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THE BIBLE, THE KORAN, AND THE TALHL'C;

BIBLICAL LEGENDS

THE MUSSULMANS.

COMPILED FROM ARABIC SOURCES, AND COMPARED
WITH JEWISH TRADITIONS.-

B Y DR. G. WEIL,
LIBRARIAN OK THE UNIVERSITY OF HEIDELBERG, FELLOW OP THE
ASIATIC SOCIETY OF PARIS, <fcc, &C, &P.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN,
WITH OCCASIONAL NOTES.

NEW-YORIK-:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
82 CLIFF STREET.
1 8 4 fi.

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 pi'ophets.
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 PREFACE.
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, ih 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 this
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

ume, to discuss the 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

Vill 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 evidently 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 with 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 of truth,
but, as his repeated apostasies would serve to
show, being of a skeptical nature, may have dis-

INTRODUCTION. IX
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-

INTRODUCTION.

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 sooa

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

Xll 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 oftheir race and of their temple.
But that they possessed bo 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. Xiii
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 ofthe 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

XIV INTRODUCTION.
cifixion, because it appears to him to reflect
upon the justice of God, andto 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 pf his own name at
least furnished him with a better claim than
some others who had arrogated it to themselves

» The reader is reminded qf 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
iod between the temple and the altar.  K. T.

JNTEODPCTKIV. XV
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 — a
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 of Omar. As translations of the 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 cantra-
dictorv. that no historian. or biographer has bpen

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 Al-
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 ofthe 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
nt Paris.)

CONTENTS.

Page
Adam (a Mohammedan Legend)  19
Idbis, 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, &o.

ADAM.
(A MOHAMMEDAN LEGEND.)
The most authentic records of antiquity 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.f
* The hour of Assr is between noon and evening, and is set
apart by the Mussulman for the performance of his third daily
prayer. t Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was bom in 571 A.D., at
Mecca, where the Kaaba, then an ancient temple, was held in
great veneration. In 622 the idolaters of Mecca compelled him
to emigrate to Medina, where he died in June, 632. Vide Gus
tavus 'Weill. Mokamed der Prophet, sein Leben und seine Lehre,
&c. Stuttgart, 1843, Svo.

20 ADAM CREATED.
Even before it Was animated, Adam's beauti
ful form excited the admiration of the 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 pieee
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 punishment 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 his eyes, they were opened,

ADAM ANIMATED WITH 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
Jescendants 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 shaded his eyes with the other, he inquired,
" O Allah ! what flames are those ?" " It is the
light of a prophet who shall deseend 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 Jalkut (Frankfort on the O., 5460), says Rabbi
Juda, teaches that the world was created on account of the mer
its of Israel. R. Hosia says it was created on account ofthe Thora
(the Law) ; and R. Barachia, on account ofthe merits of Moses.
t The much praised One.

22 THE FALL OF SATAN.
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
obev. 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 5 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 different
tongues.* * When the Lord intended to create man, he consulted with
the angels, and said to them, " We will create man after our im-

EVE. 23
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. Tlje 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.
While 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 Mohamed aus dem Judenthum auf-
gendmmen, 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."* Ridwhan, 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 conducted them to Paradise, where all the
angels and animals present saluted them with
the words, " Hail ! ye parents faf 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 : tbe Thora, Repentance, Paradise, Hell,
the Thtone 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 ofthe other five before he cre
ated the world.

THE PROHIBITION. 25
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 ! 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 SERPENT. 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 ofthe 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
ofthe 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, which means eighty years of
our time on earth; but when he observed that
Eve remained fair and happy as before, he yield-

32 THE 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 the 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 ?"
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, and 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 branches 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 of wrath,
" both you, and the creatures which have seduced
fou 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 voiee, 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 tKemselves. 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 Ada.
When Adam touched the earth, the eagle said
3

34 REMORSE OF ADAM AND EVE.
to the whale, with whom he had hitherto lived
on friendly terms, and had whiled away many
ah hour in pleasant converse on the shores of
the Indian Ocean, " We must now part forever;
for. the lowest depths ofthe 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 t^m 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
ofthe 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 loudly 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.
All 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 Adam
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 oftheir
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 prophet
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 ?"
" 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 ?"

