A Letter to a Dear One — Page 51
Muhammad Zafrulla Khan 51 repeatedly attacking Medina. The Muslims of Medina had absolutely no peace. They later recalled this period and how they longed for one night’s peace and rest and to have no other fear but the fear of God in their hearts. Despite these difficulties the Holy Prophet ( ” allall ā hu ‘alaihi wa sallam) held the government of Medina from the very beginning. Gradually the span of the government grew wider. After the fall of Mecca, the Holy Prophet ( ” allall ā hu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was acknowledged as the king of the entire Arabia. The era after the migration to Medina was thus the government of the Holy Prophet ( ” allall ā hu ‘alaihi wa sallam). He presented a model of excellence as a general and a ruler. He would lead his armies in battles, although he never killed anyone himself. At times he was wounded in battles, and there were times when the situation in the battle became extremely dangerous and alarming—however, he did not at any point express any sign of weakness. Indeed he would pray most fervently to Allah at such times, for he had an absolute faith that victory or defeat is all in Allah’s hands. He is free of all cares and grants victory to whomsoever He pleases. At certain times, the Holy Prophet ( ” allall ā hu ‘alaihi wa sallam) sent expeditions under other people’s command. He would do so under directions not to destroy the enemy’s crops and orchards, not to cut down shady trees, not to hurt women, children and the elderly—not to harm travelers and priests, etc. , if the enemy showed an inclination for a truce then he directed to lean towards a truce—and not carry on with the battle for the sake of revenge or for the ambition of collecting bounty. It could be concluded from the fact that the Holy Prophet ( ” allall ā hu ‘alaihi wa sallam) forbade to punish anyone with fire, that Islam, other than when being compelled to do so in self-defense, does not allow the use of such weaponry that would entail use of fire. The Simple Life of the Holy Prophet So how did this ‘king’ hold his court? There were no armed guards, silk and brocade robes, fanfare, palaces, etc. So much so that this noble person did not even have a bed to sleep on. He would sleep on the floor on a leather mattress, which was filled with dried date leaves. At times