the fire of her own heart, the people wept tears of blood, the friends and companions all weeping with them, addressing the lord of human beings and cream of existences in the following strains: O lord, what hast thou seen of these broken hearts Therefore thou withdrewest thy shadow from our heads. As this narrow world had not suited thee, Thou hast selected thy place near the throne of God; Thou hast met Him without a leader, Without a mediator thou hast reached His exalted presence! Thou art the bird of the sacred nest. No wonder Thou flewest from this cage again to the rose-garden. Send us a perfume from the rose of hope, Of the perfume thou hast inhaled in paradise ; Pour one drop into our thirsty palates Of the pure wine thou hast tasted of the truth. In the Kitâb Dallâylu-n-nabawwat it is recorded that when his holy and prophetic lordship-u. w. b.-departed from the perishable to the imperishable world, the daylight vanished, so that the people could not see each other, nor even the palms of their hands before their eyes, until the time when the interment had been completed. After that, Abu Bakr and several daughters of A'bdu-l-muttalleb, who were the paternal aunts of the apostle of God, recited threnodies, during which some comforted Fattimah Zohrâ -u. w. b.-but others, weeping and lamenting, did not interfere with her distress and impatience. The author of these pages says that in the biographies of the members of the family and of the companions, innumerable threnodies bewailing the death of the apostle of God occur in verses, but for fear of incurring the charge of prolixity he inserts only the following three distichs uttered by Fattimah : When my grief increases I visit thy tomb weeping, The benediction of Allah be on him, on his descendants, friends, and companions who followed him. to them all. Salutations VARIOUS OTHER EVENTS. It is the opinion of most biographers that the apostle of God expired on Monday, the 12th of the month Rabyi' anterior; some, however, assert that this great calamity took place on the 2nd of the said month. Ssiddyqah says: 'We knew not that the apostle of God had been buried, until we heard on the morning of Tuesday the noise made by the spades while the grave was being filled up with earth.' The Emân Ja'fer Ssâdiq has, however, a tradition from his father, according to which the interment of his lordship took place during the night of Wednesday. There is a statement of Ebn A'bbâs that the prophet was born on a Monday, entered Madinah on a Monday, died on a Monday, and that the black stone was uplifted on a Monday. Two causes have been assigned for the delay of the burial of his lordship. The first was the difference of opinion whether his blessed body ought to be interred in Madinah or to be conveyed to Mekkah; and the second was that, after the first grave had been dug, a discussion arose, whether his lordship ought to be buried in the Baqyi' cemetery, or in his mosque, or in his own apartment. The opinion, however, of the Shia'hs, that the interment was delayed because all the Mohâjer and Anssar were engaged in appointing a successor [to the prophet], is rejected by the Sunnis. Anus B. Mâlek has a tradition that 'on the day when the apostle of God removed [or rather fled] from Mekkah to Madinah, the whole city was shining with light, but that on the day when he departed to the eternal world that glorious region became darkened and obscured, and we had not yet washed off the earth of the prophet's grave from our hands, when these two ideas occurred to us.' His lordship died in a coarse blanket, and Abu Burdah says that A'ayshah took it, as well as a heavy Izâr out of the house, saying: The apostle of God has died in both these things.' Omm Solmah says: On the day when the apostle expired I placed on his blessed breast my hand, which thereon began to exhale the odour of musk. I used to eat with my hand, and washed it, but the fragrance of musk, nevertheless, adhered to it for several weeks.' It is the general opinion that his holy and prophetic lordship lived sixty-three years, and that after forty years of his precious life had elapsed, he was raised to the high dignity of prophecy. After he had, during thirteen years, exhorted the people to adopt the orthodox religion, he departed [i.e., fled] from Mekkah to Madinah, where he remained ten years, promulged the revelation of God and preached the commandments of the noble religion, as has been recorded in these pages by way of abridgment. Should, however, life be granted to the author to complete the present work, and his exalted patron 435-may he sit on the throne of dignity and glory till the end of the world— agrees, the author would compose a separate and detailed biography of his holy and prophetic lordship, if it pleaseth Allah the Most High. At present, however, the unworthy writer will narrate the adventure of Moa'adh B. Jabal, which is not void of interest and attraction. Thereon he will give a slight notice of the miracles of the prince of existences, and after that