AR-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Seald Nectar).doc

7/27/2019 AR-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Seald Nectar).doc

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AR-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (THE SEALED NECTAR)

Memoirs of the Noble Prohet

Author: Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri - Jamia Salafia - India-

Tra!slate"b#: Issam Diab

Location and Nature of Arab Tribes

Beyond a shadow of doubt, the biography of Prophet Muhammad manifestedlyrepresents an exhaustive embodiment of the sublime Divine Message that hecommunicated in order to deliver the human race from the swamp of darknessand polytheism to the paradise of light and monotheism. An image, authentic aswell as comprehensive, of this Message is therefore only attainable throughcareful study and profound analysis of both backgrounds and issues of such abiography. n view of this, a whole chapter is here introduced about the natureand development of Arab tribes prior to slam as well as the circumstantialenvironment that enwrapped the Prophet!s mission.

Location of the Arabs:

"inguistically, the word #Arab# means deserts and waste barren land well$nighwaterless and treeless. %ver since the dawn of history, the Arabian Peninsula andits people have been called as such.

&he Arabian Peninsula is enclosed in the west by the 'ed (ea and (inai, in theeast by the Arabian )ulf, in the south by the Arabian (ea, which is an extensionof the ndian *cean, and in the north by old (yria and part of ra+. &he area isestimated between a million and a million and a +uarter s+uare miles.

&hanks to its geographical position, the peninsula has always maintained greatimportance.. onsidering its internal setting, it is mostly deserts and sandyplaces, which has rendered it inaccessible to foreigners and invaders, and allowedits people complete liberty and independence through the ages, despite thepresence of two neighbouring great empires.

ts external setting, on the other hand, caused it to be the centre of the old worldand provided it with sea and land links with most nations at the time. &hanks tothis strategic position the Arabian Peninsula had become the centre for trade,culture, religion and art.

Arab Tribes:


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Arab kinfolks have been divided according to lineage into three groups-

. Perishing Arabs:&he ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, andof whom were /Ad, &ham0d, &asam, 1adis, %mla+, and others.

2. Pure Arabs:3ho originated from the progeny of 4a/rub bin 4ash5ub bin6ahtan. &hey were also called 6ahtanian Arabs.

7. Arabized Arabs:3ho originated from the progeny of shmael. &hey werealso called /Adnanian Arabs.

&he pure Arabs 8 the people of 6ahtan 8 originally lived in 4emen and comprisedmany tribes, two of which were very famous-

. Himyar- &he most famous of whose septs were 9aid Al$1amhur, 6uda/aand (akasic.

2. Kahlan- &he most famous of whose septs were :amdan, Anmar, &ai!,Mudhhi5, ;inda, "akhm, 1udham, A


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C. Kinda:3ho dwelt in Bahrain but were expelled to :adramout and a5dwhere they instituted a powerful government but not for long , for thewhole tribe soon faded away.

Another tribe of :imyar, known as 6uda/a, also left 4emenand dwelt in (amawa semi$desert on the borders of ra+.

&he Arabi


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t is mentioned in the )enesis that shmael was thirteen years older than hisbrother sha+. &he se+uence of the story of the sacrifice of shmael shows that itreally happened before sha+!s birth, and that Allh!s Promise to give Abrahamanother son, sha+, came after narration of the whole story.

&his story spoke of one 5ourney 8 at least 8 before shmael became a young man.Al$Bukhari, on the authority of bn /Abbas, reported the other three 5ourneysF asummary of which goes as follows-

3hen shmael became a young man, he learned Arabic at the hand of the tribe of1urhum, who loved him with great admiration and gave him one of their womenas a wife, soon after his mother died. :aving wanted to see his wife and sonagain, Abraham came to Makkah, after shmael!s marriage, but he didn!t find himat home. :e asked shmael!s wife about her husband and how they were doing.(he complained of poverty, so he asked her to tell shmael to change hisdoorstep. shmael understood the message, divorced his wife and got married tothe daughter of Mudad bin /Amr, chief of the tribe of 1urhum.E

*nce more, Abraham came to see his son, but again didn!t find him at home. :easked his new wife the same previous +uestion, to which she thanked Allh.Abraham asked her to tell shmael to keep his doorstep ?i.e. to keep her as wife@and went back to Palestine.

A third time, Abraham came to Makkah to find shmael sharpening an arrowunder a lofty tree near 9am


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i


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&ha+if dwelt in &a!if and :awa


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C. >rom 7JJ A.D. until slam dawned on 4emen. &his period witnessed a lotof disorder and turmoil. &he great many and civil wars rendered thepeople of 4emen liable to foreign sub5ection and hence loss ofindependence. During this era, the 'omans con+uered /Adn and evenhelped the Abyssinians ?%thiopians@ to occupy 4emen for the first time in7CJ A.D., making use of the constant intra$tribal conflict of :amdan and

:imyar. &he Abyssinian ?%thiopian@ occupation of 4emen lasted until 7INA.D., whereafter 4emen regained its independence. "ater on, cracks beganto show in Ma!rib Dam which led to the )reat >lood ?CJ or C A.D.@mentioned in the oble 6ur!n. &his was a great event which caused thefall of the entire 4emeni civili


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During the time of Ardashir, 1u


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Al$:abula. &heir authority however came to an end upon defeat by the)hassanides who were conse+uently granted the proxy rulership over the Arabsof (yria and had Dumat Al$1andal as their head+uarters, which lasted until thebattle of 4armuk in the year 7 A.:. &heir last king 1abala bin Al$Aihum embracedslam during the reign of the hief of Believers, /Kmar bin Al$;hattab $ May Allahbe pleased with him $ .E

!ulershi" in Hi&az:

shmael $ Peace be upon him $ administered authority over Makkah as well ascustodianship of the :oly (anctuary throughout his lifetime. Kpon his death, atthe age of 7I, two of his sons, abet and 6idar, succeeded him. "ater on, theirmaternal grandfather, Mudad bin /Amr Al$1urhumi took over, thus transferringrulership over Makkah to the tribe of 1urhum, preserving a venerable position,though very little authority for shmael!s sons due to their father!s exploits inbuilding the :oly (anctuary, a position they held until the decline of the tribe of1urhum shortly before the rise of Bukhtanassar.E

&he political role of the /Adnanides had begun to gain firmer grounds in Makkah,which could be clearly attested by the fact that upon Bukhtanassar!s first invasionof the Arabs in /Dhati /r+!, the leader of the Arabs was not from 1urhum.E

Kpon Bukhtanassar!s second invasion in NI B.., however, the /Adnanides werefrightened out to 4emen, while Burmia An$abi fled to (yria with Ma/ad, but whenBukhtanassar!s pressure lessened, Ma/ad returned to Makkah to find none of thetribe of 1urhum except 1ursham bin 1alhamah, whose daughter, Mu/ana, wasgiven to Ma/ad as wife who, later, had a son by him named i


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on the two sides of Al$/A+abah and nobody would pass that position untilthe men of /(ofa! passed and cleared the way for the pilgrims. 3hen (ofaperished, the family of (a/d bin 9aid Manat from &amim tribe took over.

The %econd:Al-Ifadah ?leaving for Mina after Mu


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custodianship of the (acred :ouse to which Arabs from all over Arabiacame to pay homage.

6usai brought his kinspeople to Makkah and allocated it to them, allowing 6uraishsome dwellings there. An$us!a, the families of (afwan, Adwan, Murra bin /Awfpreserved the same rights they used to en5oy before his arrival.E

A significant achievement credited to 6usai was the establishment of An$adwa:ouse ?an assembly house@ on the northern side of Al$;a/bah Mos+ue, to serveas a meeting place for 6uraish. &his very house had benefited 6uraish a lotbecause it secured unity of opinions amongst them and cordial solution to theirproblem.E

6usai however en5oyed the following privileges of leadership and honour-

. Presiding over An$adwa :ouse meetings where consultations relating toserious issues were conducted, and marriage contracts were announced.

2. &he (tandard- :e monopolieeding Pilgrims- &his means making food for pilgrims who could notafford it. 6usai even imposed on 6uraish annual land tax, paid at theseason of pilgrimage, for food.E

t is noteworthy however that 6usai singled out /Abd Manaf, a son of his, forhonour and prestige though he was not his elder son ?/Abd Ad$Dar was@, and

entrusted him with such responsibilities as chairing of An$adwa :ouse, thestandard, the doorkeeping of Al$;a/bah, providing water and food for pilgrims.Due to the fact that 6usai!s deeds were regarded as un+uestionable and hisorders inviolable, his death gave no rise to conflicts among his sons, but it laterdid among his grand children, for no sooner than /Abd Munaf had died, his sonsbegan to have rows with their cousins =sons of /Abd Ad$Dar, which would havegiven rise to dissension and fighting among the whole tribe of 6uraish, had it notbeen for a peace treaty whereby posts were reallocated so as to preserve feedingand providing water for pilgrims for the sons of /Abd MunafF while An$adwa:ouse, the flag and the doorkeeping of Al$;a/bah were maintained for the sons of

/Abd Ad$Dar. &he sons of /Abd Munaf, however, cast the lot for their charge, andconse+uently left the charge of food and water giving to :ashim bin /Abd Munaf,upon whose death, the charge was taken over by a brother of his called Al$Muttalib bin /Abd Manaf and afterwards by /Abd Al$Muttalib bin :ashim, theProphet!s grandfather, whose sons assumed this position until the rise of slam,during which /Abbas bin /Abdul$Muttalib was in charge.E

Many other posts were distributed among people of 6uraish for establishing thepillars of a new democratic petite state with government offices and councilssimilar to those of today. %nlisted as follows are some of these posts.

