Quraysh was now quite desperate

Quraysh Plans of Murder

Quraysh was now quite desperate.

With his protector Abu Taleb dead the council of Quraysh had decided now on the killing of Mohammad and be rid of him and his new religion of Islam for once and for all.

Mohammad learnt of his death plot by Quraysh from the Archangel Jibraeel and planned his escape from Mecca to Yathrib in great secrecy and informed only his young cousin Ali Ibin Abe Taleb of his daring plan.

Help from Ali

Quraysh had surrounded and positioned their armed assassins around Mohammad's house. So The Prophet asked Ali if he would help him in escaping from the assassins by sleeping in his bed covered by his own waist vest pretending to be him. So that he could deceive them longer enough to make his escape into the night desert to Yathrib.

Ali Ibin Abe Taleb readily agreed and laid onto the Prophet's bed and covered his head with Mohammad's waist vest and pretended to be The Prophet fast asleep while Mohammad made his escape by God's miracle of blinding his assassins as he walked out of his house pass each one of them and disappearing into the cool night desert.

Quraysh were eagerly awaiting the success of Mohammad's murder well into the night. and by the morning sun they grew impatient and decided to go to see for themselves the murder being carried out by their chosen men from each tribe.

When the chiefs of Quraysh arrived at The Prophet's house they asked of their enemy. The leader of armed assassins informed them of Mohammad oblivious of their plan and that he was still asleep in his bed.

The chiefs looked at each other happily in triumph and quickly ordered the immediate onsault of Mohammad. The assassins charged into the house and stood over the still body of the laying figure that was still covered by the waist vest.

The assassins poised themselves with their spears over the sleeping figure, waited for the signal to plunge in their spears. Then the leader suddenly snatched away the cover but only to their amazement they saw Ali lying wide awake on the bed, starring back at them, with utter contempt.

Still startled they questioned Ali on the reason for him sleeping in The Prophet's bed and of the where abouts of his cousin Mohammad. The young lad Ali snapped back defiantly, that he was not privy to Mohammad's actions and demanded that they leave his cousin's house immeadiatley.

Hastily they all mounted their horses and rode out into the desert to find Mohammad(pbuh&hf).

Abdullah, the son of Abd Al-Muttalib, was not in Mecca at the time of the miracle of the birds. He had gone for trade to Palestine and Syria with one of the caravans; and on his way home he had lodged with his grandmother's family in Yathrib, and there he had fallen ill.

The caravan went on without him to Mecca and when it brought the news of his illness. His father Abd Al-Muttalib quickly sent Harith to accompany his brother home as soon as he should be well enough to travel.

But when Harith arrived at the house of his Yathrib cousins they answered his greetings with commiserations, and he knew at once that his brother Abdullah was dead.

There was great grief in Mecca when Harith returned. Aminah's only consolation was the unborn child of her dead husband, and her solace increased as the time of her delivery drew near.

She was conscious of a strong light within her 

One day it shone so intensely from her, that she could see the castles of Bostra in Syria. And then she heard a voice say softly to her,

"Thou ,carriest in thy womb, the Lord of this people. When he is born say: 

'I place him beneath the protection of the One, from the evil of every envier; 

Then name him Mohammad."

Some weeks later, Aminah gave birth to her child in the home of her uncle.

Then Abd Al-Muttalib took the new born baby boy in his arms and carried him into the Sanctuary of the Holy House, The Kaba. Where he prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to God for this gift.

Then he brought him once more to his mother, but on the way he showed him off to his own household. He himself was shortly to have another son, by Aminah's cousin Halah.

At the moment his youngest son was the three year old Abbass who now met him at the door of his house.

"This is thy brother; kiss him,"

he said, holding out to him the new-born babe, and Abbass kissed his baby nephew Mohammad(pbuh&hf). 

At that time the Yemen was under the rule of Abyssinia, and an Abyssinian named Abrahah was the vice-regent. He built a magnificent cathedral in Sana, hoping thereby to make it supersede Mecca as the great place of pilgrimage for all Arabia.

He had marble brought to it from one of the derelict palaces of the Queen of Sheba, and he set up crosses in it of gold and of silver, and pulpits of ivory and ebony, and he wrote to his master, the Negus:

"I have built thee a church, O King, the like of which was never built for any king before thee; and I shall not rest until I have diverted unto it the pilgrimage of the Arabs."

Nor did he make any secret of his intention, and great was the anger of the tribes throughout Hijaz and Najd.

Finally when a man of Kininah, a tribe akin to Quraysh, going to Sana to trade, relieved his bladder on one of the walls of the great church building before returning that night to his tribe in the desert.

When Abrahah heard of this, he was furious and finally had the excuse he wanted, so he vowed that in revenge he would raze the Kabah to the ground; and having made his preparations he set off for Mecca with a large army, in the van of which he placed an elephant.

Some of the Arab tribes north of Sana attempted to bar his way. but the Abyssinians put them to flight and captured their leader, Nufayl of the tribe of Khatham. By way of ransom for his life, he offered to act as their guide.

Temple of Al-Lat Mistaken for the Kabah

When the army reached Taif, the men of Thaqif came out to meet them, afraid that Abrahah might destroy their temple of Al-Lat in mistake for the Kabah. They hastened to point out to him that he had not yet reached his goal, and they offered him a guide for the remainder of his march.

Although he already had Nufayl, he accepted their offer, but the man died on the way, about two miles from Mecca, at a place called Mughammis, and they buried him. Afterwards the Arabs took to stoning his grave, and the people who live there still stone it to this day.

Abrahah reaches Mecca

Abrahah halted at Mughammis, and sent on a detachment of horsemen to the outskirts of Mecca. They took what they could on the way, and sent back their plunder to Abrahah, including two hundred camels which were the property of Abd Al-Muttalib.

Quraysh and other neighbouring tribes held a council of war, and decided that it was useless to try to resist the enemy. Meanwhile Abrahah sent a messenger to Mecca, bidding him to ask for the chief man there.

He was to tell him they had not come to fight but only to destroy the temple, and if he wished to avoid all bloodshed, he must come to the Abyssinian camp.

There had been no official chief of Quraysh since the time when thel privileges and responsibilities had been divided between the houses of Abd Ad-Dar and Abdu Manaf. But most people had their opinion as to which of the chiefs of the clans was in fact if not by right the leading man of Mecca, and on this occasion the messenger was directed to the house of Abd al-Muttalib who, together with one of his sons, went back with the messenger to the camp.

When Abrahah saw him he was so impressed by his appearance that he rose from his royal seat to greet him and then sat beside him on the carpet, telling his interpreter to inquire if he had a favour to ask. Abd Al-Muttalib replied that Abrahah's army had taken two hundred of his camels and he asked that they should be returned to him.

Abrabah was somewhat taken by surprise at the request, and said that he was disappointed in him, that he should be thinking of his camels rather than his religion which they had now come to destroy.

Abd Al-Muttalib replied:

"Alas, I am but the lord of the camels, and the temple likewise hath a Lord who will defend it."

Abrahah replied coldly,

"He cannot defend it against me!"

Abd Al-Muttalib said,

"We shall see. But now give me back my camels!"

And Abrahah gave orders for the camels to be returned.

Abd Al-Muttalib returned to Quraysh and advised them to withdraw to the hills above the town for safety. Then he went with some of his family and others to the Sanctuary. They stood beside him, praying to God for His hell against Abrahah and his army, and he himself took hold of the metal ring in the middle of The Holy Kabah door and said:

"O God, thy slave had protecteth his house. Now, protect Thou, Thy House!"

Having thus prayed, he went with the others to join the rest of Quraysh in the hills at points where they could see what took place in the valley below.

Abrahah marches against The Sacred Kabah

The next morning Abrahah made ready to march into the town, intending to destroy the Kabah and then return to Sana by the way they had come.

The elephant, richly caparlsoned, was led into the front of the army, which was already drawn up; and when the mighty animal reached his position his keeper Unays turned him the same way as the troops were turned, that is towards Mecca.

But Nufayl, the reluctant guide, had marched most of the way in the van of the army with Unays, and had learned from him some of the words of command which the elephants understood; and while the head of Unays was turned to watch for th signal to advance, Nufayl took hold of the great ear and conveyed into it; a subdued but intense imperative to kneel.

Thereupon, to the surprise and dismay of Abrahah and the troops, the elephant slowly and deliberately knelt himself down to the ground. Unays ordered him to rise, but Nufayl word had coincided with a command more powerful than that of any man, and the elephant would not move.

They did everything they could to bring, him to his feet; they even beat him about the head with iron bars and stuck huge iron hooks into his belly, to pull him up. But the mighty beast, in pain and bleeding remained kneeled down, like a rock.

Then they tried the stratagem of making the whole army turn about and march a few paces in the direction of the Yemen. The animal at once rose to his feet, turned round anew followed them. Hopefully they turned him round about again, and he also turned, but no sooner was he facing Mecca than again he knelt down, refusing to proceed futer.

This was the clearest of portents not to move one step further forward, but Abrahah was blinded by his personal ambition for the sanctuary he had built and by his determination to destroy its great rival, The Holy Kaba.

God strikes Abrahah and his army

If they had turned back then, perhaps they would all have escaped disaster. But suddenly it was too late: the western sky grew black, and a strange sound was heard; its volume increased as a great wave of darkness swept upon them from the direction of the sea, and the air above their heads, as high as they could see, was full of birds.

Survivors said that they flew with a flight like that of swifts, and each bird had three pebbles the size of dried peas, one in its beak and one between the claws of each foot.

They swooped to and fro over the ranks, pelting as they swooped, and the pebbles were so hard and launched with such velocity that they pierced even coats of mail.

Every stone found its mark and killed its man, for as soon as a body was struck its flesh began to rot, quickly in some cases, more gradually in others.

Not everyone was hit though, and amongst those spared were Unays and the elephant, and Nufayl, who had quietly slipped away from the army while all attention was concentrated on the elephant. He made his way unscathed to the hills above Mecca.

After that day Quraysh were called by the Arabs as,

"The People of God"

They were also held in even greater respect than before, because God had answered their prayers and saved The Kabah from sure destruction. They are still honoured, but rather on account of a second greater event, no doubt not totally unconnected with the first, which took place in that same of the miracle of the Year of the Elephant. 

The Journey to The Seven Heavens

The holy Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) went to the Mosque, for he loved to visit the holy Kabah during the night hours. While he was there, the desire to sleep came over him, and he lay down in the Hijr.

"Whilst I was sleeping in the Hijr, Jibraeel came to me and spurred me with his foot, whereupon I sat upright, yet I saw nothing and lay down once again.

A second time he came; and a third time, and then he took me by the arm and I rose and stood beside him, and he led me out to the gate of the Mosque, and there was a white beast, between a mule and an ass, with wings at his sides where with he moved his legs; and his every stride was as far as his eye could see."

The Prophet then told how he mounted Buraq, for so the beast was named; and with the Archangel at his side, pointing the way and measuring his pace to that of the heavenly steed, they sped northwards beyond Yathrib and beyond Khaybar, until they reached Jerusalem.

Then they were met by a company of Prophets - Ibraheem, Musa, Essa and others - and when he prayed on the site of the Temple, they gathered all together and stood behind The Prophet to join and followed him in prayer.

Then two vessels were brought before him and offered to him, one of wine the other of milk. He took the vessel of milk and drank from it, but left the vessel of wine, and Jibraeel said:

"Thou hast been guided unto the path primordial, and hast guided thereunto thy people, O Mohammad, and wine is forbidden you."

Then, as has happened to others before him - to Enoch and Elijah and Essa and Mariam - Mohammad was taken up out of this life to Heaven.

From the Rock in the centre of the site of the Temple he again mounted Buraq, who moved his wings in upward flight and became for his rider as the chariot of fire had been for the Prophet Elijah.

Led by the holy Archangel, who now revealed himself as a heavenly being, they ascended beyond the domain of earthly space and time and bodily forms, and as they passed through the Seven Heavens he met again those Prophets with whom he had prayed with in Jerusalem.

But there they had appeared to him as they had been during their life on earth, whereas now he saw them in their celestial reality, even as they now saw him, and he marvelled at their transfiguration.

Of Yusuf he said:

"That his face had the splendour of the moon at its full, and that he had been endowed with no less than the half of all existing beauty."

Yet this did not diminish The Prophet Mohammad's wonderment at his other brethren, and he mentioned in particular the great beauty of the Prophet Harroun.

Of all the Gardens that he visited in the different Heavens he said afterwards:

"A piece of Paradise the size of a bow is better than all beneath the sun, whereon it riseth and setteth; and if a woman of the people of Paradise appeared unto the people of earth, she would fill the space between Heaven and here below with light and with fragrance."

