
Muhammad’s
r Marriage to Khadija al-Kubra
(from Kara Da’ud)
It is related that Muhammad {s} was twenty-five
years old when he married Khadija who was forty years and some months at the
time–his senior by fifteen years. Muhammad {s} was either twenty
or twenty-five years old. All of the Prophet's {s} descendants,
except for his son Ibrahim, the son of Marya Quptiya, were born of Khadija. She
was his first wife, and it was in reference to her that this Quran verse was
revealed;
Did He not find thee needy, and suffice thee?
(The Forenoon: 9)
It is related that after the death of both her previous
husbands, Khadija saw a dream: she saw the sun descending from the skies into
her house, but it did not shine. During its stay in her house it began to shine,
until there was not a house in Mecca where its light had not penetrated. When
she awoke, she went to see her uncle’s son, Waraqa bin Naufal who knew about
dream interpretation, who had read all the ancient books and was known to be a
man of knowledge.
He said to her, “Your dream means that you will marry
the Prophet of the last times before his prophethood is revealed, and you will
be his wife. In the course of your marriage his prophethood will be revealed,
and all of Mecca will be cleansed of unbelief and idolatry, and the pure light
of faith will shine forth.” When he had told her this, she asked, “But where is
he now?” Waraqa bin Naufal answered, “He is in Mecca,” and she asked, “Which
tribe does he belong to?” “He is of Quraysh,” said her uncle’s son. “And of
which clan?” she asked. “Of the clan of Hashim.” “Then tell me his name,” said
Khadija. “His name is Muhammad, oh Khadija,” said Waraqa.
Having been told no more than this, without ever having
set her eyes on him, Khadija began to love him with all her heart and soul. She
asked Waraqa, “When and where will this sun rise?” and she began to wait night
and day for these events to take place. Now, Khadija was a woman excelling in
beauty and perfection, and her mind and manners were of great delicacy. She had
no dearth of suitors among the Arab nobles and notables, but she inclined
towards none and would accept no offer, despite the wealth and position it might
have conferred. She waited patiently, burning with undisclosed passion.
One day Muhammad {s} was having a meal
at his uncle’s house. Abu Talib and his sister Atiqa watched him as he ate, and
they remarked his good table manners and his fine style of eating. They said to
each other, “Muhammad is now grown, he is a young man now, it is time he got
married. What shall we do? He cannot marry just any woman; she should be a woman
of rank and from a good family, who will make him a pure and decent wife. But to
find such a woman is very costly, and we don’t have the means...” For at that
time, by divine wisdom, Abu Talib’s affairs had foundered, and he was now a poor
man.
Thus it was possible for Muhammad {s} to become Khadija’
s trading agent in her business with the merchants of Sham, and he had
opportunity to prove his exceptional worth of character and high-mindedness. Had
Abu Talib been as well off as he was aforetime, none of this would have
transpired, Rasulullah
{S} would have had no
occasion to travel in business.
Abu Talib now answered his sister Atiqa, “I don’t know
how to go about this, what shall we do?” The Prophet’s aunt Atiqa said, “I have
an idea. You know of Khadija, and you know also the excellent reputation she
enjoys; whoever has had dealings with her, has profited by them, she is a very
fortunate and auspicious lady. Besides, she is very wealthy. At this time, she
is just getting ready to send a caravan to Sham, laden with all manners of
goods, and she is employing people in her service. Why don’t we send Muhammad
along to accompany the caravan, in her employ; that way he will earn a little
something, and with a little help from our side, he should be able to get
married.”
Abu Talib agreed with her, he thought this a very good
and useful proposition. He approved and said, “Indeed, this is a very reasonable
idea, only I am too shy to go up to Khadija and ask her to hire Muhammad to do
her business for her in Sham.” So Atiqa said, “I will go to her then, and talk
to her.”
First she went and informed Muhammad {s} of the talk she
had had with his uncle. Muhammad {s} was agreeable to
the idea and voiced no objections. When his uncle Abu Talib heard that he had
accepted, he wept, for it hurt him to see his nephew sent on such a trip for
wages. “No one of our tribe has ever had to travel for wages before, least of
all such a pure bred, nobly born boy as Muhammad, with his honor, nobility and
grace shining upon his forehead; yet, what can I do? We have fallen upon hard
times, and situations may occur when dubious actions are permitted, some things
become permissible through necessity. So if it has to be, go then and speak with
the lady, Khadija.”
So Atiqa went to Khadija and tried to explain things to
her. As for Khadija, the coming of the Prophet's {s} aunt to her meant
the advent of happiness, and she received her with honors and signs of great
favor. When it came to stating her request, she felt ashamed to do so,
considering the honor with which she had been received. Atiqa sat choking on her
words, when Khadija herself broached the subject. “Oh Atiqa, noblewoman of the
Arabs,” she said, “your demeanor tells me that you have something on your mind
that you wish to say, but are not quite happy to do so. Tell it to me, for
whatever is your request, know, that I will be more than happy to oblige, it is
an honor for me to comply with your wishes.”
Then Atiqa felt easier and she said, “You must have
heard of Muhammad {s}, my brother Abdullah’s
son who was orphaned before he was even born and brought up first by his
grandfather, then by my other brother, Abu Talib. Now he is grown and it is time
for him to get married. However, Abu Talib has fallen into straightened
circumstances and has not the wherewithal to perform this important duty towards
his nephew. Now we have heard that you are getting ready a trade caravan to
travel to Sham these days, and if you see it fit to take my nephew along, you
will gain the gratitude of the house of Hashim. Will you accept our young
relative in your service, and send him on this trade mission to Sham?”
Khadija became thoughtful, thinking to herself, “This
youth must be the man in my dream, all the descriptions that my uncle’s son
Waraqa gave me apply to him. He is of the Arabs of Mecca, of Quraysh, of the
house of Hashim. His noble name is Muhammad {s}. He is known even
now in the town as al-Amin, the trustworthy, he is always called Muhammad Amin.
His purity and piety are the talk of the town. The Muhammad of my dream can be
no other Muhammad than this man who is destined to become the Prophet of the
last times.”
She then turned to Atiqa and addressed her thus: “Oh
noblewoman of the Quraysh! I have heard talk of this Muhammad, he is thought by
all to be honest and truthful, and of exemplary piety. But I have never met him
myself. Will he have the necessary strength to lead a caravan? For it is no easy
task to look after such an assemblage of men and beasts, and to ensure their
safety and protection. I ask you to please have him come to me, so that I might
see him and judge for myself.”
Khadija wished to see him so that she might be sure he
bore all the signs mentioned in the holy books, and accorded to all the
descriptions given therein. When Atiqa had gone, Khadija went to bathe and
dressed herself in her finery, then she got her house ready and waited for her
visitors to come. She had a thin curtain hung across the room, and she told all
her servants to treat the arrivals with respect and to seat them in the place of
honor. Then she sat down and perused the holy books until her visitors were
announced. When Rasulullah {S} and his aunt
came, they were duly received and given every courteous attention. Khadijah
compared Muhammad’s
r person with what she had
read in the holy books concerning the prophet to come, and she found all the
signs matching and in accordance with what was written of him. Now she was
certain that he was the man of her dream. She knew this to be the truth and her
heart beat with excitement.
She would have been happy to marry him at once, but
being a very principled lady, she realized it was wiser to wait awhile; for were
she to marry him at once, she would certainly encounter a lot of resistance from
the people. She concluded that it would be much better if she first sent him to
Sham as her business agent, and then arrange the marriage proposition. So she
said to the Prophet’s
r aunt Atiqa, “Normally I
give my caravan drivers twenty-five gold pieces for this journey. However, since
Muhammad is such a nobly-born and high-ranking person, I agree to give him fifty
pieces of gold, if he is willing to accept.”
Atiqa was more than pleased with Khadija’s handling of
the affair, and she went to inform Abu Talib who was equally pleased. They both
impressed on Muhammad {s} to accept the offer and
to do whatever she asked him to do. Muhammad {s} then went to her
house and offered his services, and Khadija was very glad for this outcome.
The leader of this caravan was a man by the name of
Maysara. Khadija said to him, “Oh Maysara! Whatever you do, do not treat
Muhammad as a simple laborer-for-wages in my employ! You are the leader of this
caravan, but I ask you to regard him as my independent business agent. Serve him
well, and make everything as easy and pleasant as possible for him. Obey him,
don’t oppose him, and do him no harm.” After many such admonitions she added,
“One more thing: until you have left the town behind, treat him as you would
treat any ordinary man traveling with the caravan; only when you have passed out
of the city, clothe him in this new suit of clothes and mount him upon this
finely equipped camel. Do only as he orders and do your best for his protection.
Lead him home by the shortest and safest route, and let no distractions of the
road interfere. For know that he is a noble kinsman of Quraysh, and the best of
them all. Let us not be shamed before them. If you do as I have bidden you, and
all goes well, I will give you your freedom and reward you better than you have
hoped for.”
Then the caravan prepared and assembled to leave. The
townspeople gathered round to watch it go, some just came to stare, others to
bid farewell to their friends and relations. Muhammad’s
r departure aroused
a great deal of interest, and many of his relatives had come to see him off,
among them the nobles of Quraysh and the Bani Hashim. When his aunt and uncle,
Atiqa and Abu Talib saw Muhammad {s} in the garb of a
common hireling, they lost control and began to weep. Abu Talib even fainted
from excessive emotion, and when he came to his senses, he clasped Rasulullah {S} to his breast.
