QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER III 1. Describe Mohammed's surroundings at the time of his first 'revelation.' 2. Give three possible explanations of Mohammed's 'inspiration.' Can all three be partly true? 3. What is the Mohammedan Creed? Can you account for Mohammed's belief in it? 4. Who were the earliest converts? 5. How did further 'revelations' come to Mohammed? Why did he claim them to be divine? When did he first publicly proclaim his message? {47} CHAPTER IV LIFE IN MECCA 'We would know the world--not to censure, not to boast ourselves, but that sympathy may be wider and wider.'--LYNCH. [Sidenote: Mohammed's Position as Prophet in Mecca.] Mohammed had now crossed the Rubicon. He had taken the decisive step of his career. To turn back was impossible. Islam was no longer a secret society. The issues at stake were clear both to Mohammed and to the men of Mecca, and they opposed his attack upon their shrine with a bitterness reinforced by a kind of patriotism. Mohammed himself was inviolable through the protection of Abu Talib, but an incessant petty persecution was maintained against his converts. As the opposition increased so did Mohammed's teaching grow in positiveness, and his violent vituperations increase in fury. 'Whoso obeyeth not God and His Prophet, to him verily is {48} the fire of hell.' Mohammed was never meek, and when assailed and contradicted his cheeks blazed fury, while his lips poured forth a torrent of curses upon his enemies. The advantage of secrecy during the first few years had been great; it had saved the cause from being crushed at the outset. Ridicule and contempt can more easily be borne where some hundred persons are involved. Mohammed made his public _début_ not in the _rôle_ of an eccentric sage but as the leader of a party, a force to be reckoned with; and soon his fame spread along every caravan route of Arabia. [Illustration: A CAMEL MERCHANT. '_Mohammed's fame spread along every caravan route of Arabia._']