. asting the lots for the idols was allocated to Bani 1umah.2. oting of offers and sacrifices, settlement of disputes and relevant issues

were to lie in the hands of Bani (ahm.

7. onsultation was to go to Bani Asad.C. *rgani


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L. &he military institute, footmen and cavalry would be Bani Makh


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to carry the heavy burden, as this evidently came to light during the Abyssinian?%thiopian@ invasion.

!eligions of the Arabs

Most of the Arabs had complied with the call of shmael $ Peace be upon him $ ,and professed the religion of his father Abraham $ Peace be upon him $ . &heyhad worshipped Allh, professed :is *neness and followed :is religion a longtime until they forgot part of what they had been reminded of. :owever, they stillmaintained such fundamental beliefs such as monotheism as well as various otheraspects of Abraham!s religion, until the time when a chief of ;hu


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#%at not ?* believers@ of that ?meat@ on which Allh!s ame has notbeen pronounced ?at the time of the slaughtering of the animal@.# L-2E

C. onsecration of certain portions of food, drink, cattle, and crops to idols.(urprisingly enough, portions were also consecrated to Allh :imself, butpeople often found reasons to transfer parts of Allh!s portion to idols, butnever did the opposite. &o this effect, the 6ur!nic verses go-

#And they assign to Allh a share of the tilth and cattle which :e hascreated, and they say- /&his is for Allh according to their pretending, andthis is for our ?Allh!s so$called@ partners.! But the share of their ?Allh!sso$called@ /partners!, reaches not Allh, while the share of Allh reachestheir ?Allh!s so$called@ /partners!. %vil is the way they 5udge.# L-7LE

5. urrying favours with these idols through votive offerings of crops andcattle, to which effect, the 6ur!n goes-

#And according to their pretending, they say that such and such cattleand crops are forbidden, and none should eat of them except those whom

we allow. And ?they say@ there are cattle forbidden to be used for burdenor any other work, and cattle on which ?at slaughtering@ the ame of Allhis not pronouncedF lying against :im ?Allh@.# L-7NE

L. Dedication of certain animals ?such as Bahira, Saiba, Wasila and Hami@ toidols, which meant sparing such animals from useful work for the sake ofthese heathen gods. Bahira, as reported by the well$known historian, bnsha+, was daughter of Saiba which was a female camel that gave birth toten successive female animals, but no male ones, was set free andforbidden to yoke, burden or being sheared off its wool, or milked ?but forguests to drink from@F and so was done to all her female offspring whichwere given the name /Bahira!, after having their ears slit. &he Wasila was afemale sheep which had ten successive female daughters in five

pregnancies. Any new births from this Wasilawere assigned only for malepeople. &he Hami was a male camel which produced ten progressivefemales, and was thus similarly forbidden. n mention of this, the 6ur!nicverses go-

#Allh has not instituted things like Bahira? a she$camel whose milkwas spared for the idols and nobody was allowed to milk it@ or a Saiba?ashe camel let loose for free pasture for their false gods, e.g. idols, etc.,and nothing was allowed to be carried on it@, or a Wasila?a she$camel setfree for idols because it has given birth to a she$camel at its first deliveryand then again gives birth to a she$camel at its second delivery@ or a Hm?a stallion$camel freed from work for their idols, after it had finished a

number of copulations assigned for it, all these animals were liberated inhonour of idols as practised by pagan Arabs in the pre$slamic period@. Butthose who disbelieve, invent lies against Allh, and most of them have nounderstanding.# -J7E

Allh also says-

#And they say- 3hat is in the bellies of such and such cattle ?milk orfoetus@ is for our males alone, and forbidden to our females ?girls andwomen@, but if it is born dead, then all have shares therein.# L-7OE

t has been authentically reported that such superstitions were first invented by

/Amr bin "uhai.E


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&he Arabs believed that such idols, or heathen gods, would bring them nearer toAllh, lead them to :im, and mediate with :im for their sake, to which effect, the6ur!n goes-

#3e worship them only that they may bring us near to Allh.# 7O-7E,and

#And they worship besides Allh things that hurt them not, nor profit them, andthey say- &hese are our intercessors with Allh.# J-NE

Another divinatory tradition among the Arabs was casting ofAzlam ?i.e.featherless arrows which were of three kinds- one showing /yes!, another /n! anda third was blank@ which they used to do in case of serious matters like travel,marriage and the like. f the lot showed /yes!, they would do, if /n!, they woulddelay for the next year. *ther kinds ofAzlamwere cast for water, blood$moneyor showed /frm yu!, /nt frm yu!, or /Mulsa!! ?consociated@. n cases of doubtin filiation they would resort to the idol of :ubal, with a hundred$camel gift, for

the arrow caster. *nly the arrows would then decide the sort of relationship. fthe arrow showed ?from you@, then it was decided that the child belonged to thetribeF if it showed ?from others@, he would then be regarded as an ally, but if?consociated@ appeared, the person would retain his position but with no lineageor alliance contract.E

&his was very much like gambling and arrow$shafting whereby they used todivide the meat of the camels they slaughtered according to this tradition.

Moreover, they used to have a deep conviction in the tidings of soothsayers,diviners and astrologers. A soothsayer used to traffic in the business of foretellingfuture events and claim knowledge of private secrets and having 5inn

subordinates who would communicate the news to him. (ome soothsayersclaimed that they could uncover the unknown by means of a granted power, whileother diviners boasted they could divulge the secrets through a cause$and$effect$inductive process that would lead to detecting a stolen commodity, location of atheft, a stray animal, and the like. &he astrologer belonged to a third categorywho used to observe the stars and calculate their movements and orbits wherebyhe would foretell the future.E"ending credence to this news constituted a clue totheir conviction that attached special significance to the movements of particularstars with regard to rainfall.E

&he belief in signs as betokening future events, was, of course common amongthe Arabians. (ome days and months and particular animals were regarded as

ominous. &hey also believed that the soul of a murdered person would fly in thewilderness and would never rest at rest until revenge was taken. (uperstition wasrampant. (hould a deer or bird, when released, turn right then what theyembarked on would be regarded auspicious, otherwise they would get pessimisticand withhold from pursuing it.E

People of pre$slamic period, whilst believing in superstition, they still retainedsome of the Abrahamic traditions such as devotion to the :oly (anctuary,circumambulation, observance of pilgrimage, the vigil on /Arafah and offeringsacrifices, all of these were observed fully despite some innovations thatadulterated these holy rituals. 6uraish, for example, out of arrogance, feeling ofsuperiority to other tribes and pride in their custodianship of the (acred :ouse,would refrain from going to /Arafah with the crowd, instead they would stop shortat Mu


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#&hen depart from the place whence all the people depart.# 2-OOEE

Another heresy, deeply established in their social tradition, dictated that theywould not eat dried yoghurt or cooked fat, nor would they enter a tent made ofcamel hair or seek shade unless in a house of adobe bricks, so long as they werecommitted to the intention of pilgrimage. &hey also, out of a deeply$rootedmisconception, denied pilgrims, other than Makkans, access to the food they hadbrought when they wanted to make pilgrimage or lesser pilgrimage.

&hey ordered pilgrims coming from outside Makkah to circumambulate Al$;a/bahin 6uraish uniform clothes, but if they could not afford them, men were to do soin a state of nudity, and women with only some piece of cloth to hide their groins.Allh says in this concern-

#* hildren of AdamG &ake your adornment ?by wearing your cleanclothes@, while praying and going round ?the "a#afof@ the ;a/bahE.I-7E

f men or women were generous enough to go round Al$;a/bah in their clothes,they had to discard them after circumambulation for good.E

3hen the Makkans were in a pilgrimage consecration state, they would not entertheir houses through the doors but through holes they used to dig in the backwalls. &hey used to regard such behaviour as deeds of piety and god$fearing. &hispractice was prohibited by the 6ur!n-

#t is notAl-Birr?piety, righteousness, etc.@ that you enter the housesfrom the back butAl-Birr?is the +uality of the one@ who fears Allh. (oenter houses through their proper doors, and fear Allh that you may be

successful.# 2-NOE

(uch was the religious life in Arabia, polytheism, idolatry, and superstition.

1udaism, hristianity, Magianism and (abianism, however, could find their wayseasily into Arabia.

&he migration of the 1ews from Palestine to Arabia passed through two phases-first, as a result of the pressure to which they were exposed, the destruction ofthe their temple, and taking most of them as captives to Babylon, at the hand ofthe ;ing Bukhtanassar. n the year B.. NI some 1ews left Palestine for :i5aatimah, the

daughter of the Prophet , happened to pass that way. (he removed the filth

from her father!s back. &he Prophet invoked the wrath of Allh upon them,especially upon Abu 1ahl, /Ktbah bin 'abi/a, (haibah bin 'abi/a, Al$3aleed bin

/Ktbah, *maiyah bin ;halaf and /K+bah bin Mu/ait. t is recorded that all of themwere killed in the battle of Badr.E

(candal$mongering and backbiting were also amongst the means of oppressionthat the chiefs of Makkah, in general, and *maiyah bin ;halaf, in particular,resorted to in their overall process of evil$doing. n this regard, Allh says-


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#3oe to every slanderer and backbiter.# JC-E

/K+bah bin Al$Mu/ait once attended an audience of the Prophet and listened tohim preaching slam. A close friend of his, Kbai bin ;halaf, heard of this. :e couldnot tolerate any act of this sort, so he reproached /K+bah and ordered him to spit

in the Prophet!s holy face, and he shamelessly did it. Kbai did not spare any

thinkable way to malign the Prophet F he even ground old decomposed bonesand blew the powder on him. Al$Akhnas bin (hurai+ue Ath$&ha+afi used to

detract from the character of the Prophet in season and out of season. &heoble 6ur!n, in direct reference to this man!s ignominious deeds, attached tohim nine abominable traits-

#And obey not everyone who swears much, = and is consideredworthless, a slanderer, going about with calumnies, hinderer of the good,transgressor, sinful, cruel = after all that base$born ?of illegitimate birth@.#

LN-J$7EE

Abu 1ahl!s arrogance and haughtiness blocked all avenues that could produce theleast light of belief in his heart-

#(o he ?the disbeliever@ neither believed ?in this 6ur!n, in the Message

of Muhammad @ nor prayedG# I-7E

:e, moreover, wanted to debar the Prophet from the oble (anctuary. t

happened once that the Prophet was praying within the precinct of the (acred

:ouse, when Abu 1ahl proceeded threateningly and uttering abusive language.

