384 THE DECLINE AND FALL mosch of Medina, clothed in a thin cotton gown, a coarse turban on his head, his slippers in one hand, and his bow in the other, instead of a walking staff. The companions of the prophet and the chiefs of the tribes saluted their new sovereign, and gave him their right hands as a sign of fealty and allegiance. Discord of The mischicfs that flow from the contests of ambition are and Persians usually confined to the times and countries in which they have been agitated. But the religious discord of the friends and enemies of Ali has been renewed in every age of the Hegira, and is still maintained in the immortal hatred of the Persians and Turks. ^^* The former, who are branded with the appellation of Shiites, or sectaries, have enriched the Mahometan creed with a new article of faith ; and, if Mahomet be the apostle, his companion Ali is the vicar, of God. In their private converse, in their public worship, they bitterly execrate the three usurpers who intercepted his indefeasible right to the dignity of Imam and Caliph ; and the name of Omar expresses, in their tongue, the perfect accomplishment of wickedness and impiety. ^^^ The Sonnites, who are supported by the general consent and ortho- dox tradition of the Musulmans, entertain a more impartial, or at least a more decent, opinion. They respect the memory of Abubeker, Omar, Othman, and Ali, the holy and legitimate successors of the prophet. But they assign the last and most humble place to the husband of Fatima, in the persuasion that the order of succession was determined by the degrees of sanctity. 1^ An historian who balances the four caliphs with a hand unshaken by superstition will calmly pronounce that their manners were alike pure and exemplary ; that their zeal was fei-vent, and probably sincere ; and that, in the midst of riches and power, their lives were devoted to the practice of moral 18* The schism of the Persians is explained by all our travellers of the last century, especially in the iid and ivth volumes of their master, Chardin. Niebuhr, though of inferior merit, has the advantage of writing so late as the year 1764 (Voyages en Arable, &c. torn. ii. p. 208-233), since the ineffectual attempt of Nadir Shah to change the religion of the nation (see his Persian History, trans- lated into French by Sir William Jones, torn. ii. p. 5, 6, 47, 48, 144-155). 1S5 Omar is the name of the devil ; his murderer is a saint. When the Persians shoot with the bow, they frequently cry, "May this arrow go to the heart of Omar ! " (Voyage de Chardin, torn. ii. p. 239, 240, 259, &c.). 186 This gradation of merit is distinctly marked in a creed illustrated by Reland (de Relig. Mohamm. 1. i. p. 37), and a Sonnite argument inserted by Ockley (Hist, of the Saracens, torn. ii. p. 230). The practice of cursing the memory of Ali was abolished, after forty years, by the Ommiades themselves (d'Herbelot, p. 690) ; and there are few among the Turks who presume to revile him as an infidel (Voyages de Chardin, tom. iv. p. 46).
