Life of Muhammad — Page 148
sa 148 presume, the Prophet sa complained of the preparations which had been visible on the Syrian border and of the foul and entirely unjust murder of the fifteen Muslims whom he had sent to report on the border situation. This letter was carried by al- H arth ra , a Companion of the Prophet sa. He stopped en route at Mauta where he met Shurahbil, a Ghass a n chief acting as a Roman official. "Are you a messenger of Muhammad sa ?" asked this chief. On being told "Yes," he arrested him, tied him up and belaboured him to death. It may quite reasonably be assumed that this Ghass a n chief was a leader of the army which had engaged and put to death the fifteen Muslims who had tried only to preach. The fact that he said to al- H arth ra , "Perhaps you are carrying a message from Muhammad sa " shows he was afraid lest the Prophet's sa complaint that tribesmen under the Kaiser had attacked the Muslims should reach the Kaiser. He was afraid lest he should have to account for what had happened. There was safety, he thought, in murdering the Prophet's sa envoy. The expectation was not realized. The Prophet sa got to know of the murder. To avenge this and the earlier murders, he raised a force of three thousand and despatched it to Syria under the command of Zaid bin H a ritha ra , freed slave of the Prophet sa , whom we mentioned in our account of his life in Mecca. The Prophet sa nominated Ja‘far ibn Ab i T a lib as the successor of Zaid ra , should Zaid ra die, and ‘ Abdull a h bin Rawa ha ra , should Ja‘far die. Should ‘ Abdull a h bin Rawa ha ra also die, Muslims were to choose their own commander. A Jew who heard this exclaimed, "O Abu ’ l Q a sim sa , if thou art a true Prophet sa , these three officers whom thou hast named are sure to die; for God fulfils the words of a Prophet sa. " Turning to Zaid ra , he said,"Take it from me, if Muhammad sa is true you will not return alive. " Zaid ra , a true believer that he was, said in reply, "I may return alive or not, but Muhammad sa is a true Prophet of God" ( H albiyya, Vol. 3, p. 75). The following morning the Muslim army set out on its long march. The Prophet sa and the Companions went