, it had spread by the mere force of persuasion among the
Meccans, some of whom had emigrated to Abyssinia and most to Medina, the
whole of the influential tribes of Aws and Khazraj at Medina, as well as
among the Jews there, and among some of the tribes in the north, and
east of Medina and the centre of Arabia. But as Mecca in the south had
declared war against Islam, most of the Arab tribes connected somehow
with the Meccans, and those inhabiting the southern and south-eastern
parts of Arabia, to whom Mecca served geographically as a barrier,
watched the proceedings of the war and the fate of Islam, and had no
opportunity of coming to Medina to embrace Islam, nor of having friendly
intercourse with the Moslems, nor of receiving Mohammadan missionaries
in the face of the wars waged by the Koreish who were looked upon as the
guardians of the Kaaba, the spiritual or religious centre of the
idolatrous Arabs. At the end of the last or the fifth year many Bedouin
tribes, among whom might be counted the Bani Ashja, Murra, Fezara,
Suleim, Sad-bin-Bakr and Bani Asad, had furnished several thousand Arabs
to the Koreish for the siege of Medina. Only when the aggressions of the
Koreish against the Moslems were suspended that the warring tribes and
those of the Central, Southern and Eastern Arabia could think of what
they had heard of the reasonable preaching of Islam against their
idolatry and superstitions.

[Sidenote: Tribal conversions in the sixth year.]

26. Since the truce of Hodeibia at the end of the sixth year after the
Hegira Mecca was opened for intercourse, where there were some more and
fresh conversions. The Bani Khozaa, descendants of Azd, were converted
to Islam at the truce of Hodeibia. At the pilgrimage in the following
year some influential men of Mecca adopted Islam. The movement was not
confined to these leading men, but was wide and general. In the seventh
year the following tribes were converted to Islam and their deputations
joined Mohammad at Khyber:

1. Bani Ashar.[51]
2. Khushain.[52]
3. Dous.[53]

[Sidenote: Conversions among several other tribes of the North and
North-east in A.H., 8.]

During the same year Mohammad converted several other tribes in the
north and north-east of Arabia. Among them were--

1. Bani Abs.
2. Zobian.
3. Murra.
4. Fezara.[54]
5. Suleim.[55]
6. Ozra.
7. Bali.
8. Juzam.[56]
9. Salaba.[57]
10. Abdu