282 MOHAMMED A PARODY OF CHRIST. [BK. II.

are the exalted Goddesses whose intercession may be hoped for." In hearing these words, the infidels were exceedingly delighted. After having read the whole Sura, his Excellency worshipped, and the polytheists also followed his example, by doing so. When the infidels rose up from that assembly, they said, "Mohammed has mentioned our Gods in the handsomest manner; and, although we know that the Most High God is the Lord of life and death, the Creator and Preserver, yet we also, at the same time, affirm that these our Deities are Intercessors with the highest God. In the present state of affairs, now that Mohammed has agreed with us in the matter, by declaring them to be 'those exalted Goddesses whose intercession may be hoped for,' we make peace with him and desist from persecuting him." The news of this peaceable arrangement spread abroad, and on reaching the fugitives in Abyssinia, they, on the strength of it, returned to their fatherland Mecca.

'It is recorded that Gabriel came and informed the prophet, upon whom be prayers and peace, of the words, "These exalted Goddesses," which Satan had suggested; and on that Excellency becoming exceedingly pained and sad, God, in order to comfort his blessed heart, sent him this verse, "We did not send any apostle or prophet before thee, but when he desired anything, Satan cast evil suggestions into his desires. But God cancels that which Satan suggests. Then God establishes His revealed verses; for God is knowing and wise." Then, on this verse reaching the ears of the infidels, they said, "Mohammed has repented of his declaration that there is room and a standing for our Deities, with God therefore we also now withdraw from that peace." Thereupon they resumed their persecution.'1

1 It is evident from the preceding account, that the Mohammedan narrators strove to screen Mohammed from having uttered the compromising words, and to represent the latter as a mere magical effect produced by Satan upon the ears of the listening polytheists. The design of screening Mohammed from the readiness shown by him to come to a compromise with idolaters, so damaging to his prophetic pretensions, is already apparent in the earliest biographers. For whilst Tabari in his first account of the affair says expressly, 'Satan put upon his tongue that of which his soul had been discoursing to him,' he altogether omits these words in his second version; and though Ibn Ishak had related the story in his biography, as is known by Tabari quoting it from that source, yet Ibn Hisham, in editing Ibn Ishak's work, eliminated the entire story, so that
CH. I. 18.] SPIRITS CONVERTED TO ISLAM. 283

(18.) As Jesus Christ chose Twelve Apostles from amongst His disciples, so also Mohammed selected Twelve Apostles from his Moslem followers: but he not only from amongst men, but also from amongst spirits.

a. 'When it was day, Jesus called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named Apostles' (Luke vi. 13).
'These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give' (Matt. x. 5-7).

b. 'When Mohammed returned from the Arab tribes whom he had invited to accept him for a prophet, but who in return had persecuted and ridiculed him, he, at a day's journey from Mecca, made the acquaintance of a number of spirits (jin) whom he converted to Islam; and a month

now it is no longer found in Ibn Ishak's biography. Sir W. Muir treats this subject well, in his Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. pp. 149 -160. He also gives the more unfavourable account, on Tabari and Wakidi's authority, of Gabriel's interference, in these words, 'Gabriel said, What is this that thou hast done? Thou hast repeated before the people words which I never gave unto thee. So Mohammed grieved sore and feared the Lord greatly; and he said, I have spoken of God that which He has not said.' The same author makes the following just remarks on the affair: 'Mohammed was not long in perceiving the inconsistency into which he had been betrayed. His only safety now lay in disowning the concession. The devil had deceived him. The words of compromise were no part of the Divine system received from God through His heavenly messenger. The lapse was thus remedied. The heretical verses spoken under delusion were cancelled, and others revealed in their stead denying the existence of female angels, such as Lat and Ozza, and denouncing idolatry with a sentence of irrevocable condemnation. But although Mohammed may have completely re-established his own convictions, there is little doubt that the concession to idolatry, followed by a recantation so sudden and so entire, seriously weakened his position with the people at large. They would not readily credit the excuse that words of error were cast by the devil into his mouth. Even supposing it to have been so, what faith could be placed in the revelations of a prophet liable to such influences?' But the biographers, whose great object was to represent Mohammed as in no way inferior to Christ, were fain, as soon as they found what unpleasant use could be made of the passage, to extricate themselves from a serious difficulty by resorting to the stratagem of either suppressing the story altogether, or so modifying it that the devil did not put the objectionable words on the Prophet's tongue at all, but only caused them to be heard by the unhallowed ears of the people.