Life of Muhammad — Page 145
sa 145 followers entered the Sacred Enclosure, wearing only sheathed swords; Returning to Mecca after seven years' externment, it was no ordinary thing for two thousand persons to enter Mecca. They remembered the tortures to which they had been subjected during their days at Mecca. At the same time, they saw how gracious God had been to them in letting them come back and make a circuit of the Ka ‘ ba in peace. Their anger was only equal to their joy. The people of Mecca had come out of their houses and perched themselves on the hill-tops to see the Muslims. The Muslims were full of zeal and enthusiasm and pride. They wanted to tell the Meccans that the promises which God had made to them had all come true. ‘ Abdull a h bin Raw a ha ra started singing songs of war, but the Prophet sa stopped him saying, "No war songs. Only say, There is none to be worshipped except the One God. It is God Who helped the Prophet sa and raised the believers from degradation to dignity and Who drove off the enemy" ( H albiyya , Vol. 3, p. 73). After circuiting the Ka ‘ ba and running between the hills of S af a and Marw a , the Prophet sa and his Companions stopped in Mecca for three days. ‘ Abb a s ra had a widowed sister-in-law, Maim u na ra , and he proposed that the Prophet sa should marry her. The Prophet sa agreed. On the fourth day the Meccans demanded the withdrawal of the Muslims. The Prophet sa ordered the withdrawal and asked his followers to start back for Medina. So religiously did he carry out the agreement and so careful was he to respect Meccan sentiments that he left his newly-wed wife behind in Mecca. He arranged that she should join him with the part of the caravan carrying the personal effects of the pilgrims. The Prophet sa mounted his camel and was soon out of the limits of the sacred precincts. For the night the Prophet sa camped at a place called Sarif, and there in his tent Maim u na ra joined him. We might have omitted this insignificant detail from a short account of the Life of the Prophet sa , but the incident has one important interest, and it is this. The