The Excellent Exemplar - Muhammad — Page 70
THE EXCELLENT EXEMPLAR — MUHAMMAD 70 whether he had conveyed God’s message to them, and had discharged his trust. There was a deafening response that he had. He asked those present to convey what he had said to those who were not present on the occasion. The pilgrimage over, the Prophet returned to Medina and occupied every available moment in expounding and teaching the principles of Islam and the philosophy that lay behind them and in urging the Muslims to order their lives accordingly. One day he announced that he had received the revelation: “In the name of Allah, Ever Gracious, Most Merciful. The help of Allah having come, and the Victory, and thou having witnessed men entering the religion of Allah in troops, hymn the praises of thy L ord, and seek His protection against their weaknesses. Surely He is Oft - Returning with compassion” (110:2 - 4) Abu Bakr concluded from this that as the Prophet’s mission had been fulfilled, he would not be spared to them for long, and he was overcome by emotion. The Prophet, observing this, remarked: “If it were permissible to love a human being with the heart’s fu ll devotion, I would have so loved Abu Bakr, but such love is only for God,” and he went on to add that all doors that opened into the mosque should be closed except Abu Bakr’s. Soon the Prophet fell ill. For some days he continued to go to the mosque and lead the Prayers, but then he became too weak to do this. He directed Abu Bakr to lead the Prayers. One day he told those present that if there were anyone whom he might have inj ured by mistake or unwittingly, that person should come forward now so that he might make suitable amends, as he did not wish to appear before his Maker with any obligation not discharged. One of them came forth. He reminded the Prophet