MUHAMMAD SAW THE MESSENGER OF ISLAM (515 pages, 20/41)
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ate detail.” Then they said, “We are not satisfied to hear that you went there and came back. Tell us about our caravans.” The Holy Prophet then said, “I chanced upon such-and- such a caravan belonging to a certain tribe at a place named Rawha. They had lost one of their camels and were searching for it. I was very thirsty, and there happened to be a cup of water there. I took it and drank from it, then I placed it back where it had been. When the men of the caravan return to you, ask them about this cup of water: did they find it full of water, or not?”
Later this caravan arrived. People questioned them as the Prophet had told them. They confirmed all he had said and recounted, “At Rawaha we had lost our camel and we went in search of it. When we returned, we found that someone had drunk the water we left in the cup, it was empty.”
They asked the Prophet , “Tell us about our caravan, which was journeying in the other direction.” The Prophet agreed and said to them, “I met them in a place called Tan’im.” Then they asked him to relate in greater detail their numbers and burdens and beasts, and when their return to Mecca could be expected. The Holy Prophet replied to every one of their questions, giving even the names of the men in the caravan. He said, “On such and such a day at sunrise, this caravan will arrive, and at its head will go a white camel, tinged with black.”
On the day he had indicated, all those assembled went out into the desert to watch for the caravan’s arrival, though there was still no sign of it. Some said, “It arrived at the time he said it would.” Others said, “As soon as the sun rose, the
caravan appeared.” Others again said, “The caravan was seen with a white camel leading it.” They confirmed everything the Prophet had said about the caravan and all turned out to be true. They all witnessed these events, but despite that there could be no doubt as to the Prophet’s journey to Jerusalem and his return in one night, not one of them believed in him, all called him a liar.
One day after his Mi’raj, the Angel Jibra’il came again to the Holy Prophet who was in a state of vexation because of his nation. The angel said to him:
“Oh Prophet of Allah , do not grieve all that much over your nation, for today I have come to you with great good tidings.” The good tidings he brought were these:
In the fourth Heaven there is an angel who commands twelve thousand angels. During your Mi’raj, when all the other angels rose from their places to greet you, this angel did not rise to his feet along with the others. Today when I passed by the gate of that Heaven, I heard the sound of moaning, and when I turned to look, I saw that the sad sound came from that particular angel whom I was used to seeing. I saw that his wings had been plucked, and his light had been taken from him, he lay bundled in a corner, sighing pitifully. When he saw me, he began to weep. I said to him, ‘Why do you weep, you who are such a great and honored angel?’ He said, ‘I am that angel, but I have committed a grave error. For my Lord has reproached me, saying, ‘Why, when My Beloved Prophet came to the heavens to visit you, did you not rise to welcome him?’ I answered, ‘Oh my Lord, at that time I was so absorbed in my worship and adoration of Your Almighty Holiness, that I did not think of deflecting my attention to anything else. I saw Muhammad coming, but I did not think it so important an event.’
“’The Lord then loosened His Wrath against me, and brought me into this condition in which you behold me now, my light withdrawn, my feathers plucked, and myself demoted from my angelic station. Oh Jibra’il, pray, intercede for me with my Lord!’ I therefore prayed to the Lord and begged Him to pardon His angel’s failing, who pledged never to commit another act of negligence. The Lord Almighty then replied, ‘Let him recite Salat-wa-Salam on My Holy Prophet , and I will forgive him.’
“I went and told this to the angel, who immediately started reciting peace and blessings upon the Prophet , and when he had recited them
ten times, all his wing feathers had grown back, and he flew off joyfully.’”
“This is the good news I have come to tell you, oh Rasulullah . For the Lord will forgive and pardon all those from your nation who recite peace and blessings to you with a loving heart and He will grant them access to Paradise.”
When the Holy Prophet came out to his companions after this, his face was as radiant as the moon at its fullest, and he smiled so broadly that his back teeth showed. He then informed his companions of the good tidings the angel had brought him, of how the Lord would forgive all those who recited Salat-wa- Salam upon him, and all his blessed Companions rejoiced with him.
Allahumma salli wa sallam wa barik ‘ala
Sayyidina Muhammadan wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam tasliman, wal-hamdu-lillahi-rabbil-‘alamin.
The Early Muslims in Madinah
Two of the main tribes of Madinah were the ‘Aus and the Khazraj. They were deeply divided against each other, sporadically engaging in enmity and civil war, then again concluding fragile peace agreements. The Khazraj were often allied with the unbelievers of Madinah, with whom they lived side by side.
The Jews were Ahl al-Kitabi (People of the Book), and possessors of knowledge, while the Khazraj still worshipped idols. Whenever they happened to be on bad terms with the Jews, the latter would say to them, “Soon a prophet will be sent, his day is at hand. When he appears, we shall follow him and you will perish; we will destroy you entirely.” However, when Muhammad had come to Madinah, they said, “This man is no prophet!” As it is written in the holy verses of the Quran:
When there came to them a Book from God, confirming what was with them and they aforetimes prayed for victory over the unbelievers – when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it. (The Cow, 89)
When some of the Khazraj heard the talk of the Holy Prophet at one of the fairs, they said to one another, “This must be the Prophet the Jews were warning us of. Let us go to him before they do!” So they went to Muhammad , and he recited to them the Sura Ibrahim from the Quran. They were very impressed by it and became Muslims at his hand. They said, “We have accepted Islam as our religion and Muhammad as our Prophet. Now we will return to our city and tell our people what we have seen and heard. Perhaps Allah will unite them through you, for we are a people torn apart by hatred and strife. God-willing, we shall meet again next year at al-‘Aqaba.”
The six men of Khazraj who became Muslims at this time were Abu Umama of the Bani Najjar; ‘Auf bin Harith; Rafi’ bin Malik; Qutba bin Amir; ‘Uqba bin Amir; and Jabir bin Abdullah bin Ri’ab.
When they returned to Madinah they began to speak to their families and relations about the new teaching they had embraced, and in this way, the Light of Islam began to spread in the city.