Tears more shining than pearls welled up in his blessed
eyes and rolled down his cheeks, fairer than the petals of the rose, and he
spoke, “Forget me not and forget not to pray for me in those distant lands and
the hardships that await me there.” Hearing these words from him, all his
relatives began to sigh and weep. The heavenly angels wept as well and implored
the Almighty, “Oh Lord, is this not Muhammad {s} of whom You have
spoken, ‘Were it not for you, I would not have created the universe’; is it not
he whom You have crowned with such honor?” Allah Almighty responded to them and
said, “It is he who is My Beloved
r. You, however,
are ignorant of love and of being loved. Herein there is also hidden wisdom
which is yet to appear.”
After everyone had dispersed, the caravan set off for
its distant destination. Now Muhammad {s} was overcome with
the pain of being a stranger in this world, so that he wept and spoke inwardly,
“Oh my parents, oh beloved mother, oh my father whom I never knew! If only you
could see what has become of your son, if only you could behold him in the
attire of a lowly wayfarer! Oh exile, oh toil, come to me, now is your moment!
Mecca, my homeland, shall I ever see you again, or shall I breathe my last, far
from home in a strange and foreign land?” Thus he was overcome by the pangs of
homesickness and the loneliness of the road.
Oh Nation of Muhammad {s}! When you hear of
the woeful events that befell your noble Prophet {S}, and the pain he
experienced from feeling like a lonely and deserted stranger, it is incumbent
upon you to weep for him in his plight! For whenever this Nation weeps for him
in such moments as these, the angels register it and turn to the Lord Almighty,
saying, “Oh Lord, what is it that they are now weeping?” The Almighty then
answers them, “It is because they are following the story of their prophet, and
they weep out of empathy and compassion for My beloved Prophet {S} and all that
befell him. Oh My angels both in Heaven and upon the earth bear witness! I will
free from the torment of Hell all those of my servants who weep for the sake of
My beloved, My wrath and punishment shall be lifted from them!” This is another
evidence of the compassionate Grace and Munificence of our Lord Almighty.
Thus the Holy Prophet {S} departed from his
hometown Mecca-tul-Mukarrama, may Allah increase its renown and favor us with a
sojourn at these holy places. After they had left the city behind, the leader of
the caravan, Maysara, gave him the splendid robe to wear and he had him mount
upon a lavishly adorned camel. Abu Bakr was also traveling with this caravan.
Maysara and Abu Bakr said to Muhammad {s}, “Oh Muhammad {s}, you are our
chief, and we will abide by your word. Inform us of your wishes, and of what is
required.” From then on till the end of the journey, they served Muhammad {s} and showed him
honor in every way.
Allah Almighty sent a little cloud to accompany them
which stood above the Holy Prophet {S} at all times,
shielding him from the rays of a violent sun. The Almighty also ordered the wind
to send a soft little breeze to accompany His beloved, that brought him cooling
as from a fan, so that he felt neither the heat of the road nor the torridity of
the desert round him. In this way the infinite Grace of the Almighty manifested
and the caravan proceeded along its way.
At some point in the trip, two of the camels belonging
to Khadija grew exhausted and could no longer go on. Maysara came and told
Muhammad {s} of this. The Holy Prophet {S} went over to the
animals and with his blessed hand he gently stroked the legs of the camels. Of
an instant the camels rose and their strength was restored; they assumed their
place in the string of camels and followed the lead. Seeing this, Abu Bakr and
Maysara marveled and understood that Muhammad {s} carried with him
a special blessing and that he would one day be great.
The caravan moved along at a steady pace until it
reached a certain church by Busra on the outskirts of the land of Sham. It was
the same hermitage that Muhammad {s} had visited with
his uncle Abu Talib when he was a boy, and he had known the monk Buhayra. This
old monk had meanwhile passed away, and in his place there lived a younger monk
by the name of Nastura. He was renowned for his asceticism and for his great
learning, and his knowledge of the scriptures was profound. The Prophet {S} and his
companions came up close to the church, wishing to dismount and rest awhile
under the shade of the old trees. Rasulullah {S} went and sat
beneath a tree, leaning his back against its trunk. It was an old, dead tree,
but as soon as he touched it, it came to life again, sprouting fresh green and
even bearing fruit on its boughs.
The monk Nastura watched the approach of the caravan and
emerged from his cell. He beheld a radiant person seated at the foot of the dead
tree which had suddenly sprung to life and greened anew and now was laden with
fruit. He also saw a small white cloud hovering in the sky that shaded him
alone. Nastura realized instantly that this man must be either a prophet or a
very holy man of God. He turned back and disappeared in his cell where he
prepared a splendid meal for the wayfarers. He invited the entire caravan to his
dwelling, for he wished to see up close that blessed person he had noticed at a
distance, and to learn more about his mission with the caravan. By inviting them
to his hermitage he could take a closer look at him and make his acquaintance.
Maysara responded gladly to the monk’s invitation, while
Muhammad {s} said, “You go ahead, I will
stay here and guard our belongings and pack animals.” Maysara was very pleased
with this arrangement, for Muhammad {s}, as everyone
knew, was the most trustworthy of all. So Maysara took his leave of him and went
to have dinner at the hermitage. When all his guests were assembled, the monk
went out and saw that the cloud had not moved from its place, so he came back to
his guests and asked whether they had left anyone outside. They answered
truthfully that they had left Muhammad {s} outside to keep
watch over their belongings. The monk Nastura then said, “You have my word that
your belongings will remain untouched; just ask this person to come in to me,
for I have need to see him.” Then he went out in person to invite the Holy
Prophet
{S} to come inside.
The Holy Prophet {S} rose when he saw
the monk approaching him and shook his hand. Nastura said, “I have prepared this
meal especially for you, my friend, it is quite important that you attend it in
person.” So, as Rasulullah {S} began to walk
towards his hermitage, the monk observed that the little white cloud overhead
followed him, and that as soon as he stood still, the cloud also stopped above
him. They came to the church hall; the monk seated Muhammad {s} in the seat of
honor, and went out again to look. He saw the cloud hovering over the entrance
to the church, and he heard these words coming from it, “When our Holy Prophet {S} comes out again,
I will again be his shade; therefore I am waiting here.” Then Nastura went in
and joined his guests.
When they had eaten, the monk addressed Muhammad {s} and asked him the
following questions, and received these answers:
“Where are you from?”
“I am from Mecca.”
“Of which tribe?”
“Of the tribe of Quraysh.”
“Of which clan of Quraysh?”
“Of the clan of the Bani Hashim.”
“What is your name?”
“My name is Muhammad.”
Thereupon the monk rose and embraced Muhammad {s} and kissed him
upon the forehead. Then he gave his testimony: “I testify that there is no god
but Allah, and I testify that you are Muhammad, His Prophet.” After showing him
all the respect and honor he could, Nastura asked him, “There is one request I
wish to make of your holy person which I beg you to accept.” “What could your
wish be?” asked Muhammad {s}. “I would ask you
to show me the unmistakable mark of your prophethood so that my heart might have
certainty and my mind be at peace and my conviction be strengthened.
The Prophet {S} answered him,
“What is it you wish to see?” The monk said, “I wish to see the seal of
prophethood which is stamped on your back between your shoulder blades, this is
the stamp of your mission. I would so wish to behold it and kiss it and rub my
eyes upon it, that my eyes might be filled with the light therefrom and I might
delight in its heavenly scent.” The Holy Prophet {S} in order to
please his host then stripped off his upper garment so that the monk could see
what he wished to see. Upon the seal was written:
Tawajjuh haithu shi’ta fa-innaka mansur
(turn wherever you will, you will be assisted.)
The monk rubbed his face and eyes on this seal, then he
said with great deference and respect, “Oh Holy Prophet {S}, oh
Beautification of the Judgment Day, oh Intercessor of your Nation, oh Amender of
Troubles, oh Dissolver of Difficulties, oh Prophet of Mercy!” Having praised the
Prophet in these words, the monk was honored with acceptance into Islam (before
its time, as the prophethood of Muhammad {s} had not been
revealed as yet).
After this, the monk turned to the whole caravan and
told them that the Prophet {S} who had now
appeared among them was the celebrated personality that had been anticipated and
foretold in the words and scriptures of all prophets since the time of Sayyidina
Adam
u. He confirmed that all the
prophets were of great worth and closeness to Allah Almighty, but that the
long-awaited prophet the whole world had been expecting now dwelt in their
midst, and he implored them not to stay for long in Sham. For just as he had
been able to recognize him by his marks and signs, so could the unbelievers of
Damascus who were his sworn enemies and wished to do him harm.
After the gathering had heard the admonition of the
monk, they rose to resume their journey. When they reached Sham, their trading
was accomplished in a very short time and yielded unexpectedly high profits,
through the blessings carried by Muhammad {s}.
One day during their stay in Sham the Holy Prophet {S} said to and Abu
Bakr, “Let us go to the unbelievers’ house of worship and see what they do
there.” Neither Abu Bakr nor Maysara were too happy to go there, but they didn’t
feel right about refusing Muhammad’s
r request either.
