The Victorious Orphan
A. Decade of Persecution
1. The nearest of kin: Three years passed after the first Revelation, and the Prophet was again
addressed in these Divine words:
"And warn your nearest clan." (Al-Shu'ara'-214)
"And
lower your wing (deal gently with) to
those who follow you from among the believers." (Al Shu'ara'-215)
The Prophet began by proclaiming his message to his nearest of kin, the
sons of `Abdul Muttalib, saying, "O sons of `Abdul Muttalib, I know of
no Arab who has come to his people with a nobler message than mine. I have
brought the best of this world and the next. Allah has ordered me to call
you to Him. So which of you will help me in the matter?" The first one
to accept the call was Ali.
2. Quraysh: a) Persecution:
When the Prophet began to proclaim the message to Quraysh, and to ask them to
renounce their gods, some of their leaders went to Abu Talib. They complained
to him that the Prophet insulted their religion, and that Abu Talib should stop
his nephew from preaching the new religion. After hearing these words, Abu Talib
sent for his nephew and told him what the leaders of Quraysh had said, "Spare
me and yourself," Abu Talib said, "Do not put on me a burden greater than I
can bear." At this, the Prophet thought that his uncle would fail him; but the
Prophet's answer came out with an unflinching 1
resolution, 2
"O my uncle, by Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in
my left on condition that I abandon this Command, until Allah has made it victorious,
or I perish therein, I would not abandon it."
Persecution began against the Prophet and the people who accepted his religion.
The Prophet's person was the object of insult; he was called a poet, a sorcerer
3
a diviner, 4
and a mad man. One day the leaders of Quraysh were in the House when the Prophet
entered and kissed the Black Stone, and began to perform the seven rounds of
Tough (circumambulation). They kept insulting him, and this was repeated the
following day. This time the heads of Quraysh had decided on a course of action.
They jumped on him as one man and encircled him, saying, "Are you the one who
insulted our gods and our religion?" The Prophet answered, "Yes, I am the one
who said that." Then one of them seized him by the top of his dress, and was
about to strike him. Here Abu Bark came to the rescue saying.
"Would you kill a man for saying Allah is my Lord." [These are the same words spoken by the believer in defence of musa
(moses)]
At this they left the Prophet and turned
upon Abu Bark and dragged 5
him along by the beard and head.
b) The New Muslims: (Hamzah and Umar)
One of the new Muslims was Hamzah, the young uncle of the Prophet, and a man
of tall stature, 6
and of high standing among Quraysh. On one occasion the Prophet was sitting
outside the Mosque near Al Safe, when Abu Jahl passed by him. As Abu Jahl was
one of the most hostile leaders of Quraysh to the Prophet and the new religion,
he accosted 7
the Prophet and insulted him. The Prophet kept silent. But soon Hamzah, the
Prophet's uncle arrived, with his bow hanging from his shoulder, returning from
hunting. When he was told of what Abu Jahl had done, he went straight to Abu
Jahl; and, standing over him, he raised his bow and brought it down with all
his force on his back.
"Will you insult him,"
Hamzah said, "Now that I am of his religion, and say what he says? Hit
me back if you can!" Some of the clan of Abu Jahl rose to his help, but
he said, "Let Abu `Umarah (Hamzah) alone, for, by Allah, I insulted his
nephew most violently." With Hamzah becoming a Muslim, Quraysh became less
insulting to the Prophet, but nevertheless, more hostile to the religion
and poorer Muslims than before.
Another man of high standing in Quraysh was Umar. He was unrelenting 8
in his enmity to the Prophet and Muslims. He was the nephew of Abu Jahl, and
years after Hamzah had become a Muslim, Umar saw that Makkah had become a divided
city. The rift 9
that had been brought about by the new religion had to be remedied, 10
and this could be done by getting rid of one man, the Prophet himself. So Umar
went out of his house one day determined to kill the Prophet. On his way he
met Nu'aym, one of his tribe, who had entered Islam.
Nu'aym: "Where are you going, Umar?"