In the following year twelve of their number set out to meet the Holy Prophet at the place named al-‘Aqaba, and all twelve gave their pledge to the Holy Prophet . These twelve men were As’ad bin Zurara; ‘Auf bin Harith and his brother Mu’adh bin Harith; Rafi’ bin Malik; Dhakwan ibn ‘Abdu Qays; ‘Ubada ibn al-Samit; Yazid bin Tha’laba; ‘Abbas bin ‘Ubada; ‘Uqba bin Amir; Qutba bin Amir; Abul-Haytham ibn al-Tayyihan and ‘Uwaym bin Sa’ida. The pledge they gave the Prophet consisted of the following undertaking: they vowed to associate nothing with Allah; not to steal; not to commit unchaste acts; not to kill their children; not to slander anyone; not to disobey the Prophet in any matter that was right.
The Holy Prophet then asked his uncle ‘Abbas: “Last year six men came to me from Madinah and accepted Islam; this year twelve people came, inviting me to come with them to Madinah. What do you say to that?” ‘Abbas answered, “There are not twelve, but more than twelve thousand people living in Madinah. If you ask me, I would advise you to send your representative there first. If all goes well and if they duly honor him, then it may be alright for you to go there.” The Holy Prophet agreed with this, and sent with them Mus’ab bin ‘Umayr who was also a man of Quraysh. He was instructed to teach the new religion and the reciting of the Holy Quran, and he stayed in the house of As’ad bin Zurara. As’ad’s house thus became the first gathering place for the Muslims of Madinah, and their number rapidly increased.
Now Sa’d bin Mu’adh and ‘Usayd bin Hudayr were leaders of their clan, and they had not yet become Muslim. One day Sa’d came by the place where Mus’ab was sitting reading Quran, Suratul Inshirah, “the Expanding”. Sa’d heard it and was intensely moved by the sound of these words, so that he asked Mus’ab to read it again. Sa’d became Muslim then and there, as did his friend ‘Usayd. With them all the men and women of their clan joined Islam, for they were the chiefs of their clans. All the clans of ‘Aus and Khazraj now had Muslims among them, except for the Bani Umayya bin Zayd.
The Second Tryst at ‘Aqaba
Again it was the time of the pilgrimage, and Mus’ab returned to Mecca. The Muslim Ansar (the Helpers from Madinah) came to the annual fair together with the pagan pilgrims. Seventy men of the nobles of Madinah came to the Holy Prophet to invite him to Madinah. They came to him as he was sitting beside his uncle ‘Abbas and they made him a great show of their respect. They took their oath of allegiance to the Holy Prophet whom many of them had never
seen before, and this time the oath included a pledge of war against the unbelievers.
The Prophet’s uncle ‘Abbas had not yet accepted Islam, and he now said, “I am not a follower of his religion, but he is the son of my brother, and therefore he is of my flesh and blood. In Mecca, he has a large and influential family, whereas in Madinah he has no blood-ties. He has seen a lot of suffering here. However, if you are taking him away to Madinah and are unable to be faithful to what you have promised him and unable to protect him, then it is better he stays here where he is.” Then they took the solemn pledge to defend and protect the Prophet at all costs, and the Holy Prophet also pledged himself to them.
The Meccans heard the news of this tryst, and they were disturbed at the prospect of Muhammad being taken away to Madinah by his followers. The Prophet told his followers, “Begin now to leave for Madinah,” and they left in small groups of two or three at a time, to settle in Madinah. The Holy Prophet himself remained in Mecca until the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal.
Gradually, Quraysh began to notice the absence of various people from among their number. Abu Jahl said before a gathering of Quraysh, “If Muhammad goes off to Madinah, he will grow strong there and return to destroy us.” The next day they called a gathering, which the accursed Shaytan himself attended, having adopted a human form. He came to them in the guise of a venerable old man, and spoke up, saying, “This man seduces everyone with his sweet words and pleasing countenance; people see him, they hear him speak and they fall for him. There is only one thing for us to do: he must be killed.” The gathering applauded his speech and agreed. It was decided to send a man from each of the tribes to lie in wait for Muhammad every night from now on, so that his blood would not fall on any one tribe, thereby triggering a blood feud.
At this moment, the angel Jibra’il appeared to the Holy Prophet , revealing the following verse and ordering him to leave Mecca that same night.
And when the unbelievers were devising against thee, to confine thee, or slay thee, or to expel thee, and were devising, and God was devising; and God is the best of devisers.
The Hijra
(The Spoils, 30)
When the Holy Prophet knew that he had to leave the city of his birth, he
called Ali to him and said to him, “I have a number of items in safe-keeping. As I am departing tonight, I leave these with you to return to their owners within three days. Tonight you sleep in my bed in my stead, and fear not, but cover yourself with my mantle. No harm will befall you. Afterwards come and follow me.”
He then went to the house of Abu Bakr, and it was already late at night. Abu Bakr had prepared two Hijin camels for the eventuality of their departure from Mecca. Now the Prophet came to give him the signal. They planned to meet after midnight at a cave some distance from Mecca. Abu Bakr then called his daughter Asma to him and said to her, “Muhammad and I are headed for the cave on Jabel Thaur where we intend to be for three days. Come and bring us food every evening, and tell us news of the movements of Quraysh.” Then he called for his man who looked after the camels and told him to make them ready by the following Monday.
Abu Jahl and his men surrounded the house of Muhammad that night. As they sat waiting for him to emerge, they were overtaken by sleep, and the Holy Prophet passed by them without their noticing him. As he left the house, he recited the beginning of Sura YaSin, up to the verse:
And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier; and We have covered them, so they do not see. (YaSin, 7)
Reciting these verses, he strewed dust upon their heads. In this way he passed unnoticed from the house and came to the meeting place with Abu Bakr. Together they proceeded towards the cave. Abu Bakr wished to carry the Holy Prophet on his back, but the Prophet would not accept this. So, in order to obscure their footprints, Abu Bakr would step backwards and forwards and sideways to cover all traces of the Holy Prophet .
Back at the house, Iblis who was among those who lay in wait for Muhammad suddenly cried, “Muhammad has escaped!” They checked on him and found his bed occupied, and they believed it to be Muhammad sleeping wrapped up in his mantle. In reality it was his cousin Ali sleeping in his cloak. When Ali lay down to sleep, the Lord of the Heavens had said to His angels Mikhail and Israfil, “If I made you to be as brothers in this world, would either of you agree to meet death in place of him whom his enemies mean to kill? Would either of you go and lie in his bed?” But neither of the angels wished for death, they would have chosen life.