Everything he now saw, he saw with the eye of the Spirit; and of his spiritual nature, with reference to the beginnings of all earthly nature, he said:

"I was a Prophet when Adam was yet between water and clay."

The Lote Tree

The summit of his ascent was the Lote Tree of the Uttermost End. So it is named in the holy Koran, and, in one of the oldest commentaries, based on the sayings of the Prophet, it is said:

"The Lote Tree is rooted in the Throne, and it marks the end of the knowledge of every knower, be he an Archangel or be he a Prophet or even be he a Messenger. All beyond it is a hidden mystery, unknown to any, save God Alone."

At this summit of the universe the holy Archangel Jibraeel appeared to him in all his Archangelic splendour, even as he was first created. Then, in the words of the Revelation:

"When there enshrouded the Lote Tree that which enshroudeth, the eye wavered not nor did it transgress. Verily he beheld, of all the signs of his Lord, the greatest."

According to the commentary, the Divine Light descended upon the Lote Tree and enshrouded it and all else beside, and the eye of the Prophet beheld it without wavering and without turning aside from it.

Such was the answer - or one of the answers - to the supplication implicit in his words:

"I take refuge in the Light of Thy Countenance."

Command of Prayer of Worship

At the Lote Tree the Prophet received for his people the command of Fifty prayers a day; and it was then that he received the Revelation which contains the creed of Islam:

"The messenger believeth, and the faithful believe, in what hath been revealed unto him from his Lord. Each one believeth in God and His Angels and His books and His messengers: we made no distinction between any of His messengers. And they say: we bear and we obey; grant us, Thou our Lord, Thy forgiveness; unto Thee is the ultimate becoming."

They made their descent through the Seven Heavens even as they had ascended. The Prophet said:

"On my return down, when I passed the Prophet Musa, he asked,

'How many prayers have been laid upon thee and thy people?'

I told him: 'Fifty prayers every day.' And he said:

'The congregational prayer is a weighty thing, and thy people are weak. Return unto thy Lord, and ask Him to lighten the load for thee and thy people.'

So I returned and asked my Lord to make it lighter, and He took away ten. Then I passed Musa again, and again he would repeat what he had said before, so I returned again, and ten more prayers were taken from me.

But every time I returned back down, I would be met by Musa he would again send me back until finally all the prayers had been taken from me except for only Five for each day and night. Then I again returned and Musa met me, but still he said the same as before; but this time I said to him:

O Musa, I have returned unto my Lord and asked Him until I am ashamed. I will not go again. And so it is that he who performeth the Five in good faith and in trust of God's bounty, unto him shall be given the meed of the original Fifty prayers demanded by Allah!"

When the Prophet and the Archangel had made their descent to the Rock at Jerusalem, they returned to Mecca the way they had come, overtaking many southbound caravans. It was still night when they reached the holy Kabah.

The Return To Mecca

From the Kabah the holy Prophet went to the house of his cousin Umm Hani. In her words:

"A little before dawn the Prophet woke us, and when we had prayed the dawn prayer, he said:

"O Umm Hani, I prayed with you the last evening prayer in this valley as thou sawest. Then went I to Jerusalem and there prayed; and now have I prayed with you the morning prayer as thou seest."

As he rose to go, and I seized his robe with such a force that it partly came away, laying bare his belly, as if it had been but cotton cloth draped round him.

'O Prophet of God! 

Tell not the people this, for they will give thee the lie and insult thee.'

"By God! I will tell them."

He said and went to the Mosque and told those whom he met there of his journey to Jerusalem."

His enemies were immediately triumphant, for they now felt they had an irrefutable cause for mockery.

Now every child of Quraysh knew that a caravan takes at least a month to go from Mecca to Syria and at least a month to return. And now Mohammad claimed to have gone there and back in just one night!

Moreover, his followers and other folks listening at first did not totally believe him and were a little dismayed and embarressed at the Prophet's claim!

But later in days to come, they began slowly to have second thoughts, for the Prophet described the caravans he had overtaken on the way home and said where they were and about when they might be expected to arrive in Mecca; and each arrived as predicted, and the details were as he had described.

To those in the Mosque the Prophet spoke only of his journey to Jerusalem, but later that day when he was alone with his cousin Ali, and his wife Khadeejah and later still to some of his most faithful and closes of his companions.

The Holy Messenger of God(pbuh&hf) told them of his ascent through the Seven Heavens telling them a part of what he had seen, with more to be recounted over the years, often in answer to questions to his followers.

The Foster Parents

It was the custom of all the great families of Arab towns to send their sons, soon after their birth, into the desert, to be suckled and weaned and spend part of their childhood amongst one of the Bedouin desert tribes.

Nor had Mecca any reason for being an exception, since epidemics were very frequent and the rate of infant mortality was very high.

Some of the tribes had a high reputation for nursing and rearing children, and amongst these were the Bani Saad Ibin Bakr, an outlying branch of Hawazin, whose territory lay to the south-east of Mecca. Ameenah particularly was in favour of entrusting her son to the care of a woman of this tribe.

Halimah and Harith

Mohammad's Foster Parents

They came periodically to Quraysh for nurselings, and some themselves were expecting. Their journey to Mecca on this occasion was described in after-years by one of their number.

Halimah, the daughter of Abu Dhuayb, who was accompanied by her husband, Harith, and a recently born son of their own whom she was nursing. She recalled,

"It was a year of drought, and we had nothing left. I set forth on a grey she-ass of mine, and we had with us an old she-camel which could not yield one drop of milk. We were kept awake all night by our son who was wailing for hunger, for I had not enough in my breasts to feed him. And that ass of mine was so weak and so emaciated that I often kept the others in the caravan waiting."

She told how they went on their way with nothing to hope for except a fall of rain which would enable the camel and the ass to graze enough for their udders to swell a little, but by the time they reached Mecca no rain had fallen.

Once there they set about looking for nurselings, and Ameenah offered her son first to one and then to another until finally she had tried them all and they had all refused. Halimah recalled,

"That was only because we hoped for some favour from the boy's father. 'But An orphan!'

We said,

'What will his mother and his grandfather be able to do for us?"

Not that they would have wanted direct payment for their services, since it was considered dishonourable for a woman to take a fee for suckling a child. The recompense they hoped for, though less direct and less immediate, was of a far wider scope.

This interchange of benefits between townsman and nomad was in the nature of things, for each was poor where the other was rich, and rich where the other was poor.

The nomad had the age-old God-given way of life to offer, the way of Abel. The sons of Cain. For it was Cain who built the first villages - had possessions and power.

The advantage for the Bedouin was to make an enduring link with one of the great families. The foster-mother gained a new son who would look on her as a second mother and feel a filial duty to her for the rest of his life. He would also feel himself a brother to her own children. Nor was the relationship merely a nominal one.

The Arabs hold that the drinking of milk from a woman's breast is one of the channels of heredity and that a suckling drinks qualities into his nature from the nurse who suckles him. But little or nothing could be expected from the foster-child himself until he grew up, and meantime his father could normally be relied on to fulfil the duties of his son.

A grandfather, well that was too remote; and in this case they would have known that Abd Al-Muttalib was an old man who could not reasonably be expected to live much longer.

When he died, his sons, not his grandson, would be his heirs. As to Ameenah, she was poor; and as to the boy himself, his father had been too young to have acquired wealth.

He had left his son no more than five camels, a small flock of sheep and goats, and one slave girl. Abdulllah's son was indeed a child of one of the great families. But he was by far the poorest nurseling that these women were offered that year.

On the other side, though the foster-parents were not expected to be rich, they must not be too poverty-stricken, and it was evident that Halimah and her husband were poorer than any of their companions.

Whenever the choice lay between her and another, the other was preferred and chosen; and it was not long before every one of the Bani Saad women except Halimah had been entrusted with a babe. Only the poorest nurse was without a nurseling; and nurseling was without a nurse.

"When it was time to leave Mecca,"

Said Halimah,

"I told my husband, that I hated to return in the company of my friends without having taken a babe to suckle."

He said,

"As thou wilt. I shall go to that orphan may be that God will bless us in him."

So I went and took him, for reason save that I could find none but him. So I carried him back to where our mounts were stationed, and no sooner had I put him in my bosom that my breasts overflowed with milk for him. He drank his fill with him foster-brother drank likewise his fill.

They both slept and my husband went to that old she camal of ours, and lo, behold! her udders were full. He milked her and drank of her drank of her milk, and I also drank with him until we could drink no more and our hunger was well satisfied. We spent together the best of all nights and my husband in the morning said to me,

"By God, Halimah, it is a blessed creature that thou hast taken."

I said to him,

"That is indeed my hope!"

Then we set out, and I rode upon my ass and carried him with me on her back. She outstripped the whole troop, nor could any of their asses keep pace with her.

"Confound thee!"

They cried out to me,

"Wait for us! Is it not this ass of thine, the same ass that thou didst come on."

I said to them.

"Yeah by God. She is the very same. Some wonder hath befallen her!"

We reached our tents in the Bani Saad country, and I know of no place on God's earth more barren than that then was. But after we brought him to live with us, my flock would come home to me replete at every eventide and full of milk. We milked them and drank, when others had no drop of milk, and our neighbours would say to their shepards.

"Out upon you, go graze your flocks where Harith grazeth his!"

Yet still their flocks came in hungry home, yielding no or little milk, while ours came well fed, with milk in plenty. And we ceased not to enjoy this increase and this bounty from Allah(swt) until the babe's two years had passed, and I weaned him gladly.

"He was growing well,"

She continued, and none of the boys could match him for growth. By the time he was two years old he was a well made, and we took him again to his mother Ameenah, although we were eager that he should stay with us: So Halimah pleaded to her.

"Leave my little son with me until he grows strong, for I fear lest he be stricken with the plague of Mecca."

And we importuned her until she gave him once more into our keeping and we brought him again to our home, in the wild desert.

Mohammad is returned to his Mother Ameenah

After a while Halimah took him once more to Mecca to visit with his mother. And Ameenah was happy to see her son and she picked him up and embraced him and said out aloud,

"Great things are in store for my little son."

She saw that Halimah was confused and Ameenah then told her of her pregnancy, and of the bright light she had been conscious of carrying within her. Halimah was moved to tears, but this time Ameenah decided to keep her son.

"Leave him with me, and a good journey home."

And Hamilah was deeply saddened and embraced the little lad and wept. 

The Famine

Among the most frequent visitors to the house was Safiyyah, now Khadeejah's sister-in-law, the youngest of Mohammad's aunts, younger even than himself. And with her she would bring her little son Zubayr, whom she had named after her elder brother. Zubayr was thus well acquainted with his cousins, the daughters of Mohammad, from his earliest years.

With Safiyyah came also her faithful retainer Salma, who had delivered Khadeejah of all her children, and who was considered to be one of the household.

As the years passed there were occasional visits from Halimah, Mohammad's foster mother, and the Lady Khadeejah was always generous to her. One of these visits was at a time of severe and widespread drought through which Halimah's flocks had been seriously depleted, and Khadeejah made her a gift of forty sheep and a howdah camel. This same drought, which produced something like a famine in the Hijaz, was the cause of a very important addition to the household.

Abu Taleb had more children than he could easily support, and the famine weighed heavily upon him. Mohammad noticed this and felt that something should be done. The wealthiest of his uncles was Abu Lahab but he was somewhat remote from the rest of the family and hostile towards Mohammad and his new religon of Islam, and partly no doubt because he had never had any full brothers or sisters amongst them, being the only child of his mother.

Mohammad preferred to ask for the help of Abbass, who could well afford it. being a successful merchant, and who was close to him because they had been brought up together. Equally close, or even closer, was Abbass's wife, Umm al-Fadl, who loved him dearly and who always made him welcome at their house.

So he went to them now, and suggested that each of their two households should take charge of one of Abu Taleb's sons until his circumstances improved. They readily agreed, and the two men went to Abu Taleb, who said when he heard their proposal:

"Do what ye will, but leave me, my sons Aqeel and Taleb."

Jafar who was now about fifteen, and he was no longer the youngest of the family. His mother Fatimah had also borne yet another son to Abu Taleb, some ten years his younger.

His mother who had originally named him Haidar, however after the miracle of The Kaba, where she gave birth to her new borne, Mohammad renamed him, as Ali.

Mohammad insisted that Ali be put in his charge and Jafar be put in his uncle Abbass charge.

It was about this time that Khadeejah had borne her last child, a son named Abdullah, but the babe had died at an even an earlier age than Qassim. The Lady Khadeejah welcomed the new borne babe Ali, loving and bring him up as her own, and in a sense replacing the sorrow of her own baby.

Escape To Abyssinia

The Emigrants led by Jafar Ibin Abe Taleb(as) were well received in Abyssinia, and were allowed complete freedom of worship.

In all, not counting the small children they took with them, they were about eighty in number; but they did not all go at the same time.