So, on a certain day they went to the unbelievers’ house of prayer. There were a
great many people assembling there, and the unbelievers manifested their
disbelief. When Muhammad {s}
entered the prayer house, the chains on which the great lamps were suspended
began to swing under the impact of his holy gaze, until they snapped and broke,
the lamps tumbling to the ground in broken shards. The unbelievers who were
assembled in the building were stricken with horror and took to weeping and
wailing, and they made a great commotion.
-
The most learned among them however said, “Quick, shut
all the gates, for the man who is to be the Prophet of the last times must
secretly be among us! Let him not escape,
-
for all this is written and described in our holy books.
Let each one of us now be identified by his brethren, and he who is not of us,
him let us seize and dispose of forthwith;
-
in that way we shall have rid ourselves of the danger
coming to us from this Arabian prophet who could destroy our religion once he
takes up his calling.”
-
So the gates were shut and all the unbelievers got
together and looked at each other to discover who they did not know.
-
Abu Bakr
and Maysara now feared for their lives and began to weep, but Muhammad {s} said to them,
-
“Have no fear, for they cannot see us; Allah’s protective power will cover us,
so that they cannot touch us.”
-
In this way Muhammad {s} reassured his
friends. The unbelievers meanwhile gathered in one spot and began to search the
premises.
-
Abu Bakr relates: “The three of us remained standing in
one place.
-
The unbelievers passed to the right and to the left of us, so close
that they even touched us.
-
Despite this, not one of them was able to see us.
They passed by us in a confused and senseless manner.
-
They took count of their
own number and found no stranger among them.
-
They checked all corners and window
niches several times over, yet they found nothing. At long last they concluded
that he must have stood outside the building and cast a glance at the lamp from
there, causing it to crash. ‘Now they have come and gone; where shall we look
for them?’ they wondered.
-
So they opened the doors and gates again, and we
left.” Abu Bakr, Maysara and the Holy Prophet {S} went back to
their caravan and prepared for immediate departure.
When seven days journey remained till they would reach
Mecca ‑ may Allah increase its luster and grant us easy access – Maysara
wrote a letter to Khadija as was his custom whenever he reached this stage of
the journey, informing her of their progress and the results of their trading.
This time he wrote to her that they had fared far better than in previous years,
and their trade had been far more profitable than before, and that he believed
this had to do with the blessing of Muhammad {s} who had traveled with them for
the first time this year. He then sealed the letter, looked at the Holy Prophet
{S} and said, “Oh Muhammad, light
of my eyes, will you do this letter the honor of taking and delivering it in
person to the lady Khadija?” Muhammad {s} agreed and a fine
Hijin camel was decked out for the journey. He set out at the break of dawn,
proceeding towards Mecca, and they followed him with their eyes until he
disappeared from view.
When they could no longer see him, the camel lost its
way. The following narration tells of this: Shaytan took hold of the camel’s
halter and led it astray. Thereupon Allah Almighty in all His Might and Glory
commanded the angel Jibra'il u
to descend to earth and set the Prophet and his camel back on the right way.
Thus it is revealed in the Holy Quran:
Did He not find thee erring and guide thee? (The Forenoon, 7)
Then He commanded the angel to fold up the earth so that
he might reach his destination speedily. The angel Israfil
u was commanded to
stand by his right, and Mikhail
u by his left side,
and in this way the Holy Prophet {S} was protected and
guided safely through the perilous desert. He felt sleepy and dozed off, and the
angel Jibra'il
u folded up the earth beneath
him, so that he reached Mecca by the time the sun rose again, though it was
seven days distance from where he had set out.
After the Holy Prophet {S} had departed for
Sham, Khadija was beset by a great and passionate longing for him, which grew
stronger with each passing day. When she awoke in the morning she would look out
her window facing north, the direction of Sham, and wonder whether this day she
would have any news. She waited. One day, she was again looking out for a
messenger when in the distance she beheld a cloud of dust. She looked again
carefully and managed to distinguish a rider approaching at the speed of an
arrow shot from a bow. Two angels in the guise of birds were shading this rider
with their wings, or according to a differing narration, she saw him being
shaded by a white cloud. As soon as she saw him, she began to wonder who he
might be and what urgent message he might bring, for he came on in great haste.
Presently a servant girl entered and brought her the news.
“Good tidings to you, my lady,” she said, “the rider we
saw approaching is Muhammad {s}.” To this Khadija
replied, “If it is really so, I will set free all the slave girls that I own.”
No sooner had she uttered these words that the Holy Prophet {S} rode up to her
gate.
All of a sudden Muhammad {s} awoke from his
slumber and found himself before Khadija’s gate. He dismounted and entered the
courtyard and was received with great courtesy and regard. Khadija then read the
letter he handed her and noticed that it was written on the same day as it was
delivered. “When did you set out?” she asked Muhammad {s}. “This morning,
at the break of dawn,” answered the Holy Prophet {S}. Then Khadija
knew for certain that this man of miracles was the prophet to be, and from joy
at his safe return she set free all her slave girls. Then she said to Muhammad {s}, “The camel on
which you have come, and all that is upon it shall be yours. Go now to see your
relatives, then quickly return to me.”
While he was gone, she prepared bread dough and baked
the bread with her own hands. Nobody else could bake bread as she did. When the
bread was done, Muhammad {s} returned from
visiting his relatives. She asked him if he would be willing to return once more
to the caravan if she asked him to. “Certainly,” he said, and she wrote him an
answering letter, gave him the warm bread and sent him off. The Holy Prophet {S} remounted his
camel and took to the road again. As soon as he was gone out of sight, as before
he was overcome by a great drowsiness and he fell into a deep sleep. Again the
angel Jibra'il
u folded up the ground ahead of
him, Israfil
u shielded him from the right
and Mikhail
u from the left, and a small
white cloud traveled overhead, shading him. In this way he made his progress.
Meanwhile, when Muhammad {s} set out with
Maysara’s letter, Abu Bakr said to him, “You have committed a bad mistake.
Muhammad {s} is inexperienced, he knows not
the way through the desert and you have sent no one along to guide him. How
easily he may go astray and get lost in this wilderness! How will you face the
lady Khadija and the Bani Hashim?” Maysara became downhearted when he heard
these words from Abu Bakr. He ordered the caravan to halt, and sent out Hijin
riders in search of Muhammad {s}. While the search
party was yet roaming for him, they saw Muhammad {s} coming towards
them from the direction of Mecca. It was the time of Duha, the late morning.
When Maysara was told, he said, “You see, he missed the way and kept going round
in circles until he ended up back where he started out from.”
As they were yet talking of him, the Holy Prophet {S} strode in, and
they could smell the scent of fresh bread, which took them greatly by surprise.
“It smells just the same as the bread that Khadija bakes,” they wondered, “how
can that be? Where can he have found that?” Just then Muhammad {s} entered the tent,
greeted them and handed them bread and letter from Khadija. It was obvious to
all that indeed it had come from the hand of the lady Khadija, but no one could
understand how. “When did you get there?” they asked Muhammad {s}. “I arrived just
as the sun was rising,” said Muhammad {s}, “I handed
Khadija your letter and while she was baking the bread I went to see my
relations. When I came back to her, the bread was ready and she wrote this
letter and sent me back to deliver it.”
They all marveled at this and murmured among themselves,
“All that the monk has told us about him is true. It is a seven days journey
from here to Mecca, and a seven days return. To cover such a distance in a space
of a few hours is beyond the power of any human being, it can only be done
through direct empowerment by the Almighty Lord of the Universe, which He
confers only on His Holy Prophets.”
Together they set out for Mecca, and in due time they
arrived. Rasulullah
{S} went to his uncle’s
house while Maysara went to report to the lady Khadija. She welcomed him back
and said, “When Muhammad came here, I saw two birds hovering alongside, as well
as a white cloud above his head.” Maysara told her, “It’s been like that ever
since we departed from Mecca.” Then he told her all that had occurred from the
time they left to the present moment, and how everything confirmed what they had
suspected already: that Muhammad {s} was destined to
be the Prophet of the last times. Khadija also felt confirmed in her certitude
as she listened to Maysara’s tale, but she said to him, “Oh Maysara, tell no one
about what you have seen and heard,” and she repeated this over and over again
for reasons of her own. For if the chiefs of Quraysh should hear about the
exceptional gifts of this young man, they would all rush to marry their young
daughters to him, and she would see herself deprived of happiness.
After the travelers had rested from their exertions for
a few days, Abu Talib said to Muhammad {s}, “Oh Muhammad {s}, oh light of my
eyes, it is time now to go to the lady Khadija and ask her for your wages. We
will add to this whatever we can afford, and in this way we hope to find you a
suitable match.” So Muhammad {s} went to Khadija’s
house, but he was too shy to ask for what was his due. When at last he did ask
her she said to him, “What will you do when I have paid you your wages?”
Truthfully, Muhammad {s} answered her, “I will
take the money to my uncle who intends to get me married.” Khadija then said,
“How much is this money going to buy you? I have found you a wife who possesses
a lot more of it. Of good family she is, of clear lineage and excellent
character, pure and chaste. Her beauty is renowned throughout the lands of the
Arabs, and not a few of the Arab chieftains have asked for her hand in marriage.
