When they were mustered, the Prophet came before them. 'O Assembly of the Ansars!' he said; 'I have been told about your talk and the sadness of your souls. Did I not seek you out when ye had been led astray? Hath not Allah led you all into the right path? Ye were unfortunate: hath not Allah made you happy? Each man was his brother's enemy: hath not Allah reconciled your hearts?'--'Truly!' they answered unanimously. 'Allah and His Apostle are the most compassionate and generous!'--'And on your part,' he added, 'did ye not welcome me with compassion and generosity when I was a homeless wanderer? Have ye not the right to say to me: "Thou wert branded as an impostor and we put faith in thee; thou wert east down and we helped thee to be victorious; thou wert poverty-stricken and we made thee rich?"'--'Nay, nay!' protested every man of the Assembly. 'We are indebted to thee for everything and thou dost owe us nothing!'--'In that case,' he went on, 'O Ansar comrades! how could you let the least feeling of affection arise in your hearts concerning the fleeting riches of this world, with which I have endowed certain persons in order to strengthen their vacillating faith, whilst I knew that you were unshaken. Know ye not that these people will return to their homesteads with camels and sheep only, whilst ye will take the Prophet of Allah back with you to your dwellings?... By Him who holdeth Mohammad's soul in His hands, I swear that if the Arab tribes retired into one valley and the Ansars into another, I would follow into the valley of the Ansars. For me, the Ansars are as a shirt on the skin; and for me, the other tribes are as the mantle outside everything. O Allah, show mercy to the Ansars; to the sons of the Ansars; and to the children of their children!' These words, which the Prophet was unable to utter without betraying intense emotion, mollified the entire Assembly. Tears of gratitude flowed from the eyes of the Ansars so abundantly that their beards were wetted. All cried out, sobs causing them to falter: 'Aye, verily, we accept our share of the booty, for the most beautiful portion is ours!' [Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Now hath Allah helped you in many battle-fields, and, on the day of Hunain, when ye prided yourselves on your numbers; but it availed you nothing._] [Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE EIGHTH] [Illustration: _"Ad-da'wah" or the Invocation_] [Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Accomplish the Pilgrimage and the Visitation of the Holy Places in honour of Allah._] CHAPTER THE EIGHTH [Sidenote: AYISHAH SLANDERED] Quoth Ayishah: "During my return from the Mustaliq expedition, pressing need compelled me to alight from my Hawdaj, (a kind of litter carried on a camel's back). I found a lonely spot and stopped behind, waiting until all the soldiers had marched past. But seeing my camel halted, and thinking I was inside the hawdaj, they drove the animal forward to ensure it remaining in line with the rest.