Their flight from Mecca, was secretly planned and carried out unobtrusively in small groups. Their families would and could have stopped it, if they had known about it; but the move had been totally unexpected, and they failed to realize what had happened until the believers had all reached their destination.

The leaders of Quraysh, however, were none the less determined that they should not be left in peace, to establish there, beyond their control, a dangerous community which might be increased tenfold if other converts joined them.

So they speedily thought out a plan, and made ready a quantity of presents of a kind that the Abyssinians were known to value most.

Leather work they prized above all, so a large number of fine skins were collected, enough to make a rich bribe for every one of the Negus's generals. There were also rich gifts for the King Negus himself.

Then they carefully chose two men, one of whom was Amr Ibin Al-Aas, of the clan of Sahm. Quraysh told them exactly what to do: first, they were to approach each of the generals separately, before meeting with their King, giving him his present, and say:

"Some foolish young men and women of our people have taken refuge in this kingdom. They have left their own religion, not for yours, but for one they have invented, one that is unknown to us and to yourselves. The nobles of their people have sent us to your king on their account, that he may send them home. So when we speak to him about them, counsel him to deliver them into our hands and have no words with them; for their people see best how it is with them."

The generals all agreed, and the two men of Quraysh took their presents to the Negus, asking that the emigrants should be given into their hands and explaining the reason as they had done to the generals, and finally adding:

"The nobles of their people, who are their fathers, their uncles and their kinsmen, beg thee to restore them unto them."

The generals were present at the audience, and now with one voice they urged the Negus to comply with their request and give up the refugees, in as much as kinsmen are the best judges of the affairs of their kinsmen.

The Christian Negus King

But the Negus was displeased and said:

"Nay, by God, they shall not be betrayed - a people that have sought my protection and made my country their abode and chosen me above all others!

Give them up I will not, until I have summoned them and questioned them concerning what these men say of them. If it be as they have said, then will I deliver them unto them, that they may restore them to their own people.

But if not, then will I be their good protector so long they seek my protection."

Then he sent for the companions of The Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf), and at the same time he assembled all of his bishops, who brought with them their sacred books and spread them open round about the throne.

Amr and his fellow envoy had hoped to prevent this meeting between the Negus and the refugees, and it was indeed in their interests to prevent it, even more so than they realised.

For they were unaware that while the Abyssinians tolerated them for commercial and political reasons they looked down on them as ignorant heathens and were conscious of a large barrier between them.

For they themselves were Christians, many of them devout; they had been baptised, they worshipped the One God, and they carried in their flesh the sacrament of the Eucharist.

As such they were sensitive to the difference between the sacred and the profane, and they were keenly conscious of the profanity of men like Amr. So much the more were they receptive - none more than the Negus himself - to the impression of holy earnestness and depth which made on them by the company of believers who were now ushered into the throne room, and a murmur of wonderment arose from the bishops, others as they recognised that here were men and women more akin to themselves than to such of Quraysh as they had previously encounted.

Moreover, most of them were young, and in many of them their pit demeanour was enhanced by a great natural beauty. Not for all of them had the emigration been necessity.

A couple pleasing to look upon were Jafar and his wife Asma. They were well protected by Abu Taleb; but the refugees needed a spokesman and Jafar was a most eloquent speaker. He was also the most winning in his person, and The Prophet(pbuh&hf) said to him on one occasion:

"Thou art like me in looks and in character."

It was Jafar who they had chosen to preside over the community of exiles; and his qualities of attraction and intelligence were amply seconded by Mus'ab of Abu Dharr, a young man whom the Prophet was later to entrust with a mission of immense importance in virtue of his natural gifts.

When they were all assembled, the Negus spoke to them and said:

"What is this religion wherein ye have become separate from your people, though ye have not entered my religion nor that of any other of the folk that surround us?"

And Jafar eloquently answered him saying:

"O King, we were a people steeped in ignorance, worshipping idols, eating unsacrificed carrion, committing abominations, and the strong would devour the weak!

Thus we were, until Allah sent us a Messenger from out of our midst, one whose lineage we knew, and his veracity and his worthiness of trust and his integrity.

He called us unto God, that we should testify to His Oneness and worship only Him and renounce what we and our fathers had worshipped in the way of stones and idols; and he commanded us to speak truly, to fulfil our promises, to respect the ties of kinship and the rights of our neighbours, and to refrain from crimes and from bloodshed.

So we worship God alone, setting naught beside Him, counting as forbidden what He hath forbidden and as licit what He hath allowed. For these reasons have our people turned against us, and have persecuted us to make us forsake our religion and revert from the worship of God to the worship of idols.

That is why we have come to thy country, having chosen thee above all others; and we have been happy in thy protection, and it is our hope, O King, that here, with thee, we shall not suffer wrong."

The royal interpreters translated all that he had said. The Negus then asked if they had with them any Revelation that their Prophet had brought them from God and, when Jafar answered that they had, he said:

"Then recite it to me."

Whereupon Jafar recited a passage from the holy Koran from Surrah of Mary, which had been revealed shortly before their departure:

"And make mention of Mary in the Book, when she withdrew from her people unto an eastern pace;

She secluded herself from them; and We sent unto her Our Spirit. and it appeared unto her in the likeness of a perfect man.

She said... I take refuge from thee in the Infinitely Good, if any piety thou hast.

He said: I am none other than a messenger from thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a son most pure.

She said... How can there be for me a son, when no man bath touched me, nor am I unchaste?

He said: Even so shall it be; thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. That We may make him a sign for mankind and a mercy from Us; and it is a thing ordained."

The Negus was overwhelmed and wept, and his bishops wept also, when they heard him recite, and when it was translated they all wept again, and the Negus said..

"This hath truly come from the same source as that which Jesus brought."

Then he turned to the two envoys of Quraysh and said:

"Ye may go, for by God I will not deliver them unto you; they shall not be betrayed."

Amr Conspires

But when they had withdrawn from the royal presence, Amr said to his companion:

"Tomorrow I will tell him a thing that shall tear up this green growing prosperity of theirs by the roots. I will tell him that they say that Jesus the son of Mary is a slave."

So the next morning he went to the Negus and said:

"O King, they utter an enormous lie about Jesus the son of Mary. Do but send to them, and ask them what they say of him."

So he sent the word to come to him again and to tell him what they said of Jesus the son of Mary whereupon they were troubled, for nothing of this kind had ever befallen them.

They consulted together as to what they should reply when the question was put to them, though they all knew that they had no choice but to say what God had said. So when they entered the royal presence, again, it was said to them:

"What say ye of Jesus, the son of Mary?"

Jafar answered:

"We say of him what our Prophet brought unto us, that he is the slave of God and His Messenger and His Spirit and His Word which He cast unto Mary the blessed virgin."

Then the Negus took up a piece of wood and said:

"Jesus the son of Mary exceedeth not what thou hast said by the length of this stick."

And when the generals round him snorted, he added:

"Oh! Stop all your snorting!"

Then he turned to Jafar and his companions and said:

"Go your ways, for ye are safe in my land. Not for mountains of gold would I harm a single man of you!"

And with a movement of his hand towards the envoys of Quraysh, he said to his attendant:

"Return unto these two men their gifts, for I have no use for them."

So Amr and the other man with went back ignominiously to Mecca.

Meantime the news of what the Negus had said about Jesus spread among the people, and they were troubled and came out against him, asking for an explanation, and accusing him of having left their religion.

He there upon sent to Jafar and his companions and made ready boats for them and told them to embark and be ready to set sail if necessary. Then he took a parchment and wrote on it, and he testified,

"That there is no god but God and that Mohammad is His slave and His Messenger and that Jesus the son of Mary is also His slave and His Messenger and His Spirit and His Word which He cast unto Mary."

Then he put it beneath his gown and went out to his people who were assembled to meet him. And he said to them.

"Abyssinians, have I not, the best claim to be your king?"

They said that he had.

"Then what think ye of my life amongst you?"

"It hath been the best of lives."

They answred.

"Then what is it that troubleth you?"

He said.

"Thou hast left our religion, and hast maintained that Jesus is a slave!

"Then what say ye of Jesus?"

He asked.

"We say that he is the son of God!"

They answered.

Then he put his hand onto his breast, pointing with his index finger to where the parchment was hidden under his gown, and testified loudly to his belief to his people, by saying:

"To this I swear my belief!"

Which they all took to refer to their words. So they were satisfied and went away, for they were happy under his rule, and only wished to be reassured of their leader's faith.

Then the faithful Muslim Negus Leader sent word to Jafar(as) and his companions that they could disembark and go back to their dwellings, where they went on living as before, in comfort and security, without any kind of hindrance.

Rebuilding of The Holy Kabah

After the miraculous birth of Ali Ibin Abe Taleb in the Holy House of God The Kabah.

Quraysh decided to rebuild The Sacred Holy House, The Kabah.

As it then stood the walls were just above the height of a man, and there was no roof, which meant that even when the door was locked access was easy; and recently there had been a theft of some of its treasure which was stowed in a vault that had been dug inside the building for that purpose.

They already had all the wood that was needed for the roof: the ship of a Greek merchant had been driven ashore and wrecked beyond repair at Jeddah, so they had taken its timbers to serve as rafters; and there happened to be in Mecca at that time a man who was a skilled carpenter.

But such was their awe of the Kabah that they hesitated to lay hands on it. Their plan was to demolish its walls which were built of loose stones and to rebuild it altogether; but they were afraid of incurring the guilt of sacrilege, and their hesitation was greatly increased by the appearance of a arge snake which had taken to coming every day out of the vault to sun itself against a wall of the Kabah.

If anyone approached, it would rear its head and hiss with gaping aws, and they were terrified of it. But one day, while it was sunning itself, God sent against it an eagle, which seized it and flew away with it. So Quraysh said among themselves:

"Now we may indeed hope that God is pleased with our intent. We have a craftsman whose heart is with us, and we have wood; and God hath rid us of the serpent."

The first man to lift a stone from the top of one of the walls was the Makhzumite Abe Wahb, the brother of Fatimah, Mohammad's grandmother; but no sooner had it been lifted than the stone leapt from his hand and returned back to its place, whereupon they all drew back from the Kaba, afraid to proceed further with the work.

Then the chief of Makhzum, Waleed the son of the now dead Mughirah, took up a pickaxe and said:

"I will begin the razing for you."

Going to the Kabah he said gently,

"O God, fear not..., O God, we only intend nought but good."

Thereupon he slowly and carefully knocked down part of the wall between the Black Stone and the Yemenite Corner, that is, the south easterly wall, but the rest of the people held back in fear and expected that Waleed would be struck down.

"Let us wait and see,"

They said to each other.

"If he be smitten we will raze no more of it, but restore it even as it was; but if he be not smitten, then God is pleased with our work, and we will raze it all to the ground, and build it anew."

The night passed without any mishap and Waleed was again at work early next morning. So the others now confident of God's pleasure joined him; and when the walls were all down as far as the foundation of Abraham they came upon large greenish cobble-stones like the humps of camels placed side by side.

A man put a crowbar between two of these stories to lever one of them out; but at the first movement of the stone a quaking shudder ran through the whole of Mecca, and they took it as a sign that they must leave that foundation undisturbed.

Inside the Corner of the Black Stone they had found a piece of writing in Syriac. They kept it, not knowing what it was, until one of the Jews read it to them,

"I am God, the Lord of Becca. 

I created her the day I created the heavens and the earth, the day I formed the sun and the moon. placed round about her seven inviolable angels. She shall stand so long as her two hills stand, blessed for her people with milk and water."

Another piece of writing was found beneath the Station of the Prophet Ibrahaeem, a small rock near the door of the Kabah which bears the miraculous print of his foot:

"Mecca is the Holy House of God. 

Her sustenance cometh unto her from three directions. Let not her people be the first to profane her."

Quraysh now gathered more stones, in addition to those they already had, so as to increase the height of the building.

The Holy Black Stone

They worked separately clan by clan, until the walls were high enough for the Black Stone to be built once more into its corner.

Then a violent disagreement broke out amongst them, for each clan wanted the honour of lifting it into its place. The deadlock lasted for four or five days and the tension had increased to the point of alliances being made and preparations for battle begun, when the oldest man present proposed a solution.

"O men of Quraysh. Let take an arbiter between you, about that wherein ye differ. What say ye brethren. The first man who shall enter in through the gate of this Mosque, shall be our arbiter?"

The precinct round the Kabah was called a mosque, in Arabic Al-Masjid, a place of prostration, because the rite of prostrating Oneself to God in the direction of the Holy House had been performed there since the time of the Prophet Abraheem(as) and his son the Prophet Ishmaeel(as).

They all agreed to follow the old man's counsel. They waited, and the first man to enter the Mosque was no other than Mohammad, who had just returned to Mecca after an absence.