Umar: "I have been trying to enjoy good company; but I have been unlucky."
Nu'aym: "The days of enjoyment are past."
Umar: "This is what Muhammad says. He has caused dissension among our people."
Nu'aym: "Blessed are his words, and his actions."
Umar: "Are you then one of his followers?"
Nu'aym: "Yes!"
Umar (striking Nu'aym on the face): "Woe to you! (Pointing to his sword)
By Allah, I am going to kill him with this sword!"
Nu'aym: "You are getting too naughty, Umar!. Do you think that the Prophet's
clan would leave you treading on the earth after you kill Muhammad? Why do you
not go back home and set your people aright?" 11
Umar: "What people of my house?"
Nu'aym: "Your brother-in-law Sa'id and your sister Fatimah."
(Umar hurries back
home).
(In Fatimah's house: she is seated with her husband Sa'id, and Khabbab
is reciting some verses of Al-Qur'an).
Khabbab: (reading from a page the Chapter entitled: Thai): 
"Thaa"
(1)
"We have not sent down the Qur'an upon you that you should feel distress."
(2)
"Except as a Reminder to him who is apprehensive." (3)
"A sending down from Him Who created the earth and the high heavens." (4)
Sa'id (looking at the door): Wait Khabbab! I think I've heard Umar's voice
outside.
Khabbab: (standing up in terror) I fear he might have heard my recitation.
Fatimah: Give me the page, and hide elsewhere now.
(She takes the page,
and Khabbab leaves the room).
Umar (entering): "What was that gibberish 12
that I heard?"
Said: "Nothing!"
Mar: "Hear it I did! And I am told that you both have become followers of Mohammed."
(He grapples 13
with his brother-in-law).
Faith (going to the defence of her husband): "Stop it!"
Umar: "And you too, have followed Muhammad!" (He strikes his sister and
wounds her).
Fatimah and Sa'id (taking courage); "Yes, indeed! We have become Muslims,
and we believe in Allah and His Messenger. So do whatever you like!"
Umar (seeing blood on his sister's head, and feeling sorry for her): "Have
you then become Muslims?" Fatimah: "Yes, we have!"
Umar: "Give me that page that I may see what Muhammad has brought."
Fatimah: We fear to trust you with it."
Umar: "Fear not! Surely I will give it back to you."
Fatimah: "You are not pure in your idolatry, and only the pure may touch
it. Go and wash yourself."
Umar (goes home and then comes back purified): "Give me the page, then."
Fatimah: "Now that you are pure, you can take it." (Umar takes the page
and starts reading).
Umar (finishes reading): "How beautiful and how noble are these words!"
Khabbab: (coming out of his hiding-place): "Umar! I have hope that Allah
has chosen you through the prayer of His Prophet, for I heard him pray
yesterday, `O Allah, strengthen Islam with Abul Hakam the son of Hisham
or with Umar the son of Khattab!"
Umar (to Khabbab): "Where will Muhammad now be, that I may go to him and
enter Islam."
No sooner had Umar said this than he went to the Prophet and accepted Islam.
These two new converts have come to be landmarks in the history of Islam through
their devotion to the new faith. Hamzah came to be a constant companion and
a devout 14
follower of the Prophet until he was killed during the Battle of Uhud, and the
Prophet called him the noblest of martyrs.
Umar came to be second to none, excepting Abu Bakr, in the establishing of the
first Muslim city in the modern era. As the second Caliph and ruler of that
Imperial 15
city, he came to be another Caliph and also a noble martyr.
c) Persecution Unabated:
It is true that with the Islam of Umar, Islam was gaining more new converts,
and Muslims began to pray in public; but Quraysh was still determined to uproot
16
the new religion. Many of the followers of the Prophet were attacked, imprisoned
and beaten, and were allowed no food or drink.
-
Bilal, who was afterwards freed by Abu Bakr, was born a slave. He was converted
to Islam, and became a faithful Muslim. His master used to take him in the intense
heat of the desert, and throw him on his back, placing a big rock on his chest.
