believed in
the great stone idols named Hubal and Uzza began to grow afraid.

They were too cowardly to molest Mohammed, because he was a rich man
and was protected by his uncle who had much influence among them,--but
they vented their spite on the humbler people who followed him and who
were unable to protect themselves. So it came to pass that the poor men
who were Mohammedans, particularly the slaves, were made to suffer
dreadful tortures. They were scourged with whips and placed all day in
the burning sunshine without a drop of water for their thirst. At last,
however, the people of Mecca became bold enough to go to Mohammed's
uncle and tell him that Mohammed must cease preaching against their
idols. Mohammed, however, indignantly refused, and went on preaching,
and his uncle continued to protect him.

At last Mohammed's enemies became so afraid of the success he was
gaining that they decided they must have his life at all costs, and a
plot was hatched against him. He was saved by being warned of this and
hidden away, but at last he and all his relatives who believed in his
teachings, as most of them did, were driven from Mecca and were made
outlaws.

His uncle's influence was so strong, however, that after Mohammed had
lived in the mountains for three years, he and his relatives were
allowed to return to Mecca. But a great misfortune fell upon him, for
his faithful wife Kadijah, whom he had loved deeply, and who was the
first person to believe in him as a prophet, died, and left him
inconsolable. His uncle also died, and Mohammed lost his protection.

Without the influence of his uncle Mecca again became too dangerous for
Mohammed to remain in. When he tried to preach he was pelted with
stones and mud and mocked on every side. He was consoled, however, by a
dream in which he thought that he was preaching to certain spirits
whose bodies were made of fire and who were known to the Meccans as
_Djinns_. And these spirits listened attentively to what Mohammed said
and did him reverence.

Because he had converted a number of men from the nearby town of
Yathrib, Mohammed decided that a better opportunity was given him to
teach his faith there than in Mecca itself, and in the year 622 A.D.,
he and his followers fled to Yathrib and were made welcome. This flight
was called the "Hegira," and the date of it is very important to the
Mohammedans, for their calendar dates from it, and for them is
practically the beginning