MEHCY TO EVE. 37
" Then rise from thy couch and pray."
" 0 Allah ! how shall I always distinguish
between good and evil ?" • -
"Twill grant thee my guidance: two angels
shall d well 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
Allahr " 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 MERCY 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 of Allah.
"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 of Allah until the day of judgment."
" 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 Ihe 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 came to King David the prophet's
turn, tb 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

40 THE COVENANT.
Allah then cried to the assembled 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 1" The Lord answered,
" It was my original design !"
" How many years shall I live ?"
" One thousand."
" Are grants known in Heaven 1"
"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 Jalkul, p. 12.

THE TEMPLE. 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
heayenly 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 originaf 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, lo 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 from 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
guarded the forbidden tree, and was charged to
warn Adam if he should approach it, but, hav-
D2

42 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 f_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 ABEL. 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 npt 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
property. Cain said to his brother, "The earth on which thou
standest is mine ; then betake thyself to the air ;" but Abel re
plied, " The garments which thou wearest are mine ; take them
off!" There arose a conflict between them, which ended in
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

44 DISCOVERY OF ABELS 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 V
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 V'—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 GRANTS
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 tp 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 OF 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. A.llati alone is omniscient.

48 % IDRIS, OR ENOCH.

; JDRIS, or ENOCH.
Idris, or Enochr, 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
of sin the gigantic frames and surpassing strength
with whicb. Allah had endowed them. Enoch
exhorted them unceasingly to purity of conduct,
and was often compelled to draw his sword in
defense of his life. 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 TEMPTATION. 49
self worthy of the peculiar 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 me once

MALIK. 5]
more, that after the terrors of the grave, I may
serve him with greater zeal."
" Wilt thou, then, die twice ? 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 Almuntaba, 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 there 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
King of Kush, Chiram the King of Tyret Jaabez, the son of the
Prince and Rabbi Jud'a, 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-! 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.
E 2

54 THE RELAPSE.
over the highest mountains ; but when it came
to Mount Abu Kubeis, on whose. peak Allah bad
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 foundon 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
conclusion 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 raees 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 eubits high. He next construct
ed canals, and planted gardens teeming with the
finest fruit-trees and the fairest flowerg.
* 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.

56 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 that 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 of Maccavia.
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 BE&D 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 pf emerald, its feet were of
crimson, itsbeak 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

SALIH. 59
she lay 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 ofthe 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 came1 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

62 THE REPROOF.
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.

THE TEST. 63
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 turn to Allah if I pray to him,
and if he perform such a miracle before your
eyes ?"

64 GREEDY SKEPTICS.
" Assuredly !" replied Davud. " Yet must
this camel yield its milk spontaneously, and the
milk must be cold in summer and warm in
winter." "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'* iiouse,
calling the inmates by name, and filling all their
empty vessels with 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 water 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 it's 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
5 F2

66 THE PERJURY.
daily new converts, the chiefs of the infidels re
solved to kill it. But when many days had
passed before they ventured lo 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 in4he 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.

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 ofthe 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, wherej
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 CHALIL 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 and 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

" 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 ef 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 ;
then1 arose the tallest, and demolished them with the staff.1 Te
rah said, ' What fable art thou telling me ? Hive they any under
standing V
" 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, i., p. 124.

72 THE MIRACLE.
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, "Wbo is thy
God V
" 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
remark 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 allits creatures, cried
as with one voice, "God of Abraham ! 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 wieked Nimrod cast
G

74 DIVINE INTERPOSITION.
ham from the midst ofthe pile," There is no God
besides thee ; thou art supreme, and unto thee
alone belong praise and glory !" Tbe flame had
already consumed his robe, when the angel
Gabriel stepped before him and asked, " Hast
thou need of me ?"
But he replied, " The help of Allah alone is
what I need !"
" Pray, then, to him, that he may save thee !"
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 !"
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 one 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 of men
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 OF 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
tb 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, jn 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 offer
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 carriest 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 gaive 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 ^hone 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 Jier father Pharoah, who said, " My daughter had
better be a slave irv_the house of Abraham than mistress in any'
other." Elimelech, in like manner, and for the same 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
ber 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.

