ss, earthquakes
loosed the bases of mountains and caused great bodies of water, whose
names were unfortunately not specified, to wither away or overflow; the
sacred fire of Zoroaster which, under the jealous care of the Magi, had
spouted ceaseless flames for nearly a thousand years, was extinguished.
All the idols in the world except the Kaaba tumbled to earth.
Immediately after the babe was born an ethereal light dazzled the
surrounding territory, and, on the very moment when his eyes were first
opened, he lifted them to heaven and exclaimed: "God is great! There is
no God but Allah and I am his Prophet!" All these poetic fancies have
been appropriately denounced by Christian scribes, who have claimed that
nature would never have dignified the birth of a pagan like Mohammed
with such marvelous prodigies as undoubtedly attended the advent of
Christ.

However, Mohammed was born shortly after the death of his father. At the
age of six his mother died also, and he spent the first ten years among
the Bedouins under the care of a foster-mother named Halima. At the age
of four it was noticed that the child had signs of convulsive seizures
which later commentators thought were of an epileptic nature. He was
brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, and his early manhood
was spent in caring for the flock and in attending caravan expeditions.

When the prophet was twenty-five years old, his uncle secured for him a
position with a caravan owned by a wealthy widow, Khadija. Thanks to
Mohammed's keen business sense the caravan was highly successful, and he
was induced to personally report his success to Khadija. That lady, a
wealthy widow of forty years, and the mother of three children, was
highly pleased at Mohammed's story. As she listened to the proof of his
business ability and fondly scanned his large, nobly formed head, his
curling coal-black hair, his piercing eyes, and his comely form, it
naturally occurred to her that this vigorous and handsome young fellow
would make an excellent successor to her deceased husband. She had her
way and they were married. During the next fifteen years Mohammed led a
tranquil life. His future was provided for and he had plenty of leisure
to occupy himself as he chose. In these years Mohammed and his wife
continued to be conventional worshipers of idols, who nightly performed
rites in honor of various gods and goddesses, among whom were Allah and
his female consoler Al-Lat. And so, b