&he Prophet chided him severely to which Abu 1ahl answered back defiantlyclaiming that he was the mightiest in MakkahF Allh then revealed-

#&hen, let him call upon his council ?of helpers@.# OL-IE

n another version of the same incident, the Prophet took Abu 1ahl by hisneck, rocked him severely saying-

#3oe to you * man ?disbeliever@EG And then ?again@ woe to youG

Again, woe to you * man ?disbeliever@EG And then ?again@ woe to youG#I-7C, 7E.

otwithstanding this reproach, Abu 1ahl would never wake up to himself nor didhe reali


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(uch was the disgraceful treatment meted out to the Prophet , the great man,respected as he was by his compatriots, with an influential man, his uncle Abu

&alib, at his back to support him. f the matters were so with the Prophet ,what about those people deemed weak with no clan to support themQ "et us

consider their situation in some detail. 3henever Abu 1ahl heard of theconversion of a man of high birth with powerful friends, he would degrade hisprudence and intellect, undermine his 5udgementF and threaten him with direconse+uences if he was a merchant. f the new convert was socially weak, hewould beat him ruthlessly and put him to unspeakable tortures.E

&he uncle of /Kthman bin /Affan used to wrap /Kthman in a mat of palm leaves,and set fire under him. 3hen Kmm Mus/ab bin /Kmair heard of her son!sconversion, she put him to starvation and then expelled him from her house. :eused to en5oy full luxurious easy life, but in the aftermath of the tortures hesustained, his skin got wi


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Abu >akeeh, Aflah, a freed slave of Bani /Abd Ad$Dar was the third of thosehelpless victims. &he oppressors used to fasten his feet with a rope and drag himin the streets of Makkah.E

;habbab bin Al$Aratt was also an easy victim to similar outrages on everypossible occasion. :e experienced exemplary torture and maltreatment. &heMakkan polytheists used to pull his hair and twist his neck, and made him lie onburning coal with a big rock on his chest to prevent him from escaping. (omeMuslims of rank and position were wrapped in the raw skins of camels and thrownaway, and others were put in armours and cast on burning sand in the scorchingsun of Arabia.E

%ven the women converts were not spared, and the list is too long to include allof them. 9anirah, An$ahdiyah and her daughter, Kmm /Kbais and many othershad their full share of persecution at the hand of the oppressors = /Kmar bin Al$;hattab included = of course before his conversion to slam.E

Abu Bakr, a wealthy believer, purchased and freed some of those she$slaves, 5ustas he did with regard to Bilal and /Amir bin >uheirah.

The House of Al+Aram:

n the light of these inhuman persecutions, the Prophet deemed it wise toadvise his followers to conceal their conversion, in both word and deed. :e tookthe decision to meet them secretly lest 6uraish should get to know of his designs,and so take measures that might foil his goals. :e also had in mind to avoid anysort of open confrontation with the polytheists because such a thing at this earlystage would not be in the interest of the newly$born all, still vulnerable and notfully fledged. *nce, in the fourth year of Prophethood, the Muslims were on their

way to the hillocks of Makkah to hold a clandestine meeting with the Prophet ,when a group of polytheists did observe their suspicious movement and began toabuse and fight them. (a/d bin Abi 3a++as beat a polytheist and shed his bloodand thus recorded the first instance of bloodshed in the history of slam.E

&he Prophet , on the other hand, used to proclaim the slamic >aith andpreach it openly with deep devotion and studious pursuit, but for the generalwelfare of the new converts and in consideration of the strategic interest of slam,he took Dar Al$Ar+am, in As$(afa mountain, in the fifth year of his mission, as atemporary centre to meet his followers secretly and instruct them in the 6ur!nand in the slamic wisdom.

The 'irst 7igration to Abyssinia ?-thio"ia@:

&he series of persecutions started late in the fourth year of Prophethood, slowlyat first, but steadily accelerated and worsened day by day and month by monthuntil the situation got so extremely grave and no longer tolerable in the middle ofthe fifth year, that the Muslims began to seriously think of feasible ways liable toavert the painful tortures meted out to them. t was at that gloomy anddesperate time that Srah Al-ahf?hapter N = &he ave@ was revealedcomprising definite answers to the +uestions with which the polytheists of Makkah

constantly pestered the Prophet . t comprises three stories that include

highly suggestive parables for the true believers to assimilate. &he story of theompanions of the ave implies implicit guidance for the believers to evacuate


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the hot spots of disbelief and aggression pregnant with the peril of enticementaway from the true religion-

#?&he young men said to one another@- #And when you withdraw fromthem, and that which they worship, except Allh, then seek refuge in theave, your "ord will open a way for you from :is Mercy and will makeeasy for you your affair ?i.e. will give you what you will need of provision,dwelling, etc.@# N-LE.

ext, there is the story of Al$;hidr ?&he &eacher of Arabia@ and Moses $ Peace beupon him $ in a clear and delicate reference to the vicissitudes of life. >uturecircumstances of life are not necessarily the products of the prevalent conditions,they might be categorically the opposite. n other words, the war waged againstthe Muslims would in the future assume a different turn, and the tyrannousoppressors would one day come to suffer and be sub5ected to the same torturesto which the Muslims were then put. >urthermore, there is the story of Dhul$6arnain ?&he &wo :orned *ne@, the powerful ruler of west and east. &his storysays explicitly that Allh takes :is righteous servants to inherit the earth andwhatever in it. t also speaks that Allh raises a righteous man every now andthen to protect the weak against the strong.

Srah Az-1umar?hapter 7O = &he rowds@ was then revealed pointing directlyto migration and stating that the earth is spacious enough and the believers mustnot consider themselves constrained by the forces of tyranny and evil-

#)ood is ?the reward@ for those who do good in this world, and Allh!searth is spacious ?so if you cannot worship Allh at a place, then go toanother@G *nly those who are patient shall receive their rewards in fullwithout reckoning.# 7O-JE.

&he Prophet had already known that Ashamah egus, king of Abyssinia?%thiopia@, was a fair ruler who would not wrong any of his subordinates, so hepermitted some of his followers to seek asylum there in Abyssinia ?%thiopia@.

n 'a5ab of the fifth year of Prophethood, a group of twelve men and four womenleft for Abyssinia ?%thiopia@. Among the emigrants were /Kthman bin /Affan and

his wife 'u+aiyah ?the daughter of the Prophet @. 3ith respect to these two

emigrants, the Prophet said-

#&hey are the first people to migrate in the cause of Allh after

Abraham and "ot .#

&hey sneaked out of Makkah under the heavy curtain of a dark night and headedfor the sea where two boats happened to be sailing for Abyssinia ?%thiopia@, theirdestination. ews of their intended departure reached the ears of 6uraish, sosome men were despatched in their pursuit, but the believers had already left(huaibah Port towards their secure haven where they were received warmly andaccorded due hospitality.

n 'amadan of the same year, the Prophet went into the :oly (anctuarywhere there was a large host of 6uraish polytheists, including some notables andcelebrities. (uddenly he began reciting Srah An-Na$m?hapter C = &he (tar@.


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&he awe$inspiring 3ords of Allh descended unawares upon them and theyimmediately got stunned by them. t was the first time for them to be shocked bythe truthful 'evelation. t had formerly been the favourite trick of those peoplewho wished to dishonour 'evelation, not only not to listen to it themselves butalso to talk loudly and insolently when it was being read, so that even the truelisteners may not be able to hear. &hey used to think that they were drowning the

Hoice of AllhF in fact, they were piling up misery for themselves, for Allh!s Hoicecan never be silenced, #And those who disbelieve say-

#"isten not to this 6ur!n, and make noise in the midst of its?recitation@ that you may overcome.# C-2LE.

