re and some worshipped the stars. Some became
Jews or Christians. For the most part, however, they worshipped stone
images and many wise men preached and labored among them in vain to
bring back the old religion of their fathers.

Such was the state of affairs when a child was born in the city of
Mecca who was destined to become one of the greatest prophets of the
world, and draw all the Arabs into a single religion that would spread
as far as Spain and India. This child was named Mohammed, and he was
born five hundred and seventy years after the death of Christ. His
father, Abdallah, died soon after he was born, and Mohammed's mother,
according to custom, gave the baby into the charge of a nurse who might
rear him in the free, open air of the desert where Arabs believed that
children became strong and vigorous.

Mohammed was strong in many ways, but had one great physical failing:
he was often seized with fits of a kind that nowadays would be ascribed
to the disease called epilepsy. In those days, however, these fits were
thought to be the work of devils who entered into and possessed the
body. When he was six years old his mother died and he was brought up
by his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, a poor man, but one who was
greatly respected by everybody that knew him.

Abd al-Muttalib put him to work. When he grew old enough, he watched
the flocks of the people of Mecca, and gained a meager livelihood by
doing this. He had no schooling, but once or twice had the opportunity
to travel, when he went with his uncle to southern Arabia and to Syria,
where he saw people different from those of Mecca and learned of many
different forms of religion.

When Mohammed was twenty-five years old there befell a change in his
fortunes. In this year he entered the service of a rich widow, whose
name was Kadijah, and went with her to the great fairs and bazaars on
which journeys, perhaps, he acted as her camel driver. Kadijah soon
fell in love with the young man of bright, piercing eyes and thoughtful
demeanor, and one day she drew Mohammed aside and told him that she
loved him, offering to become his wife and to give him her hand in
marriage. By marrying Kadijah Mohammed became rich. He managed his
wife's affairs at Mecca with great success, and became greatly
respected there as a man of business. He and Kadijah had six children,
four girls and two boys, but both of the boys died in their infancy.

But Mohammed was soon marked as be