THE 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, eyen 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 blaek 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 af 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 somewhat 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 riot love him as much as I ?"
"Yea," continued Iblis, "but, he believes 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 1"
" 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
take this robe to her as amemento."
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 ?'
'"I may remain absent some days, and must needs prepare
my food.'
" ' Should a man like thee slay his son who was given him in
old age ? how wilt thou answer for it in the day of judgment ?'
" ' God has commanded me.'
" He then presented himself to Isaac in the form of a youth,
and said, ' Whither goest thou ?'
" ' To be instructed by my father in virtue and knowledge.'
" ' During thy lifetime or after death ? for he verily designs to
day 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 60n V
"'He is with him!'
" ' Didst thou not resolve that he should not go beyond thy
door alone ?'
" ' He must pray with his father.'
" ' Thou shalt not see him again '.' ,
" ' The Lord do unto my son according to His will '.'"

88

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 bast fulfilled the command
which was imparted to theejn 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 inquiring
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 I"
H«

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 tb 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 Ismael'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 me 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 swom 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 vet 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, be
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 Mee-.
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 the
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 ;r but, according to others,
because he wore two locks 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 ofthe 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 ofthe 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 fo
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 wonder 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. IS,
among the wonders which were done 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 CHALIL.
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 !"
" 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 mo
ment when I fall down before Allah in prayer."
The angel remained with Abraham until he
fell down in prayer, and then put ah 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. 99
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.'7
" 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

JOSEPH SOLD INTO EGYPT. 101
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
ofthe 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 ofthe 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 ZULEICHA.
as his son. Zuleicha, the wife of Potiphar, le-
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 PRISON. 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 will 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 .hinr-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.
Joseph, 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 THE GREEK AMBASSADOR.
advice. '• I know of, no better means," said the
Grecian to her countryman, "than to bribe either
the king's chief eook 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, tQ ¦
her the chief cook's promise ; but, as she was
not alone, he could merely sa)' that he hadevey
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 nof 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 INTERPRETATION. 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 charge, 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 Midrash 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 ; and1 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
pf thy gift, although my transgression has been
the stepping-stone to thy present fortune."
At these words, Joseph regarded her more

108 FAMINE IN EGYPT.
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 he

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 indeed 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
had 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 thatr " 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 ofthe
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 !
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 1, 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 riot 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 declined 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 weft
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.' " — Midrash, 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 hinl, 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 safety, they were unwilling to communicate it to then-
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 K 2

MOSES AND AARON.
When tbe 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 swallowed 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,

PHARAOH AND THE ASTROLOGERS. 115
the soothsayers, and astrologers of his capital.
When they, many thousands in number* were
assembled in the largest hall ofthe royal palace,
Pharaoh ascended the throne, and told his dreams
with a tremulous voice ; but, although their in
terpretation was clear to everyone 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 of nine-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. Alb 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

1 16 THE MASSACRE.
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, arid,
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 differs 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
ms 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.
t " 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 teld his
dream on the following morning to his attendants. They were
terrified ; and one of them said, ' This dream forebodes agreat 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. 117
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
gers 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

118 VAIN PRECAUTIONS.
sage precautions, has found means of frustrating
thy design."
Pharaoh was the rather disposed to credit the
astrologer, since the repetition of his dream in
dicated the samel 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 any
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 ofthe 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 guilty one, and destroy her." But

THE BIRTH OF 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 Midrashoffers 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 that it shone with similar brightness. This is no bad speci-
rat )f Rabbinical 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 ofthe
Israelitish women to be searched afresh, and
made no exception even with Johabed's, fearing
lest some other woman might have /Concealed
her child 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-

•'-, PROVIDENCE. 121
ried it to the river at midnight ; but, passing a
sentinel, she was stopped, and asked what the
ark 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 !
L

122 THE CUBE 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 Kalamhas 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 how 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
marr; 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 fhe 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 life 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 UP IN THE PALACE. 125
when Asia hastened back to her 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 ?" — Midrash, p. 51.
L2

126 SHADOWS OF COMING 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-i'
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 hoars
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 Tiand, 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, 0
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 the form of an Egyptian prince, who said, "Ifit
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.

TH.E TRIAL. 127
for permitting the naughtiness of a child to ex
cite in him such glooiriy 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 be 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 servant ; 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 worshipestthou?" 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. 129
" Thou shalt atone with thy life for this impre
cation. I will forthwith go to thy father, and
accuse thee before him."
Then Msses 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 he 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,
0

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 of mur
der before Pharaoh. The king directed that he
should be delivered to the relations ofthe slain;
but one of the royal household, a friend of Moses,
informed him immediately of Pharaoh'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 b'efore him; and while- the king of that country made war
against Syria and other rjations, 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 root
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, &e.

