ke them jealous for their own mosque at
Kuba, whose stones he had laid with his own hands. He fell upon the
Ganim, "some who have built a mosque for mischief," and demolished the
building. Then he drew attention to their perfidy in the Kuran, and took
care that there should be no more mosques built in the spirit of rivalry
and envy.

Very little time after his return to Medina, Abdallah, leader of the
Disaffected, his opponent and critic for so many years, died suddenly.
His death meant a great change in the position of his party. There was no
strong man to succeed Abdallah, and they found themselves without leader
or policy. They had for long been nominally allies of Mahomet, but had
not scrupled under Abdallah's leadership to question his authority by
opposition and sometimes in open acts of war. Abdallah's death crushed
for ever any attempts at revolt in Medina, and fused the Disaffected into
the common stock of Believers.

Abdallah occupies rather a peculiar position in Mahomet's entourage; he
was often the Prophet's opponent, sometimes his open defier, and yet
Mahomet's dealings with him were uniformly gentle and forbearing. He may
have had some personal regard for him. Abdallah was a stern and upright
man, whose uncompromising nature would speedily win Mahomet's respect.
Possibly the Prophet felt he might be too powerful an enemy, and
determined to ignore his insurrections. He paid him that respect which
his generosity of mind allowed him to offer towards any he knew and
liked. The Mahomet whose ruthlessness towards his opponents fell like an
awe upon all Arabia, could know and do homage to an enemy who had shown
himself worthy of his steel. All things seemed to be working towards
Mahomet's final prevailing. Now at last after many years the city of
Medina was unfeignedly his, the Jews were extirpated, the Disaffected
united under his banner.

Meanwhile, the city of Taif still held out in spite of Malik's incessant
warfare against it. But its defences were steadily growing weaker, and at
last the inhabitants knew they could no longer continue the hopeless
struggle. The chief citizens sent an embassy to Mahomet, promising to
destroy their idol within three years if the Prophet would release them
from their harassment. But Mahomet refused unconditionally. The uprooting
of idolatry was ever the price of his mercy. The message was sent back
that instant demolition of the accursed thing must be made or the siege
woul