When the first four hours of the night had gone by, the conspirators, among whom was Abu Jahal who had come to excite their zeal, were posted in ambush close to the door of the house, to prevent Mohammad from escaping. They did not wish to consummate their crime in darkness, for people might then have denied the participation of the Quraish. They preferred to await daybreak, so that it might be plainly visible that each and every one had an equal share in the murder. But He who never sleeps watched over His Prophet surrounded by foes. "_Verily on their necks, We have placed chains which reach the chin, and forced up are their heads * And before them have We set a barrier and behind them a barrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so that they shall not see._" (THE QUR'AN, XXXVI, 7-8.) Confiding in the protection of his Lord, Mohammad crept quietly out of his dwelling, picking up some loose earth and throwing a handful or two on the head of each conspirator. He then went away. The eyes of the miscreants, beneath lids heavy with tedious waiting and blinded by the bandage of sleep that Allah had placed thereon, saw nothing. 'For whom are ye watching here?' quoth a passer-by, coming on the scene.--'For Mohammad.'--'Allah hath saved him and he hath tricked you all. He hath just departed right under your noses and after covering your pates with dust, he strode away gaily.' Each startled man swiftly clapped his hand to his head and, withdrawing his fingers dirty with dust, gave signs of stupefaction. But, peering through a crack in the door, they saw Ali asleep on the Prophet's couch and wrapped in his green mantle. This sight set the villains' minds at rest and they all stood sentinel till dawn. Actuated by the same impulse, when the sun rose, they battered down the door and with swords unsheathed, threw themselves on Ali. He sat up facing them. They recognised him and called out: 'How now! Can it be thee, O Ali? Where is thy companion?'--'I know not.' In their fury at having been so finely tricked, they seized up Ali and imprisoned him in the Temple; but quickly recognising what a grave mistake they would make by being revenged on the son of Abu Talib, they set him free. [Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And before them have We set a barrier and behind them a barrier, and We have shrouded them in a veil, so that they shall not see._] [Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE FIFTH] [Illustration: _Interior of a Mosque._ _Al Mihrab: the niche marking the direction of Makkah._] [Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And fight for the cause of Allah against those who fight against you._] CHAPTER THE FIFTH [Sidenote: THE HEGIRA, OR THE EMIGRATION OF THE PROPHET TO MADINAH] At the moment when the Mohammedans were emigrating to Yasrib, Abu Bakr begged the Prophet to let him join them, but was answered thus: 'It is needless to hurry. Maybe Allah may give thee the companion thou dost prefer to undertake the journey in thy company.'