for that purpose, it is said, proposed the Christian martyrs for their imitation. He was obliging to every body; the rich he flattered, the poor he relieved with alms: and by his behaviour appeared the most humane, friendly person in the world, so long as he found it necessary to wear the mask, which we shall hereafter find him, upon occasions, pulling off and throwing aside.

In the tenth year of his mission, Mohammed gave his daughter Fatima, then nine years old, in marriage to Ali The dowry given by Ali upon that occasion was twelve ounces of ostrich plumes (a thing of some value in that country), and a breastplate; all indeed that he had to give.* In the same year, according to Elmakin (for authors vary as to the precise date of many of his most considerable transactions), Mohammed, to strengthen his interest, as well as perhaps to gratify his inclination, married Ayesha, daughter of Abubeker, and Sawda, daughter of Sama. To these two wives he added, some time after, Hafsa, daughter of Omar. Ayesha was then but seven years old, and therefore this marriage was not consummated till two years after, when she was nine years old, at which age, we are told, women in that country are ripe for marriage. An Arabian author cited by Maracci, says that Abubeker was very averse to the giving him his daughter so young, but that Mohammed pretended a divine command for it; whereupon he sent her to him with a basket of dates, and when the girl was alone with him, he stretched out his blessed hand (these are the author's words), and rudely took hold of her clothes; upon which she looked fiercely at him, and said, "People call you the faithful man, but your behaviour to me shows you are a perfidious one.' And with these words she got out of his hands, and, composing her clothes, went and complained to her father. The old

* It was a custom among the Arabs for the bridegroom to make a present to the father of the bride.

According to the Mishcat, Sawda was not a favourite wife of Mohamined's. Razin says, that once when he proposed to divorce her, she said, "Keep me with your wives, and do not divorce me; peradventure I may be of the number of your wives in Paradise; and I give up my turn to Ayesha."-Book xiii. chap. x.

Marac. Vita Mahometis, p. 23.

§ Abulfeda says he was called Al Amin, "the faithful one," when he was young.

gentleman, to calm her resentment, told her she was ncw betrothed to Mohammed, and that made him take liberties with her, as if she had been his wife.

THE STORY OF MOHAMMED'S ASCENT INTO HEAVEN.

The Mohammedan writers are not agreed about the time of this transaction, nor as to the nature of it, whether it were only a vision or a real journey. The most received opinion is, that it was in the twelfth year of his mission; and the most orthodox belief is, that it was a real journey.* I will give it in the words of Abulfeda, who took his relation out of Al Bokhari. "Hodba† the son of Kaled said, that Hamman son of Jahia said, that Cottada had it from Anas the son of Malek the son of Sesa, that the prophet of God gave them a relation of his night-journey to heaven in these words: As I was within the inclosure of the Kaaba (or, as he sometimes told the story, as I lay upon a stone), behold one (Gabriel) came to me with another, and cut me open from the pit of the throat to the groin; this done, he took out my heart, and presently there was brought near me a golden basin full of the water of faith; and he washed my heart, stuffed it, and replaced it. Then was brought to me a white beast less than a mule but larger than an ass, I mounted him, and Gabriel went with me till I came to the first heaven of the world, and when he knocked at the door, it was said to him, 'Who is there?' he answered, ‘Gabriel;' and Who is with you?' he answered, ‘Mohammed;' then it was asked, 'Has the apostle had his mission?' he replied, ‘Yes;' whereupon the wish was uttered, May it be fortunate with him, he will now be very welcome;' and the door was opened, and behold, there was Adam. Upon this Gabriel said to me, 'This is your father Adam, greet him;' and I did so, and he returned the greeting, saying, 'May my best son and the best prophet be prosperous.' Then he went up with me to the second heaven, and as he knocked at the door a voice demanded, Who is there?' when he had answered, Ga

* According to a tradition from Ayesha, it must have been a dream, for she said he was in bed with her all that night.

The author of the book of the most authentic traditions; an account will be given of him hereafter.