Plenty are the offers of gold and silver and gifts of great value; alone, she
would consent to none of these worthy suitors. There is one thing only in which
she is lacking, and that is that she has been married before and has been
widowed. If you will accept her despite this flaw, all of her wealth will be
your own, and she herself your loyal servant.” In this manner Khadija made
allusion to her own person. The Holy Prophet {S} heard and
understood this proposal, and he blushed, and from bashfulness was unable to
answer her.
When he returned to his uncle’s house empty-handed, Abu
Talib asked him, “So, what did she give you?” Muhammad {s} said, “She did
not give me it, instead she made fun of me, by talking of unsuitable things that
cannot possibly be.” Alarmed, Atiqa went to Khadija and asked her about what had
transpired between her and Muhammad {s}, and why she had
made fun of her nephew in such a way. Khadija swore solemnly that she had not
thought to ridicule him at all, rather that she was completely convinced of his
superior qualification, both by birth and by personal distinction, on account of
his truthfulness and trustworthiness which had been amply proven during his
journey to Sham, and that her heart inclined strongly towards him so that she
wished him for herself.
Muhammad’s
r aunt Atiqa was
amazed to hear these words from the high-born lady and said, “If I go now and
explain this matter to Abu Talib, and should he consent, will you surely not
change your mind and shame me thereby? Truly, you are not speaking in jest?”
Khadija replied, “By Him who holds my soul, never have I been more serious about
anything in my entire life. Go directly to Abu Talib and give him my salams. Go
also and invite my cousin Waraqa bin Naufal; give him plenty of wine to drink
and when he is quite happily drunk, let Abu Talib ask him for my hand. The rest
I will take care of when he comes to speak to me. In that way the match can be
arranged.”
Atiqa went back, jubilant in her heart and told all to
Abu Talib. He too was glad and prepared to invite Waraqa bin Naufal, Abu Bakr
and the chiefs of the Meccan clans. They gave Waraqa a lot of wine to drink, and
when he was nicely in his cups, Abu Talib approached him and said, “Oh Waraqa,
there is a favor I have to ask of you.” “What may that be, ya Abu Talib?” asked
Waraqa. Abu Talib then said, “You know for yourself what a fine young man my
nephew Muhammad {s} is, truthful, trustworthy and
honorable as no other; for him I am asking the hand of your cousin Khadija.” All
the assembled chiefs and notables thought this a suitable proposal, and Waraqa
answered, “Yes, it is a good idea, and my wish as well. As her guardian, I give
her to your nephew in marriage. But I will speak to her first, then I will
return.”
So Waraqa proceeded to Khadija’s house and spoke to her.
He said, “All the dignitaries of Mecca and the heads of Quraysh have proposed
that I marry you to Abu Talib’s nephew Muhammad {s}. I, too, find
this a suitable proposition, but I have come to you to discuss the matter with
you and to obtain your consent, if indeed it is forthcoming. Should you find
this acceptable, you need only appoint me as your representative, and the
marriage contract will be concluded.”
Khadija then pretended to know nothing of this matter
and asked Waraqa to tell her about Muhammad {s}. “He is extremely
pious,” said Waraqa, “of excellent character, truthful and reliable. He is nobly
born and his honor, kindness and good nature are undisputed. The only thing he
lacks is money, of that he possesses none to speak of.” Khadija then said,
“Money, of that I have an ample supply myself, more than I can count. If this
Muhammad is really as excellent as you say he is, I have no objection. Go then,
and as my representative perform the ceremony of nikah.”
Waraqa then returned to Abu Talib and the assembled
Meccan dignitaries, and the nikah was performed and witnessed, and thus Muhammad {s} and Khadija were
joined in the bond of holy matrimony. This ceremony took place on a Friday, and
both Abu Talib and Waraqa bin Naufal made speeches at the wedding, but it was
Khadija’s uncle ‘Amr bin Asad who gave her away.
There is disagreement concerning the matter of the
marriage settlement (Mahr). Some authorities say it consisted of twelve okes of
gold and five hundred dirhams of silver, some say it was twenty camels. When the
marriage contract was concluded, Abu Talib slaughtered one camel in gratitude
and invited all the nobles of Mecca to a feast. Muhammad {s} then said to Abu
Bakr, “Will you go with me to the house of my bride, Khadija?” “With the
greatest pleasure,” replied his friend, and together they went there. Abu Bakr
accompanied Muhammad {s} to Khadija’s house where
she had prepared a splendid welcome for him. After food and drink had been
served and all the guests had departed, the couple finally remained alone.
Khadija then kissed his hands and made over to him all she owned, even the robes
she wore on her person, disassociating herself entirely from all material
belongings.
Khadija was Muhammad’s
r first wife and he
loved her dearly and always held her in the highest esteem. As long as she lived
he married no other woman. For twenty-four years, five months and eight days she
lived with him and served him. It was fifteen years before the revelation of his
prophethood; when it was revealed, she believed in him and accepted his message
and was the first woman to accept Islam, may Allah be well pleased with her.
Khadija passed away three years and four months before
the Hijra from Mecca to Madinah and lies buried on the hill of Hajun in the Nam
area of Mecca. Seven children were born to the couple, three sons and four
daughters. Their first son was Qasim; therefore the Prophet {S} is called Abu
Qasim by the Arabs (meaning, “the father of Qasim”). The second son was Tahir,
the third Tayyab; the first daughter was Zaynab, the second Ruqiyya, the third
Umm Kulthum, and the fourth Fatima. All three sons died before the coming of the
revelation, while the daughters still lived.
Through his marriage to Khadija, Muhammad {s} had become a
wealthy man, and he now began to work with her capital. He was known throughout
Mecca as a reliable and eminently trustworthy personality. Still there were his
enemies and detractors who were not idle in pointing out that he had become rich
through his marriage to Khadija, and they spread vicious gossip about him,
saying he would soon cause her bankruptcy and ruin.
When Khadija heard of these rumors, she made a public
proclamation, saying that she had made over all her wealth and worldly goods to
her husband Muhammad {s}, that she had done so at
the time of their marriage and she was now repeating the act, with full
conviction. “From now on I own nothing, I am his slave and his dependent,” she
said.
Muhammad {s} was known as al-Amin,
the Trustworthy, for he was known to be utterly reliable, and anyone could
entrust his goods to him. If ever there was a disagreement, he would be called
as peacemaker between two parties. He was Abu Talib’s designated successor, for
there was no one more highly esteemed than he.
When Muhammad {s} had reached his
thirty-fifth year, the Quraysh wished to dismantle the building of the Kaba and
erect a new one on the same spot. Since the time of Ibrahim
u the Kaba had not
been rebuilt. It stood between two mountains, and whenever it rained heavily,
the water drained into the Kaba and dirtied it. Therefore the elders of Mecca
had decided to rebuild the holy house in such a way as to make it safe from
flood damage, but from fear and awe no one had dared to apply himself to the
task. The problem presently arose who was to have the honor of placing the black
stone (Hajar-al-Aswad) in its place. The great clans of Quraysh, the Bani Hashim,
the Bani Umayya, the Bani Zuhra, and the Bani Mahzun all came together to
combine their efforts. They split the task between them, each clan being
assigned to one wall. For a long while they hesitated to tear down the venerated
ancient structure, but at last one man from among them took it upon himself to
breach the wall, and the work began. They had torn the walls down to about a
man’s height when they hit upon a green stone, which could not be split by any
means. This was the stone mentioned by Allah in the holy verse:
“And when Abraham, and Ismail with him, raised up the
foundations of the House…”
(The Cow, 127)
Then they knew they could dig no deeper, so they began
to reconstruct the walls upon this foundation, using the original stones. When
it came to resetting the Black Stone in its place, all four clans disagreed who
should be given the honor of that supreme task. They sat down in the confines of
the sanctuary and began to argue about the matter, each man praising the heroic
deeds of his forefathers that entitled him to this honor rather than his rivals.
Each accused the other of lying, tempers grew heated and soon it would have come
to blows.
Finally they agreed to choose one man to perform the
task, and they all agreed that it could be no other than Muhammad Amin
r, no one doubted
that he was the right man. Muhammad {s} considered their
problem, then he took his cloak from his shoulders and spread it upon the
ground. He then lifted the Black Stone and set it upon his cloak. Then he called
to the men of all four clans to come and each lift a corner of his cloak and to
thus carry the stone to its intended place in the newly built Kaba. In this way
each clan would have taken part in the honorable feat and they all could take
pride in it. Everyone was highly satisfied with the wisdom of this decision as
it saved them the trouble of protracted disputes and, possibly, even tribal
warfare, so they happily did as Muhammad {s} had suggested.
When they had brought the stone near to the house, the question still arose who
was to actually lift it to its place, but now they all agreed that no one was
more suitable than Muhammad {s}, so he himself
placed it there with his blessed hands.
Now all was completed but the roof, which was to be of
wood. But in all of Mecca there was no wood and no carpenter to be found.
However, it so happened that just at that time a merchant ship had come into
Jeddah with a cargo of wood. They bought it from this ship, and they also found
a Coptic carpenter who built the roof for them. To this very day the roof that
was built at that time is still in its place.
In the time of Hujjaj bin Yusuf one corner (rukn) of the
building was damaged by a falling stone, and it was immediately repaired.