The sight of him produced an immediate and spontaneous recognition that here was the right person for the task, and his arrival was greeted by exclamations and murmurs of satisfaction.

"It is Al-Ameen",

Said some, meaning the most trusted one.

"We accept his judgement!"

Said others, pleased to see that Mohammad was the arbitrator.

"It is Mohammad."

Others said,

"He is wise and true."

When they had quickly explained the urgent matter to him, he said calmly to them:

"Bring me a Cloak."

And when they had brought it. Mohammad spread it on the ground, and toke the Black Stone in his hands and laid it carefully on the middle of the garment and then said to the elders.

"Let each clan leader take hold of the border of this cloak. Then lift it up, all of you together."

And when they had raised it to the right height. He took the Sacred and Holy Black Stone himself and placed it in the corner of the Holy Kabah, with his own two hands, and the building was continued and completed above the Black Stone without any further sqabbles and delays.

Bahira The Christian Monk

The fortunes of Abd Al-Muttalib had waned during the last part of his life, and what he left at his death amounted to no more than a small legacy for each of his sons.

Some of them, especially Abd Al-Uzzah who was known as Abu Lahab, had acquired considerable wealth of their own. But Abu Taleb was poor, and his nephew felt obliged to do what he could to earn his own livelihood. This he did mostly by posturing sheep and goats, and he would thus spend day after day alone in the hills above Mecca or on the slopes of the valleys beyond.

His uncle took him sometimes with him on his travels and on one occasion when Mohammad was about twelve , they went with a merchant caravan as far as Syria. At Bostra, near one of the halts where the Meccan caravan always stopped, there was a cell which had been lived in by a Christian Monk for generation after generation.

When one monk died, another took his place and inherited all that was in the cell including some old manuscripts. Amongst these was one which contained the prediction of the coming of a Prophet to the Arabs.

Bahir, the Monk who now lived in the cell, was well versed in the contents of this book, which interested him all the more , he felt that the coming of 'The Prophet' would be in his lifetime.

He had often seen the Meccan caravan approach and halt not far from his cell, but as this one came in sight his attention was struck by something the like of which he had never seen before.

A small low hanging cloud moved slowly above their heads so that it was always between the sun and one or two of the travellers. With intense interest he watched them draw near. His interest now changed to amazement, for as soon as they halted the cloud ceased to move, remaining stationary over the tree beneath which they took shelter, while the tree itself lowered its branches over them, so that they were doubly in the shade.

Bahir knew that such a portent, though unobtrusive, was of a very high significance. Only some great spiritual presence could explain it, and immediately he thought of the expected Prophet. Could it be that he had at last come, and was amongst these travellers?

The cell had recently been stocked with provisions, and putting together all he had, he sent word to the caravan of Quraysh:

"Men of Quraysh, I have prepared food for you, and I would that ye should come to me, every one of you, young and old, bondman and freeman."

So they came to his cell, but despite what he had said they left Mohammad to look after their camels and their baggage. As they approached, Bahir scanned their faces one by one. But he could see nothing which corresponded to the description in his book, nor did there seem to be any man amongst them who was adequate to the greatness of the two miracles.

Perhaps he thought they had not all come.

"Men of Quraysh, let none of you stay behind. There is not one that hath been left behind,"

They answered,

"Save only a boy, the youngest of us all"

The Monk replied,

"Treat him not so, but call him to come, and let him be present with us at this meal."

Abu Taleb and the others reproached themselves for their thoughtlessness.

"W e are indeed to blame, that the son of Abdullah should have been left behind and not brought to share this feast with us!"

The boy was fetched to join in the feast.

Bahira at a glance at the boy's face, was enough to explain the miracles to him. Looking at him attentively through out the entire meal he notived many features of both the face and body, which corresponded to what was in his books.

When he had finished eating , the Monk went to his youngest guest and began asking him certain questions about his way of life and about his sleep and about his affairs in general. The boy readily informed him of all of these things for the old Monk was indeed quite venerable and his questions were courteous and benevolent. Nor did he hesitate to draw of the boy's cloak, when he finally asked if he might look at his back.

Bahira had already felt certain. But now now he was in no doubt at all . For there, between his shoulder blades, was the very mark he expected to see. The seal of 'Prophethood' even as it was described in his Books, in the self same place!

He turned to the boy's uncle Abu Taleb and asked,

"What kinship hath this boy with tee?"

Abu Taleb replied,

"He is my son"

The Monk smiled and shook his head and gently said to Abu Taleb,

"He is not thy son. It cannot be that this boy's father is alive."

Abu Taleb taken aback said,

" He is my brother's son"

The Monk pressed,

"Then what of his father?"

Abu Taleb said, "It is as ye said, he's dead. He died, when the boy was still in his mother's womb."

The Monk then said,

"Take thy brother's son back to his country, and guard him well against the Jews. For by God, if they see him and know of him that which I know. They surely will contrive much evil against him. For great things are in store for this brother's son of thine."

Two Bereavements

The little younge boy lived happily in Mecca with his mother for about three years, winning the affection of his grandfather and his uncles and aunts, and his many cousins with whom he played with.

Particularly dear to him were his younge uncle Hamzah and his aunt Safiyyah, the children of Abd Al-Muttalib's last marriage which had taken place on the same day as that of Mohammad's parents. Hamzah was of his own age, Safiyyah a little bit younger, and a powerful and lasting bond was formed between the three of them.

When he was six years old, his mother decided to take him on a visit to his kinsmen in Yathrib. They joined one of the northbound caravans, riding on two camels, Aminah on one of them and he on the other with his devoted slave girl, Barakah.

In later life he recounted how he learned to swim in a pool which belonged to his Khazrajite kinsmen with whom they stayed, and how the boys taught him to fly a kite.

But not long after they had set out on their return journey Aminah fell ill and they were obliged to halt, letting the caravan go on without them. After some days she died - it was at Abwj, not far from Yathrib - and there she was buried.

Barakah did what she could to console the boy, now doubly an orphan, and in the company of some travellers she brought him once more to Mecca.

His grandfather now took complete charge of him, and it soon became clear that his special love for his son Abdullah had been transferred to that of grandson.

Abd Al-Muttalib was always happy to be near The Holy Kaba, as when it had been his wont to sleep in the Hijr at the time when he had been ordered to dig the well of Zamzam. So his family use to spread him a couch every day in the shadow of the Holy House, and out of respect for their father none of his sons, not even Hamzah, would ever venture to sit on it

But his little grandson had no such scruples, and when his uncles told him to sit elsewhere Abd Al-Muttalib said,

"Let my son be. For by God, a great future is his."

He would seat him beside him on the couch, and carress fonderly his back, and it always pleased him to watch what he was doing. Almost every day they could be seen together, hand in hand, at the Kaba or elsewhere in Mecca.

Abd Al-Muttalib even took Muhammad with him when he went to attend the Assembly where only the chief men of the town, all over forty, would meet to discuss various matters, nor did the eighty year old man refrain from asking the seven year-old boy his opinion on matters dissccused. When called to question by his fellow dignitaries, he would always say to them,

"A great future is in store for my son."

Two years after the death of his mother, the orphan was bereaved once again. This time of his grandfather. When he was dying, Abd Al-Muttalib entrusted his grandson to his son Abu Taleb who was full brother to Abdullah the boy's father. His uncle Abu Taleb continued the same warm effection and kindness to his newphew Mohammad and layer protected him from his enemies of Quraysh.

Hence forth he was brought up as one of his own sons, and his wife Fatimah Bint Assad did all she could to replace the boy's mother.

Years later, Mohammad used to say of her that she would have let her own children go hungry rather than have him hunger.

Poisoned Meal

When all the terms of the Fadek had been agreed upon, and when the victorious army had rested, the Jewess widowed wife of Sallam Ibin Mishkam, slaughter her best lamb and roasted it.

She then poisoned every part of it with a deadly poison which she concentrated more especially in the shoulders of the roast. Having earlier learnt on her inquiry that the Prophet preferred to the meat of the shoulders of the roasted lamb than to the other joints.

Then she brought the roasted lamb to the camp and set it before the Prophet. The holy Prophet thank her for her kindness and invited his followers to eat with him.

It so happened on this occasion, seated next to the Prophet was a Khazrajite named Bishr, the son of Bara. When the Prophet took a moutful of meat from the roasted lamb, Bishr did the same and immeadiately swallowed it, but the Propet quickly spat the food out of his mouth, and said to the others seated.

"Hold off your hands! This shoulder had proclaimed unto me that it is poisoned!"

The Prophet immeadiately sent for the woman, and asked her if she had poisoned the joint and she asked,

"Who told thee?"

The Prophet replied,

"The shoulder itself. What had made thee do such a thing?"

She replied,

"Well thou knowest what thou hast done unto my people; and thou hast slain my father and mine uncle and my husband. So I told myself: If he be a king, I shall be well quit of him; and if he be a Prophet he will be for warned of the poison."

The poor face of Bisr was already ashen pale, and he died shortly afterwards. But never the less the Prophet pardoned the woman.

She was the only woman who had lost a father, an uncle and a husband at the hands of the Muslims.

Years later the small dosage of that posion would have a lasting effect on the Prophet and finally slowly cause his death. 

( Peace Be Upon Him & His Family )

During the Sacred Months of the Boycott

During the sacred months, when they could leave their retreat and go about freely without fear of being molested, the Prophet frequently went to the Sanctuary, and the leaders of Quraysh took advantage of his presence there to insult him and to satirise him.

Sometimes when he recited Revelations warning Quraysh of what had hapened to former peoples, Nadir of Abd Ad-Dar would rise to his feet and say:

"By God, Mohammad is no better as a speaker than I am. His talk is but tales of the men of old. They have been written out for him even as mine have been written out for me."

Then he would tell them tales of Rusturn and Isfandiyar and the kings of Persia.

In this connection was revealed one of the many verses which refer to the heart as the faculty by which man has sight of supernatural realities.

The eye of the heart is closed in a fallen man

However if it is able to take in a glimmering of light? 

Then this is faith

But an evil way of living

Causes a covering like rust to accumulate over the heart 

So that it cannot sense the Divine origin of God's Message:

"When Our Revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Tales of the men of old. Nay, but their earnings are even as rust over their bearts."

Koran:LXXXIII, 13-14

As to the opposite state of this, the supreme possibility of insight, the Prophet affirmed of himself on more than one occasion that, the eye of his heart was open even in sleep:

"Mine eye sleepeth, but my heart is awake."

Destined to Hell 

Another Revelation, (Koran:XCI); one of the very few that mentions by name any contemporary of the Prophet, had now come affirming that Abu Lahab and his wife were destined for Hell.

Umm Jameel, Abu Lahab's wife heard of this, and she went to the Mosque with a stone pestle in her hand in search of the Prophet, who was sitting with his followers.

She came up to them and said to him:

"Where is Mohammad?"

They knew that she meant the Prophet who was there siiting right in front of her, and they was too amazed to speak.

"I have heard, that he hath lampooned me, and by God, if I had found him I would have shattered his mouth with this pestle. And as for me, I am a poetess indeed."

She then uttered a rhyme about the Prophet,

"We disobey the reprobate.

We flout the commands he doth dictate.

And his religion we do hate!"

When she had gone, the muslims sitting around with the Prophet asked the Prophet if she had not seen him.

"She saw me not, God took away her sight from me!"

Note: 

Reprobate in Arabic is the word: Modhammam, meaning blamed. 

Which is the exact opposite of Mohammad, meaning praised, glorified.

Some of the Quraysh had taken to calling him that way by way of revilement. However the holy Prophet would say to his followers,

"Is it not wonderous how God turneth away from me the injuries of Quraysh? They revile Modhammam, whereas I am Mohammad!"

"Warn Thy Family and Nearest of You!"

No summons to Islam had yet been made in public, but there was an ever-increasing group of devout believers and intense worshippers, both men and women, most of them young.

After the revelation of the verse

"Warn thy family, who are thy nearest of kin."

The Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf) immeadiately called his little cousin Ali to him, and said,

"God hath commanded me to warn my family, of my nearest of kin, and the task is beyond my strength. But make ready food, with a leg of mutton, and fill a cup with milk, and assemble together the Bani Abd Al-Muttalib, that I may tell them that which I have been commanded to say."

Ali did exactly as he had been told, neither more nor less, and most of the clan of Hashim came to the meal, about forty men, in all had assembled.

Ali said

"When they were assembled, The Prophet told me to bring in the food which I had prepared. Then he took a piece of the meat, and bit a piece of it, and then cast the rest of it back again into the main dish, saying:

'Take it in the Name of God'

The men ate in relays, several at a time, until not one of them could eat any more. But behold, I could see no change in the food, except that it had been stirred by men's hands, and by my life, if they had been but only one man, he could have eaten all that I had put before them. Then The Holy Prophet said:

'Give them to drink Ali.'

