Читать книгу Sketches of Imposture, Deception, and Credulity онлайн

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In his twenty-fifth year Mahomet married a rich widow; this raised him to affluence, and he appeared at that time to have formed the secret plan of obtaining for himself sovereign power. He assumed the character of superior sanctity, and every morning retired to a secret cave, near Mecca, where he devoted the day to prayer, abstinence, and holy meditation.

In his fortieth year, he took the title of Apostle of God, and increased his fame by perseverance, and the aid of pretended visions. He made at first but few proselytes; his enemies, who suspected his designs, and perhaps foresaw his bold and rapid strides to power, heaped on him the appellations of impostor, liar, and magician. But he overcame all opposition in promulgating his doctrine, chiefly by flattering the passions and prejudices of his nation. In a climate exposed to a burning sun, he allured the imagination, by promising as rewards, in the future state, rivers of cooling waters, shady retreats, luxurious fruits, and immaculate houris. His system of religion was given out as the command of God, and he produced occasionally various chapters, which had been copied from the archives of Heaven, and brought down to him by the Angel Gabriel; and if difficulties or doubts were started, they were quickly removed, as this obliging Angel brought down fresh revelations to support his character for sanctity. When miracles were demanded of him, in testimony of his divine mission, he said with an air of authority, that God had sent Moses and Christ with miracles, and men would not believe; therefore, he had sent him in the last place without them, and to use a sword in their stead. This communication exposed him to some danger, and he was compelled to fly from Mecca to Medina; from which period is fixed the Hegira, or flight, at which he began to propagate his doctrines by the sword. His arms were successful. In spite of some checks, he ultimately overcame or gained over all his foes, and within ten years after his flight, his authority was recognised throughout the Arabian peninsula. Among the tribes subjugated by his sword was the Jewish tribe of Khaibar. He put to death Kenana, the chief, who assumed the title of King of the Jews; and after the victory, he took up his abode in the house of a Jew, whose son, Marhab, had fallen in the contest. This circumstance nearly cost him his life. Desirous to avenge her brother, Zeinab, the sister of Marhab, put poison in a shoulder of mutton, which was served up to Mahomet. The prophet was saved by seeing one of his officers fall, who had begun before him to eat of the dish. He hastily rejected the morsel which he had taken into his own mouth; but so virulent was the poison, that his health was severely injured, and his death is thought to have been hastened by it. On being questioned as to the motive which had prompted her, Zeinab boldly replied, “I wished to discover whether you are really a prophet, in which case you could preserve yourself from the poison; and, if you were not so, I sought to deliver my country from an impostor and a tyrant.”