When Muhammad {s} had reached the
age of forty, Allah sent the angel Jibra'il
u to him to bring
him the revelation. According to a different narration, Muhammad {s} was forty-three,
and another version by Muhammad ibn Jarid says he was only twenty, but that
cannot possibly be correct, for the mind of man does not mature before he has
reached his fortieth year. As the time of the first revelation approached,
Muhammad {s} began to experience many
curious signs. In his dreams at night he would see the angel Jibra'il
u, but he did not know him.
During the day, he would roam about, lost in thought, and all the stones and
clods of earth along the road would greet him, saying, “as-salamu alaykum, ya
Rasulullah”. He would hear their voices and grow afraid of them.
At that time it was a custom among the Quraysh for the
pious to retreat to a cave on the Mount of Hira during the month of Rajab and to
spend this time secluded from their fellow men in solitary contemplation. Each
group of the Bani Hashim had their own place there, side by side in adjacent
caves.
One day the Holy Prophet {S} came down from
the mountain and said to his wife Khadija, may Allah be well-pleased with her,
“I am afraid, for I have seen many strange signs with my eyes; by day I hear the
stones and clumps of earth speaking to me with a voice of their own, and at
night there are great creatures that appear to me. One of them in particular is
so tremendous that its feet are on the ground while its head is in the heavens.
It would approach me and take hold of me...”
Khadija comforted and reassured him, “Oh Muhammad, these
happenings are all part of the momentous changes that are about to come over
you. When this sort of thing comes on you again, let me know.” So one day as
they were sitting together, Muhammad {s} had another
visitation of this kind, and he told to Khadija what he was seeing. Khadija went
around to his back and embraced him from behind, then she asked him, “Do you
still see it?” “Yes,” replied Muhammad {s}. Then she took
off her head covering and asked, “So, do you see it still?” “No I do not; it has
gone,” said Muhammad {s}. Thereupon Khadija said,
“Good tidings to you, for whatever you have seen, it is not from the evil one,
it must have been an angel from Heaven. For had it been the accursed devil, he
would not have shied away when I uncovered my hair.”
Whenever the Holy Prophet {S} felt low-spirited
and downcast, he would retreat to the cave on Mt. Hira to spend time in
reflection and contemplation. Even if he came home at night looking downhearted,
Khadija would always welcome him warmly, praying for the day to come when Allah
would reveal to him his destiny. The day did come, and it was on a Monday that
Allah’s mercy was revealed to him–just as the Holy Prophet {S} was born on a
Monday, and died on a Monday as well – and according to some it was the
eighteenth day of Ramadan, while others maintain it was the twelfth day of Rabi’
al-Awwal. Allah sent the angel Jibra'il
u to Muhammad {s}, commanding him
to appear to him and to teach him the Sura ‘Iqra’ (The Blood Clot).
This was the first revelation of the Holy Quran. The
angel descended upon Mt. Hira, appeared to the Prophet {S} and greeted him,
“As-salamu alaykum, oh Messenger of Allah!” The Holy Prophet {S} startled in
surprise and would very nearly have fallen off the cliff from fright, had the
angel of Allah not caught him in his wings, and held him so that he could move
neither forward nor back. Then the angel said to him, “Oh Muhammad, read!” “How
shall I read,” asked Muhammad {s}, “I do not know
how.” “Iqra! (Read!),” repeated the angel, “Iqra! Bismi-rabbikal-ladhi
khalaq. Recite in the Name of thy Lord who created!” and the angel recited
the first Sura to him.
When the apparition of the angel was over, and he had
released Muhammad {s} from his wings’ embrace, the Prophet
{S} was in pain and left the
mountain to go home. He reached his house trembling, repeating over and over to
himself the Sura the angel had taught him, and he felt intensely afraid. He came
to Khadija and said, “Now I have seen up close that person who has been
appearing to me in the distance.” “What did he say to you?” asked Khadija. “He
told me that I was a Prophet of Allah, and that he was the angel Jibra'il
u. Then he made me recite after
him this Sura -” and he repeated to Khadija what he had heard. Khadija had heard
before that the prophets of old were instructed by the angel Jibra'il
u, and through him
received revelation from the Lord. Muhammad {s} was shivering and
felt cold from within. He lay down, saying to his wife Khadija, “Cover me up!”
as he laid his blessed head upon the pillow. She covered him with his cloak, and
he slept.
Khadija then went to see her relative Waraqa ibn Naufal
who was a learned man and who knew a lot of things about the coming of the
prophet of the last times. She asked him whether he had ever heard the name
Jibra'il, and he said, “Jibra'il is the name of one of the great angels of
Allah; he is the messenger-angel sent to the prophets. But why do you ask me
this question?” Then Khadija told him what Muhammad {s} had experienced,
and Waraqa replied, “If what you say is true, then Muhammad {s} is the Arabian
prophet we are waiting for, whose advent is foretold in all the ancient
scriptures. Oh Khadija, did this angel not command your Muhammad to do
something?” She answered that he had ordered him to proclaim the Unity of Allah,
and that he taught him a Sura, which she then recited (Sura: The Blood Clot).
Waraqa then exclaimed, “If this is truly the anticipated prophet of the last
times, then I will be the first to believe in him, for I have expected and
waited for him to come for such a very long time.”
Khadija returned to her house where she found the
Prophet
{S} still asleep. In his sleep the
angel Jibra'il u appeared to him
again and addressed him:
Ya ayyuhal Mudaththir Oh thou
shrouded in thy mantle;
The Holy Prophet {S} lifted his head
to listen.
Qum fa-andhir. Arise and
warn.
Wa rabbaka fa-takbir. Thy
Lord magnify;
Fa-thiyabaka fa-tahhir. Thy
robes purify,
( i.e. rid your heart
from doubt and all other than God)
wa-r-rijza tahjur; and defilement flee!
wa la tamnan tastakthir Give not, thinking to
gain greater,
wa li-rabbika fa-sbir and be patient unto thy
Lord.
In these first verses Allah Almighty set forth to
Muhammad {s} his prophethood and enjoined
on him prayer, magnanimity, kindness and patience. The Holy Prophet {S} rose. Khadija saw
him and said, “Oh Abu Qasim, why have you risen, why won’t you rest some more?”
“Khadija,” he replied, “my time for rest has passed. Again the angel has come to
me, this time commanding me to go out and proclaim my message and to teach
people to believe in Allah and to pray to Him.”
Khadija felt great joy when she heard these words, and
said, “I believe in you, before anybody else; instruct me in your religion.”
Khadija was therefore the first to embrace Islam. The Holy Prophet {S} was very happy
that his wife was his first follower. Jibra'il
u was present and
instructed the Prophet
{S}. He told him to fetch
water so that he might teach him the rites of ablution and show him how to pray.
After teaching all these things to Muhammad {s}, they prayed
together, and Jibra'il
u was the Imam.
The revelations continued and after a time there were
thirty-nine people who followed the new religion of Islam. The Quraysh however
were opposed to the new cult, and because of this, the new Muslims could not
pray openly at the Kaba. The Holy Prophet {S} then prayed to
his Lord, “Oh Allah, make Islam openly known, and let it be through one of these
two, You alone know which one is the best: either ‘Umar bin Khattab or Abu Jahl
bin Hisham.” Allah Almighty heard his prayer and answered it through ‘Umar bin
Khattab.
At first ‘Umar bin Khattab was a sworn enemy of Islam
and of the new Prophet
{S}. One day he made his way
to the Prophet’s house in order to kill him and to put an end to the
‘disturbance’, brandishing his sword. Abu Jahl had set out a reward on
Muhammad’s
r head, promising one hundred
camels and one hundred pieces of gold to his murderer.
‘Umar was a man of fiery temperament. On his way to
Muhammad’s
r house he ran into one of the
Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet {S}) whom he knew,
and he yelled at him, “So you too have become one of those Muslims?” and slapped
him in the face. This man replied, “What is your concern with me, ‘Umar, when
your own sister and brother-in-law have entered the faith of Islam?” ‘Umar
refused to believe this and turned directly towards his sister’s house to see if
there was any truth to this. This sister was married to Talha ibn Zubayr.
As he approached the house, he could hear voices from
inside reciting verses from the revelation. It was a Muslim named Habib who was
teaching them the newly revealed verses. Enraged, ‘Umar stormed in, and yelled,
“Where is he?” Habib hid himself and hid also the piece of deerskin on which the
holy verses were written. ‘Umar in his rage began pushing and shoving his
brother-in-law, even hitting him. His wife, ‘Umar’s sister, came between them to
prevent the blows, and ‘Umar’s blows fell on her. Her cheek was split and blood
ran down from her wound. Thereupon his sister also grew very angry, and cried,
“Yes, we too have become Muslims, and it is the Truth, Allah and His Messenger
Muhammad {s} are real and true. We
worship no idols; we worship none but Allah Almighty, Allahu Akbar! If you don’t
like it, then you must kill us!”
