Note 38 — Chapter X

Muhammed had scarcely expired, when a vehement contest about the succession to his dignity arose between the Mohajirin, “the emigrants from Mecca with the prophet,” and the Ansar, “the protectors (see note, p. 27): both claimed the right of nomination. Abubekr was proclaimed by both. To crush the resistance of Alí, who was the legitimate competitor, Omar, sent by Abu-bekr, burnt the gate, and was about to set on fire the house of Alí—scarcely restrained from the act by the reproach of Fátima, Muhammed’s daughter and Ali’s wife, who from that moment till her death never spoke to any of the enemies of her husband. The prophet, according to authentic traditions, said: “Whoever gives offence to Fatimah gives offence to me; and whoever offends me, offends God.”