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to bring forth a camel in sight of them all!!!—That they, notwithstanding, in contempt wounded the camel; and that thereupon God sent terrible thunders, which in three days time destroyed them all, excepting Saleh, and some few who believed on him. And the like fable he also told them of Chaib, another prophet of the ancient Arabs, sent to the tribe of Madian; and how that tribe was in like manner destroyed by thunder, for not hearkening unto him.
Those who believed not on him called him a teller of fables, and demanded to see a miracle from him. For, said they, Moses and Jesus, and the rest of the prophets, according to thy own doctrine, worked miracles to prove their mission from God; and, therefore, if thou bo a prophet, and greater than any that were sent before thee as thou boastest thyself to be, do thou work the like miracles, to manifest it.—To this objection he answered, that ho was only sent to preach to them the rewards of Paradise, and the punishments of hell.
In the beginning of his imposture, he seemed mote inclined to the Jews than to the Christians: and in tho first forming of his new-invented religion, followed the pattern of theirs moro than any other. But after his coming to Medina, he took that disgust against them, that he became their bitter and most irreconcilable enemy ever after, and used them with greater cruelty in his wars than any other. But to Christians he over carried himself with as much favour as could be expected from such a barbarian: and wherever they fell under his power, they had always good terms from him.
His general rule and which he laid as a strict
