Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 233
— Part II 228 be pardoned, despite his denial, but God rejected his request, while the Prophet Muhammad sa himself mentioned his resolve not to forgive his own daughter, should she commit the crime of displeasing God. Some non-believers may argue that the Prophet sa was speaking only hypothetically. Had he been really faced with a situation where he had to choose between justice and leniency in application to his blood relations he may have opted for a different course. The following incident reported by the authentic books of Ah a d i th dispels all such conjectures. ‘Abb a s ra , a beloved uncle of the Holy Prophet sa , had not yet converted to Islam at the time of Hijra. Consequently he sided with the Quraish during the Battle of Badr and was taken captive after the defeat of the Quraish. He, along with other prisoners, was rather tightly tied to a pillar in the mosque. ‘Abb a s ra began to groan with pain. On hearing his cries, the Holy Prophet sa became very perturbed. He could not sleep and kept tossing from side to side; but he said nothing. When the warden in charge of the prisoners learnt that the Holy Prophet sa was upset, he loosened the rope of ‘Abb a s ra. When ‘Abb a s ra suddenly ceased to groan, the Holy Prophet sa became even more perturbed. His inquiry revealed that the rope of ‘Abb a s ra was loosened out of consideration for the Holy Prophet sa. He was profoundly displeased at hearing this and ordered that if ‘Abb a s’s ra rope is