perceived unbelief on their part he said, 'Who are my helpers for God's sake?' The Apostles replied: 'We are God's helpers; we have believed and we testify that we are Moslems'": and in lxi. v. 14: "O ye who have believed (i.e. Muhammad's followers), be helpers of God; as Jesus son of Maryam, said to the Apostles, 'Who are my helpers for God's sake?' And the Apostles said: 'We are God's; helpers'. So part of the Bani Isra'il believed and part disbelieved. So we assisted those who believed against their enemies, and they appeared as conquerors." Muhammad sees in the experience of Jesus a type of his own. Some of the Bani Isra'il believed and some not. It would seem to follow logically that the Jews were the unbelieving part of the Bani Isra'il. The Nasara are the Ansar Allah (helpers of God), just as the people of Medina who supported Muhammad were called the Ansar. It is not necessary to assume that he knew of Christians so called. He is simply Arabicising the name Nasara.

When these verses were composed it seems evident that Muhammad had ceased to look with favour upon the Jews, but still regarded the Nasara as hopeful. How completely in course of time he swung round from the Jews to the Christians is shown by v. v. 85: "Thou wilt find that the most hostile of men towards those who have believed are the Jews, and the Polytheists, and the most favourable towards those who have believed are those who say, 'We are Nasara'. That is because there are amongst them priests and monks, and because they are not proud." They are assigned a place in Paradise.

A less positive attitude is shown in xxii. v. 17 when he details the various classes of men and says: "God will distinguish on the Resurrection Day between those who have believed (the Moslems), those who have 'repented' (the Jews), the Sabi'in, the Nasara, the Magi, and those who ascribe partners to God (the Pagan Polytheists)". The phrase is a common one, equivalent to something like "the unbelievers will see on the Judgement Day who has been right". But where exactly the distinction will fall is not quite clear. My own impression is that Moslems, Jews, Sabi'in, Nasara, and Magi will, in Muhammad's opinion, be on one side of the line, and the idolaters on the other.

But when Muhammad's power began to spread in Arabia his attitude towards the Christians soon began to cool. Any real alliance or even peaceful accommodation was indeed impossible from the first. Muhammad complains (ii. v. 114) that neither Jews nor Christians will be satisfied with him until he follows their milla or type of religion. It was just as impossible for him to make concessions. I have pointed out that probably from the first Muhammad contemplated a revived religious community centring in Mecca. At any rate the political complexion of his religion did not originate in Medina. From the time when it became clear to him that prophets and their followers survived the calamity which they predicted, and that it would be part of the work of a prophet, like Moses for instance, to form a people according to God's law, this entered into his conception. If we examine carefully his