The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 107
III - Concept of the Acceptance of Prayer in Islām 107 emphatically reminding him not to disclose this secret to anyone. 1 After having departed from Makkah, this man moved towards Madīnah hiding by day and travelling by night. He reached Madīnah on the sixth night. Ascertaining the whereabouts of the Holy Prophet sa , he went straight to the mosque of the Banī ‘Abdul-Ashhal, where the Holy Prophet sa was present. Those days, new people constantly visited Madīnah, so no Muslim became suspicious of him. But as soon as the Holy Prophet sa noticed the man approaching him he said, “This man has come with an evil intention. ” Upon hearing these words, he began to move towards the Holy Prophet sa even faster than before. However, Usaid bin Ḥuḍair ra , a Chieftain among the Anṣār, immediately sprung forward and clung to him and during this tussle his hand fell upon the man’s hidden dagger, whereupon the man screamed out in fear, “My death! My death!” When he was subdued, the Holy Prophet sa inquired of him, “Tell me truthfully, who are you and with which intention have you come?” He said, “If my life is spared, I will tell you. ” The Holy Prophet sa said, “Yes, relate the entire account truthfully and you shall be forgiven. ” Upon this he related the entire story to the Holy Prophet sa from beginning to end. He also told the Holy Prophet sa of the reward which had been promised to him by Abū Sufyān. Thereafter, this individual stayed in Madīnah for a few days and then out of his own will became a Muslim, and thus, entered into the service of the Holy Prophet sa. 2 This bloody conspiracy of Abū Sufyān made it even more incumbent than before to remain informed of the plots and intentions of the people of Makkah. As such, the Holy Prophet sa sent two of his companions, ‘Amr bin Umaiyyah Ḍamrī ra and Salmah bin Aslam ra , to Makkah. Considering the assassination attempt of Abū Sufyān and his past bloodthirsty schemes, the Holy Prophet sa permitted his companions to put an end to this war enemy of Islām, if the opportunity were to arise. However, when Umaiyyah ra and his companion reached Makkah, the Quraish were alerted, whereupon these two companions set back to Madīnah fending for their lives. On their way back, they found two spies of the Quraish, whom the chieftains of the Quraish had 1 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 296, Sariyyatu ‘Amr-ibni Umaiyyataḍ- Ḍamri, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 296, Sariyyatu ‘Amr-ibni Umaiyyataḍ- Ḍamri, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 3, pp. 166-167, Ba‘thuḍ-Ḍamriyyi Li-Yaghtāla Abā Sufyān, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)