Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/218

644] of partiality towards his own clan and family. "O ʿAlī, if the choice fall upon thee, see that thou exalt not the house of Hāshim above their fellows. And thou, ʿOthmān, if thou art elected, or Saʿd, beware thou set not thy kinsmen over the necks of men. Arise, go forth, deliberate, and then decide. Meanwhile Ṣoheib shall lead the prayers." When they had departed, he called Abu Ṭalḥa, a warrior of note, to him, saying:—"Go, stand before the door, and suffer no man to enter in upon them." After a pause he spoke solemnly to those around him:—"Tell it to him who shall succeed, as my last bequest, that he be kind to the Men of the City which gave to us and to the Faith a home; that he make much of their virtues, and pass lightly by their faults. Bid him treat well the Arab tribes; verily they are the backbone of Islām; the tithe that he taketh from them, let him give it back unto the same for nourishment of their poor. And the Jews and Christians, let him faithfully fulfil the covenant of the Prophet with them. O Lord, I have finished my course. And now to him that cometh after me I leave the kingdom firmly established and at peace." Then he lay down quietly and rested for a time.

After a while he bade his son ʿAbdallah go forth and see who it was that wounded him. Told that it was Abu Luʾluʾa, he exclaimed:—"Praise be to the Lord that it was not one who had ever bowed down before Him, even once, in prayer! Now ʿAbdallah, my son, go in unto ʿĀisha and ask her leave that I be buried in her chamber by the side of the Prophet, and by the side of Abu Bekr. If she refuse, then bury me by the other Muslims, in the graveyard of Al-Baḳīʿ. And list thee, ʿAbdallah, if the Electors disagree" (for he was to have a casting voice) "be thou with the majority; or, if the votes be equal, choose the side on which is ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān. Now let the people come in." Crowds had assembled at the door; and, permission given, they approached to make obeisance. As they passed in and out, ʿOmar asked whether any leading man had joined with Abu Luʾluʾa in conspiracy against him. "The Lord forbid!" was the loud response, in horror at the very thought.