FOOTNOTES:
[43] Translated by King Alfred the Great.
[44] That is, with their near kinsfolk.
[45] A brother is here styled "his brotherliness," as a pope "his holiness."
[46] The remainder of this is not translated here.
[47] "Sir" in English (Schir, Scottish) equal to Dominus, Latin, was five or six centuries ago prefixed to the name of every ordained priest.
[48] See introduction to Augustine's Missionary Work in England.
THE HEGIRA
CAREER OF MAHOMET: THE KORAN: AND MAHOMETAN CREED
A.D. 622
IRVING
OCKLEY
The flight of Mahomet from Mecca to Medina occurred June 20, 622, and was called the hegira, or departure of the prophet. That event marks the commencement of the Mahometan era, which is called there-from the Hegira. According to the civil calculation it is fixed at Friday, July 16th, the date of the Mahometans, although astronomers and some historians assign it to the day preceding. While primarily referring to the flight of Mahomet, the term is applied also to the emigration to Medina, prior to the capture of Mecca (630) of those of Mahomet's disciples, who henceforth were known as Mohajerins—- Emigrants or Refugees—which became a title of honor.
A scion of the family of Hashem and of the tribe of Koreish, the noblest race in Arabia, and the guardians of the ancient temple and idols of the Kaaba, Mahomet was born at Mecca, August 20, A.D. 570. He acquired wealth and influence by his marriage with Kadijah, a rich widow, but, about his fortieth year, by announcing himself as an apostle of God, sent to extirpate idolatry and to restore the true faith of the prophets Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, he and his converts were exposed to contumely and persecution.
It was, as Irving's recital shows, necessary for the preservation of his life—- which was threatened by his own tribe, the Koreishites—that Mahomet should leave Mecca, and he escaped none too soon. It must also be observed that by this going out he found ampler means for the spread of his doctrine and the increase of his followers. His very presence among strangers drew multitudes to the support of his cause, and the enthusiasm aroused by the prophet at Medina made that city the centre of his first great propaganda. There Mahomet died; in the Great Mosque is his tomb, and Medina is sometimes called the "City of the Prophet." From this centre began the development and spread of Islam into a world-religion, which has flourished to the present day, when its followers are estimated at nearly two hundred millions, having large empire and still wider influence among some of the most important races of the East.