So I brought the cup, and each of the men seated drank his fill. Though one man alone could have emptied that cup. But when The Holy Prophet was about to address them,

When Abu Lahab interupted and forestalled The Holy Prophet, and said,

'Come! Your host hath placed a spell upon you!'

Where upon at they all dispersed before he could even seak."

The Next Day

However the very next day, The Holy Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa(pbuh&hf), again told the devout and faithful young Ali to do exactly as he had done the previous day. So another similar meal was prepared by Ali and everything went exactly as before, except that this time The Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf) was on his guard and made sure of addressing them.

For the 1st Time

"O sons of Abd Al-Muttalib. I know of no Arab who hath come to his people with a nobler Message than mine. Bringing you the best of this world and the next. God hath commanded me to call you unto Him. Which of you, then, will help me in this, and be my brother, my executor, and my successor amongst you?"

However there was just silence throughout the whole Clan. And each looked to each other. Anyone could have spoken up. But when the silence remained unbroken, the thirteen year old boy Ali Ibin Abe Taleb(as), jumped up and spoke, and said,

"O Prophet of God, I will be thy helper in this!"

The Holy Prophet smiled and gently asked Ali to sit down and again turned to the elders before Him and repeated for the second time.

Again for the 2nd Time

"O sons of Abd Al-Muttalib. God hath commanded me to call you unto Him. Which of you, then, will help me in this, and be my brother, my executor, and my successor amongst you?"

Again there was a deafening silence and again each looked for the other response, but none moved and once again Ali sprang to his feet and declared,

"O Prophet of God, I will be thy helper in this!"

The Holy Prophet smiled and looked around at each of the men sitting before him, and he then reluctantly gestured for Ali again to sit down, and he once agian started to repeat for the third time,

And again for the 3rd Time

"O sons of Abd Al-Muttalib. God hath commanded me to call my nearest of my kin unto Him, and I invite any of to join me. So I ask thee, which of you, then, will help me in this, and be my brother, my executor, and my successor amongst you?"

Again there was no response from the people gathered, and once again Ali sprang to his feet for the third time and declared,

"O Prophet of God, Let me, be thy helper, your brother, your executer and your successor!"

The Holy Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa(pbuh&hf) looked about him, and then gently laid his holy right hand on top of Ali's head and declared,

"Then Ali is my Helper, my Brother, my Executor and my Successor amongst you. Hearken unto him, and obey him."

Most of the startled men of Qurayshall rose to their feet, laughing and teasing Abu Taleb led by his own brother Abu Laheb, by saying to him,

"He hath ordered thee, to hearken unto thy son and to obey him.!"

Ignoring Abu Laheb's jeer. Zayd the devouted slave and adopted son of The Prophet and also the equally devouted Jafar Ali's elder brother quickly rose with other devoutees, warmly congratulating The Holy Prophet, and his young devoted cousin Ali, and now his Brother, his Executor and his Successor, and his father the clan chief of Bani Hashim, Abu Taleb(as).

The Lady Khadeejah Bint Khuwaylid

The Holy Prophet's most revered Wife & Mother of the Lady Fatimah Al-Zahra

One of the most richer merchants of Mecca was a woman. Her name was Khadeejah, the daughter of Khuwaylid, of the clan of As'sad. She was a distant cousin to the sons of Hashim.

Now Mohammad had come to be known throughout Mecca as Al-Ameen, meaning, the reliable, the trustworthy, or the honest, and this was initially owing to the reports of those who had entrusted their merchandise to him on various occasions.

Khadeejah had also heard much good of Mohammad from her family sources. One day she sent word to him, asking him to take some of her merchandise to Syria. His fee would be the double of the highest she had ever paid to a man of Quraysh; and she offered him, for the journey, the services of a lad of her's named Maysarah. Mohammad accepted what she proposed and accompanied by the lad Maysarah, he set off with Khadeejah's goods for the north.

Mohammad returns to Bostra and meets Nestor the monk

When they reached Bostra in the South of Syria, Mohammad took rested and took shelter beneath the shadow of a tree not far from the cell of a monk named Nestor. Since travellers halts often remain unchanged, it could have well been the selfsame tree under which he had sheltered some fifteen years previously on his way through Bostra with his uncle Abu Taleb.

Perhaps Bahir had died and or had been replaced by Nestor. However that may be for we only know what Maysarah had reported,

The monk came out of his cell and asked the young lad,

"Who is the man sitting beneath that tree?"

Maysarah replied,

"He is a man of Quraysh, of the people who have guardianship of the Sanctuary."

Nestor remarked ,

"That is none other than a Prophet, who is sitting beneath that tree,"

As they went on further into Syria, the words of Nestor sank deep into the soul of Maysarah, but they did not greatly surprise him, for he had become aware throughout the journey that he was in the company of a great man unlike any other he had ever met. This was still further confirmed by something he saw on his way home.

He had often noticed that the heat was strangely unoppressive, and one day towards noon it was given to him to have a brief but clear vision of two Angels shading Mohammad from the sun's rays.

A question of marriage

On reaching Mecca they both went to Khadeejah's house with the goods they had bought in the markets of Syria for the price of what they had sold. Khadeejah sat listening to Mohammad as he described the journey and told her of the transactions he had made.

Khadeejah wanted to express her graditude and her willingness to reward him by paying him, as a prize, something over and above the settled amount. However, Mohammad only accepted that remuneration which had been agreed upon originally.

As these transactions of his, proved to be very profitable, for she was now able to sell her newly acquired assets for almost the double of what had been paid for them. But such considerations were far from her thoughts, for all her attention was concentrated on the speaker himself.

Mohammad was only then twenty-five years old. He was of medium height, well built, with srtong broad shoulders and the rest of his body perfectly proportioned to his height.

His hair and beard were thick and black, not altogether straight but slightly curled. His hair reached midway between the lobes of his ears and his shoulders. He had a noble breadth of forehead and the ovals of his large eyes were wide, with exceptionally long eye lashes and extensive brows, slightly arched but not joined.

In most of the earliest descriptions his eyes are said to have been brown. His nose was aquiline and his mouth was slightly wide and finely shaped. He grew a beard and never allowed the hair of his moustache to protrude over his upper lip.

His skin was white, but tanned by the sun. In addition to his natural beauty there was a light on his face, the same which had shone from his father, but in the son it was more powerful. This light was especially apparent on his broad forehead, and in his eyes, which were remarkably luminous.

Khadeejah knew that she herself was still very beautiful, but was fifteen years his elder. She had already previousily rejected the proposals of the most wealthy and influential men of Quraysh. The likes of Uqbah Ibin Abe Mu'it, Abu Jahal, and Abu Sufyan. However, would Mohammad none the less be prepared to marry her, she wonder?

Khadeejah Proposes to Mohammad

As soon as he had gone, Maysarah went to his mistresss and told her about the two Angels. Khadeejah happily smiled to herself and said,

"Maysarah! that will do. You have doubled my interest in Mohammad. I hereby set you and your wife free and also place at your disposal two hundred Dirhams, two horses and a costly dress."

She then dismissed him and quickly consulted a woman friend of hers named Nufaysah, who offered to approach him on her behalf and, if possible, to arrange a marriage between them.

Nufaysah came to Mohammad and asked him why he did not marry and he answered her.

"I have not the means to marry."

She then question.

"But if thou wert given the means, and if thou wert bidden to an alliance where there is beauty and property and nobility and abundance, wouldst thou not consent?"

And Mohammad asked.

"Who is she?"

She replied

"The beautiful Lady Khadeejah"

He inquired to her.

"And how could such a marriage be mine?"

She replied to him

"Leave that to me!"

Mohammad then replied

"For my part, I am willing."

Nufaysah returned with these tidings to Khadeejah, who then sent word to Mohammad asking him to come to her; and when he came she said to him:

"Son of mine uncle, I love thee for thy kinship with me, and for that thou art ever in the centre, not being a partisan amongst the people for this or for that. I love thee for thy trustworthiness and for the beauty of thy character and the truth of thy speech."

Then she offered herself in marriage to him, and they agreed that he should speak to his uncle Abu Taleb and she would speak to her uncle Amr Ibin Asad, for Khuwaylid her father had died.

It was Hamzah, despite his relative youth, whom the Hashimites delegated to represent them on this occasion, no doubt because he was the most closely connected of them with the clan of Asad, for Hamzah's full sister Safiyyah had just recently married Khadeejah's brother Awwam.

So Hamzah went with his nephew Mohammad to Amr and asked for the hand of Khadeejah, and it was agreed between them that Mohammad should give her twenty she camels as dowry.

The Household

The bridegroom left his uncle's house and went to live in the house of his bride. As well as being a wife, Khadeejah was also a good valued friend to her husband, the sharer of his inclinations and ideals to a remarkable degree. Their marriage was wondrously blessed, and fraught with great happiness, though not without sorrows of bereavement.

Their Children

She bore him six children, two sons and four daughters. Their eldest child was a son named Qassim, and Mohammad, then came to be known as Abul Qassim, but the boy died before his second birthday.

The next child was a daughter whom they named Zaynab, and she was followed by three other daughters, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthoom, and The Holy Lady Fatimah(as), whose marriage was to her cousin Ali Ibin Abe Taleb(as), was of lasting importance.

For it is in this line that The Holy Prophet Mohammad's(pbuh&hf) descendants(as) are specially revered, and the descendant's of Ali(as) and Fatimah(as) are the true and only Heirs to the Caliphate!

And finally the Lady Khadeejah(as) bore another short-lived son Ta'hir.

The Slave Zayd Ibin Harithah

On the day of his marriage, The Holy Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa(pbuh&hf) had set free Barakah, the faithful slave he had inherited from his father; and on the same day the Lady Khadeejah(as) made him a gift of one of her own slaves, a youth of fifteen named Zayd.

As to Barakah, they married her to a man of Yathrib to whom she bore a son, after whom she came to be known as Umm Ayman, the mother of Ayman.

As to Zayd, he and some other youths had recently been bought at the great fair of 'Ukaz' by Khadeejah's nephew Hakim, the son of her brother Hizam. So when the next time his aunt visited him Hakim had sent for his newly acquired slaves and invited her to choose one of them for herself. It was Zayd that she had chosen.

Zayd was proud of his ancestry. His father Hirithah was of the great northern tribe of Kalb whose territory lay on the plains between Syria and Iraq. His mother was a woman of the no less illustrious neighbouring tribe of Tayy, one of whose chieftains at that time was the poet knight Hatim, famous throughout Arabia for his chivalry and his fabulous generosity.

Several years had now passed since Zayd had been taken by his mother to visit her family, and the village where they were staying had been raided by some horsemen of the Bani Qayn, who had carried the boy off and sold him into slavery.

Harithah, his father, had searched for him in vain. Nor had Zayd seen any travellers from Kalb who could take a message from him to his parents.

But The Holy Kabah drew many pilgrims from all parts of Arabia, and one day during the holy season, several months after he had become Mohammad's slave, he saw some men and women of his own tribe and clan in the streets of Mecca.

If he had seen them the previous year, his feelings would have been very different. He had yearned for such an encounter. Yet now that it had at last come it placed him in a quandary. He could not deliberately leave his family in ignorance of his whereabouts.

But what message could he send them? Whatever its gist, he knew, as a son of the desert, that nothing less than a poem would be adequate for such an occasion. He composed some verses which expressed something of his mind, but implied more than they expressed. Then he accosted the Kalbite pilgrims and, having told them who he was, he said,

"Speak unto my family these lines, for well I know that they have sorrowed for me:

'Though I myself be far, 

yet take my words unto my people. 

At the Holy House I dwell, 

amidst the places God hath hallowed. 

Set then aside the sorrows ye have grieved, 

Weary not camels, scouring the earth for me, 

For I, praise be to God, 

am in the best Of noble families, 

great in all its line.'"

When the pilgrims returned home with their tidings, Harithah at once set off for Mecca with his brother, Ka'ab and going to Mohammad they demmanded him to allow them to ransom Zayd, for as high a price as he might ask. But Mohammad said to them,

"Let him choose, and if he choose you. He is yours without ransom. And if he choose me, then I am not the man to set any other above him who chooseth me not."

Then he called Zayd and asked him if he knew the two men.

"This is my father, and this is mine uncle."

said the youth, and Mohammad said to Zayd.

"Me thou knowest. Thou hast seen my companionship unto thee, 

so choose thou between me and them."

But Zayd's choice was already made and he said at once without any hestitation:

"I would not choose any man in preference to thee. Thou art unto me as my father and my mother."

But Kaab, Zayd uncle exclaimed,

"Out upon thee, O Zayd! Wilt thou choose slavery above freedom, and above thy father and thine uncle and thy family?"

