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RECONCILIATION.
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tribesmen, and the sincere protestations of the Prophet to the effect that he brought nothing new to them, had little power to check the tide of adverse criticism and hatred which was surging up against him. The small band of the followers of the creed of the Crescent were exposed to all kinds of dangers, and had to fly from place to place. Even Mahomed had to flee for his life more than once. He, however, never abandoned his mission, and though the following increased exceedingly slowly, he remained undaunted by the paucity of the number of 'true believers.'
A few years later, Hamza, a powerful and influential chieftain, embraced Islam. Other important conversions soon followed, till in the thirteenth year of the mission, the little band had acquired sufficient importance in the eyes of its enemies to lead them to seriously think of its extermination. Several conspiracies were formed to encompass Mahomed's death ; he was several times waylaid, and various other measures were resorted to for his destruction. The alternatives put before him were death or the renunciation of his mission. But the latter was out of the question ; so the only point left to him to decide was: whether he would prefer to be butchered peacefully, or die fighting, sword in hand ? His fiery nature, however, revolted at the former alternative; the idea of dying like a rat in a trap was not agreeable to his soul. The sword was, thus, the only alternative left, and he did not hesitate to draw it now. Hitherto he had preached toleration ; persuasion rather than compulsion had been his method. But that was out of the question now. The times were changed, and persuasion could no
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