ed grave of Ishmael. The Holy Place of
Arabia held thus within itself traces of a purer faith, that
were to be discovered and filled in by Mahomet, until the Kaaba
became the goal of thousands, the recipient of the devotion and longings
of that mighty host of Muslim who went forth to subdue the world.
Mahomet's ancestors had for some time held a high position in the city.
He came of the race of Hashim, whose privilege it was to give service to
the pilgrims coming to worship at the Kaaba. The Hashim were renowned for
generosity, and Mahomet's grandfather, Abd al Muttalib, was revered by
the Kureisch, inhabitants of Mecca, as a just and honourable man, who had
greatly increased their prosperity by his rediscovery of the holy well.

Its healing waters had been choked by the accumulations of years, so
that even the knowledge of its site was lost, when an angel appeared to
Abd al Muttalib, as he slept at the gate of the temple, saying:

"Dig up that which is pure!"

Three times the command fell on uncomprehending ears, until the angel
revealed to the sleeper where the precious water might be found. And as
he dug, the well burst forth once more, and behold within its deeps lay
two golden gazelles, with weapons, the treasure of former kings. And
there was strife among the Kureisch for the possession of these riches,
until they were forced to draw lots. So the treasure fell to Abd al
Muttalib, who melted the weapons to make a door for the Kaaba, and set
up the golden gazelles within it.

Abd al Muttalib figures very prominently in the early legends concerning
Mahomet, because he was sole guardian of the Prophet during very early
childhood. These legends are mainly later accretions, but the kernel of
truth within them is not difficult to discover. Like all forerunners of
the great teachers, he stands in communion with heavenly messengers, the
symbol of his purity of heart. He is humble, compassionate, and devout,
living continually in the presence of his god--a fitting guardian for
the renewer of the faith of his nation. Most significant of the legends
is the story of his vow to sacrifice a son if ten were born to him, and
of the choice of Abdullah, Mahomet's father, and the repeated staying of
the father's hand, so that the sacrifice could not be accomplished until
is son's life was bought with the blood of a hundred camels. This and
all allied legends are fruit of a desire to magnify the divine authority
of Mahomet's missio