That being the case, the Lord said, “I have therefore made Muhammad and Ali
to be as brothers; Ali has taken Muhammad’s place in his bed in his stead, knowing of their intention to kill him. Go now and stand guard by his head and foot.” In the morning, when the idolaters saw Ali emerging from the Prophet Muhammad’s house, they were dumbstruck with amazement. Immediately they went to the house of Abu Bakr, knocked on the door and demanded of his daughter Asma where her father was. Asma replied, “I don’t know,” whereupon Abu Jahl slapped her face so violently that her earring flew off. Then they offered a reward of two hundred curly-haired camels to the man who would find Muhammad and Abu Bakr and bring him back to Quraysh. Asma went to the cave for three days and brought the fugitives food and news from the city.
Once a search party of idolaters passed close by the cave, so that their voices were heard in the cave. Abu Bakr grew restive, but the Holy Prophet motioned for him to be calm. “Be at rest,” he said, “for Allah is with us. If two people are together and Allah is the third, do you really think we will be captured?”
As it is written in the Holy Quran:
If you do not help him yet God has helped him already, when the unbelievers drove him forth the second of two, when the two were in the Cave, when he said to his companion, ‘Sorrow not, surely God is with us.’ Then God sent down on him His Sakina (inner peace) and confirmed him with legions you did not see; and He made the word of the unbelievers the lowest; and God’s word is the uppermost; God is All-Mighty, All-Wise.
(Repentance, 40)
According to one narration, Shaytan led the search parties up to the cave, following their traces. Shaytan even peered inside the cave, but could see nothing, and said, “There is nothing within.”
The Snake Bites Abu Bakr
Meanwhile Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was reciting and the Holy Prophet had laid his head upon his knee. At that moment a snake stuck its head out of its hole up high in the wall, and Abu Bakr was frightened, so that he closed up the hole with a piece of his garment. Every time the snake showed itself in a different hole, he stuffed up the hole with a piece of cloth. At last, when the snake came out of a hole very close to him, he obstructed it with the heel of his foot. The snake bit him and from the pain, tears rolled down his cheeks, onto the face of the Prophet who was lying in his lap.
The Holy Prophet awoke and asked him what had happened. Abu Bakr told him that a snake had bitten his foot. The Prophet then spoke to the snake and said to him, “Are you not ashamed of yourself for biting the foot of my beloved friend and causing him such pain?” The snake was given speech and it replied, “Oh Prophet of Allah , one day long ago I heard a word of the Prophet ‘Isa who said, ‘After my time there will come a Prophet and his name will be Ahmad. This Prophet will endure great tribulations at the hands of his own people. He will flee from them and hide from them in a cave for three days. This is written in the Holy Book of the Injil.’ Since I first heard these words, 450 years have passed by, and for all that time I have been living in this cave and waiting. Since I first heard this Prophet’s name, I became enamored with him. I have spent my time opening holes like windows in this rock so that I might catch a glimpse of this Prophet when his time has come. Now it has come, and this good friend of yours has nothing better to do than close up all my carefully excavated windows. That is why I had to bite him, oh Muhammad .”
The snake had bitten a piece the size of a pigeon’s egg out of the foot of as- Siddiq, but the Holy Prophet put his lips to it and sucked out the poison. He spit it out in front of the entrance of the cave and there grew up a bush with green leaves and white flowers, with red fruits that grew from the blood of as- Siddiq and furry seeds, which grew from the poison of the snake. A wild rose it was, with bright red hips, a plant of many beneficial properties.
Then the Holy Prophet stroked the snake that had bitten Abu Bakr’s foot. The snake was the color of saffron and gave off a beautiful scent. The Prophet said to it, “Promise me that you will not bite anyone belonging to my nation from now on.” The snake gave its word, and the Prophet prayed for its progeny to become numerous and for its scent to remain with it until the Day of Judgment. To this very day this snake is found frequently in Mecca and its body gives off a lovely scent. No one hurts it, and it harms no one.
At the entrance to the cave a rock dove had made her nest, and a spider had woven its web across the entrance. A wind arose and spread dust over everything, giving it the appearance of having been undisturbed for a thousand years.
The Lord Almighty ordered the angels Jibra’il and Mikha’il to go look after His Prophet . When they got there they met the spider that was weaving its web. “What are you doing?” they asked it. “I am concealing the Holy Prophet ,” answered the spider. “How do you think you can hide him,” the angels laughed, “your web is not even able to keep out the wind, one gust and it is blown away.”
The spider replied, “Oh Jibra’il, this web is not like any of my own webs, this web I am spinning upon the command of the Almighty; try it out if you like.” So the mighty angel Jibra’il whose single scream makes cities crumble tried with all his force to tear the web of the little spider, but try as he might, he could not snap a single thread of its silk.
The pursuing search parties following the footprints came very close to the cave, but seeing the nesting dove and the spider’s web, they said to the guide who had led them there, “We took you to be a clever person, but now you seem to be the most silly of us all. Had anybody entered this cave, do you really think this bush would be covering the entrance, and this spider’s web remain unbroken? And what about the nesting dove sitting on its eggs? Would it not have flown away and abandoned its nest?”
They had come so close that Abu Bakr could see their feet. He began to weep. “They have come for us,” he said. The Holy Prophet recited:
...When the unbelievers drove him forth, the second of two, when the two were in the Cave, when he said to his companion, “Sorrow not, surely God is with us.”
(Repentance, 40)
But Abu Bakr continued to tremble, and he said, “Oh Messenger of Allah , if I had one thousand souls at my disposal, they should all be your ransom. But what if they were to kill you? What should then be left in this world of any worth? The Muslims will be forsaken and destitute.” The Holy Prophet then answered him, pointing at the wall of the cave, “Oh Abu Bakr, look here.” When he looked, he saw a door there, and it was open. Through the open door he could see an ocean so vast its farther shore was not in sight. But on the shore near them lay a boat. The Prophet then said, “If they come to get us, we will simply board that ship and sail away. Allah Almighty will shut that door, and they will never reach us, in all eternity.” With these words, the Holy Prophet made Abu Bakr feel at ease.
The Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr remained in this cave for three days and nights. On the morning of the fourth day which was Thursday, the first day of Rabi’ al-Awwal, they mounted the camels that their servant Amir had brought, along with the Bedouin guide who was to lead them to Madinah. They set out on the journey.
