by it; that never two of them concurred in their opinion and desire of the same thing; nor had they any regard either to good or evil. Moreover, that their behaviour towards his father had quite turned his thoughts from entertaining any the least hopes of rectifying, by their assistance, anything that was amiss; and, to sum up their character, they were the most thievish, mischievous people in the world.

Though this is the true character of the Cufians they yet expressed a great reverence and affection for Hasan. For when, having made up his mind to resign, he began his speech to them with these words: "We are your commanders and your chiefs, and we are of the family of the house of your prophet, from which God hath removed pollution, and whom he hath purified;" there was not a man present in the congregation but wept so loud that you might hear him sob. At his departure, too, from Cufah to Medina, they evinced their love and sorrow with tears.

Whilst Hasan was living at Medina, some of the Karegites, those heretics that had given his father so much disturbance, made an insurrection against Moawiyah, who wrote to Hasan, calling upon him to take the field against them. Hasan desired to be excused; and told him that he had relinquished the chief care of public affairs on purpose to avoid it; and that if he had cared for fighting at all, it should have been against him.

At last, in the forty-ninth year of their date, which falls in with the six hundred and sixty-ninth of ours, Hasan died at Medina, of poison, administered to him by one of his wives,* whom Yezid, the son of Moawiyah, suborned to commit that wickedness, on the promise of marrying her afterwards. But instead of a new husband, she was forced to be contented with a good sum of money, which Moawiyah gave her for her pains; for Yezid was not so mad as to trust himself to her embraces.

The

"The woman's name was Jaidah, the daughter of Ashaath. method which she adopted for the accomplishment of her design was not less remarkable than its consummate perfidy. Upon an occasion of anointing her husband's person after the bath, she used a napkin which she had previously impregnated with poison. The subtle preparation soon pervaded the frame of Hasan, and speedy and inevitable death was the consequence. It is stated, on respectable authority, that she had made five

Some writers say, that Moawiyah himself suborned some of Hasan's servants, and not his wife, to poison him. However that may be, when the time of his death drew near, his physician, as he was walking backwards and forwards about the room, and, eyeing him narrowly, had said that his bowels were eaten up with poison, his brother Hosein begged of him to tell who had given him the fatal draught, and swore to avenge his death on the murderer with his own hand before his burial, if he could reach him; if not, to send somebody that should. But Hasan answered, "O brother! the life of this world is made up of nights which vanish away; let him alone till he and I meet together before God:" and refused to mention the person.

Hasan was born at Medina, in the middle of the month Ramadan, in the third year of the Hejirah. There is an infinity of traditions concerning him and his brother Hosein; and no wonder, considering they were the grandchildren of one reputed to be an inspired prophet by his only daughter. Hasan is said to have been in person very like his grandfather Mohammed, who, when he was born, spit in his mouth and named him Hasan. Mohammed was used to express his fondness for his grandchild in his infancy after the strangest manner possible. And after he was a little older, when he was kneeling at prayers, he would elbow the little Hasan to come and clamber upon him; and, to humour him, Mohammed would hold him on, and prolong the prayers on purpose. Nay, sometimes in the midst of a discourse to the people, if he saw Hasan and Hosein running towards him, he would come down to them and embrace them, and take them up with him into the pulpit; then, making a short apology in behalf of their innocency and tender age, proceed in his discourse.

One of my authorst says, "That the Syrians indeed set up successive attempts without effect, but his constitution yielded to the sixth. The sum which Jaidah is said to have received was 50,000 dirhems, about £1,146."-Price.

* The Mohammedans say their prayers prostrated, so that their foreheads touch the ground, though not all the while. And so we are to understand it in the Old Testament, when it is said of any one," he fell down and worshipped;" for the same word that signifies worship is used for a Mohammedan's saying his prayers.

+ MS. Hunt. No. 495.

Moawiyah at Jerusalem, because there was none to oppose them, and that the Irakians set up Hasan against him, and would undoubtedly have succeeded in their attempt, but for their mismanagement and divisions among themselves. Had they

6

Mo

but understood aright, they would have magnified the mercy of God in giving them the apostle's grandson. What we find in the book entitled, The Demonstrations of Prophecy,' from the tradition of Sephinah, who was a servant or freedman of the apostle of God, is a proof that he was the right successor. Here Mohammed is recorded to have said, 'The caliphate shall continue after me thirty years, and after that shall be a kingdom.' Now Mohammed died in the eleventh year of the Hejirah, and Hasan's abdication was in the fortieth. From whence it is plain, not only that Mohammed is a prophet, but that Hasan is his rightful successor. hammed, too, had prophetically praised Hasan, for thus relinquishing the present perishable world, and desiring that other which is permanent, and on this account sparing to shed the blood of this people; for Mohammed having one day mounted the pulpit, while Hasan sat by him (which he frequently used to do), after looking sometimes upon him, and sometimes upon the people, called out, O people! this son of mine is lord, and God shall unite by his means two great contending parties of the Mussulmans."" The last anecdote is from Al Bokhari, the great collector of the traditions of Mohammed.*

