he appears to have been from the first a victim of epilepsy, or
some kindred affection whose paroxysms had much to do with his
subsequent experiences and his success. The various tribes of Arabia
were mostly given to a form of polytheistic idolatry in which, however,
the conception of a monotheistic supremacy was still recognized. Most
scholars, including Renan, insist on ascribing to the Arabians, in
common with all other Shemitic races, a worship of one God as Supreme,
though the Arabian Allah, like the Baal of Canaan and Phoenicia, was
supposed to be attended by numerous inferior deities. Though Islam
undoubtedly borrowed the staple of its truths from the Old Testament,
yet there was a short confession strikingly resembling the modern creed
of to-day, which had been upon the lips of many generations of Arabians
before Mohammed's time. Thus it ran: "I dedicate myself to thy service,
O Allah. Thou hast no companion except the companion of whom thou art
master and of whatever is his."

A society known as the "Hanifs" existed at the time of Mohammed's early
manhood, and we know not how long before, whose aim was to bring back
their countrymen from the degrading worship and cruel practices of
heathenism to the purity of monotheistic worship. The old faith had been
reinforced in the minds of the more intelligent Arabs by the truths
learned from Jewish exiles, who, as early as the Babylonish captivity,
had found refuge in Arabia; and it is a striking fact that the four
Hanif leaders whom the young Mohammed found on joining their society,
were pleading for the restoration of the faith of Abraham. All these
leaders refused to follow his standard when he began to claim supremacy
as a prophet; three of them were finally led to Christianity, and the
fourth died in a sort of quandary between the Christian faith and Islam.
The first two, Waraka and Othman, were cousins of Mohammed's wife, and
the third, Obadulla, was his own cousin. Zaid, the last of the four,
presents to us a very pathetic picture. He lived and died in perplexity.
Banished from Mecca by those who feared his conscientious censorship, he
lived by himself on a neighboring hillside, an earnest seeker after
truth to the last; and he died with the prayer on his lips, "O God, if I
knew what form of worship is most pleasing to thee, so would I serve
thee, but I know it not." It is to the credit of Mohammed that he
cherished a profound respect for this man. "I will pray fo