3hen the unspeakably fascinating 3ords of Allh came into direct contact withtheir hearts, they were entranced and got oblivious of the materialistic worldaround them and were caught in a state of full attentiveness to the Divine 3ords

to such an extent that when the Prophet reached the stormy heart$beatingending-

#(o fall you down in prostration to Allh and worship :im ?Alone@.#7-L2E

&he idolaters, unconsciously and with full compliance, prostrated themselves inabsolute god$fearing and stainless devotion. t was in fact the wonderful momentof the &ruth that cleaved through the obdurate souls of the haughty and theattitude of the scoffers. &hey stood aghast when they perceived that Allh!s3ords had con+uered their hearts and done the same thing that they had beentrying hard to annihilate and exterminate. &heir co$polytheists who had not beenpresent on the scene reproached and blamed them severelyF conse+uently they

began to fabricate lies and calumniate the Prophet alleging that he hadattached to their idols great veneration and ascribed to them the power ofdesirable intercession. All of these were desperate attempts made to establish an

excusable 5ustification for their prostrating themselves with the Prophet onthat day. *f course, this foolish and ini+uitous slanderous behaviour was in linewith their life$consecrated practice of telling lies and plot hatching.

ews of this incident was misreported to the Muslim emigrants in Abyssinia?%thiopia@. &hey were informed that the whole of 6uraish had embraced slam sothey made their way back home. &hey arrived in Makkah in (hawwal of the sameyear. 3hen they were only an hour!s travel from Makkah, the reality of the

situation was discovered. (ome of them returned to Abyssinia ?%thiopia@, otherssneaked secretly into the city or went in publicly but under the tutelage of a localnotable. :owever, due to the news that transpired to the Makkans about thegood hospitality and warm welcome that the Muslims were accorded in Abyssinia?%thiopia@, the polytheists got terribly indignant and started to mete out severerand more horrible maltreatment and tortures to the Muslims. &hereupon the

Messenger of Allh deemed it imperative to permit the helpless creatures toseek asylum in Abyssinia ?%thiopia@ for the second time. Migration this time wasnot as easy as it was the previous time, for 6uraish was on the alert to the leastsuspicious moves of the Muslims. n due course, however, the Muslims managedtheir affairs too fast for the 6uraishites to thwart their attempt of escape. &hegroup of emigrants this time comprised eighty three men and nineteen or, in

some versions, eighteen women. 3hether or not /Ammar was included is still amatter of doubt.E


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uraishs 7achination against the -migrants:

6uraish could not tolerate the prospect of a secure haven available for theMuslims in Abyssinia ?%thiopia@, so they despatched two staunch envoys todemand their extradition. &hey were /Amr bin Al$/As and /Abdullah bin Abi 'abi/a= before embracing slam. &hey had taken with them valuable gifts to the kingand his clergy, and had been able to win some of the courtiers over to their side.&he pagan envoys claimed that the Muslim refugees should be expelled fromAbyssinia ?%thiopia@ and made over to them, on the ground that they hadabandoned the religion of their forefathers, and their leader was preaching areligion different from theirs and from that of the king.

&he king summoned the Muslims to the court and asked them to explain theteachings of their religion. &he Muslim emigrants had decided to tell the wholetruth whatever the conse+uences were. 1a/far bin Abi &alib stood up andaddressed the king in the following words- #* kingG we were plunged in the depthof ignorance and barbarismF we adored idols, we lived in unchastity, we ate thedead bodies, and we spoke abominations, we disregarded every feeling of

humanity, and the duties of hospitality and neighbourhood were neglectedF weknew no law but that of the strong, when Allh raised among us a man, of whosebirth, truthfulness, honesty, and purity we were awareF and he called to the*neness of Allh, and taught us not to associate anything with :im. :e forbadeus the worship of idolsF and he en5oined us to speak the truth, to be faithful toour trusts, to be merciful and to regard the rights of the neighbours and kith andkinF he forbade us to speak evil of women, or to eat the substance of orphansF heordered us to fly from the vices, and to abstain from evilF to offer prayers, torender alms, and to observe fast. 3e have believed in him, we have accepted histeachings and his in5unctions to worship Allh, and not to associate anything with:im, and we have allowed what :e has allowed, and prohibited what :e hasprohibited. >or this reason, our people have risen against us, have persecuted us

in order to make us forsake the worship of Allh and return to the worship of idolsand other abominations. &hey have tortured and in5ured us, until finding nosafety among them, we have come to your country, and hope you will protect usfrom oppression.#

&he king was very much impressed by these words and asked the Muslims torecite some of Allh!s 'evelation. 1a/far recited the opening verses of SrahMaryam?hapter O = Mary@ wherein is told the story of the birth of both 1ohnand 1esus hrist, down to the account of Mary having been fed with the foodmiraculously. &hereupon the king, along with the bishops of his realm, wasmoved to tears that rolled down his cheeks and even wet his beard. :ere, theegus exclaimed- #t seems as if these words and those which were revealed to

1esus are the rays of the light which have radiated from the same source.#&urning to the crest$fallen envoys of 6uraish, he said, # am afraid, cannot giveyou back these refugees. &hey are free to live and worship in my realm as theyplease.#

*n the morrow, the two envoys again went to the king and said that Muhammad

and his followers blasphemed 1esus hrist. Again the Muslims weresummoned and asked what they thought of 1esus. 1a/far again stood up and

replied- #3e speak about 1esus as we have been taught by our Prophet , thatis, he is the servant of Allh, :is Messenger, :is spirit and :is 3ord breathed intoHirgin Mary.# &he king at once remarked, #%ven so do we believe. Blessed be you,

and blessed be your master.# &hen turning to the frowning envoys and to hisbishops who got angry, he said- #4ou may fret and fume as you like but 1esus is


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nothing more than what 1a/far has said about him.# :e then assured the Muslimsof full protection. :e returned to the envoys of 6uraish, the gifts they hadbrought with them and sent them away. &he Muslims lived in Abyssinia ?%thiopia@unmolested for a number of years till they returned to Madinah.E

n this way 6uraish!s malicious intentions recoiled on them and their machinationmet with utter failure. &hey came to fully reali


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The Tyrants ecision to kill the Pro"het :

ow that all the schemes and conspiracies of 6uraish had failed, they resorted totheir old practices of persecution and inflicting tortures on the Muslims in a moreserious and brutal manner than ever before. &hey also began to nurse the idea of

killing the Prophet . n fact, contrary to their expectations, this new methodand this very idea served indirectly to consolidate the all to slam and support itwith the conversion of two staunch and mighty heroes of Makkah, i.e. :am


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with his hands strained the rock falling off. &hereupon, the people watchinghurried forward asking him what the matter was. :e replied- #3hen approached, a male$camel unusual in figure with fearful canines intercepted and

almost devoured me.# bn sha+ reported that the Prophet , in the context ofhis comment on the incident, said #t was )abriel$ Peace be upon him $ , if Abu

1ahl had approached closer, he would have killed him.E# %ven so the tyrants of6uraish would not be admonished, contrariwise, the idea of killing the Prophet

was still being nourished in their ini+uitous hearts. *n the authority of/Abdullah bin /Amr bin Al$/As, some people of 6uraish were in a place called Al$

:i5r complaining that they had been too patient with the Prophet , whosuddenly appeared and began his usual circumambulation. &hey started to winkat him and utter sarcastic remarks but he remained silent for two times, then onthe third, he stopped and addressed the infidels saying-

#* people of 6uraishG :earken, swear by Allh in 3hose :and is mysoul, that you will one day be slaughtered to pieces.# As soon as the

Prophet uttered his word of slaughter, they all stood aghast andswitched off to a new style of language smacking of fear and even horrortrying to soothe his anger and comfort him saying- #4ou can leave Abul6asim, for you have never been foolish.#E

/Krwa bin A


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:am


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feeling that lay behind that fragile cover of pre$slamic ignorance and mentality.

:is sharp temper and excessive enmity towards the Prophet led him one day

to leave his house, sword in hand, with the intention of killing the Prophet .:e was in a fit of anger and was fretting and fuming. u/aim bin /Abdullah, a

friend of /Kmar!s, met him accidentally half way. 3hat had caused so muchexcitement in him and on whom was the fury to burst, he in+uired casually.

/Kmar said furiously- #&o destroy the man Muhammad ? @ this apostate, whohas shattered the unity of 6uraish, picked holes in their religion, found folly withtheir wise men and blasphemed their gods.# #/Kmar, am sure, your soul hasdeceived you, do you think that Banu /Abd Munaf would let you walk on earth if

you slain Muhammad 3hy don!t you take care of your own family first and setthem rightQ#

#3hich of the folk of my houseQ# asked /Kmar angrily. #4our brother$in$law andyour sister have apostatiatimah was satisfied with the assurance, but said- #* brother, youare unclean on account of your idolatry, none but the pure may touch it. (o goand wash first.# :e did so, and took the page and read the opening verses of thehapter "-Huntil he reached-

#HerilyG am AllhG 2 ilha illa Ana?none has the right to be

worshipped but @, so worship Me and offer prayers perfectly ?I!mat-as-Salt@, for My 'emembrance.# 2J-CE.

/Kmar read the verses with great interest and was much entranced with them.

