God of Mahomet, he is immortal and lives for ever; but as for Mahomet, he is certainly dead.” And then cited several passages from the Alcoran, to prove that he must die as other men. Whereupon Omar and his party were satisfied, and believed their prophet was dead, not to come to life again, till the general resurrection.
No sooner was this dispute ended, but another arose about the place of his burial; for those who fled with him from Mecca, insisted that he should be buried there; and those of Medina, being desirous of having him interred in their city, where he had ended his days; and a third party pleaded, that he ought to be carried to Jerusalem, and to be buried amongst the prophets: but in this particular also, they were governed by Abu Beker, who told them, that he had often heard Mahomet himself say, “That a prophet should be buried in the place where he died;” and thereupon commanded a grave to be dug directly under his bed, where he was interred by the consent of all present, and not suspended in the air in an iron coffin by means of loadstones, as has been fabulously reported. A little chapel or tower, covered with a cupula has since been built round his tomb, which stands at one of the corners of the chief mosque of Medina, founded by Mahomet himself, as before related; and hither the pilgrims frequently resort out of devotion, on their return from Mecca, tho’ they are under no obligation to do this from any command of the Mahometan law.
Mahomet was just sixty-three years old on the day be died, and the three and twentieth year of his pretended apostleship: he had spent thirteen at Mecca, and the last ten at Medina, in which