Zayd replied,

"It is even so. For I have seen from this man such things that I could never choose another above him."

All further talk was cut short by Mohammad, who now bade them come with him to the Kabah. He stood in the Hijr, and said in a clear loud voice:

"All ye who are present. Bear witness that Zayd is my son. I am his heir and he is mine."

The father and the uncle had thus to return with their purpose unachieved. But the tale they had to tell their tribe, of the deep mutual love which had brought about this adoption, was not an inglorious one.

For when they saw that Zayd was free, and established in honour, with what promised to be a high standing amongst the people of The Sanctuary.

It could benefit his brothers and other kinsmen in years to come, they were reconciled and went their way without bitterness. From that day the new Hashimite was known in Mecca as Zayd Ibin Mohammad.

The Entry Into Medinah

The holy Prophet had reached the oasis on Monday 27 September 622 AD.

Various messages soon made it clear that the people of Medina were impatient for his arrival there. But he sent word that he won't move until his cousin Ali Ibin Abe Taleb along with his Household arrive safely from Mecca.

After a day or two, Ali safely arrived from Mecca. And on the fourth day the holy Prophet left Quba, along with his cousin Ali, his uncle Hamzah and his Household. During those three days of waiting for Ali. The Prophet laid down the foundations of a mosque, the first to be built in Islam, where it still stands today.

On the Friday morning he set out from Quba, to Medinah and at noon he and his Companions stopped in the valley of Ranuna to pray the prayer with the Khazrajite clan of the Bani Salim who were expecting him.

This was the first Friday Prayer that he prayed in the country that from now on was to be his home. Some of his kinsmen of the Bani Al-Najjir had come to meet him, and some of the Bani Amr had escorted him from Quba, which brought the whole congregation up to about a hundred men.

Qaswa

After the prayer the Prophet mounted his she camal, Qaswa, and Ali Ibin Abe Taleb and others of Quraysh and emigrants also mounted their camels, or horses or mules and some had no mounts of any kind, but just walked as they had done from Mecca. They all set off together with the Prophet for the city of Al-Medinah.

To the right and to the left of them, dressed all in armour with their gleaming swords drawn, rode proudly the men of Aws and Khazraj, as a guard of honour and by way of demonstration that the oath they had taken to protect him was no empty word, though they knew well that then and there, he would need no protection. Never was a day of greater rejoicing.

"Cometh is the Prophet of God! Cometh is the Prophet of God!"

Was the joyous cry that went up from more and more voices of men, women and children who had lined the route. Qaswa with it's head held high set the slow and stately pace of the procession as it passed amid the gardens and palm groves to the south of Medina.

The houses were still few and far between, but gradually they entered more closely built districts, and many were the eager invitations which were offered.

"Alight here, O Messenger of God, for we have strength and protection for thee, and abundance."

More than once a man or a group of clansmen took hold of Qaswa's halter. But each time the Prophet smiled and blessed them and telling them politely:

"Let her be, let her go her own way, for she is under the command of God."

At one point it seemed as if she were making for the houses of the Prophet's nearest kinsmen of the Adi branch of the great Khazrajite clan of Najjar, for she turned into the eastern part of the city where most of the clan lived.

But she passed by the place where he had stayed with his mother as a child and by all the other houses of those nearest to him, despite their earnest entreaties that he should make his home there. The Prophet gave them the same reply that he had given to the others, and they could only submit.

He had now reached the houses of the Bani Malik branch of Najjar clan. To this subclan belonged two of those six men who had pledged allegiance to him the year before the First Aqabah, As'ad and Awf; and here Qaswa turned from the road into a large walled courtyard which had in it a few date palms and the ruins of a building.

One end had been used at some time as a burial ground. There was also a place set apart for drying dates. Slowly she made her way towards a rough enclosure which As'ad, had set up as a place of prayer, and there at the entrance she knelt.

The Prophet let go her rein, but did not alight; and after a moment she rose to her feet and began to walk leisurely away. But she had not gone far when she again stopped, turned in her tracks and walked back to where she he knelt. Then she knelt again; and this time she flattened her chest on the ground, and the Prophet alighted and said:

"This, if God wills, is the dwelling."

He then asked who owned the courtyard, and Muadh, the brother of Awf, told him it belonged to two orphan boys, Sahl and Suhayl. They were under the guardianship of As'ad, and the Prophet asked him to bring them to him, but they were already at hand and came and stood before him. He asked them if they would sell him the courtyard, and told them to name their price, but they said.

"Nay, we give it to thee, O Messenger of God."

He would not, however, take it as a gift, and the price was fixed with the help of As'ad.

Meanwhile Abu Ayyubb Khalid, who lived nearby, had untied the baggage and carried it into his house. Others of the clan now came and begged the prophet to be their guest, but he said:

"A man must be with his baggage."

Abu Ayyub had been the first of the clan to pledge himself at the second Aqabah. He and his wife now withdrew to the upper part of his house, leaving the ground floor for the Prophet, Ali and his Household; and As'ad led Qaswa to the courtyard of his own house and bedded her, which was relatively close by.

The Revokement of the Ban

The mutual ban of Quraysh on Bani Hashim and Bani Muttalib had now lasted for two misserable years or more and showed no signs of having any of the desired effects.

But on the contary it had moreover the undesired and unforeseen effect of drawing much further and needed attention to the Prophet and of causing the new religion to be talked of more than ever throughout the desert plains of Arabia.

But independently of these considerations, many of Quraysh began to have second thoughts about the ban, especially those who had close relatives amongst its victims.

The time had come for a change of mind to take place, and the first man to act was that same Hisham Ibin Amr who had so often sent his camel with food and clothes for the Hashimites.

But he knew that he could achieve nothing by himself, so he went to the Makhzumite Zuhayr, one of the two sons of the Prophet's aunt Atikah, and said to him:

"Art thou content to eat food and wear clothes and marry women when thou knowest how it is with thy mother's kinsmen. They can neither buy nor sell, neither marry nor give in marriage; and I swear by God that if they were the brethren of the mother of Abul Jahl; and thou hadst called upon him to do what he hath called on thee to do, he would never have done it."

Said Zuhayr.

"Confound thee, Hisham, What can I do? I am but a single man. If I had with me another man, I would not rest until I had annulled it!"

"I have found a man!"

Said Hisham.

"Who is he?"

Zuhayr questioned

"Myself."

And Hisham pointed a finger to his chest and said.

"Find us a third."

Said Zuhayr. So Hishim went to Mut'im Ibin Adi, one of the leading men of the clan of Nawfal - a grandson of Nawfal himself, brother of Hashim and Muttalib.

"Is it thy will, that two of the sons of Abdu Manaf should perish whilst thou lookest on in approval of Quraysh? By God, if ye enable them to do this ye will soon find them doing the like to you."

Mut'im asked for a fourth man, so Hishim went to Abul Bakhtari of Bani Asad, the man who had struck Abul Jahl on head on the account of Khadeejah's bag of flour, and when he asked for a fifth man Hishim went to another Asadite, Zam'ah Ibin Al-Aswad, who agreed to be the fifth without asking for a sixth.

They all undertook to meet that night at the outskirts of Hajun, above Mecca, and there they agreed on their plan of action and bound themselves not to let drop the matter of the document until they had had it annulled.

"I am the most nearly concerned. So I will be the first to speak."

Addressing The Assembly

Said Zuhayr. So early the next day they joined the gathering of the people in the Mosque and Zuhayr, clad in a long robe, went round the Kabah seven times. Then he turned to face the assembly and said:

"O people of Mecca, are we to cut food and wear clothes, while the sons of Hashim perish, unable to buy and unable to sell? By God, I will not be seated until this iniquitous ban be torn up!"

Thou liest! It shall not be torn up."

Said his cousin Abul Jahl and Zam'ah replied.

"Thou art the better liar, We were not in favour of its being written, when it was written."

"Zam'ah is right, "We are not in favour of what is written in it, neither do we hold with it."

Said Abul Bakhtari and Mut'im added:

"Ye are both right, and he that saith no is a liar. We call God to witness our innocence of it and of what is written in it."

Hishim said much the same, and when Abul Jahl began to accuse them of having plotted it all overnight.

God's Miracle

Mut'im cut him short by going into the Kabah to fetch the document. He came out in triumph with a small piece of vellum in held between his fingers: the worms had eaten the ban, all but the opening words:

"In The Name, Of God".

Most of Quraysh had been virtually won over already, and this unquestionable omen was a final and altogether decisive argument.

Abul Jahl and one or two like minded men knew that it would be vain to resist.

The Journey North

The coastal road runs north-west and for a few days they kept to this. On one of their first evenings, looking across the water towards the Nubian desert, they saw the new moon of the month of Rabi Al-Awaal.

"O crescent of good and of guidance, my faith is in Him who created thee."

This the Prophet would say when he ever saw the new moon.

Now they turned due north. Going now slightly inland from the coast, and then north-east, now at last making directly for Yathrib.

At one point of their journey the Prophet recived a Revelation which told him:

"Verily He who hath made binding upon thee the Koran will bring thee home once more."

Koran: XXVIII - Verse:85

Shortly before dawn on the twelfth day after leaving the cave, they reached the valley of Aqiq, and crossing the valley, they climbed the rugged black slopes on the other side. Before they reached the top the sun was well up and the heat was intense.

On other days they would have stopped for rest until the great heat of the day had passed; but the Prophet decided to climb the final ridge of the ascent, and when at last the within sight of the plain below there could be no question of holding back.

The place that the Prophet had dreamed of,

"The well water land between two tracts of black stones."

Now it was now lying before him, and the grey-green of the palm groves and the lighter green of orchards and gardens stretched at one point to within three miles of the foot of the slope that he had to descend.

The nearest point of greenery was Quba, where most of the emigrants from Mecca had first stayed, and where many of them still were. The Prophet told his guide:

"Lead us straight to the Bani Amr at Quba, and draw not yet nigh unto Al-Medinah".

For so the most densely inhabited part of the oasis was called, Al-Medinah meaning 'City'. That city was soon to be known throughout Arabia, and elsewhere, as Al-Medinah Al-Minowarrah or in English, "the City of Light".

Several days previously news from Mecca of the Prophet's disappearance, and of the reward offered for him, had reached the nothern oasis, and the people felt fear and anguish for their Prophet safe arrival.

So the people of Quba were expecting him daily, for the time of his arrival was now overdue; so every morning, after the dawn prayer, some of the Bani Amr tribe would go out to look for him, and with them went men of other clans who lived in that village, and also those of the emigrant Quraysh who were still there and had not yet moved to Medina.

They would go out beyond the fields and palm groves onto the lava tract, and after they had gone some distance they would stop and wait until the heat of the sun became fierce; then they would return to their homes. They had gone out that morning, but had already returned by the time the four travellers had begun their descent of the rocky slope.

Eyes were no longer staring expectantly in that direction; but the sun shone on the white garments of the Prophet which were set off all the more against the background of bluish-black volcanic stones, and a Jew who happened to be on the roof of his house caught sight of them.

The Jew knew at once who it must be, for the Jews of Quba had asked and been told why so many of their neighbours had taken to going out in a body into the wilderness every morning without fail. So he called out at the top of his voice:

"Sons of Qaylah, he has come, look he has come!"

The call was immediately taken up, and men, women and children hurried from their houses and streamed out once more onto the strip of greenery which led to the stone tract.

But they had not far to go, for the travellers had by now reached the most outlying palm groves. It was a noon of great joy on all sides, and the Prophet addressed them, saying:

"O people, give unto one another greetings of Peace; feed food unto the hungry; honour the ties of kinship; pray in the hours when men sleep. Even so shall ye enter Paradise in Peace."

The Prophet refused to go no further and said that he would not move out from Quba and enter Yathrib until his cousin Ali arrives first from Mecca with his family.

After a day or two, Ali arrived from Mecca, and stayed in the same house as the Prophet. It had taken Ali three days, since the Prophet's escape to return all the property, money and other things of importance entrusted with him by the Prophet to its various rightful owners.

Many were those who now came to greet the Prophet, and amongst them were some Jews of Medina who were drawn more by curiosity than good will. But on the second or third evening there came a man who was different in appearance from any of the others, clearly neither an Arab nor a Jew, but born of Persian Zoroastrian parents in the village of Jayy near Isfahan, his name was Salman Al-Farisi.

Debate with the Christians

Introduction

A very important and historical event occurred on the 9th year of Al-Hijrah, when The Messenger of Allah, Mohammad A-Mustafa(pbuh&hf) sent a letter of invitation to the leaders of the Najran Christian Tribe to come to Al-Madina Al-Munawarra and to embrace Islam.

The Christian community leaders of Najran gladly accepted his letter of invitation and quickly set off to meet the Prophet(pbuh&hf) in his captial Al-Madina.