Muhammad was very much affected by the solemnity of this moment of
departure. When they had reached a certain point, the Prophet halted his camel and turned towards Mecca, giving expression to his grief. The angel Jibra’il then came to him and said, “Oh Muhammad , your heart is sore at leaving the city of your birth and upbringing, but your Lord would have me reveal to you these tidings:
He who imposed the Recitation (Quran) upon thee shall surely restore thee to a place of homing. Say, ‘My Lord knows very well who comes with guidance, and who is in manifest error.’ (The Story, 85)
This verse was the announcement of the Conquest of Mecca, and with these good tidings Allah Almighty consoled His Prophet . Muhammad and Abu Bakr; their servant and their guide then continued on their journey to Madinah. They rode for twenty-four hours without halt after leaving the cave of al-Thaur. Quraysh were out all over looking for them, and many a man was out bounty hunting for the two hundred camels that had been promised as reward.
After twenty-four hours a rider showed himself and cried out to them, “Oh Muhammad, who will deliver you from my hand this day?” The rider was one Suraqa bin Malik, a brave warrior and bounty hunter. The Holy Prophet answered him, calling back, “The Mighty and All-Vanquishing Lord Allah Almighty will deliver me from your hands!” At that moment the angel Jibra’il appeared to the Prophet, giving him Salams from his Lord and saying, “The Lord Almighty has made the earth subservient to you, it is at your command!”
As Suraqa came riding towards them, the Holy Prophet ordered the earth to swallow him, and the earth swallowed the four legs of the horse up to its knees. When Suraqa saw what was happening, he cried out, saying, “Mercy! Mercy! I will never again raise my hand against you, I will be your helper from now on!” Then the Prophet commanded the earth to let him go, and he went free again. Three times he broke his word, and three times Muhammad commanded the earth to swallow him, until his stubborn will was broken.
He took from the Holy Prophet as a token of their agreement a sign or word written on a stone or pottery shard. However, he later kept quiet about this event, and when he met the pursuers, he told them Muhammad had gone by a different route. When he came back to Abu Jahl, he told him he had not seen Muhammad . In the eighth year of the Hijra when the Prophet was returning from the Battle of Hunayn, Suraqa went out to meet the Holy Prophet , presenting his token and accepted Islam at his hand.
The First Hijri Mosque at Quba
The people of Madinah had news of the Prophet’s departure from Mecca, and they expected him with great eagerness. Every morning at dawn some of the men of the Bani ‘Amr in the oasis of Quba would go out to look for him. One morning, on a Monday, the twelfth day of Rabi’ al-Awwal, one of the Jews of Quba detected the white of their garments against the black volcanic rock, and as he knew that the people of Quba were expecting a visitor, he called out to them, “He has come! Your expected visitor has come!” All at once an atmosphere of festiveness engulfed Madinah, all the people came streaming out into the streets to meet the travelers whose light outshone even the fierce brilliance of the midday sun. They met the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq in the shade of a palm-tree. They remained for a while in joyful contemplation of the Prophet’s light-filled countenance which most of them had not seen before. Then it was decided to house the Holy Prophet at Quba for a while, in the house of an old man of the ‘Aws, Kulthum bin Hidm of the Bani ‘Amr. Abu Bakr stayed in another village closer to Madinah, al-Sunh, at the house of a man of the Khazraj. The people of Madinah came in groups to greet the Prophet every day and he stayed for a fortnight at Quba. During this time the foundations of a mosque were laid at Quba.
A mosque that was founded upon godfearing (Taqwa) from the first day is worthier for thee to stand in; therein are men who love to cleanse themselves; and God loves those who cleanse themselves. (Repentance, 108-109)
Ali arrived at Quba a few days later, finding the Holy Prophet and his company there. From riding so hard and fast his legs were hurt, but the touch of the Holy Prophet’s hands restored them to health on the spot. The building of the mosque at Quba was completed on a Friday, and it was named Masjid-al-Taqwa. The Holy Prophet prayed Jum’a there together with one hundred Muslims, and it was the first Khutba and the first Jum’a prayer of Islam.
After the Jum’a prayer the whole Muslim population of Madinah accompanied the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq into the city. On foot they went as well as on camel and horseback, glad of heart and reciting Takbir (Allahu Akbar) as they went along, so that Heaven and earth resounded with their joy. The women and children accompanied the procession, singing the song of welcome, which is sung around the world to this very day.
The Song of Welcome
Tala’al-badru-‘alayna
(The full moon has risen over us)
min thaniyat-al-wida’
(From the moment of departure)
wajaba-ash-shukru ‘alayna
(Gratitude is our duty)
ma da’a lillahi da’.
(For that a caller summons us to Allah).
ayyuhal-mab’uthu fiha
(Oh you who are sent to her, i.e. the city of Madinah)
ji’ta bil-amril-muta’
(You have come with a command to be obeyed)
ji’ta sharraftal-madina
(You have come and honored the city)
marhaban ya khaira da’.
(Welcome to you, oh best of Callers!)
The entire population of the oasis lined the road to greet the Prophet as he rode into town. From the rooftops came shouts of welcome, and men stood before their houses, catching hold of the halter of the Prophet’s camel as he passed by, inviting him to alight and honor their abode. The Holy Prophet however blessed them each with a smile and rode on, saying, “Let my camel pass, for she knows her way. I will descend where she decides to kneel.”
A King of Yemen is Granted Shahada
There was one man, Khalid bin Zayd, whose wife said to him, “Go and place food and water for the camel in front of our door, perhaps the Prophet’s camel will stop and he will stay with us.” Now Khalid bin Zayd who was called Abu Ayyub said to himself sadly, “There are so many houses vying for the honor of housing the Holy Prophet , how should this honor fall to us?”
This man, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, was a descendant of the ancient kings of Yemen who were called Tuba in their time. His ancestor was a king, Abu Qarib, who had lived four hundred years before the time of the Prophet . He was an idol- worshipper, but he heard from his Christian advisors about the Prophet who was to come. They spoke to him of the description given in the Torah and the Injil, and of the Divine Guidance he was to bring. The king Abu Qarib was then impassioned by love for the Prophet and began to yearn for him. He asked his wisemen whether he could see this Prophet, and he learned that this could not be, for another four hundred years were to pass before he was to arrive. They foretold that he was to be born at Mecca where his people would badly mistreat and abuse him, and that he would migrate to Madinah on Divine Command where he was later to die and be laid to rest. This king therefore set out for Mecca with many precious gifts, and presented the Kaba with its very first Kiswa (covering). Then he proceeded on to Madi
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ate detail.” Then they said, “We are not satisfied to hear that you went there and came back. Tell us about our caravans.” The Holy Prophet then said, “I chanced upon such-and- such a caravan belonging to a certain tribe at a place named Rawha. They had lost one of their camels and were searching for it. I was very thirsty, and there happened to be a cup of water there. I took it and drank from it, then I placed it back where it had been. When the men of the caravan return to you, ask them about this cup of water: did they find it full of water, or not?”
