O Lord my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands.
The appeal of conscious integrity
When near his end Mahomet made an effort to obtain himself the peace and pardon of the living before presenting himself before his Judge. Sustained beneath the arms by his two cherished disciples, Abubeker and All, he trailed himself along to the pulpit of the mosque, and said, with a feeble voice, “Mussulmans! if I have ever maltreated any among you, let him now come and strike me in turn. If I have offended any of you by word, let him return insult for insult. If I have taken from any his property, let him take all I possess upon the earth. And these are not vain words; let no one, in doing himself justice, apprehend my resentment. Resentment and anger are not in my character.” A man dared to step from the crowd and claim of him a concealed debt. “Help thyself,” said the prophet; “it is better to blush in this life before men, for one’s injustice, than to blush in the other world before God.” (Lamartine’s Turkey.)