be
treated as such.]

3. The fierce persecutions renewed by the Koreish at the time of the
expulsion of the Moslems from Mecca were acts of hostility tantamount to
a declaration of war. From that time commenced the state of war between
the parties. In the Arab society at Mecca there was neither an organized
Government, nor any distinction between a public and private person and
property. There was no regular army in the State, and what existed was
not a permanently organized body, so provided with external marks that
it could be readily identified. The form of Government at Mecca was
patriarchal, and the chiefs of the Koreish and the citizens of Medina
themselves constituted an army when occasion arose. Therefore, since the
commencement of hostilities or the state of war, every individual of the
Koreish or the Meccans was a public enemy of the Moslems, and liable to
be treated as such in his person and property, except those who were
unable to take part in the hostilities, or, as a matter of fact,
abstained from engaging in them. Therefore it was lawful for the Moslems
to threaten or to waylay the caravans of the enemy, which passed to and
from Mecca close to Medina, and also to attack the Koreish at Mecca, if
they could possibly do so.

[Sidenote: But the Moslems could not take up arms to redress their
wrongs under certain circumstances.]

4. But as the people amongst whom the Prophet and his fugitive Moslems
now sojourned had only pledged to defend them at Medina, the flying
Mohammadans could not take up arms against their aggressors, the
Koreish, to defend their rights of religious liberty and citizenship,
much less of taking arms to compel the non-believers to believe in
Moslem faith, and so they preferred to live in peace at Medina, and
enjoy the blessings of their new religion without any disturbance from
without, if possible.

[Sidenote: Moslems otherwise engaged at Medina had no intention of
suffering the horrors of war by taking the initiative.]

[Sidenote: But were in imminent danger from the enemy.]

5. In fact, the Moslems, after suffering so long such heavy persecutions
at Mecca, had at length got an asylum of peace at Medina, where they had
very little desire left to entertain any idea of commencing hostilities
or undergoing once more the horrors of war, and were too glad to live in
peace after their last escape. The people of Medina had only agreed to
defend the Prophet from attack, not to joi