Then he would say to him, "You will stay here till you die or disbelieve in
Muhammad, and worship Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza." Bilal had no answer but to say,
"One! One! (Allah is One)." One day Abu Bakr passed by Bilal while he was being
tortured this way; and he asked Bilal's master to free him. But the idolatrous
master replied, "You are the one who corrupted him, so save him from the plight
17
he is in." Abu Bakr was ready to save him, and he paid the money and freed
Bilal.
-
`Ammar was another victim of this ruthless 18
persecution. His master used to take `Ammar, his father and mother out in the
scorching 19
heat of Makkah in summer and torture them. Whenever the Prophet passed by them
while they were being tortured, he would say, "Patience, O family of Yasir!
Your meeting-place will be Paradise." `Ammar's mother died a victim of torture,
refusing to abandon Islam.
d) Persuasion and
Boycott:
Persuasion did not avail Quraysh in trying to stop the new religion from spreading
in Makkah. When Quraysh sent `Utbah, one of their leaders to the Prophet, he
began in a conciliatory 20
manner proposing that Quraysh would be ready to offer wealth to the Prophet
on condition that he should cease attacking their idols. If the Prophet did
not want wealth, they would offer him kingship; and if he suffered from a certain
illness, they would provide a physician and spend their wealth until the Prophet's
cure is complete. When `Utbah finished, the Prophet asked him to listen to his
recitation from Al-Qur'an, starting with the opening verses of the Chapter "Fussilat
(41)" until he came to verses (`ayahts) 37 and 38.
"And
of His signs are the night and the day and the sun and the moon. Do not
prostrate to the sun nor to the moon, and prostrate (in
worship) to Allah Who has created them; if
Him indeed yoil worship." (37)
"So
if they wax proud, then those who are in the presence of your Lord hymn
to Him night and day; and they do not feel weary." (38)
At the end of the verse, the Prophet prostrated placing his forehead on
the ground. Then he said to `Utbah "You have heard what you have heard,
Abu-l-Walid (`Utbah's title); it is now for you to decide."
When `Utbah went back to the leaders of Quraysh, he advised them not to
obstruct the way of the Prophet, because what he heard from the Prophet
was neither poetry, nor sorcery, nor anything of purely human origin. Their
answer was, "He has bewitched you with his tongue." to which he answered,
"You have my opinion, and you do what you think best." With the increase
in the number of new converts, Quraysh thought of sending to the Jewish
rabbis in Yathrib (Al-Madinah) requesting them to tell Quraysh how to deal
with the Prophet. The rabbis said, "Ask him about three things; if he gives
you the right answer then he is a true Prophet." The questions were about
some young men who disappeared in ancient days, about the mighty traveller
who reached the confines of both East and West, and about what the Spirit
is.
When the leaders of Quraysh posed these questions to the Prophet, he told
them that he would give the answers the next day, but did not say, "If
Allah decides." But the Prophet waited for fifteen days, after which the
Chapter of the Cave was revealed,
reproaching the Prophet
for not saying, "If Allah decides," and giving answers to the questions
they had posed. To the last question came the Divine answer:
"And
they ask you about the Spirit, say, the Spirit is from the Command of my
Lord, and you have been granted only a little knowledge." (Allsra'-85).
Finally the leaders of Quraysh found that Muslim youths like Umar and Hamzah
were getting bold 21
enough to come in large bodies and pray in front of Al-Ka'bah. Without getting
into open conflict with the Muslims, the leaders of Quraysh agreed upon a boycott
22
to the whole clan of Banu Hashim. They wrote a document 23
forbidding intermarriage between Banu Hashim and other clans of Quraysh, and
stopping every kind of buying and selling with Banu Hashim until they outlawed
the Prophet. The document was placed inside Al-Ka'bah.
