Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/45



was indeed time for decisive action. But a few weeks before and the entire Peninsula was submissive to the claims of Moḥammad both as Prophet and King. Now all was on a sudden changed, and the Arabs abjuring Islām were fast relapsing into apostasy and independence. It took a year to reclaim the Peninsula, a year of hard fighting and obstinate resistance in every corner of the land. It was the indomitable spirit breathed by Moḥammad into his faithful followers that alone crowned their efforts with victory. The Arabs at last were forced back, in sullen mood and with unwilling step, to confess the faith of Moḥammad and submit themselves to his Successor.

A brief outline of the twelvemonths' campaign will suffice; for tradition, up to the Prophet's death clear and copious, now suddenly becomes curt, obscure, and disconnected. The scene of confusion that prevailed throughout the land, presents itself to us in meagre, dim, and hazy outline. With Islām struggling thus for very life, its followers thought at the moment only of the lance and sword; and when the struggle at last was over, little remained but the sense of escape from a terrible danger. No date is given for the many battles fought throughout the year. We can only guess at the sequence of events.

Such being the case, we shall begin with the campaign of Khālid on the north and east, and then take up the other Provinces in order, as they lie around the coast, from Al-Baḥrein on the Persian Gulf to the Yemen on the Red Sea. 18