Later this caravan arrived. People questioned them as the Prophet had told them. They confirmed all he had said and recounted, “At Rawaha we had lost our camel and we went in search of it. When we returned, we found that someone had drunk the water we left in the cup, it was empty.”
They asked the Prophet , “Tell us about our caravan, which was journeying in the other direction.” The Prophet agreed and said to them, “I met them in a place called Tan’im.” Then they asked him to relate in greater detail their numbers and burdens and beasts, and when their return to Mecca could be expected. The Holy Prophet replied to every one of their questions, giving even the names of the men in the caravan. He said, “On such and such a day at sunrise, this caravan will arrive, and at its head will go a white camel, tinged with black.”
On the day he had indicated, all those assembled went out into the desert to watch for the caravan’s arrival, though there was still no sign of it. Some said, “It arrived at the time he said it would.” Others said, “As soon as the sun rose, the
caravan appeared.” Others again said, “The caravan was seen with a white camel leading it.” They confirmed everything the Prophet had said about the caravan and all turned out to be true. They all witnessed these events, but despite that there could be no doubt as to the Prophet’s journey to Jerusalem and his return in one night, not one of them believed in him, all called him a liar.
One day after his Mi’raj, the Angel Jibra’il came again to the Holy Prophet who was in a state of vexation because of his nation. The angel said to him:
“Oh Prophet of Allah , do not grieve all that much over your nation, for today I have come to you with great good tidings.” The good tidings he brought were these:
In the fourth Heaven there is an angel who commands twelve thousand angels. During your Mi’raj, when all the other angels rose from their places to greet you, this angel did not rise to his feet along with the others. Today when I passed by the gate of that Heaven, I heard the sound of moaning, and when I turned to look, I saw that the sad sound came from that particular angel whom I was used to seeing. I saw that his wings had been plucked, and his light had been taken from him, he lay bundled in a corner, sighing pitifully. When he saw me, he began to weep. I said to him, ‘Why do you weep, you who are such a great and honored angel?’ He said, ‘I am that angel, but I have committed a grave error. For my Lord has reproached me, saying, ‘Why, when My Beloved Prophet came to the heavens to visit you, did you not rise to welcome him?’ I answered, ‘Oh my Lord, at that time I was so absorbed in my worship and adoration of Your Almighty Holiness, that I did not think of deflecting my attention to anything else. I saw Muhammad coming, but I did not think it so important an event.’
“’The Lord then loosened His Wrath against me, and brought me into this condition in which you behold me now, my light withdrawn, my feathers plucked, and myself demoted from my angelic station. Oh Jibra’il, pray, intercede for me with my Lord!’ I therefore prayed to the Lord and begged Him to pardon His angel’s failing, who pledged never to commit another act of negligence. The Lord Almighty then replied, ‘Let him recite Salat-wa-Salam on My Holy Prophet , and I will forgive him.’
“I went and told this to the angel, who immediately started reciting peace and blessings upon the Prophet , and when he had recited them
ten times, all his wing feathers had grown back, and he flew off joyfully.’”
“This is the good news I have come to tell you, oh Rasulullah . For the Lord will forgive and pardon all those from your nation who recite peace and blessings to you with a loving heart and He will grant them access to Paradise.”
When the Holy Prophet came out to his companions after this, his face was as radiant as the moon at its fullest, and he smiled so broadly that his back teeth showed. He then informed his companions of the good tidings the angel had brought him, of how the Lord would forgive all those who recited Salat-wa- Salam upon him, and all his blessed Companions rejoiced with him.
Allahumma salli wa sallam wa barik ‘ala
Sayyidina Muhammadan wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam tasliman, wal-hamdu-lillahi-rabbil-‘alamin.
The Early Muslims in Madinah
Two of the main tribes of Madinah were the ‘Aus and the Khazraj. They were deeply divided against each other, sporadically engaging in enmity and civil war, then again concluding fragile peace agreements. The Khazraj were often allied with the unbelievers of Madinah, with whom they lived side by side.
The Jews were Ahl al-Kitabi (People of the Book), and possessors of knowledge, while the Khazraj still worshipped idols. Whenever they happened to be on bad terms with the Jews, the latter would say to them, “Soon a prophet will be sent, his day is at hand. When he appears, we shall follow him and you will perish; we will destroy you entirely.” However, when Muhammad had come to Madinah, they said, “This man is no prophet!” As it is written in the holy verses of the Quran:
When there came to them a Book from God, confirming what was with them and they aforetimes prayed for victory over the unbelievers – when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it. (The Cow, 89)
When some of the Khazraj heard the talk of the Holy Prophet at one of the fairs, they said to one another, “This must be the Prophet the Jews were warning us of. Let us go to him before they do!” So they went to Muhammad , and he recited to them the Sura Ibrahim from the Quran. They were very impressed by it and became Muslims at his hand. They said, “We have accepted Islam as our religion and Muhammad as our Prophet. Now we will return to our city and tell our people what we have seen and heard. Perhaps Allah will unite them through you, for we are a people torn apart by hatred and strife. God-willing, we shall meet again next year at al-‘Aqaba.”
The six men of Khazraj who became Muslims at this time were Abu Umama of the Bani Najjar; ‘Auf bin Harith; Rafi’ bin Malik; Qutba bin Amir; ‘Uqba bin Amir; and Jabir bin Abdullah bin Ri’ab.
When they returned to Madinah they began to speak to their families and relations about the new teaching they had embraced, and in this way, the Light of Islam began to spread in the city.
