to his servant, and who alone has put to flight his enemies, and put under my feet everything that is visible, men, animals, goods, riches, except only the government of the Kaaba and the keeping of the cup for the pilgrims to drink out of.  As for you, O ye Koreishites, God hath taken from you the pride of paganism, which caused you to worship as deities our fathers Abraham and Ishmael, though they were men descended from Adam, who was created out of the earth.”  Having a mind to bestow on one of his own friends the prefecture of the Kaaba, he took the keys of it from Othman the son of Telha, and was about to give them to Al Abbas, who had asked for them, when a direction came to him from heaven, in these words, “Give the charge to whom it belongs.”  Whereupon he returned the keys by Ali to Othman, who, being agreeably surprised, thanked Mahomet, and made a new profession of his faith.  The pilgrim’s cup, however, he consigned to the care of Al Abbas, in whose family it became hereditary.

The people of Mecca were next summoned to the hill Al Safa, to witness Mahomet’s inauguration.  The prophet having first taken an oath to them, the men first, and then the women, bound themselves by oath to be faithful and obedient to whatsoever he should command them.  After this he summoned an extraordinary assembly, in which it was decreed that Mecca should be henceforward an asylum or inviolable sanctuary, within which it should be unlawful to shed the blood of man, or even to fell a tree.

After telling the Meccans they were his slaves by conquest, he pardoned and declared them free, with the exception of eleven men and six women, whom, as his most inveterate enemies, he proscribed, ordering his followers to kill them wherever they should find them.  Most of them obtained their pardon by embracing Islamism, and were ever after the most zealous of Mussulmans.  One of these, Abdallah, who had greatly offended Mahomet, was brought to him by Othman, upon whose intercession Mahomet pardoned him.  Before he granted his pardon, he maintained a long silence, in expectation, as he afterward owned, that some of those about him would fall upon Abdallah and kill him.  Of the women, three embraced Islamism and were pardoned, the rest were put to death, one being crucified.

Mahomet now sent out Kaled and others to destroy the idols which were still retained by some of the tribes, and to invite them to Islamism.  Kaled executed his commission with great brutality.  The Jodhamites had formerly robbed and murdered Kaled’s uncle as he journeyed from Arabia Felix.  Kaled having proposed Islamism to them, they cried out, “they professed Sabaeism.”  This was what he wanted.  He immediately fell upon them, killing some, and making others prisoners:  of these, he distributed some among his men, and reserved others for himself.  As for the latter, having tied their hands behind them, he put them all to the sword.  On hearing of this slaughter Mahomet lifted up his eyes and protested his innocence of this murder, and immediately sent Ali with a sum of money to make satisfaction for the bloodshed, and to restore the plunder.  Ali paid to the surviving Jodhamites as much as they demanded, and generously divided the overplus among them.  This action Mahomet applauded and afterward reproved Kaled for his cruelty.