briel,' he was further asked, 'And who is with you?' to which he replied Mohammed;' the voice again inquired, Has the apostle had his mission?' Upon his answering, 'Yes,' I again heard the words, May it be fortunate to him, he will now be very welcome;' and the door was opened, and behold there was Jahia (i. e. John) and Isa (Jesus), and they were cousins-german.'* Gabriel said to me, 'These are Jahia and Isa, greet them,' and I did so, and they greeting me in turn, said, 'May our best brother and the best prophet be successful.'" It would be nauseous to an English reader to repeat in the same manner, as my author does, the knocking at the doors, the same question and answer, and the exchange of greeting, through the following five heavens; it is sufficient to say that Mohammed being with Gabriel admitted into the third heaven, found Joseph there, Enoch in the fourth heaven, Aaron in the fifth, Moses in the sixth, and Abraham in the seventh; and that when he was near Moses, Moses wept, and being asked the reason of his weeping, said It was because a young man, whose mission was posterior to his, would have a greater number of his nation enter into paradise, than he should of his countrymen." "Then," continued the prophet, "I was carried up to the tree Sedra,† beyond which it is not lawful to go. The fruit thereof is as large as the water-pots of Hadjr, and the leaves as big as the ears of an elephant. I saw there also four rivers, and when I asked Gabriel, 'What rivers are these?' he answered, 'Two of them run within paradise, and quite through it, the other two, which run on the outside of it, are the Nile and the Euphrates.' Then he took me to the house of visitation,‡ into which seventy thousand angels go every day. Here there were set before me three vessels, one of wine, another of milk, and the third of honey. I drank of the milk, whereupon Gabriel said to me, 'This is the happiest [omen] for thee and thy nation.'" (Another tradition adds, "If you had chosen the wine, your nation would have strayed from the right way.") Lastly, when I came to the throne of God, I was

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* Here Mohammed was mistaken, the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth were

not sisters.

+ Or Lotus tree.

This house is the original whereof a copy was sent down to Adam, as is mentioned before, page 3.

ordered to pray fifty times a day. In my return from thence, being near Moses, he asked me what I had been commanded to do; I told him to pray fifty times a day. And are you

able,' said he, to pray fifty times a day?' and with an oath he declared, I have made the experiment among men, for I have endeavoured to bring the children of Israel to it, but never could compass it. Go back then to your Lord, and beg an abatement for your nation.' So I went back, and he took off ten prayers; and coming to Moses, he advised me as before, and I went back again and had ten more abated; then coming to Moses, he repeated the same advice; I therefore returned, and was commanded to pray ten times a day; upon Moses's repeating what he had said before, I went back again, and was commanded to say prayers five times a day; and when Moses was informed of this last order, he would have had me go back again to my Lord and beg a still further abatement; I replied, I have so often petitioned my Lord that I am ashamed;' and so saying, I took my leave of him, and prayed for him."

The foregoing account of Mohammed's night-journey is modest, in comparison of what some authors give us, who, from other traditions, add many other wonders. Thus they tell us, that the beast Alborac would not let Mohammed mount, till he had promised him a place in paradise; that then he took him quietly on his back, and in the twinkling of an eye, Gabriel leading him all the way by the bridle, carried him to Jerusalem; that there a number of the prophets and departed saints appearing at the gate of the temple, saluted him, and, attending him into the chief oratory, desired him to pray for them; that when he came out from thence, there was a ladder of light ready set for them, on which Gabriel and Mohammed went up to the heavens, having first tied Alborac to a ring, where he used to be tied by the prophets who had formerly ridden him. Besides all these wonders, in the first heaven, which was made of pure silver, Mohammed saw the stars hanging from it by chains of gold, (each star being as large as Mount Nobo near Mecca,) and the angels keeping watcn and ward in them, that the devils might not come near to listen and hear what was doing in heaven. As he went farther on, he saw a multitude of angels of every variety of shape, which presided over and interceded

for the different kinds of birds and beasts in whose shape they severally appeared. Amongst those of the birds, there was a cock, the angel of the cocks, so large, that his feet standing upon the first heaven, his head reached up to the second, which, at the ordinary rate of travelling upon earth, was at a distance of a five hundred days' journey. This he makes the distance of every one of the seven heavens from the heaven next above it. Other writers are still more extravagant, and say, the head of the cock reached through all the seven heavens, up to the throne of God: that his wings, which are large in proportion to his height, are decked with carbuncles and pearls: that every morning when God sings a hymn, this cock joins in it, and crows so loud as to be heard by all the creatures upon the earth, except men and fairies: and that upon hearing him all the cocks upon earth crow also. In the second heaven, which was all of pure gold, he saw an angel so large that his head reached up to the third heaven. The third heaven was all made of precious stones. There he found Abraham, who recommended himself to his prayers; and there also, he saw more angels than in either of the former heavens. One of them was of so prodigious a stature that the distance between his two eyes was equal to the length of a journey of 70,000 days.* This, Gabriel told him was the angel of death, who had a table before him of an immense bigness, whereon he was continually writing down the names of those who were to be born, and blotting out the names of those who were to die. The fourth heaven was all of emerald; therein he found Joseph the son of Jacob, who desired him to to pray for him. In this again the number of angels was greater than in the third heaven, and one of them, whose head reached to the fifth heaven, was always weeping for the sins of mankind, and the miseries they thereby bring upon themselves. The fifth heaven was made of adamant; here he found Moses, who desired his prayers. The sixth heaven was of carbuncle; here was John the Baptist, who also begged his prayers. In the seventh heaven, which was made

* Here Prideaux observes, that the distance between a man's eyes is in proportion to his height, as one to seventy-two. So that the height of this angel must have been four times as much as the height of all the seven heavens, and therefore he could not stand in one of them.