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
herds, 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

THE ROD. 133
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, Safurja 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 went 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 wss created on the sixth day, and given to
Adam while yet in Paradise : Tie 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

134 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, I have 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 Amram !" 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 can
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 wine which the Lord
has sent thee in token of glad tidings. Thy

136 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 thiDgs
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 likewise 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

138 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 ofthe 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
c
assemble in the grand hall. He himself presided
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 fearedhim 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 HONOR. 139
to have seen him before, he inquired, " Who art
thou?" " I am the servant of Allah, 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 MESSEMJER OI' ALLAH.
Aaron glittering with so many diamonds that
all who were present were dazzled, as if the
lightning had flashed througb 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,

142 SEVENTY THOUSAND SORCERERS.
and 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 sorcerers, 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 be would glorify
his name in the face of all Egypt. Allah ihen

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 threatened punishment to be executed
on them, and they died the first martyrs to the
faith of Moses.
The king now waxed daily mere cruel ; every
believer was put to death with the most exeru-

THE PLAGUES. 145
dating tortures. He did not even spare his
own daughter, Masheta, the wife of Hiskil, on
learning that she ner 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. Tbe 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 THU PLAGUES.
host of locusts invaded the land, which not only
consumed ali provisions, but even copper and
iron. Then followed all kinds 6f 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 ofthe 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 Alasisf 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 Omarides.

THE 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 SENTENCE.
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"
themon 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-WAHRANT. 149
But Haman replied, " Are not those paths
opened likewise for us ? We shall soon over
take them with our horse."
J'haraoh 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
tho 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 riot
give them anidol.
Samiri now admonished them to bring all
their gold, including even the ornaments oftheir
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 Aaron, had abandoned Allah, the
angel Gabriel uplifted Moses so high into the
heavens thathe 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
Seiger, p. 167.

THE CHOSEN PEOPLE. 151
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 until 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 fo 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
bead of all the prophets. He also shall obtain

152 THE WANDERING JEW.
the grace of revealing to his people the com
mandment ofthe 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 strangling him, when
Aaron swore that he was innocent, and pointed
out Samiri as the prime mover ofthis 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 nnr 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 Mbses read unto them
the Law, and admonished them to obey scru-

154 THE LAW.  MOUNT SINAI.
pulously its prescriptions. But many ofthe peo
ple exclaimed, " We shall not submit to such a
code." The laws especially obnoxious to them
were those which regulated the revenge of blood,
and punished tbe 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,
wc 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 cancel is scarcely able to car
ry one single bunch of grapes ; 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 is 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 tbou 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

156 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
servant^ 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 awol$e, 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
of Allah, 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 ofthe 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. 159
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 Al 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- in
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 bimself (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 PROVIDENCE.
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 is evidently of Jewish origin. It is related re
specting Moses, that 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 sufferings of the innocent, the Lord took him to a rock
which projected from the mountain, 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
Bilent ! Behold, this man, whose blood is now mingling with1 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 poein 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 thirty years Moses 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 ferocity 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 east 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 keys
U 02

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, lie 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 car
ried the keys of his treasuries. His wealth was hi? 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 Beliam 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 capir
tai to meet them with provisions, that they may
yield to sin, and then thou shalt 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 UF 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 OE MOSES.
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 of Allah be with him !
• Others relate the particulars of Moses's death
as follows ; When Gabriel announced to him his
approaching dissolution, 4ie 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 ?"
" 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
pur threshold ?"
Moses w7as 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, onqe more to the sea-shore, lift up

168 THE DEATH OF MOSES. *
thy staff over the waters, and thou shalt 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 AHah 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

THE DEATH OF MOSES. 169
see whelher 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 !
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 mayest 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

170 HIS SEPULCHER. if'
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 manner 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 SAMUEL.
" 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 tbe 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 ofthe Lord and the breath ofthe 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-
P2

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 ; but 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 pilgrimages 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
in 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 NIGHT 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 Jill 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 imany wise; and they demand
ed a miracle.
"Allah," replied Samuel, "will, in token of
his ratifying this kingly election, restore to you
the ark ofthe 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 tne 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

PENANCE. 179
Saul. 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 DAVID.
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 put 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 sentout against him."
David took this stone likewise, and continued
his journey withoutinterruption 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 may best drive away with a stone ;"•
Q

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

SAULS 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.1
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 nigbt, while Saul was asleep, David left
a cave which was quite near, to the king's en
campment, and took the sigaet 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. 185
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 Philistines, 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 ofthe 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. fi Was not Abraham," said the one,
" saved from the burning pile ?" " Has not Da-
Q2

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 corner 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 ofthe 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 bere 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 David acknowledged his sin on

188 REBUKE.
plunged it into Gabriel ; but Michael gave a
loud 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 nothing save one little
ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up ; and it grew
up together wil-h 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 lamb, 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 nouse, and thy master's wives into thy bosom,
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."

