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 360 THE DECLINE AND FALL battle, was proposed to the enemies of Mahomet. If they pro- fessed the creed of Islam, they were admitted to all the temporal and spiritual benefits of his primitive disciples, and marched under the same banner to extend the religion which they had embraced. The clemency of the prophet was decided by his interest, yet he seldom trampled on a prostrate enemy ; and he seems to promise that, on the payment of a tribute, the least guilty of his unbelieving subjects might be indulged in their worship, or at least in their imperfect faith. In the first months of his reign, he practised the lessons of holy warfare, and displayed his white banner before the gates of Medina ; the martial apostle fought in person at nine battles or sieges ; ^^'^ and fifty enterprises of war were achieved in ten years by him- self or his lieutenants. The Arab continued to unite the pro- fessions of a merchant and a robber ; and his petty excursions, for the defence or the attack of a caravan, insensibly prepared his troops for the conquest of Arabia. The distribution of the spoil was regulated by a divine law ; ^"^^ the whole was faithfully collected in one common mass ; a fifth of the gold and silver, the prisoners and cattle, the moveables and immoveables, was reserved by the prophet for pious and charitable uses ; the remainder was shared in adequate portions by the soldiers who had obtained the victory or guarded the camp ; the rewards of the slain devolved to their widows and orphans ; and the increase of cavalry was encouraged by the allotment of a double share to the horse and to the man. From all sides the roving Arabs were allured to the standard of religion and plunder ; the apostle sanctified the licence of embracing the female captives as their wives or concubines ; and the enjoyment of wealth and beauty was a feeble type of the joys of paradise prepai-ed for the valiant martyrs of the faith. "The sword," says Mahomet, " is the key of heaven and of hell : a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer : whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven ; at the day of judgment his wounds shall be re- i'*'*Abulfeda, in Vit. Moham. p. 156. The private arsenal of the apostle con- sisted of nine swords, three lances, seven pikes or half-pikes, a quiver and three bows, seven cuirasses, three shields, and two helmets (Gagnier, torn. iii. p. 328-334), with a large white standard, a black banner (p. 335), twenty horses (p. 322), &c. Two of his martial sayings are recorded by tradition (Gagnier, torn. ii. p. 88, 337)- 1^5 The whole subject dejure belli Mohammedanorum is exhausted in a separate dissertation by the learned Reland (Dissertationes Miscellaneas, torn. iii. Dissertat. -^- P- 3-53)-