In later years, the veil consisted of striped Yaman cloth; and still later, the Ka'bah was covered by Hajaj bin Yusef with the "Kiswah," or garment of black silk, such as is still thrown over it at the present day, being renewed yearly.
[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _And provide for your journey; but the best provision is the fear of Allah._]
[Illustration: (Ornamental page) CHAPTER THE THIRD]
[Illustration: _"At Takbir", or Glorification._]
[Illustration: (Calligraphy) _Verily, we have caused It (the Qur'an) to descend on the night of Power._]
To him they called "Al-Amin," (the Reliable), his fellow-citizens were ready to grant the highest and most coveted honours, with a post of preponderance in their city.
But being of a disposition equally devoid of vanity or ambition, he disdainfully refused to reply to their flattering advances, and his fortuitous intervention in the dispute arising from the rebuilding of the Ka'bah was the only time he was mixed up with public affairs during a period of fifteen years, dating from his wedding-day.
How did he pass his time? Allah had inspired him with the love of solitude, and Mohammad loved more than anything to wander all alone on great empty plains stretching away farther than the eye could reach.
What were the causes of this liking? Doubtless, in the gloomy desert surrounding Makkah, he conjured up over and over again the delightful memories of his childhood, passed in the Badya; but his highly-gifted soul found satisfaction of a more exalted kind. In the first place, he was spared the sight of the moral and religious errors of the Arabs at that period.
The Arabs were, in the highest degree, aristocratic, proud, independent and courageous. Their generosity towards their guests was exemplified in a refined manner that has never been surpassed; and, among them, a certain Hatim Tay may be looked upon as the Prince of Generous Hosts.
By their natural gifts of eloquence and poetry, they can bear comparison with the most brilliant orators or magnificent poets of the universe. Their poetry, above all, allowing them to celebrate heroic exploits; and their open-minded generosity by which they were led to sing love's joy and sadness, became, for such hot-blooded men, the object of passionate adoration, marvellously well served by the most enchanting language ever known.