PENITENCE.  ABSALOM. 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,^tnd 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- i-abble, whom he had banished, gathered
round his son Absalom, and made him king over
Israel. He was therefore compelled, as Absa^
lorn 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

190 THE TUBE AND BELL.
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 theangel 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, since
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 ofthe

the tribunal. 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 staffto.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 agairi renioved 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 celfar, 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
de injustice one to the other, unite your children
in marriage, and give them this treasure as theirx
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 young
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
andlaws of Moses. " If you 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 differ from mine and
yours. Allah bestows wisdom on whomsoever
he pleaseth."
The lawyers 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 ? What is sweetest, arid 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 norNof 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 HERMIT. 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 be 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, arid con
sumed about half thereof.
David, who had hitherto not ventured to dis-
R2

198 THE COMPA.NION 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
searchest 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 like 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 tbe 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 life
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 be
was to wrap his father. All Israel followed his
remains to the entrance ofthe cave where AbraT
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 tp 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 arelat 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
mountairiss" 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 SOLOMON'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 appeal; 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 ppwer
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 SOLOMOs'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 mercy
shall not obtain mercy." The bird syrdak,
" Turn to Allah, 0 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 death." 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 ifit 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 astheir habitation. (This pigeon pair had,
in the course of a few years, increased so much,
through Solomon's rblessed 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 SOLOMONS DOMINION.
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," c6n-
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, " oftheir 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 had 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 followed, 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 ofthe 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 ih 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 liquori 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

THE MOTHER BIRD. 209
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. Jt 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 Solomon 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 S 2

210 THE SAMUR 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 rio 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
oaradises.

THE ANTS. 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
ofthe 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 THE 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
istence !"
Solomon descended to him, and beheld an
aged man bowed down with years, and trem
bling in all his limbs.
"Who art thou?"
"I am an Israelite ofthe 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 bast 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 earnest so promptly," said Solomon to
the angel.
" How great is thy mistake ! Be it known to
thee, 0 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 THE DEAD.
" He it is who points out to me when, where,
"arid how I must take a soul. His gaze is fixed
on the tree Sidrat AlmvJntaha, which bears as
many leaves inscribed with names as there are
¦men living on the earth.
" At each birth a new leaf, bearing the name
of vthe 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 ofthe 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
drearii, and said, " AJlah 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 ag 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 tbe only God, and, taking advantage of the
ease with which thou canst travel from place to
place, visit the cities pf Jathrib,* where the
greatest of prophets shall one day find shelter
and protection, and of Mecca, the place of bis
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, j>piri.ts,, 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.
Selomon 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 ear-
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

218 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 hehad_
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
rio 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. 219
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.
" Darest thou to invoke the king's protection ?"
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 ex-cursion."
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 ?"
" I 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." x
"These names are indeed quite strange to
me. Who has iriformed 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 endured 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 ; arid
having seated the priestess beside him, inquired
of her what new omen foreboded this evil. " On
my way hither," replied Dharifa, " I met crim-

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 dn 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 off 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.
should strike him in the face during a discussitt.
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. 225
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 ofthe 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
n

226 saba.
she was obliged to live in greater retirement 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. 227
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, wbere 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
lifeless on his divan. Balkis now drew forth a
dagger from beneatbher 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 adorned 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 ! 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 QUEEN 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 rhis-
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. Shte 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.

232 MAGNIFICENCE.
The ambassadors were greatly confused 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 the 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

RIDDLES SOLVED. 233
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 dignitv as a prophet. The worm
" US

234 PROPAGATION OF THE 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 danot 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
ber throne, which she left with the greatest re-

INCANTATION. 235
Iuctance, 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 ?"
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

236 PRUDENCE.
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
knowledged 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 ifit
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. S}37
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, arid 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. 239
it, they sent it to Omar at Medina., 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 bis 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.  ASSAF.
" 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." SolomPn 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
1G X

242 PROVIDENCE.
which he had obtained power over spirits, men,
and animals, 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 arid 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
be 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 upon
the Lord himself.— E. T.

