Then there was the book, the Korân. At the time of Mohammed's death the suras had never been gathered together, and no book of them existed. Many had been written down by those who heard them, some the faithful knew by heart. Soon after the Prophet's death Abu Bakr gave orders that all these should be gathered together. Zaid therefore collected all that could be found on parchment, leather, palm leaves, shoulder-blades of mutton, stones, and other materials, and with those suras which could be repeated from memory he completed the collection of Mohammed's suras in the Korân. Every word within the covers of that book was, and always has been, regarded by all Moslems as the veritable word of God, 'eternal and uncreate,' brought down from heaven by Gabriel and delivered to Mohammed. 'The whole of the contents of the Korân, from {94} the sublimest doctrine down to the most trivial command abrogated perhaps a week or two after it was revealed; from the passage describing the ineffableness of God down to the passage authorizing Mohammed's marriage with the divorced wife of his adopted son--all is equally, in kind and in degree, inspired, eternal, and divine.' The word of God to man was, in fact, a book,--this book. This book was the word of God. QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER VI 1. What led to the battle of Badr? Why was it so important? 2. How came it that the Meccans failed to take Medina? 3. How was Mecca conquered? How did Mohammed manage to destroy all idols there without rousing much opposition? 4. What should you think is the effect now of keeping Mecca as the centre of Islam? 5. How was Arabia subdued? 6. How far was Mohammed's death a sequel to his life? What was his real claim as the founder of a religion? [1] Zwemer, _A Challenge to Faith_, pp. 46-48. {95} CHAPTER VII ISLAM'S SUCCESS 'A poor shepherd people, roaming in its deserts unnoticed since the creation of the world: a Hero-Prophet was sent down to them with a word they could believe: see, the unnoticed becomes the world-notable, the small has grown world-great; within one century afterwards, Arabia is at Grenada on this hand, at Delhi on that;--glancing in valour and splendour and the light of genius, Arabia shines through long ages over a great section of the world. Belief is great, life-giving.'--CARLYLE. [Sidenote: The Wonder of Islam's Success.]