In the following year twelve of their number set out to meet the Holy Prophet at the place named al-‘Aqaba, and all twelve gave their pledge to the Holy Prophet . These twelve men were As’ad bin Zurara; ‘Auf bin Harith and his brother Mu’adh bin Harith; Rafi’ bin Malik; Dhakwan ibn ‘Abdu Qays; ‘Ubada ibn al-Samit; Yazid bin Tha’laba; ‘Abbas bin ‘Ubada; ‘Uqba bin Amir; Qutba bin Amir; Abul-Haytham ibn al-Tayyihan and ‘Uwaym bin Sa’ida. The pledge they gave the Prophet consisted of the following undertaking: they vowed to associate nothing with Allah; not to steal; not to commit unchaste acts; not to kill their children; not to slander anyone; not to disobey the Prophet in any matter that was right.
The Holy Prophet then asked his uncle ‘Abbas: “Last year six men came to me from Madinah and accepted Islam; this year twelve people came, inviting me to come with them to Madinah. What do you say to that?” ‘Abbas answered, “There are not twelve, but more than twelve thousand people living in Madinah. If you ask me, I would advise you to send your representative there first. If all goes well and if they duly honor him, then it may be alright for you to go there.” The Holy Prophet agreed with this, and sent with them Mus’ab bin ‘Umayr who was also a man of Quraysh. He was instructed to teach the new religion and the reciting of the Holy Quran, and he stayed in the house of As’ad bin Zurara. As’ad’s house thus became the first gathering place for the Muslims of Madinah, and their number rapidly increased.
Now Sa’d bin Mu’adh and ‘Usayd bin Hudayr were leaders of their clan, and they had not yet become Muslim. One day Sa’d came by the place where Mus’ab was sitting reading Quran, Suratul Inshirah, “the Expanding”. Sa’d heard it and was intensely moved by the sound of these words, so that he asked Mus’ab to read it again. Sa’d became Muslim then and there, as did his friend ‘Usayd. With them all the men and women of their clan joined Islam, for they were the chiefs of their clans. All the clans of ‘Aus and Khazraj now had Muslims among them, except for the Bani Umayya bin Zayd.
The Second Tryst at ‘Aqaba
Again it was the time of the pilgrimage, and Mus’ab returned to Mecca. The Muslim Ansar (the Helpers from Madinah) came to the annual fair together with the pagan pilgrims. Seventy men of the nobles of Madinah came to the Holy Prophet to invite him to Madinah. They came to him as he was sitting beside his uncle ‘Abbas and they made him a great show of their respect. They took their oath of allegiance to the Holy Prophet whom many of them had never
seen before, and this time the oath included a pledge of war against the unbelievers.
The Prophet’s uncle ‘Abbas had not yet accepted Islam, and he now said, “I am not a follower of his religion, but he is the son of my brother, and therefore he is of my flesh and blood. In Mecca, he has a large and influential family, whereas in Madinah he has no blood-ties. He has seen a lot of suffering here. However, if you are taking him away to Madinah and are unable to be faithful to what you have promised him and unable to protect him, then it is better he stays here where he is.” Then they took the solemn pledge to defend and protect the Prophet at all costs, and the Holy Prophet also pledged himself to them.
The Meccans heard the news of this tryst, and they were disturbed at the prospect of Muhammad being taken away to Madinah by his followers. The Prophet told his followers, “Begin now to leave for Madinah,” and they left in small groups of two or three at a time, to settle in Madinah. The Holy Prophet himself remained in Mecca until the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal.
Gradually, Quraysh began to notice the absence of various people from among their number. Abu Jahl said before a gathering of Quraysh, “If Muhammad goes off to Madinah, he will grow strong there and return to destroy us.” The next day they called a gathering, which the accursed Shaytan himself attended, having adopted a human form. He came to them in the guise of a venerable old man, and spoke up, saying, “This man seduces everyone with his sweet words and pleasing countenance; people see him, they hear him speak and they fall for him. There is only one thing for us to do: he must be killed.” The gathering applauded his speech and agreed. It was decided to send a man from each of the tribes to lie in wait for Muhammad every night from now on, so that his blood would not fall on any one tribe, thereby triggering a blood feud.
At this moment, the angel Jibra’il appeared to the Holy Prophet , revealing the following verse and ordering him to leave Mecca that same night.
And when the unbelievers were devising against thee, to confine thee, or slay thee, or to expel thee, and were devising, and God was devising; and God is the best of devisers.
The Hijra
(The Spoils, 30)
When the Holy Prophet knew that he had to leave the city of his birth, he
called Ali to him and said to him, “I have a number of items in safe-keeping. As I am departing tonight, I leave these with you to return to their owners within three days. Tonight you sleep in my bed in my stead, and fear not, but cover yourself with my mantle. No harm will befall you. Afterwards come and follow me.”
He then went to the house of Abu Bakr, and it was already late at night. Abu Bakr had prepared two Hijin camels for the eventuality of their departure from Mecca. Now the Prophet came to give him the signal. They planned to meet after midnight at a cave some distance from Mecca. Abu Bakr then called his daughter Asma to him and said to her, “Muhammad and I are headed for the cave on Jabel Thaur where we intend to be for three days. Come and bring us food every evening, and tell us news of the movements of Quraysh.” Then he called for his man who looked after the camels and told him to make them ready by the following Monday.
Abu Jahl and his men surrounded the house of Muhammad that night. As they sat waiting for him to emerge, they were overtaken by sleep, and the Holy Prophet passed by them without their noticing him. As he left the house, he recited the beginning of Sura YaSin, up to the verse:
And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier; and We have covered them, so they do not see. (YaSin, 7)
Reciting these verses, he strewed dust upon their heads. In this way he passed unnoticed from the house and came to the meeting place with Abu Bakr. Together they proceeded towards the cave. Abu Bakr wished to carry the Holy Prophet on his back, but the Prophet would not accept this. So, in order to obscure their footprints, Abu Bakr would step backwards and forwards and sideways to cover all traces of the Holy Prophet .
Back at the house, Iblis who was among those who lay in wait for Muhammad suddenly cried, “Muhammad has escaped!” They checked on him and found his bed occupied, and they believed it to be Muhammad sleeping wrapped up in his mantle. In reality it was his cousin Ali sleeping in his cloak. When Ali lay down to sleep, the Lord of the Heavens had said to His angels Mikhail and Israfil, “If I made you to be as brothers in this world, would either of you agree to meet death in place of him whom his enemies mean to kill? Would either of you go and lie in his bed?” But neither of the angels wished for death, they would have chosen life.