PUNISHMENT OF SAUHE. 243
the ring was caught up and swallowed by a
fish, which- was sopn 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 misfortune1. 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-

244 THE TOMB OF O.UEEN BALKIS.
lid, when, in consequence of long-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 hirh 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 ofthe 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 he ver 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

THE ANGEL OF DEATH-. 245
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, tbe demons from the
depths of the earth ; with that behind, the souls
of the people of Madjudj and Jadjudj (Gog and
Magog) ; but with that in front, those of the
Faithful, to whom also thy soul belongs."
" Must, tben, even the angels die ?"
" 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 ?' but there shall not a living crea
ture 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 tbe dead."
" And who among men shall rise first from the
grave ?"
X2

246 THE LAST JUDGMENT.
" 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 1 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 BRIDGES. 247
Isaac, but for my own safety 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 family, 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

248 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 in
my power to prolong thy life another second."
" Then follow me to my crystal hall J"
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 ber 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 wu>
ter, the choices_t summer fruits were standing be
fore her. To his inquiry whence she had ob
tained it all, she replied, " Frorii 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 Collyridians 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

252 MARY.
holy and venerable appearance. He now di
vided his time between him arid 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 Isa, 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 ?'
Thy soil 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 OF CHRIST. 253
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 MIRACLES.
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 divinity if he had
read the Gospels ?

THE SKULL. 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, which, 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 tp 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 ?' 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 wit'h 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.'

THE SKULL. 257
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 suffer 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 increased my hunger, but even
caused the most horrid pain and violent thirst ;
and when I 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 punishmerit, and the wrath of
the Almighty its ceiling.' 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, " 0 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 of Allah," 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 ofthe 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 MIRACLES.
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 pf
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 desiredto 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, while 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 face,

264 LAST HOURS.
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 ihe 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 burn the Gospel, which has
been falsified by ungodly priests, and the crosses
ivhich 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.

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L, II.
Elements of Morality and Polity.
BY WILLIAM WHEWELL, D.D.,
AUTHOR OF "HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE INDUCTIVE SCIEN
CES," &C.
2 vols. 12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, $1 00.
Dr. Whewell's work ought to be read, because it can not be read without
advantage : the age requires such, books. — London Athenantm.
A text-book of simple truths, from which, by induction, a complete sys
tem of morality is constructed, applicable to all the relations and circum
stances of life, and embracing every department of human action. The
reader who shall carefully study these volumes— and a more inviting page,
clear and legible, the eye does not often rest upon— will find his labor more
than rewarded.— New York Commercial Advertiser.
Professor Whewell's " Elements of Morality" have been universally re
ceived in England as a contribution of rare value to the department of moral
and political science. — Baltimore American.
A splendid production by one of the most distinguished of the scientific
men of the age. This is a book, not to be read merely, but to be re-perused
arid patiently studied ; we have heard it pronounced by no mean critic the
most complete and lucid wqrk on ethical philosophy ever produced. We
commend this work to the especial notice of thinkers and readers, to schol
ars and schools generally, as a most admirable text-book. — Sun.
The style of the work, though simple, is extremely clear, strong, and el
oquent. It is a book to be studied rather than superficially read, and can
not fail to be of the very highest importance in instructing and disciplining
the public mind. — American Patriot.
This is beyond all comparison the most complete, comprehensive, and lu
minous treatise on the important subjects it discusses, that is to be found
in the language, and its careful study is indispensable to every one who
would obtain true and definite notions in regard to the principles of public
and private morals. It is profoundly learned and philosophical, but the writ
er thinks logically and clearly, and is therefore at all times lucid and com
prehensible.— Buffalo Commercial Advertiser.

