130 THE RELIGION OF THE CRESCENT.

Greek, is at any rate significant of the fact that the One True GOD was still worshipped. The same fact is clear from the name Beitu'llah1 or "House of GOD" given from very early times to the Ka‘aba at Mecca, a shrine to which Diodorus2 informs us all the Arab tribes, even in his own time, paid great respect. And in the celebrated collection of poems called "Mu'allaqat," which have come down to us from pre-Islamic times, we find this name of GOD with the article repeatedly occurring.3 Moreover,

1 بَيْتُ اللهِ equivalent to the Hebrew Beth-el (בית-אל ), except that the word GOD in the Arabic name has the article. V. Sayyid Ahmad, "Ess. on Hist. of Mecca," p. 6.
2 "Ιερον αγιωτατον ιδυται τιμωμενον υπο παντων 'Αραβων περιττοτερον ." (Diod. Sic., lib. iii.)
3 E.g., An Nabighah (Diwan, poem I., vv., 23, 24:—
لَهُمْ شِيمَةٌ لَمْ يٌعْطِهَا اللهُ غَيْرَهُمْ
مِنَ الْجُودِ وَالأْحْلاَمُ غَيْرُ عَوَازِبِ
مَحَلَّتُهُمْ ذَابُ الإلَهِ وَدِينُهُمْ
قَوِيمٌ فَمَا يَرْجُونَ غَيْرَ الْعَوَاقِبِ
And again, poem III., vv. 9 and 10:—
أَلَمْ تَرَ أنْ أللهَ أَعْطَاكَ سُورةً
تَرَى كَلَّ مَلْكٍ دُونَهَا يَتَذَبْذَبُ
بِأنَّكَ شَمْسٌ وَالْمُلُوكُ كَوَاكِبُ
إذَا طَلَعَتْ لَمْ يَبْدُ منْهُنَّ كَوْكَبُ
THE ORIGIN OF ISLAM. 131

such names as 'Abdu'llah,1 "Servant of GOD," borne by Muhammad's father, who died before his son's birth, bear testimony to the same fact. Ibn Ishaq, the earliest biographer of Muhammad whose work has come down to us, in speaking of the religion of the ancient Arabs, says that the tribes of Kinanah and Quraish,2 when performing the ceremony termed Ihlal, used to address the Deity in these words, "Labbeika Allahumma"—"We are present in Thy service, O GOD, we are
So also in poem VIII., vv. 5 and 6:—
وَنَحْنُ لَدَيْهِ نَسْئَلُ اللَّهَ خُلْدَهُ
يَرُدُّ لََنَا مُلْكًا وَللأْرْضِ عَامرَا
وَنَحْنُ نُرَجِّى الْخُلْدَ إنْ فَازَ قِدْحُنَا
وَنَرْهَبُ قِدْحَ الْمَوْتِ إنْ جَاءَ قَاهِرَا
Labid has also the following verses which support what we have said in the text:—
لِعُمْرِكَ مَا تَدْرِى الضَّوارِبَ بِالْحَصىَ
وَلاَ زَاجِرَاتِ الطَّيْرِ مَا اللهُ صَانِعٌ
1 V. Ibn Hisham, Abu'l Fida, &c., on Muhammad's parentage.
2 Quoted in Ibn Hisham's "Siratu'r Rasul," Egyptian ed., pp. 27, 28 of part i.:—
فَكَانَتْ كِنَانَةٌ وَقُرَيْشٌ إذَا أهَلّوُا قَالُوا لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْك لَبَّيْكَ َ لَبَّيْكَ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَكَ إلاَّ شَرِيكَ هَوْلِكَ تمْلكُهُ وَمَا مَلَكَ.