That being the case, the Lord said, “I have therefore made Muhammad and Ali
to be as brothers; Ali has taken Muhammad’s place in his bed in his stead, knowing of their intention to kill him. Go now and stand guard by his head and foot.” In the morning, when the idolaters saw Ali emerging from the Prophet Muhammad’s house, they were dumbstruck with amazement. Immediately they went to the house of Abu Bakr, knocked on the door and demanded of his daughter Asma where her father was. Asma replied, “I don’t know,” whereupon Abu Jahl slapped her face so violently that her earring flew off. Then they offered a reward of two hundred curly-haired camels to the man who would find Muhammad and Abu Bakr and bring him back to Quraysh. Asma went to the cave for three days and brought the fugitives food and news from the city.
Once a search party of idolaters passed close by the cave, so that their voices were heard in the cave. Abu Bakr grew restive, but the Holy Prophet motioned for him to be calm. “Be at rest,” he said, “for Allah is with us. If two people are together and Allah is the third, do you really think we will be captured?”
As it is written in the Holy Quran:
If you do not help him yet God has helped him already, when the unbelievers drove him forth the second of two, when the two were in the Cave, when he said to his companion, ‘Sorrow not, surely God is with us.’ Then God sent down on him His Sakina (inner peace) and confirmed him with legions you did not see; and He made the word of the unbelievers the lowest; and God’s word is the uppermost; God is All-Mighty, All-Wise.
(Repentance, 40)
According to one narration, Shaytan led the search parties up to the cave, following their traces. Shaytan even peered inside the cave, but could see nothing, and said, “There is nothing within.”
The Snake Bites Abu Bakr
Meanwhile Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was reciting and the Holy Prophet had laid his head upon his knee. At that moment a snake stuck its head out of its hole up high in the wall, and Abu Bakr was frightened, so that he closed up the hole with a piece of his garment. Every time the snake showed itself in a different hole, he stuffed up the hole with a piece of cloth. At last, when the snake came out of a hole very close to him, he obstructed it with the heel of his foot. The snake bit him and from the pain, tears rolled down his cheeks, onto the face of the Prophet who was lying in his lap.
The Holy Prophet awoke and asked him what had happened. Abu Bakr told him that a snake had bitten his foot. The Prophet then spoke to the snake and said to him, “Are you not ashamed of yourself for biting the foot of my beloved friend and causing him such pain?” The snake was given speech and it replied, “Oh Prophet of Allah , one day long ago I heard a word of the Prophet ‘Isa who said, ‘After my time there will come a Prophet and his name will be Ahmad. This Prophet will endure great tribulations at the hands of his own people. He will flee from them and hide from them in a cave for three days. This is written in the Holy Book of the Injil.’ Since I first heard these words, 450 years have passed by, and for all that time I have been living in this cave and waiting. Since I first heard this Prophet’s name, I became enamored with him. I have spent my time opening holes like windows in this rock so that I might catch a glimpse of this Prophet when his time has come. Now it has come, and this good friend of yours has nothing better to do than close up all my carefully excavated windows. That is why I had to bite him, oh Muhammad .”
The snake had bitten a piece the size of a pigeon’s egg out of the foot of as- Siddiq, but the Holy Prophet put his lips to it and sucked out the poison. He spit it out in front of the entrance of the cave and there grew up a bush with green leaves and white flowers, with red fruits that grew from the blood of as- Siddiq and furry seeds, which grew from the poison of the snake. A wild rose it was, with bright red hips, a plant of many beneficial properties.
Then the Holy Prophet stroked the snake that had bitten Abu Bakr’s foot. The snake was the color of saffron and gave off a beautiful scent. The Prophet said to it, “Promise me that you will not bite anyone belonging to my nation from now on.” The snake gave its word, and the Prophet prayed for its progeny to become numerous and for its scent to remain with it until the Day of Judgment. To this very day this snake is found frequently in Mecca and its body gives off a lovely scent. No one hurts it, and it harms no one.
At the entrance to the cave a rock dove had made her nest, and a spider had woven its web across the entrance. A wind arose and spread dust over everything, giving it the appearance of having been undisturbed for a thousand years.
The Lord Almighty ordered the angels Jibra’il and Mikha’il to go look after His Prophet . When they got there they met the spider that was weaving its web. “What are you doing?” they asked it. “I am concealing the Holy Prophet ,” answered the spider. “How do you think you can hide him,” the angels laughed, “your web is not even able to keep out the wind, one gust and it is blown away.”
The spider replied, “Oh Jibra’il, this web is not like any of my own webs, this web I am spinning upon the command of the Almighty; try it out if you like.” So the mighty angel Jibra’il whose single scream makes cities crumble tried with all his force to tear the web of the little spider, but try as he might, he could not snap a single thread of its silk.
The pursuing search parties following the footprints came very close to the cave, but seeing the nesting dove and the spider’s web, they said to the guide who had led them there, “We took you to be a clever person, but now you seem to be the most silly of us all. Had anybody entered this cave, do you really think this bush would be covering the entrance, and this spider’s web remain unbroken? And what about the nesting dove sitting on its eggs? Would it not have flown away and abandoned its nest?”
They had come so close that Abu Bakr could see their feet. He began to weep. “They have come for us,” he said. The Holy Prophet recited:
...When the unbelievers drove him forth, the second of two, when the two were in the Cave, when he said to his companion, “Sorrow not, surely God is with us.”
(Repentance, 40)
But Abu Bakr continued to tremble, and he said, “Oh Messenger of Allah , if I had one thousand souls at my disposal, they should all be your ransom. But what if they were to kill you? What should then be left in this world of any worth? The Muslims will be forsaken and destitute.” The Holy Prophet then answered him, pointing at the wall of the cave, “Oh Abu Bakr, look here.” When he looked, he saw a door there, and it was open. Through the open door he could see an ocean so vast its farther shore was not in sight. But on the shore near them lay a boat. The Prophet then said, “If they come to get us, we will simply board that ship and sail away. Allah Almighty will shut that door, and they will never reach us, in all eternity.” With these words, the Holy Prophet made Abu Bakr feel at ease.
The Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr remained in this cave for three days and nights. On the morning of the fourth day which was Thursday, the first day of Rabi’ al-Awwal, they mounted the camels that their servant Amir had brought, along with the Bedouin guide who was to lead them to Madinah. They set out on the journey.