Hearing his own sister utter these words, ‘Umar came to
his senses and regarded his sister’s bleeding face and his brother-in-law
knocked down on the floor, and he said, “Show me what it was that you were
reciting!” The sister went to clean herself and make ablution; she then brought
out the piece of skin on which were written these verses:
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. TaHa. We have not sent down the
Quran upon thee for thee to be unprosperous, but only as a reminder to him who
fears, a revelation from Him who created the earth and the high heavens; the
All-Compassionate sat Himself upon the Throne; to Him belongs all that is in the
heavens and in the earth and all that is between them and all that is underneath
the soil. (TaHa. 1-5)
Hearing these divine verses, ‘Umar was profoundly
stirred, and he said, “If this be the truth, then what we have been worshipping
so far is nothing. Take me to Muhammad!” They said to him, “We will take you to
him only if you promise not to speak badly and to do him no harm.” Now that
‘Umar had calmed down, Habib also came out of hiding, and saying, “Allahu
Akbar!” they set out for the Prophet's {s} house.
Looking out of Khadija’s house, Hamza saw them
approaching. He had himself accepted Islam only three days before, and seeing
‘Umar he now unsheathed his sword and said, “If ‘Umar is coming with good
intentions, he is welcome; but if he draws near in anger, then our swords shall
do the talking.” The Holy Prophet {S} said, “Let him
draw near, it appears a change has come over him.”
So it was indeed: ‘Umar came before the Prophet {S} as a humble man,
dragging his sword. The Prophet {S} welcomed him,
saying, “Alhamdulillah, Allah has answered my prayer regarding you, He has
chosen you rather than Abu Jahl to enter into the fold of Islam.” ‘Umar then
accepted Islam at his blessed hands and was taught the prayers and rites of the
religion. He then learned that the Muslims were forced to pray in secret,
because Quraysh were preventing them from praying publicly at the Kaba.
‘Umar exclaimed, “What! Shall they pray to their false
gods openly while we must worship the true God in secret? Come, we will go there
right now!” So they set out, taking the Holy Prophet {S} in their midst,
the whole flock of those first Muslims. Ahead of them strode ‘Umar, brandishing
his sword, Abu Bakr on his right, ‘Uthman at his left, and Ali behind him, and
all the other Sahaba grouped around and behind them. Thus they drew near to the
sanctuary where the Quraysh were awaiting them, for they all knew of the price
Abu Jahl had put on Muhammad’s
r head.
When they saw them approaching with ‘Umar in the lead,
they thought, “Ah, he has taken the lot of them prisoner!” But Abu Jahl was more
observant than they and said, “By God, this does not resemble a line of
prisoners, he seems to have embraced the new faith himself!”
When they had come up close ‘Umar in a loud voice
declared his faith for all to hear. He said, “Let everyone stand informed that
I, ‘Umar bin Khattab have become a Muslim, and this is my declaration of faith:
Ash-hadu an la ilaha illAllah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-Rasulullah.”
Hearing this declaration, all the Quraysh assembled
there with Abu Jahl slunk away and dispersed, from fear of ‘Umar who was fierce
and known as a mighty warrior. Had it not been for him, they might have done all
manner of cruelty to the small band of Muslims. From that day on they prayed
openly at the Kaba, at all the times of prayer.
The Holy Prophet {S} preached Islam
privately for three years, and instructed each Muslim individually, until the
revelation of this holy verse:
O Messenger, deliver that which has been sent down to thee
from thy Lord; for if though dost not, thou wilt not have delivered His Message.
God will protect thee from men; God guides not the people of the unbelievers.
(The Table, 72)
From that time onwards, he began to preach openly and in
public.
Allahumma la hawla wa la quwwata illa
billahil-‘aliyyil-‘azhim.
These are some of the miracles that our Holy Prophet
Muhammad {s}
performed.
Once the Holy Prophet
{S} was out in the
desert, when he heard a loud cry, “Stop, oh Prophet of Allah!” He followed the
direction of the voice, and came across an Arab fast asleep, while a doe he had
caught was tied up beside him. The Holy Prophet
{S} realized that it was
this animal’s voice that he had heard calling out to him. He approached it and
asked, “What is it with you, what is your need?”
The deer answered, “Oh Prophet of Allah! I have left two
of my young behind on yonder mountain, who are still too small to know which
grasses to feed on; they are dependent on my milk. Please let me go so that I
might nurse them and tell them what has happened to me. Let me take them to the
pasture and show them what grasses to eat, so that they might not perish when
I’m gone. I will be back after five hours have passed.”
The Holy Prophet
{S} replied, “Will you keep
your word? What if you don’t show up?” The deer said, “Then let the punishment
of the traitor come upon me.”
Just at that very moment, the sleeping Bedouin awoke. He
had heard the conversation of the deer with the Holy Prophet {S},
and now he said: “Have you ever heard of a wild animal that came back once it
was set free?” “This one will come, inshaAllah,” answered the Prophet Muhammad {s}.
The Bedouin said, “If it doesn’t come, I will kill you!” The Holy Prophet {S}
then smiled and asked, “And if it does come back, will you then accept Islam?”
“Yes, I will,” said the Bedouin.
So they set the deer free, and it ran off. After four
hours had passed, the deer returned. The Holy Prophet
{S} asked it, “You promised
to return after five hours, but only four have passed. How is that?” “Oh Holy
Prophet,” said the deer, “I went to find my fawns, and I told them of what had
happened to me. They drank, but then withdrew so that you might not remain
waiting in a tight situation. They said, ‘Go back to him an hour ahead of time,
so that this Bedouin in his ignorance might not speak untoward words against
him.’ That is how I arrived an hour ahead of time.” Hearing these words, the
Bedouin embraced Islam and set the deer free.
Although the pagan Quraysh had witnessed a great many
true miracles by the Holy Prophet
{S}, they still would not
forego their denial and disbelief. They continued in their efforts to confuse
people, so that they would not embrace the faith. Their main aim was to make
difficulties for the Holy Prophet
{S}. However, Allah
Almighty never leaves His Beloved Prophet
Z amidst
difficulties in the face of the disbelievers and never withdraws His Protection
from his side.
One day the accursed Abu Jahl who was one of the
foremost of Quraysh saw that there were a great many people following Muhammad
and professing their belief in his prophethood. He conceived of a devilish plan
and immediately sent word to one tribesman, Habib ibn Malik. In his message he
wrote: “There has risen one person among us who claims that the religion we have
inherited from our forefathers is null and void. He has gathered a great
following around himself, and we are incapable of containing him. Therefore, we
ask you to come and find means against him.”
As soon as Habib ibn Malik received and read Abu Jahl’s
letter, he grew very angry and came to Mecca with a sizeable following. Abu Jahl
saw him coming and said, “Let somebody go and fetch Muhammad by force”, but
Habib said, “No, he merits a polite invitation; if he doesn’t respond, then let
him be brought by force,” and he sent a messenger to invite Muhammad {s}.
Together with eighty of the Sahaba, Muhammad {s}
set out to meet Habib ibn Malik. According to another narration, he came
alone, his black turban wound about his noble head. Habib looked at him and saw
that he shone with the Light of Divine Beauty. He turned to Abu Jahl and said,
“Is this Muhammad who you speak about?” “Yes, it is he,” replied Abu Jahl, may
his name be cursed.
Habib’s heart was filled with faith at the sight of the
Holy Prophet
{S} and he guided him to
his tent and said to him, “If you are truly a prophet, then show us a miracle.”
The Holy Prophet
{S} answered, “What is it
you would like to see?” Habib said to him, “I would like to see the moon rise
before nightfall to its highest point, then split in two; the two halves should
descend and stand in front of you as witnesses; they should speak the words of
the creed, be hidden beneath your robes and then emerge from your sleeves to
ascend again to the high heavens. Thereafter the moon should return to the place
of its arising, and it should be dark again; in its place let the sun shine
forth anew. Secondly, there is something else I wish for in my heart: that you
might have knowledge of that.” Abu Jahl heard these words, and they pleased him.
“Bravo, Habib,” he said to him.
The Holy Prophet
{S} climbed up to Jabel Abu
Qubays and bowed down low in prayer. He entreated his Lord to help him in this
matter, and instantly the angel Jibra’il
u appeared to him, informing him
of what Habib had in mind. The miracle Habib had requested was also made
manifest. Before the moon rose, however, the Wardens of Hell opened a hole the
size of a pinpoint through which the blackness of Hell seeped onto the earth. Of
such intensity was this darkness that people’s teeth began to chatter, and they
fell all over each other in the lightless gloom. Then the moon rose in its usual
fashion till it reached its peak position. Then, upon a sign from the Holy
Prophet {S}
it split into two halves that descended by his side. Both parts were heard to
utter the Kalimat-u-Shahada, then they disappeared beneath the skirt of his robe
and emerged from his sleeves, paused upon his head for a moment, from there to
resume their heavenly station once more. The moon then returned to the place of
its arising, and the sun shone out over the world again.
(According to another narration, it was Abu Jahl or the
Quraysh who wished for this miracle. That night, the Holy Prophet {S}
pointed his finger at the moon and it split into two, one half descending on the
Jabel Hira, the other half in another place. Later the caravan coming from Sham
was questioned as to this event and confirmed having witnessed it as well.)
This was the first miracle Habib had requested. As for
his second request, the Holy Prophet
{S} now turned to Habib and
said to him, “What you hold in your heart is your daughter; for you have a
daughter who is blind and who is lame of hand and foot. She will now behold me
in a dream and she will be filled with health and faith.” Upon these words,
Habib also believed, but Abu Jahl was filled with unfathomable rage, and yelled
at Habib, “I thought you were a reasonable person! We have held out for such a
long time against this nonsense, not believing in any of the tricks he shows us!