This boycott continued for two years before five of the leaders of Quraysh
began to feel unhappy about the injustice of the boycott, and decided to
go to Al- Ka'bah and tear the document and end the boycott. One of the
five leaders had a quarrel with Abu Jahlabout the document, after
which he went into Al-Ka'bah to get the document. When this leader came
out of Al-Ka'bah, he opened the document, and there the document had been
eaten by the worms, all of it except for a small piece of it on which was
written:
"In Your name, O Allah." And thus the ban on Muslims was lifted at last.
e) Before the Ascension:
24
To escape persecution many Muslims began to migrate to Abyssinia, where
they were allowed to practice their religion freely. Among the first immigrants
were Ja'far, the Prophet's cousin, and `Uthman, the Prophet's Companion
and son-in-law. There were about eighty Muslims who stayed there until
they heard that the number of Muslims in Makkah was increasing and persecution
had stopped. But when they came back they were again subject to mockery
and torture.
Even the Prophet himself was the subject of insult and mockery. One day, one
of the leaders of Quraysh came to the Prophet in the House at Makkah, and told
the people who had been listening to the Prophet reciting Al-Qur'an, "Muhammad
cannot tell a better story than I, and his talk is only of old fables 25
which he has copied from others. I can tell better stories about the great kings
of Persia." So Allah revealed concerning him these verses:
"Woe to every sinful liar." (Aljathiyah - 7)
"Who hears the verses of Allah recited to him, and then insists on waxing
proud as if he has not heard them; so give him the
(hateful) tidings of a painful torment." (8)
Again when a deputation of Christians from Najran came to Makkah, met the Prophet
and embraced Islam, Abu Jahl and other polytheists of Quraysh accosted them
and said to them, "What a wretched band you are! Your people at home sent you
to bring them information about this man, and as soon as you sat with him you
renounced your religion and believed what he said." Their answer to Abu Jahl
and his companions was, "Peace be upon you. We will not engage in foolish controversy 26
with you. We have not been remiss 27
in seeking what is best."
Not long after the lifting of the ban, 28
Abu Talib fell ill. The leaders of Quraysh found it a hopeful opportunity to
come to terms with the Prophet before Abu Talib's death. They spoke to Abu Talib
and asked him to ask the Prophet to leave them and their religion in peace.
Then Abu Talib called the Prophet and told him of Quraysh's request. They were
still in Abu Talib's house when the Prophet came and said to them: "Give me
one word - a word by which you shall rule over the Arabs, and the Persians shall
be your subjects." To this Abu Jahl answered, "Yes, by your father, for that
we will give you one word, and ten words more." "You must say," said the Prophet,
"There is no god but Allah, and you must renounce what you worship apart from
Him." At this the leaders of Quraysh despaired of ever coming to terms with
the Prophet.
Then Abu Tahb died, and this left the Prophet without the protection that
he had enjoyed during his life-time. These were days of sadness for the
Prophet, especially since his wife had died months earlier.
After Abu Talib's death, insolent actions against the Prophet did not cease.
Once filth was thrown into the Prophet's cooking pot; and on another occasion
a sheep's dirt with blood was thrown over him. As he was coming from the House,
a man took a handful of dirt and threw it in his face and over his head. When
he returned home, one of his daughters washed him clean of it, while weeping.
"Weep not, little daughter," said the Prophet, "Allah will protect your father."
With the growing hostility Quraysh, after the death of the Prophet's wife and
uncle, he decided on going to Al-Ta'if to seek help from the tribe of Thaqif.
He went to three of Thaqif's leaders offering them belief in Islam and requesting
their help against his enemies in Makkah, but all of them rejected his offer
and were more insolent than he had expected. Then the Prophet said to them,
"Seeing that you acted as you have, keep the matter secret," for he did not
like that the people of Makkah should hear about it, lest they should be still
further emboldened 29
against him. But they stirred up their slaves and children to insult him, so
that he was compelled to take refuge in an orchard30
and sat in the shade of a vine 31
Then he uttered this plaintive supplication;
This
supplication in such a moving immortal style never attained by any other
human mortal can never be adequately translated; but a near rendering would
be like this:
"O Allah, to You I complain of my weakness, of my helplessness and of my
lowliness before men. O Most Merciful of the merciful, You are Lord of
the ill-treated. And You are my Lord. Into whose hands will You entrust
me? Into the hands of some far off stranger who will scowl at me? Or to
an enemy whom You have empowered against me? If You are not angry with
me I care not; Your clemency is more wide for me. I take refuge in the
Light of your Countenance whereby all darkness is illuminated and the things
of this world and the next are rightly ordered, lest You may descend Your
anger upon me, or lest Your wrath may beset me! It is for me to return
to You until You are well satisfied! There is no means or power save in
You."
