being a voluntary act, many find means to evade it, though in general the Muffulmen are very charitable.

Mahomet foon made profelytes of these lovers of novelty, who knew very little of the religion of their forefathers. Many Christians of Medina took the oaths to him, as the envoy of God and their lawful fovereign. From that time the impoftor determined on uniting the priesthood and the empire; he thought, with reafon, that the two fwords would have more force in the fame hand. The blind zeal with which his followers devoted themselves to him raifed up the hatred of the Mecchefe, who faw, with terror, a monarchy raifing among them on the foun-dation of fanaticifm: they attempted the life of Mahomet, become too powerful to be punished as a common criminal; the prophet's house was invested; he fled, leaving Ali, his coufin and one of his firft difciples, in the chamber where the Mecchefe thought to take him.

Several parties purfued the prophet from Mecca. Being hidden in a cavern on the Medina road, he pretended afterward to have escaped by a miracle the fearch of his enemies. Tradition fays, that in the middle of a thick old foreft, trees sprang up all of a fudden from the earth, to spread their branches over the entrance of the prophet's retreat; that spiders webs, hanging from thefe trees, perfuaded his purfuers, without.

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without doubt negligent or credulous, that no one had paffed that way for a long time. This was the prodigy which the impoftor thought to oppofe to those who demanded fupernatural proofs of his miffion; but he foon found means to provide himself with more convincing ones. His party increased at Medina; he reduced by force of arms this town, in which at firft he had feemed to ask only a place of shelter; he exacted from his profelytes a folemn oath, to spread by: fire and fword the Muffulman faith, or Islamism: this word fignifies in Arabic, the true faith.

Mahomet, being established in Medina, built a mofque,* and made a regular form of worship. He explained his law himself, and faid public prayers every day.§ After having fought the Arabians without the city, who were united in troops against him, and given the example of carnage against caravans, which he lay wait for near the walls of Medina, he returned into the mofque, bleffed the people with his bloody hands, and exhorted them to maffacre Infidels, in order to offer agreeable facrifices to God. Two dogmas, often repeated by Mahomet, contributed to render his foldiers formidable. First, no one, according to the Alcoran, can efcape his deftiny; all

This is the name which Mahomet gave his temples.

The public prayers are faid before fun-rifing, and after fun-fet. Two others may be faid apart, at noon, and before fun-fet, and a third in the night, before the first watch.

all predeftination is inevitable; and the man, whofe days are not complete, will receive unhurt a fhower of arrows from a whole army: when he, whose fatal term is arrived, fhall never escape death by any precaution whatsoever: thus, the true Muffulmen abufe the principle of God's prescience, and don't think themselves in more danger in the moft bloody battle, than at an entertainment, or in their beds. Their fecond incitement to courage is the folemn promise of the prophet, that thofe, who are killed fighting against the Infidels, fhall be martyrs, and admitted into the Paradife of delights, whatever crimes they may have committed. Men ftrongly prepoffeffed with fuch errors must needs be invincible. Mahomet's fucceffors profited infinitely more than their prophet by this fanguinary enthufiafm, which raifed ferocious foldiers to the rank of apostles and martyrs, and compelled all thofe that were deaf to perfuafion.

Mahomet had loft his wife, before he left Mecca. He married his only remaining daughter by his dear Cadisja to his coufin Ali. She was called Fatima. It is from her this numerous pofterity of men is defcended who are all called emirs, and who, in the Mahometan countries, have alone the privilege of wearing green turbans, as defcendants of the prophet. After the death of Cadisja, Mahomet's paffion for women appeared without constraint. He firft married

Aiefa, the daughter of Abubeker, one of his firft difciples, and who was his immediate fucceffor, Aiefa was as yet but a child: nature is exceffively forward in the burning Arabia, particularly in refpect to puberty. Mahomet did not confummate his marriage 'till a year after, when Aiesa had attained her ninth year; and, before that period, the prophet took a great liking to the wife of Zeid, formerly his flave, and fince his adopted fon.

This circumftance rendered Mahomet's proceedings incestuous in the eyes of the Arabians, who confidered the laws of adoption as facred as thofe of nature, and abhorred inceft greatly. The impoftor procured from Heaven a chapter of the Alcoran, which confecrated this crime. Zeid repudiated his wife with joy; he loved, he refpected Mahomet, beyond every other confideration. The falfe prophet made use of the authority of the Alcoran to have publicly fifteen wives at a time, though he allowed his followers but four.* The author of the law knew how to form

*The rigid Muffulmen take only four wives or female flaves; others take four lawful wives, and as many female flaves as their fortunes will support. Nevertheless, the major part have but one wife, owing to the difficulty of maintaining a greater number. Divorces, though allowed the Muffulmen, are rather uncommon on account of the conditions prefcribed by the Maho. metan laws. They may repudiate their wives, and take them again, as often as three times; but the third time, they must marry another man, leep with him, and be repudiated, before they return to their first husband. When the repudiated wife is not guilty of incontinency, her husband restores

her

form it to his weakneffes: that which Mahomet had all his life time for the fair-fex can only be equalled by his ambition. Not contented with fuch a number of wives, he could not refift the fight of feveral fine flaves that his profelytes brought him from all parts, or that he took in war. Having been caught with a young female captive by two of his wives; in order to ftifle their reproaches, he inserted in his Alcoran a permiffion for every Muffulman to make use of his flaves.

This inconftant husband was not fecure from a fort of vengeance which his conduct feemed to authorife from his irritated wives. Aiefa, whom he loved beyond all the rest, was caught in adultery. The haughty prophet, every way fenfible of the affront, was not at a lofs how to conceal * it: he had again recourse to the voice of God. The Alcoran declared Aiefa innocent; but, to prevent in future even the fufpicion of fuch a crime, another chapter forbade all the Muffulmen, especially the prophet's friends, ever to fpeak to his wives, or to ftop in his house, either after repaft, or in his absence. It is principally owing to the conduct of Aiefa, the jealoufy of Mahomet, and his contempt for a fex to whom his paffions made him submit in fpite

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her portion to her, and is obliged to give her a dower. When it is the wife who requires the divorce, on account of impotency, bad treatment, or the refufal of conjugal devoirs, she loses her dower. The children born of lawful wives, or of concubines, are equally legitimate, and inherit all the fame. The girls however have only half the portion of the boys.