Yet you believe in the very first demonstration of his wizardry!” Habib replied,
“Alhamdulillah, Allah be praised, I have believed and I am freed from error and
misguidance. May you remain therein forever more, oh accursed one!”
According to one narration, Habib had hidden thirty
thousand men behind the mountain, in order to fight the Prophet {S}
if the need arose. When he embraced Islam, ten thousand of those men came forth
every day and became Muslims. Jibra’il
u descended and revealed the verses:
When comes the help of God, and victory, and thou seest men
entering God’s religion in throngs, then proclaim the praise of thy Lord and
seek His forgiveness; for He turns again unto men.
(Help)
At this the Holy Prophet
{S} wept so much that
those standing by him asked him, “Our Prophet
{S}, why do you weep? Is
it from joy that you weep, as men are entering into Islam in throngs?” Thereupon
the Holy Prophet
{S} answered, “At the end
of times my nation will thus depart in throngs from the religion of Islam; it is
therefore that I weep.”
Habib returned to his home and palace. At the gate, his
daughter herself came out to welcome him. She told him of the dream she had had,
in which she saw the Holy Prophet
{S} and embraced Islam.
Together father and daughter repeated the holy words of the Shahada. Habib sent
two camel loads of precious stones to the gates of the Kaba. The messengers
bringing the gifts did not know Muhammad {s} and asked for him. Abu
Jahl intercepted them and said, “I am the chieftain here. Such gifts are sent
from one chief to another, therefore they are due to me. Who is this Muhammad
anyway?” Just then, Muhammad {s} happened to come that
way, and an argument rose. To cut it short, Muhammad {s} said, “Let the camels
decide the matter; whomever they choose, let the gifts be his.”
Thereupon Abu Jahl asked for time until the next morning
at sunrise. He spent all night in front of his idols, imploring them to help him
in this matter. “If you help decide this in my favor and make the camels speak
for me, I will bring you great sacrifices, and anoint you with precious oils and
perfumes...” he said to them. Finally even his companions grew tired of his
antics, and they said, “It is enough, Abu Jahl; have Muhammad {s}
called, so the matter can be decided.”
Muhammad {s} came and held his
woolen cloak over the faces of the camels. He spoke to them and said, “Tell us
now, where have you come from, and who has sent these gifts for whom?” The
camels first pronounced the words of the Shahada so that all could hear them,
then they said, “We have been sent with these gifts by Habib ibn Malik to
Muhammad {s}”.
Thereby the matter was decided beyond doubt, but now
there was a lot of talk about how rich Muhammad {s} had become all at once.
He therefore led the camels to the other side of Jabel Abu Qubays and unloaded
them there. He said, “I accept all of these gifts; may Allah reward the giver
for them,” and sent the camels back to where they had come from. Then he spoke
the words: “Kunu turaban juruza! Be ye turned to barren dust!” and the
precious stones and gems all turned to dust. The Prophet {S}
performed this miracle in order to demonstrate to the people that worldly wealth
and earthly possessions meant nothing to him and were of no real value.
Still, day-by-day conditions in Mecca worsened for the
Muslims. They suffered more and more injustice and oppression at the hands of
the pagan Meccans. One day in the fifth year of his prophethood, his closest
friends came to Muhammad {s} and said, “Oh Muhammad {s}, we can bear it no
longer, our patience is used up. Grant us permission to fight against them.” But
the Holy Prophet
{S} had not yet received
the divine command to fight the unbelievers, so he replied, “If you can stand no
more, then you may migrate elsewhere.” “But whereto?” they asked.
He pointed with his arm in the direction of Abyssinia.
“Go to Abyssinia,” he told them, “they are Christians there, believers in a holy
book. They will not harm you; they will respect your beliefs. There you may find
relief.” (This became known as the first Hijra (migration). The second Hijra was
the Prophet’s
r migration from Mecca to
Madinah.) Eighty of the companions set out for Abyssinia then, though according
to other narrations they were only twenty-three. Their names included ‘Uthman
bin ‘Affan and his wife Ruqiyya; Zubayr bin Awwam; Abu Hudhayfa bin’ Utba and
his wife Sahla; Mus‘ab bin’ Umayr, Abdurrahman bin ‘Auf; Abu and Umm Salama;’
Uthman bin Maz ‘un; Amir bin Rabi’a and Layla; Suhayl bin Bayda’; Abu Sabra bin
Abi Ruhm and his wife Umm Kulthum.
The pagan Meccans continued to harass the Holy Prophet {S}
and the Muslims in every way. One day `Utba came running up from behind and
knocked the Prophet’s
r turban off his head.
Another time Abu Jahl, standing on the hill of Safa, threw a stone at the Holy
Prophet {S},
which hit and injured his head, but he said nothing. The Prophet's {s}
uncle and milk-brother Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib was just returning from the
hunt. As he was going from the hill of Safa towards the Kaba, he was met by the
freedwoman of Abdullah bin Jud’an who called to him, “Had you seen what Abu Jahl
and his louts have done to the son of your brother, you never would have stood
for it!”
Hamza grew extremely angry when he heard this, and
grasping his bow in his hand, he made straight for the Haram. He went up to Abu
Jahl and hit him on the head a violent blow, hurting him. Abu Jahl began to
protest, and seeking to defend himself, he said, “But it was he who insulted us,
deeming us to be of no mind. He has insulted our gods and departed from the way
of our forefathers.” To this, Hamza replied in a firm manner, “You worship other
than Allah Almighty, can there be anything more mindless than that? I hereby
bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger!”
Then Hamza went to the house of Khadija where he met the
Holy Prophet
{S} and said, “Oh
Muhammad, I have injured Abu Jahl on his head.” To this the Holy Prophet {S}
answered, “You have caused him pain; of what use is that to me?” Hamza then
said, “What would you rather have me do?” “I would wish that you became Muslim,”
said the Holy Prophet
{S}. “That is my wish as
well, therefore I have come to you, oh Muhammad, please accept me into the fold
of Islam.” The Holy Prophet
{S} accepted him and Hamza
became Muslim. According to a different narration, Hamza had already entered
Islam at the time that ‘Umar became Muslim.
The leaders of Quraysh sent envoys laden with gifts to
the King of Abyssinia, demanding
that he send back the emigrants. The messengers were ‘Amr bin al-‘As and
Abdullah bin Abi Rabi’a. They came before the Negus and said, “Some
mischief-makers from among our people have fled from us and sought refuge with
you. They have come to carry out their mischief here among you, your religion,
and your people. We have come to warn you of this.”
The envoys hoped that the Negus would give them a
favorable reply, but instead he flew into a rage and cried, “No, by God, I will
not give them up to you! Having no other recourse, they have sought shelter here
with me – never shall I surrender them, not without having spoken to them!” The
Negus had the emigrants called before him and he listened to them. He understood
that the messengers who had come for them bore them ill intentions, so he sent
them back, rejecting their offerings and request. He said to them, “Why do you
attribute lies to your own prophet? He is the Messenger of Allah, we have read
his description in our holy books, he has been announced to us already by Isa,
the son of Mary.” In this way it was made known that the King of Abyssinia, the
Negus was very close to Islam.
This Negus passed away five years after the Holy Prophet {S}
had come to Madinah. The angel Jibra’il
u withdrew the veil from the Holy Prophet’s
r eyes, so that he could
see from Madinah all the way to Abyssinia. He prayed the funeral prayer for the
Negus at Madinah. This is the origin of the custom of the “salat al-janaza
‘alal-gha’ibin”, the funeral prayer for absent or anonymous dead.
Once the people of Mecca suggested to the Prophet {S},
“Oh Muhammad, we will worship your god, if you wish, but you must consent to
worship our gods as well.” Thereupon the following holy verse was revealed:
Say, ‘Is it other than God you bid me serve, you ignorant
ones?’ It has been revealed to thee, and to those before thee, ‘If thou
associates other gods with God, thy work shall surely fail and thou wilt be
among the losers.’ Nay, but God do thou serve, and be thou among the thankful.
(The Companies, 64-66)
The Sura ‘The Unbelievers’ was also revealed on this
occasion.
Say, ‘O unbelievers, I serve not what you serve, and you are
not serving what I serve, nor am I serving what you have served, neither are you
serving what I serve. To you your religion, and to me my religion! (The
Unbelievers)
Then the pagan Quraysh came together and decided to
write a document, which they did, and hung it up in the middle of the Kaba. The
contents of their writ was this: there was to be a boycott on the Bani Hashim
and the Bani Muttalib, that they should not marry their women nor give women to
them to marry; that they should neither buy from them nor sell to them. These
conditions were very difficult for the Muslims to carry, but they accepted them
without complaint.
A space of about
three years went by in this manner. One day a certain man Wahb bin Umayya
came along and tore the piece of paper from its place. He asked who had written
this page. Abu Jahl replied, “We attached it in its place in agreement with
‘Umar.” Allah Almighty sent a little worm to destroy this document, and by means
of revelation He informed His Prophet
{S} of this. The only thing
on this sheet of paper that the insect left untouched were the words:
“Bismika Allahumma” (In Thy name, oh God).
It later became known through the Prophet's {s}
uncle Abu Talib that the hands of the writer of this page both withered.
