Shortly after his arrival he was joined by the faithful Ali,[53] who had
fled from Mecca, and journeyed on foot, hiding himself in the day and
travelling only at night, lest he should fall into the hands of the
Koreishites. He arrived weary and way-worn, his feet bleeding with the
roughness of the journey.
Within a few days more came Ayesha, and the rest of Abu-Bekr's
household, together with the family of Mahomet, conducted by his
faithful freedman Zeid, and by Abu-Bekr's servant Abdallah.
SIMON OCKLEY
Mahomet had hitherto propagated his religion by fair means only. During
his stay at Mecca he had declared his business was only to preach and
admonish; and that whether people believed or not was none of his
concern. He had hitherto confined himself to the arts of persuasion,
promising, on the one hand, the joys of paradise to all who should
believe in him, and who should, for the hopes of them, disregard the
things of this world, and even bear persecution with patience and
resignation; and, on the other, deterring his hearers from what he
called infidelity, by setting before them both the punishments inflicted
in this world upon Pharaoh and others, who despised the warnings of the
prophets sent to reclaim them; and also the torments of hell, which
would be their portion in the world to come.
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