy ungodly priests, and the crosses

lohich they have worshiped as gods, and subject

the whole earth to the doctrines of Mohammed, who shall be sent in later times." When Christ

had thus spoken, he was once more lifted on a

cloud to heaven. But Mary lived yet six years

in the faith of Allah, and of Christ her son, and

of the prophet Mohammed, whom both Christ

as well as Moses before him had proclaimed.

The peace of Allah be upon them all

THE END.