However, when they finally did arrive in Muslim town of Al-Madina Al-Munawarra and met The Prophet(pbuh&hf) of Islam face to face, and instead of embracing Islam, as was expected of them.

The Christians instead began to openly challenge with hostility, in the Muslim capital, the true authencitity of his claim of being:

The Messenger and Prophet of Allah(pbuh&hf)

The belive of Islam as Allah's(swt) true religion for all Mankind.

The meeting turned into a heated dispute between them, the Christian elders and that of The Holy Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa(pbuh&hf).

Until Allah(swt) commanded The Prophet of Islam(pbuh&hf)

To invite the Christians to a face to face challenge of the truth! Through a revelation of a Surrah Al-Imran, from The Holy Koran.

By each of them to pray and call upon Allah(swt), to invoke His Curse upon the liars. Hence it will once and for all expose the liars and proove who's Religion is truely God's!

The miracle of this event is clearly mentioned in The Holy Koran in the Surrat Al-Imran.

"... Come! Let us gather together, our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves: Then let us earnestly pray, and invoke the curse of God on those who lie!"

Koran:3 v:61

Which clearly shows the high and reveared position with which, Allah(swt) had bestowed His most Divine Honour upon His Holy Messenger The Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa(pbuh&hf), and his undisputed infallible Holy Household(as), of the Sacred Kesah :

Ali Ibin Abe Taleb(as)

Ameer Al Mu'mineen, the holy 1st Imam(as) of the Twelve Imans(as)

The Lady Fatimah Al-Zahra(as) - 

Ali's wife and The Prophet's(pbuh&hf) Daughter 

Their two young Boys

Hassan Ibin Ali Ibin Abe Taleb(as)

Hussain Ibin Ali Ibin Abe Taleb(as)

Acorrding to the Shia belief

The Shia believe that all the Prophets(as) of Allah(swt) were sent out on a very much well defined and most specficied mission entrusted to them, by God The Almighty, to guide all mankind along the path of righteousness.

These holy Prphets were charged with the responsibitity of conveying to the belivers the commandments of The Lord God.

The believers and whoever listerned to these Holy Prophets, were directed to carry good tidings in return for acts of piety and were told of dire warnings of severe retribution for bad deeds.

Infallibility of the Prophets and the Inerrability of their Guidance

All the Prophets of God were men who propagated the call of Revelation and Prophecy and brought definitive proofs for their call. They themselves propagated among the people the elements of the religion of God (which is the same divine law that guarantees happiness) and made it available to all Mankind.

Since in all periods of history the number of persons endowed with the power of Prophecy and Revelation has been limited to a few individuals, God The Most Exalted(swt) has completed and perfected the guidance of the rest of mankind by placing the mission of the propagation of religion upon the shoulders of His holy Prophets.

That is why a prophet of God must possess the quality of inerrancy

Iss'mah In receiving the revelation from Allah The One God, in guarding it and in making possible its reaching the people, he must be free from error. He must not commit

Ma'see'yah 

Sin

The reception of revelation, its preservation and its propagation are three principles of ontological guidance; and error in existence itself is meaningless.

Furthermore, sin and opposition to the claims of the religious call and its propagation are impossible in a prophet for they would be a call against the original religious mission; they would destroy the confidence of the people, their reliance upon the truth and the validity of the call.

As a result they would destroy the purpose of the religious call itself.

God, The Most Exalted, refers in His sacred word to the total inerrancy of the holy Prophets, by saying,

'And We chose them and guided them unto a straight path.'

Koran: VI, 88

And also,

'He is The Knower of the Unseen, and He revealeth unto none His secret, save unto every messenger whom He hath chosen, and then He maketh a guard to go before him and a guard behind him, that He may know that they have indeed conveyed the messages of their Lord.'

Koran: LXXII. 26-28

The Prophets and Revealed Religion

What The Prophets of God received through Revelation and as a message from God and conveyed to mankind was the religion, that is, a way of life and human duties which guarantee the real happiness of man.

Revealed religion in general consists of two parts:

doctrine

practice or method.

The doctrinal part of revealed religion conconsists of a series of fundamental principles and views concerning the real nature of things upon which man must establish the foundations of his life.

It is comprised of the three universal principles of:

Tawheed

Nubuwwah

Ma'ad

If there is any confusion or disorder in one of these principles the religion will not be able to gain any following. The practical part of revealed religion consists of a series of moral and practical injunctions covering the duties man has before God and human society

That is why the secondary duties which have been ordered for man in different Divine laws are of two kinds:

Akh'laq - Morals

A'mal - Actions

The morals and actions related to the Divine are of two kinds, such as:

The first is: 

The quality of faith. sincerity, surrender to God, contentment and humility;

The second is: 

The daily prayers, fasting, and sacrifice (called acts of worship and symbolising the humility and servitude of man before the Divine Throne).

The morals and actions related to human society are also of two kinds, such as:

The first 

The quality of love for other men, wishing well for others, justice and generosity

The second 

The duty to carry out social intercourse, trade and exchange, etc. (called transactions).

Another point that must be considered is that since the human species is directed toward the gradual attainment of perfection, and human society through the passage of time becomes more complete, the appearance of a parallel development must also be seen in revealed laws.

The Holy Koran affirms this gradual development, which reason has also discovered. It can be concluded from its verses that each the Shari'ah (Divine Law ) is in reality more complete than the Shari'ah before; for instance, in this verse where God says,

'And unto thee have We revealed the Scripture with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it.'

Koran: 48:3

Of course, as scientific knowledge also confirms and the Koran states, the life of human society in this world is not eternal and the development of man is not endless.

As a result, the general principles governing the duties of man from the point of view of doctrine and practice must of necessity stop at a particular stage.

Therefore, Prophecy and the Shari'ah will also one day come to an end when in the perfection of doctrine and expansion of practical regulations they have reached the final stage of their development.

That is why the Holy Koran, in order to make clear that Islam, The Religion of The Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) is the last and most complete of the revealed religions, introduces itself as a sacred book that cannot be Naskh(abrogated), calls The Holy Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa(pbuh&hf), the;

Khatam Al-Anbiya 

Seal of the Prophets

And sees the Islamic Religion as embracing all religious duties. As Allah(swt) says,

'And lo! it is an unassailable Scripture. Falsehood cannot come at it from before it or behind it.'

Koran: XLI, 41-42/14 And also,

'Muhammad is not the father of any man among you but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the prophets.

Koran: XXXIII, 40:5 And,

'We reveal the scripture unto thee as an exposition of all things.'

Koran: XVI. 89:l6

The Prophets and Proof of Revelation and Prophecy

Many modern scholars who have investigated the problem of revelation and prophecy have tried to explain revelation, prophecy and questions connected with them by using the principles of social psychology.

They say that the prophets of God were men of a pure nature and strong will who had great love for humanity. In order to enable mankind to advance spiritually and materially and in order to reform decadent societies, they devised laws and regulations and invited mankind to accept them.

Since people in those days would not accept the logic of human reason, in order to make them obey their teachings the prophets, according to such modern scholars, claimed that they and their thoughts came from the transcendent world.

Each prophet called his own pure soul the Holy Spirit; the teachings which he claimed came from the transcendent world were called:

Revelation and Prophecy

The duties which resulted from the teachings were called:

Revealed Shari'ah

And the written record of these teachings and duties were called:

Revealed Book

Anyone who views with depth and impartiality the revealed books and especially the Holy Koran, and also the lives of the prophets, will have no doubt that this view is not correct. The prophets of God were not political men. Rather they were just: Men of God

Full of truthfulness and purity

What they perceived they proclaimed without addition or diminution

And what they uttered they acted upon. What they claimed to possess was a mysterious consciousness which the invisible world had bestowed upon them.

In this way they came to know from God Himself what the welfare of men was in this world and the next, and propagated this knowledge among mankind.

It is quite clear that in order to confirm and ascertain the call of prophecy there is need of proof and demonstration. The sole fact that the Shari'ah brought by a prophet conforms to reason is not sufficient in determining the truthfulness of the prophetic call .

A man who claims to be a prophet, in addition to the claim of the truth of his Shari'ah, claims a connection through revelation and prophecy with the transcendent world, and therefore claims that he has been given by God the mission to propagate the faith.

This claim in itself is in need of proof. That is why (as the Holy Koran informs us) the common people with their simple mentality always sought miracles from the prophets of God in order that the truthfulness of their call might be confirmed.

The meaning of this simple and correct logic is that the revelation, which the prophet claims is his cannot be found among others who are human beings like him.

It is of necessity an invisible power which God miraculously bestows upon His prophets, through which they hear His word and are given the mission to convey this word to mankind

If this be true, then the prophet should ask God for another miracle so that people would believe the truth of his prophetic call.

It is thus clear that the request for miracles from prophets is according to correct logic and it is incumbent upon the prophet of God to provide a miracle at the beginning of his call, or according to the demand of the people, in order to prove his prophecy.

The Holy Koran has affirmed this logic, relating miracles about many prophets-at the beginning of their mission or after their followers requested them.

Of course many modern investigators and scientists have denied miracles, but their opinions are not based upon any satisfactory reasons.

There is no reason to believe that the causes which until now have been discovered for events through in: investigation and experiment are permanent and unchanging, that no event ever occurs for reasons other than those which usually bring it about.

The miracles related about the prophets of God are not impossible or against reason (as is, for example, they claim that the number three is even). Rather they are:

Kharq-i 'Adat - Break In what is habitual

An occurrence which, incidentally, has often been observed in a lower degree among people following ascetic practices.

The Number of the Prophets of God

It is known through tradition that in the past many prophets appeared, and the Holy Koran affirms their multitude. It has mentioned some of them by name or by their characteristics, but has not given their exact number.

Through definitive traditions also it has not been possible to determine their number except in the well-known saying which Abu Dharr Ghifari has recited from The Holy Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa(pbuh&hf), according to which their number has been set at 124,000.

The Prophets Who are Bringers of Divine Law

From what can be deduced from the Koran, it can be concluded that all the prophets of God did not bring a Shari'ah. Rather, five of them:

Prophet Nuh - Noah

Prophet Ibraheem - Abraham

Prophet Musa - Moses

Prophet Essa - Jesus

Prophet Mohammad

These are the Possessors of determination: Ulu'l-Azm 

Those who have brought a Shari'ah.

Other Prophets follow the Shari'ah of those who:

Possess determination

God has said in the Koran,

'He hath ordained for you that religion which He commended unto Nuh, and that which We inspire in thee (Mohammad), and that which We commended unto Ibraheem and Musa and Essa.'

Koran: 42:13

Allah had also said,

'And when We exacted a covenant from the Prophets, and from thee (O Muhammad) and from Nuh and Ibraheem and Musa and Essa son of Mary, We took from them a solemn covenant.'

Koran: 32:7

The latest form of Divine guidance and religion for mankind now is Islam only. As the holy Koran says,

'Following any religion other than Islam is not acceptable, and such will be of the losers on the day of Judgment.'

Islam will remain the only valid Divine religion until the day of judgment

It's Orgin and Development

Qusayy

Another of the most powerful Arab tribes of the Abrahamic descent was Quraysh; and about four hundred years after Christ, a man of Quraysh named Qusayy married a daughter of Hulayl who was then chief of Khuzd'ah.

Hulayl preferred his son-in-law to his own sons, for Qusayy was outstanding amongst all Arabs of his time, and on the death of Hulayl, after a fierce battle which ended in arbitration. It was agreed that Qusayy should rule over Mecca and be the guardian of the Holy Kabah.

Quraysh of the Hollow

Qusayy there upon brought those of Quraysh who were his nearest of kin and settled them in the valley of Becca, beside the Holy Sanctuary:

His brother Zuhrah

His uncle Taym

Makhzum, the son of another uncle

And one or two cousins who were less close.

These people and their posterity were known as Quraysh of the Hollow, whereas Qusayy's more remote kinsmen settled in the ravines neighbours, of the surrounding Becca hills and in the countryside beyond and were known as God's visitors, the pilgrims to Quraysh of the Outskirts.

Qusayy ruled over them all as a king, with undisputed power, and they paid him a tax every year on their flocks, so that he might feed those of the pilgrims who were too poor to provide for themselves. Until then the keepers of the Sanctuary had lived around the Kabah in tents.

But Qusayy now told them to build themselves houses, having already built a house for himself. A most spacious dwelling which was known as the House of Assembly.

All was harmonious, but seeds of discord were about to be sown. It was a marked characteristic of Qusayy's line that in each generation there would be one man who was altogether pre-eminent.