Muhammad was very much affected by the solemnity of this moment of
departure. When they had reached a certain point, the Prophet halted his camel and turned towards Mecca, giving expression to his grief. The angel Jibra’il then came to him and said, “Oh Muhammad , your heart is sore at leaving the city of your birth and upbringing, but your Lord would have me reveal to you these tidings:
He who imposed the Recitation (Quran) upon thee shall surely restore thee to a place of homing. Say, ‘My Lord knows very well who comes with guidance, and who is in manifest error.’ (The Story, 85)
This verse was the announcement of the Conquest of Mecca, and with these good tidings Allah Almighty consoled His Prophet . Muhammad and Abu Bakr; their servant and their guide then continued on their journey to Madinah. They rode for twenty-four hours without halt after leaving the cave of al-Thaur. Quraysh were out all over looking for them, and many a man was out bounty hunting for the two hundred camels that had been promised as reward.
After twenty-four hours a rider showed himself and cried out to them, “Oh Muhammad, who will deliver you from my hand this day?” The rider was one Suraqa bin Malik, a brave warrior and bounty hunter. The Holy Prophet answered him, calling back, “The Mighty and All-Vanquishing Lord Allah Almighty will deliver me from your hands!” At that moment the angel Jibra’il appeared to the Prophet, giving him Salams from his Lord and saying, “The Lord Almighty has made the earth subservient to you, it is at your command!”
As Suraqa came riding towards them, the Holy Prophet ordered the earth to swallow him, and the earth swallowed the four legs of the horse up to its knees. When Suraqa saw what was happening, he cried out, saying, “Mercy! Mercy! I will never again raise my hand against you, I will be your helper from now on!” Then the Prophet commanded the earth to let him go, and he went free again. Three times he broke his word, and three times Muhammad commanded the earth to swallow him, until his stubborn will was broken.
He took from the Holy Prophet as a token of their agreement a sign or word written on a stone or pottery shard. However, he later kept quiet about this event, and when he met the pursuers, he told them Muhammad had gone by a different route. When he came back to Abu Jahl, he told him he had not seen Muhammad . In the eighth year of the Hijra when the Prophet was returning from the Battle of Hunayn, Suraqa went out to meet the Holy Prophet , presenting his token and accepted Islam at his hand.
The First Hijri Mosque at Quba
The people of Madinah had news of the Prophet’s departure from Mecca, and they expected him with great eagerness. Every morning at dawn some of the men of the Bani ‘Amr in the oasis of Quba would go out to look for him. One morning, on a Monday, the twelfth day of Rabi’ al-Awwal, one of the Jews of Quba detected the white of their garments against the black volcanic rock, and as he knew that the people of Quba were expecting a visitor, he called out to them, “He has come! Your expected visitor has come!” All at once an atmosphere of festiveness engulfed Madinah, all the people came streaming out into the streets to meet the travelers whose light outshone even the fierce brilliance of the midday sun. They met the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq in the shade of a palm-tree. They remained for a while in joyful contemplation of the Prophet’s light-filled countenance which most of them had not seen before. Then it was decided to house the Holy Prophet at Quba for a while, in the house of an old man of the ‘Aws, Kulthum bin Hidm of the Bani ‘Amr. Abu Bakr stayed in another village closer to Madinah, al-Sunh, at the house of a man of the Khazraj. The people of Madinah came in groups to greet the Prophet every day and he stayed for a fortnight at Quba. During this time the foundations of a mosque were laid at Quba.
A mosque that was founded upon godfearing (Taqwa) from the first day is worthier for thee to stand in; therein are men who love to cleanse themselves; and God loves those who cleanse themselves. (Repentance, 108-109)
Ali arrived at Quba a few days later, finding the Holy Prophet and his company there. From riding so hard and fast his legs were hurt, but the touch of the Holy Prophet’s hands restored them to health on the spot. The building of the mosque at Quba was completed on a Friday, and it was named Masjid-al-Taqwa. The Holy Prophet prayed Jum’a there together with one hundred Muslims, and it was the first Khutba and the first Jum’a prayer of Islam.
After the Jum’a prayer the whole Muslim population of Madinah accompanied the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq into the city. On foot they went as well as on camel and horseback, glad of heart and reciting Takbir (Allahu Akbar) as they went along, so that Heaven and earth resounded with their joy. The women and children accompanied the procession, singing the song of welcome, which is sung around the world to this very day.
The Song of Welcome
Tala’al-badru-‘alayna
(The full moon has risen over us)
min thaniyat-al-wida’
(From the moment of departure)
wajaba-ash-shukru ‘alayna
(Gratitude is our duty)
ma da’a lillahi da’.
(For that a caller summons us to Allah).
ayyuhal-mab’uthu fiha
(Oh you who are sent to her, i.e. the city of Madinah)
ji’ta bil-amril-muta’
(You have come with a command to be obeyed)
ji’ta sharraftal-madina
(You have come and honored the city)
marhaban ya khaira da’.
(Welcome to you, oh best of Callers!)
The entire population of the oasis lined the road to greet the Prophet as he rode into town. From the rooftops came shouts of welcome, and men stood before their houses, catching hold of the halter of the Prophet’s camel as he passed by, inviting him to alight and honor their abode. The Holy Prophet however blessed them each with a smile and rode on, saying, “Let my camel pass, for she knows her way. I will descend where she decides to kneel.”
A King of Yemen is Granted Shahada
There was one man, Khalid bin Zayd, whose wife said to him, “Go and place food and water for the camel in front of our door, perhaps the Prophet’s camel will stop and he will stay with us.” Now Khalid bin Zayd who was called Abu Ayyub said to himself sadly, “There are so many houses vying for the honor of housing the Holy Prophet , how should this honor fall to us?”
This man, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, was a descendant of the ancient kings of Yemen who were called Tuba in their time. His ancestor was a king, Abu Qarib, who had lived four hundred years before the time of the Prophet . He was an idol- worshipper, but he heard from his Christian advisors about the Prophet who was to come. They spoke to him of the description given in the Torah and the Injil, and of the Divine Guidance he was to bring. The king Abu Qarib was then impassioned by love for the Prophet and began to yearn for him. He asked his wisemen whether he could see this Prophet, and he learned that this could not be, for another four hundred years were to pass before he was to arrive. They foretold that he was to be born at Mecca where his people would badly mistreat and abuse him, and that he would migrate to Madinah on Divine Command where he was later to die and be laid to rest. This king therefore set out for Mecca with many precious gifts, and presented the Kaba with its very first Kiswa (covering). Then he proceeded on to Madi
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