"On this subject, if I should refer you to some of the patriarchs of the Bible, you would be able to see how much Christianity has improved the world in this respect. Among the wives of the Prophet was Ayeshah, the daughter of Abu Bekr, one of Mohammed's most enthusiastic disciples, a man of great influence in Mecca, belonging to the Koreish tribe, the religious aristocracy of the city.
"Everything except matrimony, though he had not married all these wives at this time, was in a bad way with Mohammed; for he had lost his property, and had excited a violent opposition to himself among the people, though some of his proselytes remained faithful to him. The pilgrimages to the Kaaba brought many people to Mecca from all quarters, including Medina. Among those from the latter he succeeded in converting several; for he still preached, and still had remarkable visions.
"At the next pilgrimage he obtained twelve more converts, and the one following seventy. All these new disciples sowed the seed of his teachings; and Medina, from which all of them came, appeared to contain the richest soil for the growth of his doctrines. Cast out and persecuted in his own city, the Prophet decided to emigrate to Medina; for he was in close alliance with the converts from that place. In 622 he started on his flight from the city of his birth. This was the Hegira, which means 'the going away;' and from it the Mohammedans reckon their dates, as we do from the birth of Christ.
"The Prophet was attended by Abu Bekr, and followed by about a hundred families of his Meccan adherents; and his going away was not without danger, for his enemies were many and vindictive. But with his multitude he made his way over the desert, and reached his destination in safety. He was received for all he claimed to be by his converts there, and the current of his fortunes as a religious leader was suddenly and entirely changed. He was no longer a madman and an impostor. He had come out of his former obscurity, and now all the details of his daily life became matters of record.
"His modesty did not seem to stand in his way; and he now assumed the functions of the most powerful judge, lawgiver, and ruler of the two most influential Arabic tribes. He devoted his time and study to the organization of the worship of God according to Mohammed, his sole prophet. He was gathering in converts all the time, and his new home was entirely favorable to this work.
"There were many Jews there to whom he turned his attention, preaching to them, and proclaiming that he was the Messiah whose coming they awaited; but they ridiculed his pretensions, and he became furious against them, remaining their enemy till the last day of his life. Whatever good precepts Mohammed promulgated, there appears to have been but little of the 'meek and lowly' spirit of Him 'who spake as never man spake;' for in the first year of the Hegira he gave it out that it was the will of God, expressed by his chosen prophet, that the faithful should make war on the enemies of Islam; which was a sort of manifesto directed against the Meccans who had practically cast him out.
"But he had not the means to carry on war at his command at first in the open field: he assailed the caravans through his agents on their way to and from Syria, and succeeded in seriously disturbing the current of trade. His employment of the sons of the desert enabled him to form alliances with them, and thus obtain the semblance of an army. His first battle was fought between 314 Moslems and about 600 Meccans, and the inspiration of his fanaticism gave him the victory in spite of his inferior force.
"This event gave him a degree of prestige, and many adventurers flocked to his standard. With an increased force he continued to send out expeditions against both of his old enemies, the Meccans and the Jews, exiling the latter. He was generally successful; and after one battle he caused 700 prisoners to be beheaded, and their women and children to be sold into slavery. But in 625 the Meccans defeated him; and he was dangerously wounded in the face by a javelin, some of his teeth having been knocked out. The enemy then besieged Medina; but Mohammed defeated them with the aid of earthworks and a ditch. In the sixth year of the Hegira, he proclaimed a pilgrimage to Mecca; and though the Meccans prevented it from being carried out, it led to a treaty of peace with them for ten years.
"This event enabled him to send out missionaries all over Arabia; and the next year he conducted a pilgrimage to Mecca with 2,000 followers, remaining there undisturbed for three days. After this he carried on war vigorously against more potent powers, whose rulers he summoned to become converts. Some yielded, and others scorned him, one of them beheading the Prophet's messengers. This brought on battles of greater magnitude, and in one he was badly beaten.
"He accused the Meccans of taking part against him, and marched against their city at the head of 10,000 men. It surrendered, and Mohammed was publicly recognized as ruler, and prophet of God. I will read one of his sayings, that you may better understand the man and his religion: 'The sword is the key of heaven and hell: a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, or a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting and prayer. Whoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven him, and at the day of judgment the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of cherubim.'