In the tenth year of the Holy Prophet's {s}
prophethood, his uncle Abu Talib died. This year was the most difficult and
sorrow-laden year for Muhammad {s}. For three days after the death of Abu Talib,
in the month of Ramadan, his wife Khadija also left this world for the next, at
the age of sixty-five. Even more than by the death of these beloved persons, the
Holy Prophet
{S} was affected by certain
rumors that cast doubt on whether his beloved uncle Abu Talib had died as a
Muslim or not. At this point, a verse was revealed to the Prophet {S}
which addressed itself to all the Muslims in the person of the Holy Prophet {S}:
Thou guidest not whom thou likest, but God guides whom He
wills, and knows very well those that are guided. (The Story, 56)
In spite of all the Prophet’s attempts to convince him,
Abu Talib had not become Muslim. However, he is reported to have said, “Were it
not that I feared that you would be abused after my death, and that Quraysh
would think I had only said it in fear of death, I would have accepted what you
call me to.”
When Abu Talib lay dying, the Prophet {S}
sent Ali to him so that he might recite to him. When he passed from this life,
the Holy Prophet
{S} wept for him and said
to Ali, “Go, and place him in his grave.”
After Abu Talib’s death, the leadership of Quraysh
passed on to ‘Abbas, the son of Abdul Muttalib. ‘Abbas was unable to extend his
protection to the Holy Prophet
{S}, and Quraysh persecuted
him and sought to harm him at every step. One day the Holy Prophet {S}
was in the mosque praying, and while he was bowing down in Sajda, the
disbelievers came and dumped dirt upon his head. His long hair and beard were
soiled with dust. Nobody would have dared do such a thing while Abu Talib was
alive. The Prophet
{S} was patient for another
year, then this verse was revealed to him:
So if they turn their backs, say, ‘God is enough for me. There
is no god but He. In Him I have put my trust. He is the Lord of the Mighty
Throne.’ (Repentance, 129)
After Abu Talib’s death, the Holy Prophet {S}
was subjected to a great deal of insult and hostile persecution by the pagan
Arabs of Mecca, and he was very much affected by this. People began turning away
from him when he spoke and told them about Islam. He therefore decided to turn
towards Ta’if for help.
Ta’if was a very important place in ancient Arabia. It
was, as it were, a ‘hill station’, situated on the slopes of the higher and
cooler mountains on the road to the Yemen, full of fruitful gardens and
orchards. Because of the perpetual drought at Mecca, the Meccans were in need of
the produce of Ta’if. At the time, a distance of three days’ journey separated
Ta’if from Mecca. The higher classes and dignitaries of Mecca used to spend the
three summer months up in the hills.
The Holy Prophet
{S} now set out secretly
from Mecca towards Ta’if, in the company of Zayd ibn Harith. (According to other
sources, he went all alone). At Ta’if, the main chiefs and leaders were at the
time three brothers of Bani Thaqif: Habib, Mas’ud, and Abdu Yalayl.
The Holy Prophet
{S} went to them with the
intention of speaking to them about Islam, perchance they might accept it, and
with the purpose of securing their aid and protection against the hostile
idolaters of Mecca. But when he had spoken to them and made his intentions
plain, they said, “If you are truly a prophet what need do you have of our help?
If God sent you as His messenger, why doesn’t He protect you? And if Allah
wished to send a prophet, couldn’t He have found a better person than you, a
weak and fatherless orphan?”
Hearing their response, the Holy Prophet {S}
realized that it was hopeless to try to talk to these hard-hearted people, so he
gave up and turned to leave. On account of the people of Ta’if this verse of the
Holy Quran was revealed:
They say, ‘Why was this Quran not sent down upon some man of
moment in the two cities?’ What, is it they who divide the mercy of thy Lord? We
have divided between them their livelihood in the present life, and raised some
of them above others in rank, that some of them may take others in servitude;
and the mercy of thy Lord is better than that they amass.
(Ornaments: 31, 32)
The Holy Prophet
{S} feared that news of
this encounter might embolden his Meccan enemies against him, so in parting he
asked the Bani Thaqif of Ta’if to keep the matter secret. But they refused to
comply even with this request, and they stirred up the rabble of Ta’if against
him, who drove the Holy Prophet
{S} out of the walled town,
pelting him with stones and injuring his hands and feet. He was compelled to
take refuge in an orchard beyond the city limits, which belonged to `Utba bin
Rabi’a and his brother Shayba of the Meccan tribe of Shams. There he sat down by
the side of the road to rest from the heat of the sun and the pain in his foot.
He prayed to Allah Almighty, complaining to Him of his own weakness, little
resource and lowliness before men. He did not invoke against the people of
Ta’if, fearing the Wrath of Allah that would descend upon them.
The two brothers `Utba and Shayba were in their gardens
at the time. They witnessed what had happened to the man of Quraysh, and they
were indignant at his treatment. Moreover, they were moved to compassion by his
condition, so they sent their slave ‘Addas, a Christian, to him, offering him a
plate of grapes. The Holy Prophet
{S} accepted the
refreshment, took a bunch of grapes and began eating them, after pronouncing
over them the words “Bismillah” (In the name of Allah). The young slave
looked at him carefully and said, “By Allah, I have not heard these words spoken
since I left my country.”
The Holy Prophet
{S} then asked him which
place he came from, and what was his religion, and he answered him, “I am a
Christian from Nineveh.” “From the town of the righteous man Yunus, the son of
Matta,” said the Holy Prophet
{S}. ‘Addas was surprised
and asked, “How do you know about Yunus, and who are you?” The Holy Prophet then
replied, “He is my brother, he was a prophet of Allah, and I am a prophet of
Allah, too.” ‘Addas then bent over him and kissed his head, his hands and feet.
The two brothers were watching this from afar, and when ‘Addas came back to
them, they reviled him for it. He answered his masters, saying, “There is no man
in this country better than he; he has told me things that only a prophet can
know.”
Then the Holy Prophet
{S} returned to Mecca from
Ta’if. News of what had transpired at Ta’if had already reached Abu Jahl and his
henchmen, and he said, “They did not permit him to enter Ta’if, so let us also
refuse him entry into Mecca.” Late at night, the Holy Prophet {S}eached the
halfway halt between the two towns at the valley of Nakhlah. There he proposed
to rest, and while he was engaged in prayer, a company of Jinn passed by, seven
in number and from Nasibin. They witnessed the Prophet {S}reciting the holy words of the Quran. They hearkened to these words
and responded, believing in the Prophet’s mission. They returned to their own
people as Muslims. The Holy Quran mentions this incident:
And when We turned to thee a company of Jinn giving ear to the
Quran; and when they were in its presence they said, ‘Be silent!’ Then when it
was finished, they turned back to their people, warning. They said, ‘Our people,
we have heard a Book that was sent down after Moses, confirming what was before
it, guiding to the truth and to a straight path. O our people. Answer God’s
summoner, and believe in him, and He will forgive you some of your sins, and
protect you from a painful chastisement. Whosoever answers not God’s summoner
cannot frustrate God in the earth, and he has no protectors apart from Him;
those are in manifest error.
(The Sand
Dunes, 29-32)
This is mentioned in another Sura as well:
Say: “It has been revealed to me that a company of the Jinn
gave ear, then they said, ‘We have indeed heard a Quran wonderful, guiding to
rectitude. We believe in it, and we will not associate with our Lord anyone.’”
(The Jinn, 1-3)
The Sura ar-Rahman, the All-Merciful is addressed to the
Jinn, as well as to men. The Holy Prophet was sent as a ‘Mercy for the Worlds’,
again confirming his mission to both humankind and Jinn.
Now as the Holy Prophet
{S} was approaching Mecca
from Ta’if, he knew he would not be welcomed there. When a horseman bound for
Mecca overtook him, he asked him to convey a message to a clansman of his
mother’s clan, Akhnas bin Shariq. He asked him to extend to him his protection,
so that he might enter in safety. But Akhnas sent back a reply, declining,
saying he was only a confederate to the home tribe of Quraysh. The Holy Prophet {S}
had by now reached the cave of Hira, where he had received the first revelation.
From there he sent word to Suhayl bin ‘Amr, asking him
for protection, but Suhayl declined as well, also on the grounds of tribal
principles. Then he sent the man to ask Mut’im ibn ‘Adiy, the chief of Bani
Nawfal. Mut’im agreed and having girt his weapons, he rode out in the morning
with his sons and nephews to escort the Prophet
{S} from Hira to Mecca.
When Abu Jahl saw him, he asked, “Are you giving him protection, or have you
entered his religion?” Mut’im replied, “Granting him protection, of course.”
Then Abu Jahl said, “We protect him to whom you give protection.”
Thus the Holy Prophet
{S} continued his life in
Mecca for a time, praying and preaching inspire of the hostility of the pagan
idol-worshippers. He endured much abuse and insult, yet he sought to spread the
message he had been entrusted with. He would move among the tribesmen who came
to Mecca on the occasion of various fairs and religious feasts, and he tried to
set forth to them his view. More often than not he met with incomprehension and
derision, all the more so as his own uncle Abu Lahab went round behind his back,
telling people that he was crazy and advising them not to listen to his words.
It was during this period that the Mi’raj of the Holy Prophet {S}
took place.
|