A woman once having presented Hasan with a bunch of fine herbs, he asked her if she was a free woman; the woman told him she was a slave, but that the present she had made was rare and curious. Hasan gave her her liberty, saying to those that were present, We have received this instruction from God himself, that we ought to give to those that make

66

* I have not yet been able to find out who this author is from whom I have taken this last argument, because the book is imperfect both at the beginning and the end, and I could never find any other copy of him. But he hath been of singular use to me throughout the whole course of this history to the life of Merwan, the son of Hakem, where the copy fails. I find in another passage, that he was himself the author of the book of the Demonstrations of Prophecy which he mentions. He also affirms, that he wrote another treatise to prove that it was impracticable for Mohammed to marry Abu Sofian's daughter, of which more afterwards. Whoever he was, it is certain he was a great Imam.

us presents something of more value than that which they give us. Meaning, that this moral instruction is couched in the Koran, which the Mussulmans, blind as they are, yet as they look upon it as the word of God, are careful to obey. A wonderful instance is related of the moderation of the caliph. A slave having spilled upon him, as he sat at table, a dish of scalding broth, instantly threw himself down at his knees, repeating these words of the Koran, "Paradise is open to those that govern their passion; "Hasan answered him, "I am not at all in a passion." Encouraged by this mildness, the slave went on, "And to those who pardon offences." "I pardon you yours," said Hasan. And when the slave continued to the end of the verse, which says, "God loves those above all who do good to them that have offended them; Hasan concluded too, with these generous words, 66 Since it is so, I give you your liberty and four hundred drachms of silver."

Among my authorities I find one who, treating of Hasan's death, asserted that in the treaties between him and Moawiyah, it had been stipulated that Moawiyah should never declare a successor so long as Hasan lived, but should leave, as Omar had done before, the election in the hands of a certain number of persons, to be nominated by Hasan. Moawiyah therefore being desirous of leaving the caliphate to his son Yezid, and thinking he could not bring his design about so long as Hasan was alive, determined to get rid of him.

Hasan had twenty children, fifteen sons and five daughters. Though his wives were all of them remarkably fond of him, yet he was apt very frequently to divorce them and marry new ones. Among the sectaries of Ali some draw the line or descent of the true Imams from Abdallah, one of Hasan's children, who had a son named Yahya; while, according to the Persians, the succession passed from Hasan to his younger brother Hosein.

The Mussulmans are fond of quoting the following sentence of Hasan's: 66 "The tears which are let fall through devotion should not be wiped off, nor the water which remains upon the body after legal washing; because this water makes the face of the faithful to shine, when they present themselves before God."

* D'Herbelot.

+ MS. Hunt. ubi supra. D'Herbelot.

A A

He died at the age of forty-seven years, in the month Sefer of the forty-ninth year of the Hejirah.* He left directions in his will that he should be buried near his grandfather Mohammed: but to prevent any disturbance, and lest his body should be forcibly carried to the common burial-place, he thought it proper to ask Ayesha's leave, which she granted. Notwithstanding this, when he was dead, Saïd who was governor of the town, and Merwan the son of Hakem, and all the whole family of the house of Ommiyah that were then at Medinah, opposed it. Upon which the heats between the two families arose to a great height. At last Ayesha said, "that it was her house, and that she would not allow him to be buried there." Wherefore they laid him in the common buryingplace. When Moawiyah heard of Hasan's death, he fell down and worshipped.

OMMIADES.

THE CALIPHS OF THE FAMILY OF OMMIYAH, WHICH ARE FOURTEEN IN ALL, THE FIRST OF WHICH IS, MOAWIYAH I., THE SON OF ABU SOFIAN, BEING THE SIXTH CALIPH AFTER MOHAMMED.

Hejirah 41-60. A.D. 661-679.

ALL opposition being now removed by the death of Hasan, Moawiyah took possession of the whole caliphate. The family of Hashem, of which were Mohammed and Ali, lay like coals raked up in embers not able to stir.§ The hearts of the people

* Ebn Al Athir.

+From the middle of the seventh to a like period of the eighth century of the Christian era (a space of about ninety-two years) the family of Moawiyah were invested with the regal and sacerdotal office. This dynasty is called the dynasty of the Ommiades, from the caliph Moawiyah or Ommia, the first of the house, the son of Abu Sofian, the successor of Abu Talet, in the principality of Mecca.--Mills.

"Moawiyah was called the son of the liver-eater,' because, after the battle of Ohud (see Life of Mohammed), his mother Hind, finding the body of Hamza, Mohammed's uncle, amongst the slain, immediately tore out his liver, and eat it in her rage."-Weil.

§ MS. Hunt. No. 495.