Life of Muhammad — Page 164
sa 164 The Ka‘ba was again devoted to the worship of the One and Only God. The idols were broken. One of these was Hubal. When the Prophet sa smote it with his staff, and it fell down in fragments, Zubair ra looked at Ab u Sufy a n ra and with a half-suppressed smile reminded him of U h ud. "Do you remember the day when Muslims wounded and exhausted stood by and you wounded them further by shouting, ' Glory to Hubal, Glory to Hubal'? Was it Hubal who gave you victory on that day? If it was Hubal, you can see the end it has come to today. " Ab u Sufy a n ra was impressed, and admitted it was quite true that if there had been a God other than the God of Muhammad sa , they might have been spared the disgrace and defeat they had met with that day. The Prophet sa then ordered the wiping out of the pictures which had been drawn on the walls of the Ka‘ba. Having ordered this the Prophet sa said two rak ‘ ats of prayer as thanks-giving to God. He then withdrew to the open court and said another two rak ‘ ats of prayer. The duty of wiping out the pictures had been entrusted to ‘ Umar ra. He had all the pictures obliterated except that of Abraham as. When the Prophet sa returned to inspect and found this picture intact, he asked ‘ Umar ra why he had spared this one. Did he not remember the testimony of the Qur’an that Abraham as was neither Jew nor Christian, but a single-minded and obedient Muslim? (3: 68). It was an insult to the memory of Abraham as , a great exponent of the Oneness of God to have his picture on the walls of the Ka‘ba. It was as though Abraham as could be worshipped equally with God. It was a memorable day, a day full of the Signs of God. Promises made by God to the Prophet sa , at a time when their fulfilment seemed impossible, had been fulfilled at last. The Prophet sa was the centre of devotion and faith. In and through his person, God had manifested Himself, and shown His face, as it were,