he will begin to describe the reigns of the divinely-guided Khalifahs and later Emâms. Allah grants favours, and in Him we trust. MOA'ADH B. JABAL GOES TO THE COUNTRY OF YEMEN AND RETURNS AGAIN. The U'lamâ who wrote biographies-Allah have mercy on them-relate that after the decease of Bâdân, the Governor of Yemen, the apostle of God, having one day terminated the matutinal prayers, turned his blessed face towards his companions, and said: 'O ye Mohâjer and Anssâr, who of you is willing to go to Yemen ?' Abu Bakr rose, and said: 'O apostle of God, may my father and mother be a sacrifice for thee! I am ready to go.' His lordship, however, replied nothing. After awhile the apostle repeated the same words; and O'mar rose, saying: 435 A'li Shir, the Amir of Herat. 6 O apostle of God, I shall go !' But his lordship said neither yea nor nay. When he had uttered the words for the third time, Moa'adh B. Jabal rose, and said: 'If thou wilt allow, I shall do this business. May my father and mother be a sacrifice for thee, as well as my own life, O apostle of God!' To these words of Moa'adh, his lordship the refuge of termination replied: Yes; thou art fit for the business, and the business is fit for thee.' Then he said: Ballâl, bring my turban.' Ballâl obeyed, and his lordship placed the blessed turban with his own blessed hands on the head of Moa'adh, and, having mounted him on a camel, he proceeded with the Anssâr and the Mohâjer, all of whom were on foot, in the company of Moa'adh, his lordship walking by the side of the latter, and imparting to him his instructions. On that occasion Moa'adh said: 'O apostle of God, I am mounted and thou art on foot; wilt thou allow me to alight and to walk with thy companions ?' But the prophet replied: 'I believe I am walking on the business of God the Most High, O Moa'adh. I enjoin thee to be pious, of veracious speech and righteous dealing. I command thee to surrender anything which may be deposited with thee, to avoid fraud, to be kind, to abstain from everything illicit, to perform all duties, to give alms to the poor, to be of fair address, and to be forward in saluting the people. Be afraid of the day of reckoning and of requital, and prefer the blessings of the next to the goods of the present world. O Moa'adh, insult no Musalmân, believe no liar, disbelieve no veracious person, and disobey no righteous superior. O Moa'adh, whatever good 1 covet for myself, that I covet for thee; and whatever evil I desire to avoid, I wish thee to escape from likewise. O Moa'adh, visit the sick, and quickly relieve widows and destitute women. Be familiar with orphans, associate with poor persons, and prefer the interests of others to thy own. Step not out from the circle of righteousness, and let no insult of any man which he utters for the sake of truth offend thee. O Moa'adh, were another meeting after this possible between thee and me, I would certainly have cut short my admonitions, but we shall see each other no more till the day of the resurrection. It is easy to separate and meet again; But we separate; and where do we meet again? After Moa'adh had listened to these words of his holy and prophetic lordship, he began to weep, so that from the fire in his heart the smoke of melancholy ascended into his brains. He took leave of that prince with a grieved heart and sorrowful mind, departed to Yemen, and arrived, after performing the journey, in Ssana'a, which is the capital of that country. There the people hastened to wait on him; he mounted the pulpit, and delivered an address beginning with the praises of the Almighty Creator, and salutations to the elected Ahmad-u. w. b.-and ending with the promulgation of the treaty of the apostle of God. After he had terminated this business, the nobles and chiefs said to him: We have prepared a repast for thee, as well as a lodging, with carpets and beds suited to thy dignity and position, and request thee to take possession.' But Moa'adh replied: "O ye nobles of Ssana'a, God forbid that I should do so. For the favourite of Allah has sent me to visit the sick, to relieve the distress of widows and sick persons, to call on orphans, to associate with the poor and destitute, and to prefer the interests of justice to my own; to promulge the truth to the people, and not to take notice of the insults of anyone when I am preaching the commands of God.' After that Moa'adh selected a corner [of a room] for his lodging, obtained imperishable nourishment by his pursuits, and attended to the government of that country until he heard one night the following words in a dream: 'O Moa'adh, thou art on the couch of repose, whereas Muhammad, the apostle of God, is in the agony of death!' He therefore leapt up weeping, and thought that perhaps the morn of the day of resurrection had dawned. When, however, he looked at the firmament with its twinkling stars in its usual condition, he thought that the words he had just heard originated either from his own hallucination or from machinations of Satan; he therefore exclaimed: |