#:ow excellent it is, and how gracefulG Please guide me to Muhammad .# saidhe. And when he heard that, ;habbab came out of concealment and said, #*

/Kmar, hope that Allh has answered the prayer of the Prophet , for heardhim say- /* AllhG (trengthen slam through either /Kmar bin Al$;hattab or Abu

1ahl bin :isham.!# /Kmar then left for a house in (afa where Muhammad hadbeen holding secret meetings along with his ompanions. /Kmar reached that

place with the sword swinging by his arm. :e knocked at the door. &heompanions of the Prophet turned to see who the intruder was. *ne of them


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peeped through a chink in the door and reeled back exclaiming- #t is /Kmar withhis sword.# :amilled with delight,

Muhammad together with his ompanions, cried aloud- /Allhu A*bar! ?Allh is)[email protected]

&he conversion of /Kmar was a real triumph for the cause of slam. (o great andinstant was the effect of his conversion on the situation that the believers whohad hitherto worshipped Allh within their four walls in secret now assembled andperformed their rites of worship openly in the :oly (anctuary itself. &his raised

their spirits, and dread and uneasiness began to seiaith, on thecontrary, he persisted in his stance even at the peril of his life. &he polytheists of6uraish marched towards his house with the intention of killing him. /Abdullah bin

/Kmar $ may Allah be pleased with him $ narrated- 3hile /Kmar was at home in astate of fear, there came Al$/As bin 3a!il As$(ahmy Abu /Amr, wearing anembroidered cloak and a shirt having silk hems. :e was from the tribe of Bani(ahm who were our allies during the pre$slamic period of ignorance. Al$/As saidto /Kmar- 3hat!s wrong with youQ :e said- 4our people claim that they will killme if become a Muslim. Al$/As said- obody will harm you after have givenprotection to you. (o Al$/As went out and met the people streaming in the wholevalley. :e said- 3here are you goingQ &hey replied- 3e want son of Al$;hattabwho has embraced slam. Al$/As said- &here is no way for anybody to touch him.(o the people retreated.E

3ith respect to the Muslims in Makkah, /Kmar!s conversion had a differenttremendous impact. Mu5ahid, on the authority of bn Al$/Abbas $ may Allah be

pleased with him $ , related that he had asked /Kmar bin Al$;hattab why he hadbeen given the epithet ofAl-3aru!ue?he who distinguishes truth from

falsehood@, he replied- After had embraced slam, asked the Prophet -

/Aren!t we on the right path here and :ereafterQ! &he Prophet answered- /*fcourse you areG swear by Allh in 3hose :and my soul is, that you are right in

this world and in the hereafter.! , therefore, asked the Prophet /3hy we thenhad to conduct clandestine activism. swear by Allh 3ho has sent you with the&ruth, that we will leave our concealment and proclaim our noble cause publicly.!3e then went out in two groups, :amarou+ue. bn Mas/ud $


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may Allah be pleased with him $ related that they ?the Muslims@ had never beenable to observe their religious rites inside the :oly (anctuary except when /Kmarembraced slam.E

(uhaib bin (inan $ may Allah be pleased with him $, in the same context, saidthat it was only after /Kmar!s conversion, that we started to proclaim our all,assemble around and circumambulate the (acred :ouse freely. 3e even daredretaliate against some of the in5ustices done to harm us. n the same context, bnMas/ud said- 3e have been strengthened a lot since /Kmar embraced slam.

uraishs !e"resentati)e negotiates 3ith the 7essenger of All


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they listen not. And they say- *ur hearts are under coverings ?screened@from that to which you invite us R# C- $E

&he Messenger of Allh went on reciting the hapter while /Ktbah sitting andlistening attentively with his hand behind his back to support him. 3hen the

Messenger reached the verse that re+uired prostration, he immediatelyprostrated himself. After that, he turned to /Ktbah saying- #3ell Abu Al$3aleedG4ou have heard my reply, you are now free to do whatever you please.# /Ktbahthen retired to his company to apprise them of the Prophet!s attitude. 3hen hiscompatriots saw him, they swore that he had returned to them with a

countenance unlike the one he had before meeting the Prophet . :eimmediately communicated to them the details of the talk he gave and the replyhe received, and appended saying- # have never heard words similar to thoseones he recited. &hey definitely relate neither to poetry nor to witchcraft nor dothey derive from soothsaying. * people of 6uraishG re+uest you to heed myadvice and grant the man full freedom to pursue his goals, in which case youcould safely detach yourselves from him. swear that his words bear a supremeMessage. (hould the other Arabs rid you of him, they will then spare you thetrouble, on the other hand if he accedes to power over the Arabs, then you willbask in his kingship and share him his might.# &hese words of course fell on deafears, and did not appeal to the infidels, who 5eered at /Ktbah and claimed that the

Prophet had bewitched him.E

n another version of the same event, it is related that /Ktbah went on attentively

listening to the Prophet until the latter began to recite Allh!s 3ords-

#But if they turn away, they say ?* Muhammad @- # have warned

you of a Sai!a?a destructive awful cry, torment, hit, a thunder$bolt@ likethe Sai!awhich overtook /Ad and &ham0d ?people@.# C-7E

:ere /Ktbah stood up panicked and stunned putting his hand on the Prophet!smouth beseeching him- # beg you in the ame of Allh and uterine ties to stoplest the calamity should befall the people of 6uraish.# :e then hurriedly returnedto his compatriots and informed them of what he had heard.E

Abu Talib assembles Bani Hashim and Bani Al+7uttalib:

&he new and welcome changes notwithstanding, Abu &alib still had a deep

sensation of fear over his nephew. :e deliberated on the previous series ofincidents including the barter affair of /Amarah bin Al$3aleed, Abu 1ahl!s rock,

/K+bah!s attempt to choke the Prophet , and finally /Kmar!s ?before

conversion@ intention to kill Muhammad . &he wise man understood that all ofthese une+uivocally smacked of a serious plot being hatched to disregard his

status as a custodian of the Prophet , and kill the latter publicly. n the eventof such a thing, Abu &alib deeply believed, neither /Kmar nor :am


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and exhorted them to immuni


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lie in his place, but when all the others fell asleep, he would order him to changehis place and take another, all of which in an attempt to trick a potential assassin.

Despite all odds, Muhammad persisted in his line and his determination andcourage never weakened. :e continued to go to Al$;a/bah and to pray publicly.

:e used every opportunity to preach to outsiders who visited Makkah for businessor on pilgrimage during the sacred months and special seasons of assemblies.

&his situation ultimately created dissension amongst the various Makkan factions,who were tied with the besieged people by blood relations. After three years ofblockade and in Muharram, the tenth year of Muhammad!s mission, the pact wasbroken. :isham bin /Amr, who used to smuggle some food to Bani :ashimsecretly at night, went to see 9uhair bin Abi *maiyah Al$Makh


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The 'inal Phase of the i"lomacy of Negotiation

&he Messenger of Allh left his confinement and went on preaching his >aithas usual. 6uraish, likewise, repealed the boycott but went on in their atrocitiesand oppression on the Muslims. Abu &alib, the octogenarian notable, was still

keen on shielding his nephew but by that time, and on account of the series oftremendous events and continual pains, he began to develop certain fits ofweakness. o sooner had he emerged victorious from the inhuman boycott, thanhe was caught in a persistent illness and physical enervation. &he polytheists ofMakkah, seeing this serious situation and fearing that the stain of infamy that theother Arabs could attribute to them in case they took any aggressive action

against the Prophet after he had lost his main support, Abu &alib, took a

decision to negotiate with the Prophet once more and submit someconcessions withheld previously. &hey then delegated some representatives tosee Abu &alib and discuss the issue with him. bn sha+ and others related-#3hen a serious illness caught Abu &alib, the people of 6uraish began todeliberate on the situation and reviewed the main features that characteri


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harbour for any deities other than Allh.# &hey immediately clapped their handsin ridicule, and said #:ow can you expect us to combine all the deities in one )od.t is really something incredible.# *n their way out leaving, they said to one

another, #By god this man ?Muhammad @ will never relent, nor will he offerany concessions. "et us hold fast to the religion of our forefathers, and All h will

in due course ad5udicate and settle the dispute between us and him.# As regardsthis incident, Allh revealed the following verses-

#Sd- &hese letters ?Sd, etc.@ are one of the miracles of the 6ur!nand none but Allh ?Alone@ knows their meaningsE. By the 6ur!n full ofreminding. ay, those who disbelieve are in false pride and Apposition.:ow many a generation 3e have destroyed before them, and they criedout when there was no longer time for escapeG And they ?Arab pagans@

wonder that a warner ?Prophet Muhammad @ has come to them fromamong themselvesG And the disbelievers say, /&his ?Prophet Muhammad

@ is a sorcerer, a liar. :as he made the gods ?all@ into *ne )od ?Allh@.

Herily, this is a curious thingG! And the leaders among them went about?saying@- /)o on, and remain constant to your godsG Herily, this is a thingdesigned ?against you@G 3e have not heard ?the like@ of this among thepeople of these later days. &his is nothing but an invention.!# 7N-$IEE

The #ear of $rief

Abu Talibs eath:

n 'a5abE, the tenth year of the Prophethood, Abu &alib fell ill and passed away,six months after leaving the confinement at Ash$(h/ib. n another version, Abu

&alib breathed his last in 'amadan, three days prior to the death of ;hadi5ah $may Allah be pleased with her $ . *n the authority of Al$Musaiyab, when Abu

&alib was on the death bed, the Prophet entered the room where he saw Abu1ahl and /Abdullah bin Abi *maiyah. :e re+uested his uncle-

#My uncle, you 5ust make a profession that there is no true god butAllh, and will bear testimony before Allh ?of your being a believer@#.

Abu 1ahl and /Abdullah bin Abi *maiyah addressing him said- #Abu &alib, would

you abandon the religion of /Abdul$MuttalibQ# &he Messenger of Allhconstantly re+uested him ?to accept his offer@, and ?on the other hand@ was

repeated the same statement ?of Abu 1ahl and /Abdullah bin Abi *maiyah@ = tillAbu &alib gave his final decision and he stuck to the religion of /Abdul$Muttaliband refused to profess that there is no true god but Allh. Kpon this the

Messenger of Allh remarked-

#By Allh, will persistently beg pardon for you till am forbidden to doso ?by Allh@#.

t was then that Allh, the Magnificent and )lorious revealed this verse-

#t is not ?proper@ for the Prophet and those who believe to ask Allh!sforgiveness for the Mushri*n?polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelieversin the *neness of Allh@ even though they be of kin, after it has become


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clear to them that they are the dwellers of the >ire ?because they died in astate of disbelief@.# O-7E

And it was said to the Messenger of Allh -

#HerilyG 4ou ?* Muhammad @ guide not whom you like.# 2N-LEE

t goes without saying that Abu &alib was very much attached to Muhammad .>or forty years, Abu &alib had been the faithful friend = the prop of his childhood,the guardian of his youth and in later life a very tower of defence. &he sacrificesto which Abu &alib exposed himself and his family for the sake of his nephew,while yet incredulous of his mission, stamp his character as singularly noble and

unselfish. &he Prophet did his best to persuade his octogenarian uncle tomake profession of the true faith, but he remained obdurate and stuck to thepaganism of his forefathers, and thus could not achieve complete success.