53 HARPERS NEW MISCELLANY
III.
The Philosophy of Mystery.
BY WALTER COOPER DENDY.
12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents.
This is a learned and elaborate work, in which the writer goes into the
investigation of all the phenomena of mind in the erratic operations and
phantasies of ghost seeing and spectral hallucinations, and aims to give the
true philosophy of all such delusions. He is a medical man of consider
able eminence, and has spared no pains in his researches, giving a great
number of facts and cases to illustrate his philosophy. The volume will be
much sought for, as it is really a desideratum in the world of literature.
We know of no work on this subject which lays the same just claim to public
attention, or the study of the philosopher. — Christian Advocate and Journal.
The volume before us is both instructive and amusing, and at this partic
ular time, when the extremes of superstition and philosophy have shaken
hands, it will be likely to effect an inconceivable amount of good, if prop
erly studied. It is one of the most remarkable productions of the day, and
must create an extraordinary degree of interest in the public mind. — Mer
chant's Magazine.
It belongs to that class of writings which you can take up and put down
at pleasure, and which may be subjected to repeated readings. The work
is pleasant, however, in spite of this — pleasant because of its facts, its nu
merous details of mystery, its vast collection of anecdote, its developments
of diablerie, its tidings from the spiritual world, and the many cases which
ii brings together of the curious and the wonderful in nature and art, which
former ages, and ignorance and superstition, have concluded to consider su
pernatural. Where science and modern speculation furnish the solution to
the mystery, Mr. Deudy couples it with the statements, and the book is
thus equally valuable and amusing. — Charleston Transcript.
Here lies a remarkable work ; beautiful in its style, and wondrous in its
matter. The work is strictly philosophical in its tendency, yet more amus
ing than a novel. — True American.
This is a book for the lovers of marvels and of mysteries. It contains an
immense collection of anecdotes of spectral apparitions, of illusions of visiou
or of hearing, of striking phenomena exhibited in dreams, in insanity, in
trance, or in magnetism, and furnishes many very valuable hints to aid in
the solution of these mysteries, by which so many have been bewildered
or affrighted. It is written in a style of great ease and elegance, and can
not fail to find a very wide circle of welcoming readers. — Albion.
This unique and remarkable book has just been placed on our table ; we
know its reputation of old ; it is an admirable discourse on the subject of
supernaturalisms, such as mental illusions, dreams, ghosts, mesmeric phe
nomena, &c. If any one will but read the first half dozen pages, we will
vouch for it he will not neglect the rest ofthe volume : it is one of th&hest
written books on one of the most curious range of topics that could engage
the pen of a writer, or the attention of a reader. It is, in fact, one ofthe
most curious volumes ever perused, upon a series of the most singular sub
jects, and, in this new and neat form, it will command a vast number of
readers. — Sunday Times.
"The Philosophy of Mystery" is an exceedingly able work; far better,
we think, than the " Natural Magic" of Brewster, a book of identical pur
pose, carried out in a totally different way. Tbe " Natural Magic" is the
more ratiocinative, Mr. Dendy's essay the more poetical, the more imagina
tive, and to us the more interesting. — National Press.

OF POPULAR STERLING LITERATURE.

The Life of Mozart:
INCLUDING HIS CORRESPONDENCE. ^
BY EDWARD HOLMES,
AUTHOR OF " A RAMBLE AMONG THE MUSICIANS OF GERMANY," &C
12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents.
It is written in a beautiful, narrative style, and can not but be every
where acceptable. To all who appreciate the extraordinary genius of Mo
zart, the delicate structure of his mind, the incidents of his'life, and his ro
mantic death, this volume will indeed be a treasure.— Boston Gazette.
It contains, in addition to much of his interesting correspondence, and
other papers, a detailed account of his hfe, adventures, and rise as an artist,
and a discriminating sketch of his character, the peculiarities of which are
happily illustrated by anecdotes. Many things of him, unknown even to
his admirers, are here given to the world, and his biographer, fully appre
ciating the artist, has yet, not like a flatterer, but with true independence,
spoken candidly of the faults of the man. — Merchant's Magazine.
Of this far-famed life of Mozart it >s scarcely necessary for us to say a
word; the foreign reviews have been so unanimous in their encomiums,
that we suppose few will be found insensible to the strong inducement of
its perusal, especially as the work may be obtained at the trifling cost of
half a dollar, and in so beautiful a guise. We have looked into the biog
raphy but slightly, yet find it redolent with interest, and fully sustaining
the high estimate placed upon the work by the London AthencBum and
Blackwood. If the Harpers continue to fill their new library with sterling
works like the present, it will present the most truly valuable series, yet
the cheapest, ever attempted in any age or country. — Evening Gazette.
The only authentic biography of the great composer that is extant in the
Enghsh language, and the events of his career are replete with useful ad
monitions and warning to the sons of genius, and they whisper to those
whose present claims are not allowed that there is a future full of promise.
In his life Mozart was neglected and impoverished, and he went to his
grave with more than the bitterness of deaLh crowding on his thoughts,
but fame has taken possession of his memory, and among those who move
as gods in musical art, few are equal to him, none are superior. This bi
ography possesses an interest for all who feel interested in the great men
of the earth. It is not only remarkably well written, but has a complete
ness about it we have never found before in any life of Mozart.— Louisville
Journal. There is such a charm in this narrative, that the lovers of good biography
can not hear of it too soon. We can not conceive a more fascinating story
of genius. To a style which would alone have sufficed to the production
of an interesting and striking narrative, Mr. Holmes unites a depth of
knowledge and musical appreciation very rare and remarkable. We thank
him cordially for a most pleasing addition to our standard biographical lit
erature. — Examiner.
The book is one of extraordinary interest, not merely to the lovers of
music and appreciators of the great'com poser, but to the general reader, as
a vivid picture of the life of a man of genius, who encountered all the dif
ficulties, trials, and sufferings usually the lot of genius when it comes be
fore a world incapable of appreciating it, and indifferent to its welfare. Tho
domestic portions of the book are invaluable ; his relations to his father and
his wife are very beautiful. The work is admirably executed, as well in the
scientific as anecdotical passages, and is worthy of the widest sale.— News.

