y,
the rest of the tribe of Koreish engaged themselves to renounce all
intercourse with the children of Hashem, neither to buy nor sell,
neither to marry not to give in marriage, but to pursue them with
implacable enmity, till they should deliver the person of Mahomet to the
justice of the gods. The decree was suspended in the Caaba before the
eyes of the nation; the messengers of the Koreish pursued the Mussulman
exiles in the heart of Africa: they besieged the prophet and his most
faithful followers, intercepted their water, and inflamed their mutual
animosity by the retaliation of injuries and insults. A doubtful
truce restored the appearances of concord till the death of Abu Taleb
abandoned Mahomet to the power of his enemies, at the moment when he
was deprived of his domestic comforts by the loss of his faithful and
generous Cadijah. Abu Sophian, the chief of the branch of Ommiyah,
succeeded to the principality of the republic of Mecca. A zealous
votary of the idols, a mortal foe of the line of Hashem, he convened an
assembly of the Koreishites and their allies, to decide the fate of the
apostle. His imprisonment might provoke the despair of his enthusiasm;
and the exile of an eloquent and popular fanatic would diffuse the
mischief through the provinces of Arabia. His death was resolved; and
they agreed that a sword from each tribe should be buried in his heart,
to divide the guilt of his blood, and baffle the vengeance of the
Hashemites. An angel or a spy revealed their conspiracy; and flight was
the only resource of Mahomet. At the dead of night, accompanied by
his friend Abubeker, he silently escaped from his house: the assassins
watched at the door; but they were deceived by the figure of Ali, who
reposed on the bed, and was covered with the green vestment of the
apostle. The Koreish respected the piety of the heroic youth; but some
verses of Ali, which are still extant, exhibit an interesting picture
of his anxiety, his tenderness, and his religious confidence. Three days
Mahomet and his companion were concealed in the cave of Thor, at the
distance of a league from Mecca; and in the close of each evening,
they received from the son and daughter of Abubeker a secret supply of
intelligence and food. The diligence of the Koreish explored every haunt
in the neighborhood of the city: they arrived at the entrance of the
cavern; but the providential deceit of a spider's web and a pigeon's
nest is supposed to convince