Al$/Abbas bin /Abdul$Muttalib narrated that he said to the Prophet #4ou havenot been of any avail to your uncle ?Abu &alib@ ?though@ by Allh, he used to

protect you and get angry on your behalf.# &he Prophet said- #:e is in ashallow fire, and had it not been for me, he would have been at the bottom of the?:ell@ >ire.#E

Abu (a/id Al$;hudri narrated that he heard the Prophet say, when themention of his uncle was made, # hope that my intercession may avail him, andhe be placed in a shallow fire that rises up only to his heels.#E

Khadi&ah "asses a3ay to the 7ercy of All


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torture and oppression. &he Prophet lost all hope of bringing them back to theright path, so he set out for Al$&a!if seeking a supportive atmosphere. But theretoo, he was disappointed and he sustained unbearable tortures and maltreatmentthat far outweighed his miserable situation in his native town.

:is ompanions were on e+ual footing sub5ected to unspeakable torture andunbearable oppression to such an extent that his closest friend, Abu Bakr, toescape pressure, fled out of Makkah and wanted to leave for Abyssinia ?%thiopia@if it were not for bn Ad$Daghanah who met him at Bark Al$)hamad and managedto dissuade him from completing his 5ourney of escape and brought him backunder his protection.E

&he death of Abu &alib rendered the Prophet vulnerable, and the polytheistsavailed them of that opportunity to give free rein to their hatred andhighhandedness and to translate them in terms of oppression and physicaltortures. *nce an insolent 6uraishite intercepted him and sprinkled sand on his

head. 3hen he arrived home, a daughter of his washed the sand away and wept.#Do not weep, my daughter. Allh will verily protect your father.# &he Prophet

saidE.

'apid succession of misfortunes, led the Prophet to call that period, /the yearof grief and mourning!. &henceforth, that year bore that appellation.

His 7arriage to %a3dah + 7ay Allah be "leased 3ith her + in %ha33al5the tenth year of Pro"hethood:

&he death of ;hadi5ah left the Prophet lonely. &he name of (awdah wassuggested to him for marriage which he accepted. &his lady had suffered manyhardships for the sake of slam. (he was an early convert to the slamic >aith andit was by her persuasion that her husband had embraced slam. *n the secondemigration to Abyssinia ?%thiopia@, (awdah had accompanied her husband As$(akran bin /Amr. :e died on their way back to Makkah leaving her in a terrible

state of destitution. (he was the first woman for the Prophet to marry afterthe death of ;hadi5ah. (ome years later she granted her turn with the Prophet

to her co$wife, /Aishah.E

'actors ins"iring Patience and Perse)erance

t is natural for sensible and mild$tempered people to meditate deeply on thefactors that inspired those early Muslims that miraculous constancy andperseverance. t is normal to wonder how those people managed to tolerateunspeakable persecutions, and stand fast in the face of tyrannical tortures. 3ithrespect to these +uestions, we deem it wise 5ust to touch on those underlyingreasons-

./ Cnshakable Belief in All


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foreseen difficulties as triflings and can under no circumstance compare with thesweetness of Belief-

#&hen, as for the foam, it passes away as scum upon the banks, whilethat which is for the good of mankind remains in the earth.# 7-IE

*ther sub$factors that branch out from that Belief and assist instrengthening it and promoting long amity are-

0/ (holeheartedly+lo)ed leadershi". Muhammad , the great leader of theMuslim community, and mankind at large, was an exemplary man in his perfectmanners and noble attributesF no one could measure up to his endowments ofnobility, honesty, trustworthiness and abstinenceF unanimously anduncontestedly acknowledged even by his enemies. Abu 1ahl himself, the great

enemy of slam, used repeatedly to say- #* Muhammad ? @, we are in noposition to belie you, we rather disbelieve what you have brought us ?slam@.# t

is narrated that three people of 6uraish each separately and secretly listened tosome verses of the oble 6ur!n. "ater, this secret was uncovered and one ofthem asked Abu 1ahl ?one of the three@ what he thought of what he heard from

Muhammad ? .@. :e answered- 3e contested the honour of leadership andgenerosity with Banu /Abd Munaf and shared e+ual privileges competitively. &heythen began to boast saying that a Prophet rose among them whom 'evelationcame down upon from heavens. swear we will never believe in him.E

(o Allh said-

#R t is not you that they deny, but it is the Herses ?the 6ur!n@of Allh that the 1limn?polytheists and wrong$doers@ deny.#

L-77E

*ne day, the disbelievers of 6uraish leveled to him a cynical remark threetimes. :e remained silent but for the third one he remarked, #* 6uraishG(laughter is in store for you.# &hey were taken aback and ulterior fearfilled their hearts to such an extent that the most hostile among thembegan to make up for their insult by the best friendly terms they couldafford. 3hen they slung the entrails of a camel on him while prostratinghimself in prayer, he invoked Allh!s wrath on them, and they immediatelywere caught in an inexpressible state of worry and were almost convincedthat they would be destroyed. Kbai bin ;halaf used always to threaten he

would kill Muhammad . *ne day the Prophet retorted that he wouldkill him by Allh!s 3ill. 3hen Kbai received a scratch in his neck, on theday of Khud, he, under the sense of horror, remembered the Prophet!swords and remarked, # am convinced he would be able to kill me even ifhe spat on me.E # (a/d bin Mu/adh said to *maiyah bin ;halaf in Makkah,

# heard the Messenger of Allh one day say that the Muslims wouldsurely kill you.# *maiyah was extremely panicked and swore he wouldnever step out of Makkah. %ven when Abu 1ahl obliged him to march with

them to fight the Prophet on the day of Badr, he bought the best andswift camels in Makkah in order that they hasten his escape. %ven his wifewarned him against going out reminding him of (a/d!s words, his reply was#By Allh, have no intention of going out with 6uraish, will disengagefrom them after a short distance.#E


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&hat was the clear sense of horror and terror haunting his enemieswherever they were. :is friends and companions, on the other hand, heldhim dearest to them, and he occupied the innermost cells of their hearts.&hey were always ready to defend him and secure his well$being even atthe risk of their lives. *ne day, Abu Bakr bin Abi 6uhafa was severelybeaten by /Ktbah bin 'abi/a, a terrible polytheist. :is whole body was

almost bleeding and he was on the verge of death, yet when his peopletook him back home extremely indignant at his misfortune, he swore hewould never eat or drink anything until they had told him about the well$

being of his noble ompanion, Muhammad . &hat was the spirit ofselflessness and sacrifice that characteri


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poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger andthose who believed along with him said, /3hen ?will come@ the :elp ofAllhQ! 4esG ertainly, the :elp of Allh is nearG# 2-2CE

#Alif-2am-Mim. Do people think that they will be left alone because theysay- /3e believe!, and will not be tested. And 3e indeed tested those whowere before them. And Allh will certainly make ?it@ known ?the truth of@those who are true, and will certainly make ?it@ known ?the falsehood of@those who are liars, ?although Allh knows all that before putting them totest@.# 2O- $7E

Mere lip profession of >aith is not enough. t must be tried and tested inthe real turmoil of life. &he test will be applied in all kinds ofcircumstances, in individual life and in relation to the environment aroundus to see whether we can strive constantly and put the "ord above self.Much pain, sorrow and self$sacrifice may be necessary, not because theyare good in themselves, but because they will purify us, like fire applied toa goldsmith!s crucible to burn out the dross.

&hese verses also constituted an irrefutable answer to the false allegationsof the disbelievers, and a clear ultimatum that smacked of the horribleconse+uences that would ensue in case they persisted in their disbelief. *nthe other hand, the oble 6ur!n was leading the Muslims to a new worldand enlightening them as to its features, the beauty of "ordship, theperfection of )odship, the impact of kindness and mercy and themanifestations of the yearned for Allh!s pleasure. &hey implicitlyconnoted meaningful messages carrying glad tidings of definitelyapproaching Divine Mercy leading to eternal bliss in a blissful )arden?Paradise@. &hey, at the same time, envisaged the end of the tyrants anddisbelievers who would be brought to Divine 1ustice and then dragged

through the >ire where they would taste the touch of :ell.

6/ $lad tidings of success. %ver since the time they experienced the adversitiesof life, the Muslims had been certain that entrance into the fold of slam did notentail involvement into hardships or digging one!s own grave. &hey had beenaware that the slamic all had one goal, vi< extermination of pre$slamictradition and destroying its ini+uitous system, to go on parallel lines withextending its influence allover the earth and holding in firm control the politicalsituation worldwide to lead humanity along a course conducive to Allh!sPleasure, and perfect enough to rid people of worshipping Allh!s servant toworshipping Allh, :imself. )lad tidings of this sort were being revealedsometimes explicitly and at other times implicitly, in a manner relevant to thesituation. 3hen the Muslims were forced to undergo constraints, or when their lifewas kept under continual restraint, there would be revealed verses tellingidentical stories of past Prophets with their people and the sufferings and painsthey had experienced. &he verses would also include suggestive clues to the finaltragic end of the Makkan disbelievers envisaging their final perdition, yet and atthe same time, bearing glad tidings to the believers and promising the trueservants of vicegerency on earth to go with absolute success, and victory toattend the slamic all and its proponents.

