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630] necessary to efface some of the paintings which adorned the interior of the Ka'ba. A curious legend relates that while this process of purification was being carried out one of the Meccan goddesses, called Nā'ila, suddenly appeared in the form of a black woman and fled away shrieking — an example of the belief, familiar to us from early Christian literature, that the pagan deities are devils. But while many of the ancient gods vanished for ever, one at least remained and in fact has continued to the present day. A certain black stone, which formed part of the wall of the Ka'ba, was regarded by the heathen Arabs with extraordinary veneration; the practice of kissing this object and of stroking it with the hand was not only tolerated but expressly sanctioned by the Prophet. That such fetish-worship disgusted some of his own followers appears evident from a saying ascribed to the Caliph Omar. How far Mahomet's policy in these matters was due to genuine superstition and how far to the desire of conciliating the heathen cannot be determined; but it is certain that a large part of the ancient cult was adopted into Islām with little change. For this it was necessary to devise some historical justification; accordingly the Prophet gave out, perhaps in good faith, that the Meccan sanctuary had been originally founded by Abraham and that the ceremonial practised in it was a divine institution though it had been partially corrupted through the perversity of men. The Meccans, it is needless to say, gladly accepted the theory which tended, on the whole, to enhance the prestige of their city. Henceforth the Ḳuraish, who had so long opposed the new religion, were among its firmest adherents, if not from conviction at least from self-interest.

The news of the capture of Mecca spread a panic among some of the neighbouring tribes of Bedouins. It is not probable that they were much influenced by religious feeling, but they dreaded the loss of their independence. An army was quickly brought together, consisting of several tribes who bore the collective appellation of Hawāzin; the most prominent members of the coalition were the Thaḳīf, a tribe to which the inhabitants of the town of Ṭā'if belonged. Mahomet at once marched from Mecca with a much larger force and encountered the Hawāzin in the valley of Ḥunain. The Muslims, in spite of their numerical superiority, were at first thrown into confusion by the onslaught of the enemy, and the Prophet himself was in great peril; the troops from Medina, however, succeeded in turning the tide of battle. At length the Hawāzin were not only routed but were forced to abandon their women and children, together with a vast quantity of flocks and herds which, after the fashion of the Bedouins, they had brought into