" It was probably the voice of some spy or
eavesdropper of the Koreishites; for the very next morning they
manifested a knowledge of what had taken place in the night, and treated
the new confederates with great harshness as they were departing from
the city.
It was this early accession to the faith, and this timely aid proffered
and subsequently afforded to Mahomet and his disciples, which procured
for the Moslems of Medina the appellation of Ansarians, or auxiliaries,
by which they were afterward distinguished.
After the departure of the Ansarians, and the expiration of the holy
month, the persecutions of the Moslems were resumed with increased
virulence, insomuch that Mahomet, seeing a crisis was at hand, and being
resolved to leave the city, advised his adherents generally to provide
for their safety. For himself he still lingered in Mecca with a few
devoted followers.
Abu Sofian, his implacable foe, was at this time governor of the city.
He was both incensed and alarmed at the spreading growth of the new
faith, and held a meeting of the chief of the Koreishites to devise some
means of effectually putting a stop to it.
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