:ere we could adduce some of the verses of this category pregnantwith glad tidings referring to the final victory that would crown theperseverance and patience of the Muslims-


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#And, verily, *ur 3ord has gone forth of old for *ur slaves, = theMessengers, that they verily would be made triumphant. And that *ur

hosts, they verily would be the victors. (o turn away ?* Muhammad @from them for a while, and watch them and they shall see ?thepunishment@G Do they seek to hasten on *ur tormentQ &hen, when it

descends into their courtyard ?i.e. near to them@, evil will be the morningfor those who had been warned.# 7I-I$IIE

n the same context, Allh told :is Prophet -

#&heir multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their backs.#C-CE

:e also said-

#&hey will be a defeated host like the confederates of the old times.#

7N-E

&he Muslims who migrated to Abyssinia ?%thiopia@ had the following-

#And as for those who emigrated for the cause of Allh, after sufferingoppression, 3e will certainly give them goodly residence in this world, butindeed the reward of the :ereafter will be greater, if they but knew.#L-CE

n the context of the story of 1oseph, there was-

#Herily, in 1oseph and his brethren there wereAyt?proofs, evidences,

verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.@ for those who ask.# 2-IE

i.e., the Makkans will receive the same fate that befell 1oseph!s brothers,vi


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when :eraclius carried his campaign into the heart of Persia and theMakkan 6uraish were beaten off at Badr-

#And on that Day, the believers ?i.e. Muslims@ will re5oice ?at thevictory given by Allh to the 'omans against the Persians@ with thehelp of Allh.# 7J-C,E

During the season of /Kka< forum, and other such occasions, the

Messenger of Allh himself would communicate not only glad tidingspertinent to the )arden ?Paradise@ but also news of promising prospectsfor the true believers in the all of slam. :e would openly tell them thatthey would surely prosper, rule the whole of Arabia and subdue Persia ifthey professed the most serious pillar of slam, i.e. the *neness of Allh.E

;habbab bin Al$Aratt once urged the Messenger to call upon Allh to shieldhim against the adversities he was suffering at the hand of the polytheists.&he Prophet!s face reddened and he remarked that the true believer must

not precipitate things, it was incumbent upon a believer to undergo all theodds of life as much as he could, fearing nobody except Allh until the

religion was established, which would surely happen. &he Prophet inthis regard, referred to the perseverance that the Muslims had to showand the hardships they had to undergo in order to establish the land ofslam where peace and security would prevail all over it.

)lad tidings of better prospects for slam and the Muslims were notconfined to Muhammad!s followers, in fact they were being disclosed timeand again to both believers and disbelievers. 3henever the two partiesmet, the latter would 5eer at the former and mockingly say #:ere are the

sovereigns of earth who will defeat hosroes and aesar.# But thebelievers, in anticipation of that shining and )odly$orientated future,would always persevere and tolerate all sorts of persecution andhumiliation regarding them as summer clouds that would soon clear away.E

&he Prophet , on his part, would always maintain and sustain hisfollowers! souls with the light of belief, sanctify them through inculcatingthe 6ur!nic wisdom in their hearts and cultivate their minds deeply withthe spirit of slam that would elevate them to a state of noble spirituality,pure heartedness and an absolute degree of freedom from the yoke ofmaterialism, a high morale powerful enough to resist worldly lusts andconse+uently lead them from darkness to light. :e would constantly teachthem to be tolerant, forgiving and overpowering over their selves in orderto get well established in their religion, disdain lust, and devotethemselves to attaining the Pleasure of Allh, yearning for the )arden?Paradise@, enthusiasm in sciences relating to their faith, callingthemselves to account, subordinating fleeing whims, holding under firmcontrol all rage$provoking incidents and finally observing sobriety, patience

and gravity.

The Third Phase9alling unto ,slam beyond 7akkah


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n (hawwalE?in the last of May or in the beginning of 1une LO A.D.@, ten years

after receiving his mission from his "ord, the Prophet set out towards At$&a!if,about LJ kilometres from Makkah, in the company of his freed slave 9aid bin:aritha inviting people to slam. But contrary to his expectations, the generalatmosphere was terribly hostile. :e approached the family of /Kmair, who were

reckoned amongst the nobility of the town. But, to his disappointment, all of themturned deaf ear to his message and used abusive language as regards the noblecause he had been striving for. &hree brothers from the chieftains of &ha+eef=/Abd 4aleel, Mas/ud and :abeeb = sons of /Amr bin /Kmair Ath$&ha+afy met the

Prophet , who invited them to embrace slam and worship Allh, but theyimpudently 5eered at him and refused his invitation. #:e is tearing the cloths ofAl$;a/bahF is it true that Allh has sent you as a MessengerQ# said one of them.#:as not Allh found someone else to entrust him with :is MessageQ# said thesecond. # swear by Allh that will never have any contact with you. f you arereally the Messenger of Allh, then you are too serious to retort backF and if youare belying Allh, then feel it is imperative not to speak to.# said the third. &he

Messenger of Allh , finding that they were hopeless cases, stood up and leftthem saying- #(hould you indulge in these practices of yours, never divulge themto me.#

>or ten days he stayed there delivering his message to several people, one afteranother, but all to no purpose. (tirred up to hasten the departure of theunwelcome visitor, the people hooted him through the alley$ways, pelted himwith stones and obliged him to flee from the city pursued by a relentless rabble.Blood flowed down both his legsF and 9aid, endeavouring to shield him, waswounded in the head. &he mob did not desist until they had chased him two orthree miles across the sandy plains to the foot of the surrounding hills. &here,wearied and exhausted, he took refuge in one of the numerous orchards, and

rested against the wall of a vineyard. At a time when the whole world seemed to

have turned against him, Muhammad turned to his "ord and betook himself toprayer and the following touching words are still preserved as those throughwhich his oppressed soul gave vent to its distress. :e was weary and woundedbut confident of the help of his "ord-

#* AllhG &o 4ou alone make complaint of my helplessness, thepaucity of my resources and my insignificance before mankind. 4ou arethe most Merciful of the mercifuls. 4ou are the "ord of the helpless and theweak, * "ord of mineG nto whose hands would 4ou abandon me- into thehands of an unsympathetic distant relative who would sullenly frown at

me, or to the enemy who has been given control over my affairsQ But if4our wrath does not fall on me, there is nothing for me to worry about.#

# seek protection in the light of 4our ountenance, which illuminates theheavens and dispels darkness, and which controls all affairs in this worldas well as in the :ereafter. May it never be that should incur 4our wrath,or that 4ou should be wrathful to me. And there is no power nor resource,but 4ours alone.#

(eeing him in this helpless situation, 'abi/a!s two sons, wealthy Makkans, weremoved on grounds of kinship and compassion, and sent to him one of their

hristian servants with a tray of grapes. &he Prophet accepted the fruit withpious invocation- #n the ame of the Allh.# &he hristian servant /Addas wasgreatly impressed by these words and said- #&hese are words which people in this


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land do not generally use.# &he Prophet in+uired of him whence he came andwhat religion he professed. /Addas replied- # am a hristian by faith and come

from ineveh.# &he Prophet then said- #4ou belong to the city of the righteous1onah, son of Matta.# /Addas asked him anxiously if he knew anything about

1onah. &he Prophet significantly remarked- #:e is my brother. :e was a

Prophet and so am .# &hereupon /Addas paid homage to Muhammad andkissed his hands. :is masters admonished him at this act but he replied- #oneon the earth is better than he is. :e has revealed to me a truth which only aProphet can do.# &hey again reprimanded him and said- #3e forewarn youagainst the conse+uences of abandoning the faith of your forefathers. &he religionwhich you profess is far better than the one you feel inclined to.#

:eart$broken and depressed, Muhammad set out on the way back to Makkah.3hen he reached 6arn Al$Manaull narration of this event was given by /Aishah $may Allah be pleased with her $

?the Prophet!s spouse@. (he said- # asked the Prophet if he had everexperienced a worse day than Khud. :e answered that he had suffered a lot fromthose people ?the idolaters@ but the most painful was on the day of /A+abah. went seeking support from bn /Abd 4alil bin /Abd ;alal, but he spurned me. setout wearied and grieved heedless of anything around me until suddenly reali


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&he same incident is referred to in SrahAl-5inn-

#(ay ?* Muhammad @- #t has been revealed to me that a group?from three to ten in number@ of 5inns listened ?to this 6ur!n@. &hey said-

/HerilyG 3e have heard a wonderful 'ecital ?this 6ur!n@G t guides to the

'ight Path, and we have believed therein, and we shall never 5oin ?inworship@ anything with our "ord ?Allh@.!# I2-,2E R &ill the end of theth verse.

