Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 126
126 and I fell off. I consulted the arrows again; and again they boded ill-luck. My horse's hoofs sank deep into the sand. Mounting again and resuming the pursuit seemed difficult. I then understood that the party was under divine protection. I called out to them and entreated them to stop. When near enough I told them of my evil intention and of my change of heart. I told them I was giving up the pursuit and returning. The Prophet let me go, but made me promise not to reveal their whereabouts to anybody. I became convinced that the Prophet was a true one, destined to succeed. I requested the Prophet to write me a guarantee of peace to serve me when he became supreme. The Prophet asked ‘Amir bin Fuhayrah to write me a guarantee, and he did. As I got ready to return with it, the Prophet received a revelation about the future and said, "Suraqah, how wilt thou feel with the gold bangles of the Chosroes on thy wrists?" Amazed at the prophecy I asked, "Which Chosroes? Chosroes bin Hormizd, the Emperor of Iran?" The Prophet said, "Yes. " 143 Sixteen or seventeen years later the prophecy was literally fulfilled. Suraqah accepted Islam and went to Medina. The Prophet died, and after him, first Abu Bakr, and then ‘Umar became the Khalifah of Islam. The growing influence of Islam made the Iranians jealous and led them to attack the Muslims but, instead of subjugating the Muslims, they were themselves subjugated by them. The capital of Iran fell to the Muslims who captured its treasures, including the gold bangles which the Chosroes wore at State functions. After his conversion, Suraqah used to describe his pursuit of the Prophet and his party and to tell of what passed between him and the Prophet. When the spoils of the war with Iran were placed before ‘Umar, he saw the gold bangles and remembered what the Prophet had told Suraqah. It was a grand prophecy made at a time of utter helplessness. ‘Umar decided to stage a visible fulfilment of the prophecy. He, therefore, sent for Suraqah and ordered him to put on the gold bangles. Suraqah protested that the wearing of gold by men had been forbidden by Islam. ‘Umar said that this was true, but that the occasion was an exception. The Prophet had foreseen Chosroes’ gold bangles on his wrists; therefore he had to wear them now, even on pain of punishment. Suraqah was objecting out of deference to the Prophet’s teaching; otherwise he was as eager as anyone else to provide visible proof of the fulfilment of the great prophecy. He put on the bangles and Muslims saw the prophecy fulfilled. 144 The fugitive Prophet had become a king. He himself was no longer in this world. But those who succeeded him could witness the fulfilment of his words and visions. The Prophet Arrives at Medina To return to our narrative of the Hijrah. After the Prophet had dismissed Suraqah he continued his journey to Medina unmolested. When he reached Medina, the Prophet found the people waiting impatiently. A more auspicious day could not