Then the Prophet left At-Ta'if for Makkah until he reached the valley of
Nakhlah, nearly half way between the two cities; and he stood there to
pray. While he was praying in the middle of the night, a company of jinn
passed by and they listened to his recitation of Al-Qur'an in prayer. After
prayers, the jinn went back to their tribe to carry the message of Islam
to them, after they have become Muslims themselves. There now came the
Revelation to the Prophet:
"Say it has been revealed to me that a group of jinn
listened (to me),
and then said: `Surely we have heard a wonderful Qur'an." (Al-Jinn-1).
"It guides to righteousness, so we have believed in it, and we shall never
associate anybody with our Lord." (2)
3. Answers to the Supplication: a) The Heavenly Journey:
While the Prophet was sleeping in the House, Jibril came to him and awakened
him, and led him on a night journey mounted on the Buraq to Jerusalem.
There the Prophet led a company of Prophets: Ibrahim, Musa, `Isa and others
in prayer. Then Jibril ascended with the Prophet to heaven, where he saw
the other Prophets. Finally he reached the Lote Tree, which marks the end
of knowledge for all creatures. There Jibril communicated to him the Revelation
in the Chapter of the Star (An-Najm):
 
"When there enshrouded the Lote Tree that which enshrouds." (An-Najm- 16).
"The eye did not waver, nor was it extravagant." (An-Najm- 17).
"Indeed he has seen, of all the signs of the Lord, the greatest." (An-Najm-
18).
All this radiance 32
splendor 33
and serenity seemed to have been an answer to the Prophet's plaintive 34
supplication in Ta`if in the midst of his deep distress. It was an illuminating
answer, coupled with the blessings of five prayers a day enjoined upon the Prophet
and the believers on that most eminent occasion.
In the morning the Prophet told Quraysh what he had seen. Most of them said,
"How unbelievable! The caravan takes a month to go to Syria and a month to return,
and can Muhammad do the return journey in one night?" When this question was
posed to Abu Bakr, he said, "If he says so, then it is true. And what is so
surprising in that? He tells me that tidings 35
come to him from Heaven to earth in an hour of the day or night, and I know
him to be speaking the truth." That was the occasion on which Abu Bakr was given
the name "As-siddiq": the Faithful - by the Prophet.
b) Pledges at Al-'Aqabah:
Meanwhile the Prophet offered himself to the tribes, calling them to the
worship of Allah alone, and telling them that he was His messenger. On
one occasion he met six men from Yathrib (Al-Madinah) at Al- `Aqabah, to
the north of Makkah on the way to Mina. He learnt that they were of Al-Khazraj
tribe and allies of the Jews in Yathrib. He called them to Islam, and they
accepted it, for they realized that he was the Prophet whose time had come
as the Jews had told them. So they promised the Prophet to follow the precepts
of Islam and told him, "We have left our people, for there is no tribe
so divided by hatred and enmity as they. Perhaps Allah will unite them
through you. So let us go to them and invite them to this new religion;
and if Allah unites them, in it, then no man will be mightier than you."
These six people went back to their people, and many of their people embraced
Islam.
In the following year, twelve people from the same city, Yathrib, came and met
the Prophet at Al -`Aqabah, where they gave him their pledge, called, "The First
Pledge" or "The Pledge of the Women." It was so called, because the order to
fight the enemies of Islam had not been revealed to the Prophet yet. Among these
twelve, were As'ad, son of Zurarah and `Awf, son of Al-Harith. They gave their
pledge to the Prophet that they would not associate anything with Allah, not
steal, not commit fornication,36
not kill their offspring, not utter slanders, and not disobey him in what was
right. If they fulfilled this, Paradise would be theirs; if they committed any
of these sins it was for Allah to punish or forgive them as He pleased.