4 HARPERS NEW MISCELLANY
V.
The Practical Astronomer:
COMPRISING ILLUSTRATIONS OF LIGHT AND COLORS;
PRACTICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL KINDS OF TEL
ESCOPES, &C, WITH DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNTS OF
THE EARL OF ROSSE's LARGE TELESCOPES, AND
OTHER TOPICS CONNECTED WITH ASTRONOMY.
BY THOMAS DICK, LL.D.,
AUTHOR OF THE " CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER," " CELESTIAL SCENERY,"
"THE SIDEREAL HEAVENS," &C.
100 Engravings. 12mo, Muslin, extra gilt, 50 cents.
The name of the distinguished author of this work is a sufficient pass
port to public favor and a sure guarantee to its sterling value, and those
who have read Dr. Dick's former works will need no recommendation of
this book by us. He is not only an original and profound observer of na
ture, but truly a most excellent Christian philosopher, whose powers of in
tellect and expanded views of the character of the great Architect of the
universe are so eminently calculated to direct the mind not alone to the
grandeur, the magnificence, and sublimity of the laws and principles of
the material world, but to look through nature up to " Nature's God." lt
is truly a valuable work, — Farmer and Mechanic.
The merits of this work are of the highest order; Dick is one of the
profoundest and purest of modern philosophers'. — Western Continent.
Here is the ninth volume presented by this gifted author to the public ;
he aim of all of which has been to simplify sciences which before have
been too often considered as every way above, and therefore unworthy of
the attention of ordinary readers. It is specially addressed to private stu
dents and the higher schools, and comprises a large amount of new and
valuable matter connected with astronomy, and pointing out ways in which
the more humble student can in the best way improve the advantages placed.
in his way. — Auburn Journal.
Let not the inquisitive fear that the intricacies qf science or the techni
calities of language will obstruct the pleasure they will derive from the
study of this book; for the clearness ofthe author's style, and the elucida
tion ofthe one hundred engravings, render it within the scope and compre
hension of every intelligent student. — Industrial Record.
The copious use of engravings and of pictorial illustrations, together with
the plain, popular explanations, render this book a truly practical work.
Dr. Dick is not only thoroughly scientific, but he knows well how to render
his acquisitions available to the great body of common readers, by his ac
curate method and clear descriptions. — Watchman.
We have always been an admirer of the writings of this gentleman, and
popularity keeps on his side wherever he is known. He is a profound
thinker and a devout Christian. His works all tend to illustrate the simple
as well as the sublimest principles of philosophy, and while they instruct,
can not fail to enlighten. The present volume comprises illustrations of
light and colors, practical descriptions of all kinds of telescopes, the use of
the equatorial-transit, circular, and other astronomical instruments, and
other topics connected with astronomy. It is illustrated by 100 engrav
ings, and will be found a most valuable book for all classes, but particularly
as a work of instruction for youth. — Illustrated Magazine.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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