Amongst Qusayy's four sons, this man was Abd Mandaf, who was already honoured in his father's time. But Qusayy preferred his first born, Abd Ad-Dar although he was the least capable of all; and shortly before his death he said to him:

My son, I will set thee level with the others in despite of men's honouring them more than thee. None shall enter the Kabah except thou open it for him, and no hand but thine shall knot for Quraysh their ensign of war, nor shall any pilgrim draw water for drink in Mecca except thou give him the right thereto, nor shall he eat food except it be of thy providing, nor shall Quraysh resolve upon any matter except it he in thy house.

Having thus invested him with all his rights and powers, he transferred to him the ownership of the House of Assembly.

Hashim

Out of filial piety Abd Manaf accepted without question his father's wishes; but in the next generation half of Quraysh gathered round Abd Mandaf's son Hashim, clearly the foremost man of his day, and demanded that the rights be transferred from the clan of Abd Ad-Dar to his clan.

Those who supported Hashim and his brothers were the descendants of Zuhrah and Taym, and all Qusayy's descendants except those of the eldest line. The descendants of Makhzdm and of the other remoter cousins maintained that the rights should remain in the family of Abd Ad-Dar.

The Scented Ones

Feelings rose so high that the women of the clan of Abd Mandaf brought a bowl of rich perfume and placed it beside the Kabah; and Hashim and his brothers and all their allies dipped their hands in it and swore a solemn oath that they would never abandon one another, rubbing their scented hands over the stones of the Kabah in confirmation of their pact.

Thus it was that this group of clans were known as the Scented Ones.

The allies of Abd Ad-Dar

likewise swore an oath of union of their own, and they were known as the Confederates. Violence was strictly forbidden not only in the Sanctuary itself but also within a wide circle round Mecca, several miles in diameter; and the two sides were about to leave this sacred precinct in order to fight a battle to the death when a compromise was suggested, 

It was agreed that:

The sons of Abd Mandaf 

Should have the rights of levying the tax and providing the pilgrims with food and drink

Whereas the sons of Abd Ad-Dar 

Should retain the keys of the Kabah and their other rights, and that their house should continue to be the House of Assembly.

Hashim's brothers 

All agreed that he should have the sole responsibility of providing for the pilgrims.

When the time of the Pilgrimage drew near Hashim himself would rise in the Assembly and say:

"O men of Quraysh, ye are God's neighbours, the people of His House; and at this feast there come unto you God's visitors, the pilgrims to His House. They are God's guests, and no guests have such claim on your generosity as His guests. If my own wealth could compass it, I would not lay this burden upon you."

Hashim was held in much honour, both at home and abroad. It was he who established the two great caravan journeys from Mecca:

The Caravan of the Winter 

To the south of Arabia, Yemen

The Caravan of the Summer 

To north-west of Arabia, and beyond it to Palestine and Syria

Palestine and Syria was then under Byzantine rule as part of the Roman Empire.

Both journeys lay along the ancient incense route; and one of the first main halts of the summer caravans was the oasis of Yathrib (later to be named Al-Madinah by The Prophet), eleven camel days north of Mecca.

This oasis had at one time been chiefly inhabited by Jews, but an Arab tribe from South Arabia was now in control of it. The Jews none the less continued to live there in considerable prosperity and peace, taking part in the general life of the community while maintaining their own religion.

As to the Arabs of Yathrib, they had certain matriarchal traditions and were collectively known as the children of Qaylah after one of their ancestresses. But they had now branched into two tribes which were named Aws and Khazraj after Qaylah's two sons.

Salma the daughter of Amr

One of the most influential women of Khazra was Salma the daughter of Amr, of the clan of Najjd, and Hashim asked her to marry him. She consented on condition that the control of her affairs should remain entirely in her own hands; and when she bore him a son she kept the boy with her in Yathrib until he was fourteen years old or more.

Hashim was not averse to this, for despite the oasis fever, which was more of a danger to newcomers than to the inhabitants, the climate was healthier than that of Mecca.

Moreover he often went to Syria and would stay with Salma and his son on the way there and on his return. But Hashim life was not destined to be a long one, and during one of his Journeys he fell gravely ill at Gaza in Palestine and died there.

Al-Muttaleb

Hashim had two full brothers,

Abdu Shams

Muttalib

Nawfal (half-brother)

But Abdu Shams was exceedingly busied with trade in Yemen, and later also in Syria, where as Nawfal was no less busied with trade in Iraq, and both would be absent from Mecca for long periods.

For these and perhaps for other reasons also, Hashim's younger brother Muttalib took over the rights of watering the pilgrims tax to feed them; and he now felt it his duty to give those of his own successor.

Hashim had had three sons by Salma. But if all that was said were true, none of these - and for that matter none of Muttalib's own sons - could be compared with Salma's son.

Shaybah

Better known as Abd Al-Muttalib

Despite his youth, Shaybah - for so his mother had named him. Already showed distinct promise of gifts for leadership, and excellent reports of him were continually brought to Mecca by travellers who passed through the oasis.

Finally Muttalib went to see for himself, and what he saw of the lad he liked and this prompted him to ask Salma to entrust his nephew to his care. However, Salma was most unwilling to let her son go, and the boy refused to leave his mother without her prior consent.

But Muttalib was not to be discouraged, and he pointed out to both mother and son that the possibilities which Yathrib had to offer compared with those of Mecca.

As guardians of the Holy House, the great centre of pilgrimage for all Arabia, Quraysh ranked higher in dignity than any other Arab tribe; and there was a strong likeihood that Shaybah would one day hold the office which his father had held and so become one of the clan chiefs of Quraysh.

But for this he must first be integrated into his people. No mere exile from outside could hope to attain to such honour. Salma was impressed by his arguments, and if her son it would be easy for her to visit him there and for him to visit her, so she agreed to let him go.

Shaybah arrives in Mecca and is re-named mistakenly as Abd Al- Muttalib

Muttalib took his young nephew with him to Mecca. His nephew was riding behind him on another camel; and as they rode into Mecca he heard some of the bystanders say as they looked at the young stranger:

"Abd Al-Muttalib."

For the Arabic word: 

'Abd'

Meaning: 

Slave

Hence: 

Abd Al-Muttalib

That is to mean: 

Al-Muttalib's Slave

Al-Muttalib snapped angrily at them!

Wo, upon thee! He is no less than the son of my brother Hashim.

The laughter with which his words were greeted with was but a prelude to the merriment that was caused throughout the whole ancient city as the story of the blunder ran from mouth to mouth; and from that day the youth was affectionately known as Abd Al-Muttalib.

Not long after his arrival he was involved in a dispute about his father's estate with his uncle Nawfal: but with the help of his guardian uncle, and pressure brought to bear from Yathrib, Abd Al-Muttalib was able to secure his rights. Nor did he disappoint the hopes that aged by his early promise; and when, after several years,

When Muttalib died, no one disputed his nephew's qualifications to succeed to the heavy responsibility of feeding and watering the pilgrims. It was even said that he surpassed both his father and his uncle in his fulfilment of this task.

The Clan Chief of Bani Hashim was now Abd Al-Muttalib, who in turn was the grandfather of The Holy Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf).

The Diging of a Trench

One day a horseman from Mecca rode into Al-Medina and informed The Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf) of a plan of Quraysh to finally destroy the Muslims. Quraysh had furiously settled all old and new feuds with all the Arab tribes and so as to unite them in marching to battle against the Muslims. They managed to mass a ten thousand strong army.

Not knowingly by the Muslims then was Quraysh had also secretly had made an agreement with the Jews of Medina. To break their convant with The Prophet and to join battle with them. By attacking the Muslims from within the city.

The horseman informed The Prophet that the Muslims had little time as the Quraysh Army had left Mecca a fews days after he had. At the very utmost they had only just twenty days to prepare themselves.

The Muslims where full of fear and they most of them all opted to escape by leaving Al-Medina for safety. Abu Bakr stood up and addressed the people in the Mosque.

"We cannot sustain such a huge army. It would be foolish to even try. The best option is to escape from them while we can to the hills and the desert. Then at later date when Quraysh had left return to our homes."

Most of the Muslims agreed with him. And The Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf) surrounded with his true and faithfull companions sat still in silence and looked on as others stood up and offered their suggestion.

One person even advocated that to plead with Quraysh for their safety. Others contended that they could claim kin to their family ties and tribe for safety. Others said that their cause was doomed and they should all disperse and somehow find a way to return to their families and tribes.

Still The Holy Prophet sat still listerning to their pathetic complaints of fear and suggestions. Until finally asquabble broke out amongst themselves. The Holy Prophet sttod up and said,

"He who wishes to leave, may leave without any harresement.

However, I will stay and face the enemies of God and do battle with them.

And he who wishes to stay may stay."

All were stunned and sat still and listerned to The Holy Prophet and looked about each other in shame. Then Salmn Al-Farisi one of the true companions of The Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf) stood up.

"O, Holy Prophet. In my homeland in Persia, when we are faced with a huge and overwhlemning enemy. We defend ourselves by digging a trench between them and us. So that we can diminish their disadvantage over us of their size. And at the same time by using the trench to our advantage by frustrating and tiring the huge force, until they leave our land."

The muslims sat still and stared up at Salman in disbelieve at his amazing story. The Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf) smiled broadly at Salman and stood up and said.

"We shall follow the suggestion of Salman and dig a defensive trench between us and their oncoming army.

And may The Lord God destroy them and give us victory of these enemies of God!"

But Abu Bakr and Umar and their companions all dissmissed Salman's idea as just a fantasy and foolish. They urged that they shoud escape without delay and try to make ammends with the victors at a later day when all has calmed down and all is forgotten.

But most of the companions and the rest of the Muslims all rallied around The Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf) and lifted Salman off his feet onto their shouldiers in jubulations and headed towards the outskirts of Al-Median and satrted to dig out the Trench. Drowning the voices of discontent from Abu Bakr and his companions.

The Holy Prophet(pbuh&hf) then quickly put Salman in charge of the whole operation of digging the long trench. Salman explained that the trench should be wide enough so as to stop any charge of horses penetrating into their ranks. Then behind the ranks they could at will pick off the enemy with their arrows, at will.

Scarecely had the trench been finished - it took them six days in all

When news came that the army of Quraysh were approaching fast down the valley of Aqiq and were now a little to the south-west of the town.

While the Ghatafdan and the other tribes of Najd were moving towards Uhud from the east. All the outlying houses of the oasis had already been evacuated and their tenants housed within the defences.

The Holy Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) now gave orders for every woman and child to be allocated a place in one or other of the upper rooms of the fortresses.

Then he encamped with his then, about three thousand in all, on the chosen site. His tent of red leather was pitched at the foot of Mount Sal'.

The Meccan army and their allies pitched separate camps not far from Uhud

Quraysh were dismayed to find that the crops of the oasis had already been harvested. Their camels would have to subsist on the acacias of the valley of Aqiq. Meantime the camels of Ghatafin were living on the two kinds of tamarisk which grow in the thicketed parts of the plain near Uhud.

But there was nothing for the horses of either army except the fodder they had brought with them. It was therefore imperative to make an end of the enemy as quickly as possible, and with this intention the two armies joined together and advanced in the direction of the city.

Abu Sufayan was now the commander-in-chief, but by turns each of the various leaders was to have his day of honour in which he would direct the actual fighting. Khalid and Ikrimah were again in command of the Meccan cavalry, and Amr was in Khalid's troop. As they approached they were heartened to see the enemy camp in front of them outside the town.

The Trench

They had been afraid that they would find them garrisoned behind their battlements; but out in the open they should be able to overwhelm them by sheer weight of numbers. When they drew nearer, however, they were amazed to see that a broad trench lay between them and the archers who were lined the whole way along it on its further side.

Their horse would only be able to reach it with difficulty, and then would come the greater difficulty of crossing it. Even now a shower of arrows told them that they were already within range of the enemy, so they drew back to a safer distance.

The rest of the day was spent in consultation and finally they decided that their best hope lay in the possibility of forcing the enemy to withdraw their troops in large numbers from the north of the town in order to defend it elsewhere.

It was indeed a formidable sight, looking across the trench from the Medina side, to see the plain beyond it surging with men and horses as far and wide as the eye could reach.

Meantime Khalid Ibin Al-Waleed and Ikrimah were examining the trench

Albeit from a safe distance, - least one of the Muslim archers arrows bury itself into their bodies, - to see for themselves where it might most easily be crossed.

"This piece of trickery! Never have Arabs resorted to such a device. There must surely be with him a man of Persia."

They exclaimed in exasperation, and to their disappointment they saw that the work had been all too well done, except for a short section which was slightly narrower than the rest, and this was closely guarded.

One or two attempts to storm it were a total failure. Their horses had never seen anything like the trench and manifested a strong aversion for it. This might change, but for the moment the fighting could be no more than an interchange of archery.

If the trench were sufficiently unmanned, it should not be too difficult to cross it. Their thoughts turned towards the Bani Qurayzah, whose fortresses blocked the approach to Medina from the south-east.