Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 193
193 agreement signed at Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet and his followers entered the Sacred Enclosure, wearing only sheathed swords. Returning to Mecca after seven years’ externment, it was no ordinary thing for two thousand persons to enter Mecca. They remembered the tortures to which they had been subjected during their days at Mecca. At the same time, they saw how gracious God had been to them in letting them come back and make a circuit of the Ka‘bah in peace. Their anger was only equal to their joy. The people of Mecca had come out of their houses and perched themselves on the hilltops to see the Muslims. The Muslims were full of zeal and enthusiasm and pride. They wanted to tell the Meccans that the promises which God had made to them had all come true. ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah started singing songs of war, but the Prophet stopped him saying, "No war songs. Only say, there is none to be worshipped except the One God. It is God Who helped the Prophet and raised the believers from degradation to dignity and Who drove off the enemy. " 222 After circuiting the Ka‘bah and running between the hills of Safa and Marwah, the Prophet and his Companions stopped in Mecca for three days. ‘Abbas had a widowed sister-in-law, Maymunah, and he proposed that the Prophet should marry her. The Prophet agreed. On the fourth day the Meccans demanded the withdrawal of the Muslims. The Prophet ordered the withdrawal and asked his followers to start back for Medina. So religiously did he carry out the agreement and so careful was he to respect Meccan sentiments that he left his newly-wed wife behind in Mecca. He arranged that she should join him with the part of the caravan carrying the personal effects of the pilgrims. The Prophet mounted his camel and was soon out of the limits of the sacred precincts. For the night the Prophet camped at a place called Sarif, and there in his tent Maymunah joined him. We might have omitted this insignificant detail from a short account of the Life of the Prophet, but the incident has one important interest, and it is this. The Prophet has been attacked by European writers because he had several wives. They think a plurality of wives is evidence of personal laxity and love of pleasure. This impression of the Prophet’s marriages, however, is belied by the devotion and self-consuming love which the Prophet’s wives had for him. Their devotion and love proved that the Prophet’s married life was pure, unselfish and spiritual. It was so singular in this respect that no man can be said to have treated his one wife so well as the Prophet treated his many. If the Prophet’s married life had been motivated by pleasure, it would most certainly have resulted in making his wives indifferent and even antagonistic to him. But the facts are quite otherwise. All the Prophet’s wives were devoted to him, and their devotion was due to his unselfish and high-minded example. To his unselfish example they reacted by unsparing devotion. This is proved by many incidents recorded in history. One relates to Maymunah herself. She met the Prophet for the first time in a tent in the desert. If their marital relations had been coarse, if the Prophet had preferred some wives to others because of their physical charms, Maymunah would not have cherished her first meeting with the Prophet as