The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 308
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 308 elsewhere. ” Muṣ‘ab ra responded, “I have not yet met the Holy Prophet sa , I shall come to you once I have met him. ” Therefore, he presented himself before the Holy Prophet sa first, and briefed him on key issues, then visited his mother. She was very upset. When she saw him, she began to weep and complain. Muṣ‘ab ra said, “Mother! I tell you something wonderful which is very beneficial for you, and shall put an end to every disagreement. ” She inquired, “What is that?” Muṣ‘ab ra quietly responded, “This, that you forsake idol worship and become a Muslim, and believe in the Holy Prophet sa. ” She was a firm idolatress, and as soon as she heard this, she began to put up a commotion saying, “I swear by the stars that I shall never enter your religion,” and signalled her relatives to capture Muṣ‘ab ra , but he escaped. 1 The Holy Prophet sa had been informed of the arrival of the A nṣār by Muṣ‘ab ra , and a few of them had also met the Holy Prophet sa personally. On this occasion, since a collective and private meeting was necessary, after the rites of Ḥajj , the middle dates of the month of Dhul-Ḥijjah were set for this purpose. On that day near the middle of the night, all these people were to come and meet the Holy Prophet sa in the same valley as last year, so that a private meeting could be held in peace and complete attention. The Holy Prophet sa ordered the A nṣār that, “Do not come as a group, but arrive in pairs of one or two to the valley at the appointed time. Do not wake the sleeping and do not wait for the absent. ” 2 Therefore, when the appointed date arrived, during the night, when about a third of the night had passed, the Holy Prophet sa left his home. He took his uncle ‘ Abbās along with him, who was still an idolater, but loved the Holy Prophet sa and was a chieftain of the Hāshim dynasty. Both of them reached this valley, and it was not long before the A nṣār began to arrive in pairs of one and two. These were seventy souls from the Aus and the Khazraj. In the very beginning, ‘ Abbās began the discourse saying: “O party of the Khazraj! 3 Muḥammad [sa] is revered and beloved within his dynasty. To this day, his dynasty has always remained responsible for his protection, and in times of danger has always come forward. But now, Muḥammad [sa] intends to leave his homeland and reside with you. As such, if 1 * Usdul-Ghābah * Al-Fā’iqu fī Gharībil-Ḥadīth, By Maḥmūd bin ‘Umar Az-Zimakhsharī, Volume 3, p. 265, Ḥarful-Mīm, Beirut (1996) (Publishers) 2 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 1, p. 106, Dhikru ‘Aqabatil-Ākhirati wa humus- Sab‘ūnalladhina Bāya‘ū Rasūlallāhi sa , Dārul-Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 3 The people of Arabia refer to both the Aus and Khazraj by the name ‘Khazraj’ alone. (Author)