When these twelve left for Yathrib, the Prophet sent with them Mus'ab,
son of `Umayr to recite Al- Qur'an for them and to teach them Islam. Among
the first people to embrace Islam, thanks to the efforts of Mus'ab, were
Sa'd, son of Mu'ath and Usayd, son of Hudayr. With these two leaders becoming
Muslims, Islam spread far and wide in the city.
The third meeting at Al-'Aqabah saw "The Second Pledge" by the people of
Yathrib to the Prophet. They were seventy three men and two women. When
the Prophet came to meet them, he was accompanied by his uncle Al-'Abbas,
although he had not yet embraced Islam at that time. Al-'Abbas was the
first to speak, and said, "You know the esteem in which we hold Muhammad.
We have protected him from our own people who think as we do about him.
He lives in honour and safety among his people, but he will turn to you
and join you. So if you think that you can be faithful to what you have
promised him and protect him from his opponents, then assume the burden
you have undertaken. But if you think that you will betray and abandon
him after he has gone out with you, then leave him now. For he is safe
where he is." They replied, "You speak, O Prophet, and choose for yourself
and for your Lord what you wish."
Then the Prophet spoke and recited from Al-Qur'an, and called the people
to Allah and Islam; and then said, "I invite your pledge on condition that
you protect me as you protect your women and children." One of their leaders
called Al-Bara' stood up and said, "By Him Who sent you with the truth
we will protect you as we protect our women." Then another man stood up
and said, "O Prophet, we have ties with other men (he meant the Jews) and
we are willing to sever them. Perhaps when we have done that and Allah
will have given you victory, will you return to your people and leave us?"
The Prophet smiled and said, "No, I am yours and you are mine. Whom you
war against, him I war against. Whom you make peace with, him I make peace
with." Then the Prophet said, "Bring out to me twelve leaders that they
take charge of their people's affairs." They brought out to him nine from
the tribe of Al-Khazraj and three from Al-'Aws: among these were As'ad,
son of Zurarah (a Khazraji) and `Usayd, son of Hudayr (an Ausi).
Soon after the Second `Aqabah, the Prophet was permitted to fight the enemies
of Allah and Islam. Thus the Revelation came:
"Permission has been given to those who fight because they have been unjustly
treated; and suerly Allah is indeed determined to give them victory." (Al-Hajj-39).
4.The Prophet's Migration:
Many Muslims began to leave and migrate to Yathrib after the Second Pledge
at Al-'Aqabah. Among those immigrants to the new city were `Umar and his
family, `Uthman and his wife, the Prophet's daughter Ruqayyah. Abu Bakr
had asked the Prophet's permission to emigrate, but the Prophet had said,
"Do not be in a hurry, for it may be that Allah will give you a companion."
So Abu Bakr understood that he must wait to emigrate with the Prophet
.
Now the time had come for Quraysh to act and stop the Prophet from migrating
to the new city, which has become a stronghold for the new religion. Now
that Abu Talib was dead, the way was clear for them to get rid of the Prophet
by planning to kill him. The decision to get rid of the Prophet was taken
at a meeting of their leaders, including Abu Jahl and Abu Sufyan.
(A gathering of the
leaders of Quraysh)
Abu Sufyan (to Abu Jahl): "You start, Abu Jahl." Abu Jahl: This man has
been doing all that you have seen. So many have followed him, including
Umar and Hamzah. So many have accepted his new religion; and he's getting
to be a real threat. So you have to decide what course of action against
him lies before us."
Umayyah, son of Khalaf: "Imprison him, and wait for his end, as has happened
to poets like him."
Abu Sufyan (thinking for a while): "We banish 37
him away from our city. So long as he is away, we are free to practise our traditional
way of life."
Abu Jahl (after a while): "I have come to an opinion which none of you
have mentioned."