>rom the context of these verses and their relevant interpretation, we can safely

establish it that the Prophet was not aware of the presence of that group of5inns. t was only when Allh revealed those verses that he came to know of it.&he verses also confirm that it was the first time they came. :owever, thecontext of the different versions suggests that the 5inns repeated their visits lateron. &he presence of that company of 5inns comes in the context of the Divinesupport given to :is Messenger, and constitutes a propitious sign of ultimate

victory and success for the all of slam. t provides an unshakable proof that nopower however mighty could alter what is wrought by Allh-

#And whosoever does not respond to Allh!s aller, he cannot escapeon earth, and there will be noAuliy?protectors@ from him besides Allh?from Allh!s punishment@. &hose are in manifest error.# CL-72E

#And we think that we cannot escape ?from the punishment of@ All h inthe earth, nor can we escape ?from the punishment@ by flight.# I2-2E

)iven this support and auspicious start, depression, dismay and sadness thatused to beset him since he was driven out of At$&a!if, he turned his face towards

Makkah with fresh determination to resume his earlier plan to expose people toslam and communicate his Message in a great spirit of


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&he Messenger of Allh never forgot Mut/im!s favour. At the conclusion of thebattle of Badr, he declared publicly that if Mut/im had been still alive and askedfor the release of the 6uraishite captives, he would not deny him his re+uest.E

,slam being introduced to

Arabian Tribes and ,ndi)iduals

n Dhul 6a/dah, the tenth year of Prophethood, i.e. 1uly LO, the Prophet ,returned to Makkah to resume his activities. &he time for pilgrimage to Makkahwas approaching so he hastened to introduce people both tribes and individualsto slam and call upon them to embrace it, 5ust as it was his practice since thefourth year of his Prophethood.

*n the authority of Aairras,answered him back- #(hould we give you allegiance and Allh give youpower over your opponents, will you give us right to inheritance andsucceed you in powerQ# &he Prophet replied- #&he whole affair lies inAllh!s :ands. :e gives the power to whomever :e desires.# &he mancommented- #Do you expect us to incur the wrath and vengeance of theArabs without the least hope of leadershipQ 3e can in fact readily dispensewith your offers.#

3hen Banu /Amir returned to their habitations, they narrated the story to an

elderly man who had lingered behind because he was too old. &hey told him, #Ayoung man of 6uraish of Bani /Abdul Muttalib, claiming that he is a Prophet,contacted us, asked for support and invited us to embrace his religion.# &he oldsheikh was struck by the news, and wondered if there was no way of makingamends for the loss of that opportunity and swore, #:e is really shmaelite ?hedescends from shmael@. :e is the &ruth ?he is a real Prophet@. :ow did it happenthat you mis5udged his wordsQ#

&he Prophet was not dismayed at all. :e persisted in his mission for thefulfillment of which he had been commissioned to strive despite all odds. :e didnot confine his efforts to the tribes but also conducted contacts with individuals

from some of whom he was able to receive a favourable response. Moreover,later in the same season, some of them did believe in his Prophethood and


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entered the fold of slam. &he following list included some of those earlyconverts-

. %3aid bin %amit. :e was an intelligent discreet poet from 4athrib?Madinah@. During his stay in Makkah for pilgrimage ?or lesser pilgrimage@,

he encountered the Prophet who invited him to embrace slam. At thisinvitation, (waid imparted to the Prophet some sound words from"u+man!s wisdom. &he Prophet approved of that wisdom but told the manthat he had something far better. :e recited some verses from the 6ur!n,the man listened meditatively and the words appealed to his originallypure nature and accepted slam as his faith at once. :e was killed in thebattle of Bu/ath. &hat was in the eleventh year of the Prophethood.E

2. -yas bin 7u8adh/:e was still a youth from Aws tribe. :e came as amember of delegation seeking alliance with 6uraish against another rival

tribe dwelling in Madinah, Al$;ha


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schemes and plans of dissension. &hey even warned him against speakingor even listening to him. &he man overpowered by these pleas, compliedby their re+uests. :e even stuffed his ears with a piece of cotton in ordernot to hear any word of his. :owever, when this tribesman entered the

mos+ue, he saw Muhammad observing his prayer and out of curiosity,

he approached him for it was a Divine 3ill to hear the Prophet!s sound andappealing words. &he temptation to hear more was irresistible so he

followed the Prophet into his house, briefed him on his advent and all

the story of the people of 6uraish. &he Messenger of Allh recitedsome verses of the oble 6ur!n and the man managed to tastesomething exceptionally beautiful and discern the truth latent within. :eembraced slam and testified that there was no god but Allh and thatMuhammad was :is Messenger. :e then said that he was an influentialman among his people and that he would call them to profess slam, yet

he wanted the Prophet to e+uip him with a supportive sign that would

ease his future task. t was in fact a Divinely bestowed light in his whip.:e called his father and wife to embrace slam and they did respond. :ispeople lagged a little but he exhorted them fervently and was fullysuccessful. :e and seventy or eighty of his followers emigrated to Madinahafter the &rench Battle. :e was a perfect fighter in the cause of Allh andwas martyred in Al$4amama events.E

. humad Al+Azdi/:e came from A


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&he Madinese always heard the 1ews say that a Prophet was about to rise, for thetime for a new dispensation had arrived. :im they would follow and then smitetheir enemies as the children of /Ad and ram had been smitten.E

#*f what tribe are youQ# asked the Prophet. #*f the tribe of ;ha


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Al+%akhrah ome in Palestine

As for its exact date, it is still controversial and no common consent has beenreached. :owever, the ma5ority of 5urists is in favour of a date between L$2months prior to migration to Madinah. &he following is a epitome of the details ofthat miraculous event narrated on the authority of bn Al$6ayyim.E

&he Messenger of Allh was carried in body from the (acred Mos+ue in

Makkah to the Distant Mos+ue in 1erusalem on a horse called Al$Bura+ in thecompany of )abriel, the archangel. &here he alighted, tethered the horse to aring in the gate of the Mos+ue and led the Prophets in prayer. After that )abrieltook him to the heavens on the same horse. 3hen they reached the first heaven)abriel asked the guardian angel to open the door of heaven. t was opened and

he saw Adam, the progenitor of mankind. &he Prophet saluted him and theother welcomed him and expressed his faith in Muhammad!s Prophethood. :esaw the souls of martyrs on his right and those of the wretched on his left.

)abriel then ascended with the Prophet to the second heaven, asked for openingthe gate and there he saw and saluted 1ohn, son of 9achariya ?4ahya bin9akariya@ and 1esus, son of Mary. &hey returned the salutation, welcomed himand expressed their faith in his Prophethood. &hen they reached the third heavenwhere they saw 1oseph ?4usuf@ and saluted him. &he latter welcomed the Prophetand expressed faith in his Prophethood. &he Prophet, in the company of )abriel,then reached the fourth heaven where he met the Prophet %noch ?dris@ andsaluted him. Prophet %noch returned the salutation and expressed faith in hisProphethood. &hen he was carried to the fifth heaven where he met the ProphetAaron ?:arun@ and saluted him. &he latter returned the salutation and expressedfaith in his Prophethood. n the sixth heaven he met Moses ?Musa@ and salutedhim. &he latter returned the salutation and expressed faith in his Prophethood.

Muhammad on leaving, saw that Moses began to weep. :e asked about thereason. Moses answered that he was weeping because he witnessed a man sent

after him as a Messenger ?Muhammad@ who was able to lead more of his people

to the Paradise than he himself did. &hen Prophet Muhammad reached theseventh heaven and met Abraham ?brahim@$ peace be upon him $ and salutedhim. &he latter returned the salutation and expressed faith in his Prophethood.&hen he was carried to Sidrat-al-Muntaha?the remotest lote tree@ and was shown

Al-Bait-al-Mamr?the much fre+uented house@ which is like the ;a/bah ?(acred:ouse@ encompassed daily by seventy thousand angels, so that the angels whoonce encompassed it would not have their turn again till the 'esurrectionE. :ewas then presented to the Divine Presence and experienced the thrill ofwitnessing the Divine )lory and Manifestation at the closest possible propin+uity.&here the "ord revealed unto :is servant that which :e revealed, and ordainedfifty daily prayers for him. *n his return, he spoke to Moses that his followers had

been en5oined to pray fifty times a day. Moses addressing the Prophet said-


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#4our followers cannot perform so many prayers. )o back to your "ord and ask

for a remission in number.# &he Prophet turned to )abriel as if holdingcounsel with him. )abriel nodded, #4es, if you desire,# and ascended with him tothe Presence of Allh. &he All$Mighty Allh, )lory is to :im, made a reduction often prayers. :e then descended and reported that to Moses, who again urged him

to re+uest for a further reduction. Muhammad once more begged his "ord toreduce the number still further. :e went again and again in the Presence of Allhat the suggestion of Moses for reduction in the number of prayers till these werereduced to five only. Moses again asked him to implore for more reduction, buthe said- # feel ashamed now of repeatedly asking my "ord for reduction. accept

and resign to :is 3ill.# 3hen Muhammad went farther, a aller was heardsaying- # have imposed My *rdinance and alleviated the burden of My servants.#

&here is however some difference as regards the issue whether the Prophet sawAllh with his physical eye or not. (ome interpreters say that seeing Allh with hisnaked eyes was not confirmed. bn /Abbas, on the other hand, says that the word

&uyaas used in the oble 6ur!n signifies the observation with the help of theeye.

n Srah An7Na$m?hapter =&he (tar@ we read-

#&hen he approached and came closer.# 7-NE

:ere ?he@ refers to archangel )abriel, and this context is completely differentfrom that in the Prophetic tradition of Isra andMira$, where /the approach!relates to that of the "ord, )lory is to :im.

(ome significant suggestive incidents featured the /ight 1ourney! of the Prophet,of which we could mention-

. &he Prophet!s breast was cleft by )abriel, his heart extracted and washedwith the water of 9am


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un5ustly eat up the property of the orphans. &hey have flews similar tothose of camels, swallowing red$hot stones and then issuing out of theirbacks. &here were also the

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AR-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Seald Nectar).doc