s return from this visit he busied himself again with the project
of conquering Syria; for some great scheme seemed to be necessary to
keep his followers in alliance, and extend his religion. While so
engaged he was taken dangerously sick. He selected the abode of Ayeshah
as his home. The house was close to the mosque, and afterwards became a
part of it. He continued to attend the public prayers as long as he was
able. When he felt that his end was near, he preached once more to the
people, recommending Abu Bekr and Osama as the generals of the army whom
he had chosen. In the last wanderings of his mind he spoke of angels and
heaven only, and died in the arms of Ayeshah. He was buried in the night
in the house of his faithful wife, which was for that reason taken into
the mosque.

"His death produced great distress and an immense excitement among his
followers. Even before he was dead the struggle began, and an
influential official had prevented him from naming his successor by
preventing him from obtaining the use of writing materials; but Abu Bekr
was preferred, and received the homage of the chief men of Medina.
Undoubtedly Mohammed was a man of great ability, and the possessor of
some extraordinary gifts. There was much that was good in the person and
his religion; much that Christianity preaches as the true faith to-day.
He believed in the one God, however much he failed to comprehend his
attributes.

"He claimed to be the Prophet of God, and preached piety and
righteousness, and recommended chiefly that his followers should protect
the weak, the poor, and the women, and to abstain from usury. In his
private character he was an amiable man, faithful to his friends, and
tender in his family. In spite of the power he finally obtained, he
never appeared in any state, with pomp and parade; for he lived in the
utmost simplicity, and when at the height of his power he dwelt like the
Arabs in general in a miserable hut. He mended his own clothes, and
freed his slaves when he had them.

"He was a man of strong passions, of a nervous temperament, and his
ecstatic visions were perhaps the result of his inherited malady. He is
not to be judged by our standard any more than King Solomon is; but
there was a great deal of good in him, with a vast deal that was
emphatically bad; for he was cunning and deceitful when it suited his
purpose, extremely revengeful, as shown in his dealings with the Meccans
and the Jews, and a whole