Abu Sufyan: "And what is that Abul-Hakam (Abu Jahl)?"
Abu Jahl: "I see that we choose from every clan a noble, strong and reliable
young man, and we provide everyone of them with a sharp sword; then each
of them will strike a blow at him. Thus when he is killed, the responsibility
for his blood will fall upon all the clans of Quraysh. Then his family
would accept the blood-money which we would be ready to offer."
Abu Sufyan and the others: "This sounds the best way out. Agreed!" (Having
come to that decision the conspirators dispersed).
Then Jibril came to the Prophet warning him not to sleep that night on
the bed on which he used to sleep. After night-fall, the young men chosen
to kill the Prophet gathered in front of his house. When the Prophet saw
this, he told `Ali to sleep on the Prophet's bed, and wrap himself in the
Prophet's green cloak, for no harm would befall him.
The conspirators' young men stayed outside the Prophet's house, and did
not choose to break into the house. They waited for the Prophet to come
out, so that they would all attack him as one man. When the Prophet went
out of the house, he sprinkled dust on their heads, and recited verses
from the Chapter "Ya Sin," up to the words:
"And We enshrouded them, so that they did not see." (Ya Sin-9).
Thus the Prophet passed unnoticed through their midst, and went on his
way to Abu Bakr's house. He told him that Allah had given him permission
to migrate, and that Abu Bakr would be his Companion. Two camels were already
saddled for them, and they made for a cave in the Mount of Thawr, to the
south of Makkah, on the way to the Yaman; for they knew that Quraysh, expecting
them to go northwards, would try to find them on the way to Yathrib (Al-
Madinah). `Ali was left behind in Makkah to return goods which had been
deposited with the Prophet by the people who trusted him with their property.
The Prophet and Abu
Bakr stayed in the cave for three days. When Quraysh missed the Prophet
they offered a hundred camels to anyone who would bring him back. During
these three days, `Abdullah, son of Abu Bakr, used to bring them food at
night, together with the news about Quraysh. On his way back to Makkah
in the morning, `Abdullah would tell his servant to take the sheep over
the same route to hide the tracks of Abdullah's camel.
On the third day the Prophet and his Companion heard the faint 38
sound of men's voices; then the voices grew louder, and the speakers were getting
nearer the cave's entrance. Abu Bakr became apprehensive lest the pursuers should
at last find them. But the Prophet comforted him saying, "What
do you think of two men when Allah is their Third?"
"When they both were in the Cave and when he said to his Companion `Do
not grieve; for surely Allah is with us." (At-Tawbah-40).
Then the voices outside ceased, for they realized that there was no need
to enter a seemingly empty cave.
When `Abdullah came back to the Prophet in the cave, he brought with him
a guide who was an expert in out-of-way paths in the desert to Yathrib
(Al- Madinah).
One man in Makkah heard the story of the migration of the Prophet, and the reward
offered by Quraysh; so he decided to go after the Prophet to get the precious
reward. That was Suraqah, son of Malik. Thus he rode in pursuit of the Prophet.
Although his horse stumbled and threw him, he did not stop until the Prophet
and the little band were not far away from him. Then his horse stumbled again,
and its forelegs 39
went into the ground, and the rider fell again. Then as it got its legs out
of the ground smoke arose as a sand storm. Then he realized that the Prophet
was protected from him and had the upper hand. The pursuer then assured the
Prophet and his companions that he intended no harm to them. Then the Prophet
told Abu Bakr to ask the pursuer what he wanted. The man said he wanted a written
promise of a reward. So Abu Bakr wrote him on a bone the written promise of
the two bracelets of the Emperor of Persia. Thus the Prophet, a fugitive from
Makkah, promised Suraqah the bracelets of the Emperor. The promise was fulfilled
when `Umar became Caliph, and the Muslim empire had swept away the two decadent
Empires of Rome and Persia.
Finally the Prophet entered Yathrib and it has since been given the name
"The City," The City of the Prophet, the First Muslim State in modern times.
And that Imperial City ruled the world, for centuries to come.
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