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MOGUL

1246

MOHAMMED

Mogul (md-g%lf). See INDIA.

Mohammed (mo-h&m'med) or Mahomet, the founder of Islam or the Mohammedan religion, was born at Mecca, Arabia, about 570 A. D. His early life was spent in poverty, partly as a shepherd, until acting in some capacity, perhaps as a camel-driver, in the caravan of a rich widow, Khadija. She, though 15 years older, became his wife. He spent his time after this, while a merchant, largely in lonely meditation. Christianity and Judaism both prevailed in the region, and the ancient Arabian paganism had lost its hold. Missionaries from Arab tribes began preaching at Mecca and Medina, and were the forerunners of Mohammed. His first religious revelation, as he called it, received from the angel Gabriel, when he was 40, was a command to preach a new religion. These revelations were always attended by spasms, something like fits of epilepsy, which were believed by his enemies to be the work of demons. The revelations continued at intervals and were collected and written down after his death, forming the Koran or sacred writings of this religion. His first revelation, when told to his near friends, brought him only ridicule, but at the end of four years he had 40 followers. The command was then given him to come forward publicly as a preacher, which he did, exhorting to a moral life and a belief in one God, whose prophet he was. At first Mohammed was looked upon as a harmless maniac, but as the number of his followers increased and his attacks on the old religion became more severe, the people rose against him. His uncle, though not believing in him, protected him, carrying him to a strong castle where he stayed three years. His whole clan was outlawed and his followers suffered persecution, 100 fleeing to Abyssinia. After his return to Mecca he lost his wife and uncle, and was reduced to poverty. He made several new converts, from Medina, increasing their number with each pilgrimage that was made to Mecca, until, when they numbered 70, he decided to flee to the friendly city of Medina, which he reached in 622 A. D. This flight or Hegira is the beginning of the Mohammedan era. His position was at once changed, and from being a despised maniac he became the ruler of the city and the head of two powerful Arab tribes. His most important act at this time was the giving permission to carry on war against the enemies of the new faith. Victorious in the first battle against the Mec-cans, adventurers flocked to his standard, and he carried on the war with the Arab tribes successfully, yet with great cruelty. He finally made a ten years' peace with the Meccans, which allowed him to send his missionaries through Arabia, and he soon made his first pilgrimage to Mecca with 2,000 followers. From this time his power increased rapidly. He marched to Mecca with an

army of 10,000 men^ and was proclaimed chief. Tribe after tribe sent messengers to do homage to him either as the Prophet of God or the prince of Arabia.

His last pilgrimage to Mecca was made in A. D. 632, the tenth year of the Hegira, and at that time he ordered the ceremonies of the great pilgrimages, which are still observed. His last sickness occurred in the house of his favorite wife Ayesha, who was but one of many whom he married after the death of Khadija. He called for writing materials, probably to indicate his successor, but Omar, his most influential friend, prevented their being given him, fearing he would appoint AH, while he himself wanted Abu Bekr. Mohammed died at Medina, June 8, 632. Abu Bekr said to the gathered crowd, who would not believe in his death: "Whoever among you has served Mohammed, let him know that Mohammed is dead; but he who has served the God of Mohammed let him continue in His service, for He is still alive and never dies." The tomb of Mohammed, in the house where he died, is now part of the mosque at Medina.

The religion of Mohammed recognized the one God, the creator of all things; Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed as successive prophets, who proclaimed new laws which did away with all that had gone before; the resurrection from the dead; a final judgment; and future rewards or punishments. It commanded prayer, almsgiving, fasting and pilgrimages. It forbade the drinking of wine, all games cl chance, the use of blood of swine or animals dying from disease as food; and the worship of idols. It allows polygamy, though limiting the number of wives to four. Every Mohammedan prays five times a day, and the hour for prayer, called by the muezzin, is announced by this officer, from the minarets of the mosques. When praying their faces are turned toward Mecca. The Koran (q. v.), the sacred book of the Mohammedans, is made up of the "revelations" made to Mohammed, which he had written down, but which were not collected until after his death. It comprises some 114 chapters, and the contents are drawn from the ancient Arab traditions, the Old and New Testaments, the Talmud of the Jews and later writings. Eighty years after the death of Mohammed, Islam, as the Mohammedans call their religion, ruled in Arabia, Syria, Persia, Egypt, North Africa and Spain. Two hundred millions of the human race embrace it to-day. Its conquests in modern times have been in Africa, but its power has declined in other countries. See Mahomet by Washington Irving and Life of Mahomet and Mahomet and Islam by Sir W. Muir.

Mohammed or Mehemet AH (ma'he-met a'le}, viceroy of Egypt, was born at Kavala, Macedonia, in 1769. He served in the Turkish army in the war against the French in