[297] This interval is known as the Fatra.
[298] Literally, 'warn.'
[299] 'The abomination' (al-rujz) probably refers to idolatry.
[300] Literally, "The Last State shall be better for thee than the First," referring either to Muḥammad's recompense in the next world or to the ultimate triumph of his cause in this world.
[301] Islám is a verbal noun formed from Aslama, which means 'to surrender' and, in a religious sense, 'to surrender one's self to the will of God.' The participle, Muslim (Moslem), denotes one who thus surrenders himself.
[302] Sprenger, Leben des Mohammad, vol. i, p. 356.
[303] It must be remembered that this branch of Muḥammadan tradition derives from the pietists of the first century after the Flight, who were profoundly dissatisfied with the reigning dynasty (the Umayyads), and revenged themselves by painting the behaviour of the Meccan ancestors of the Umayyads towards Muḥammad in the blackest colours possible. The facts tell another story. It is significant that hardly any case of real persecution is mentioned in the Koran. Muḥammad was allowed to remain at Mecca and to carry on, during many years, a religious propaganda which his fellow-citizens, with few exceptions, regarded as detestable and dangerous. We may well wonder at the moderation of the Quraysh, which, however, was not so much deliberate policy as the result of their indifference to religion and of Muḥammad's failure to make appreciable headway in Mecca.
[304] Ibn Hishám, p. 168, l. 9. sqq.
[305] At this time Muḥammad believed the doctrines of Islam and Christianity to be essentially the same.
[306] Ṭabarí, i, 1180, 8 sqq. Cf. Caetani, Annali dell' Islam, vol. i, p. 267 sqq.