Life of Muhammad — Page 11
sa 11 achieve great things but could take no pride in his achievement. After this great experience he reached home greatly agitated, his face drawn. On Khad i ja's ra enquiry, he narrated the whole experience to her and summed up his fears, saying, "Weak man that I am, how can I carry the responsibility which God proposes to put on my shoulders. " Khad i ja ra replied at once: God is witness, He has not sent you this Word that you should fail and prove unworthy, that He should then give you up. How can God do such a thing, while you are kind and considerate to your relations, help the poor and the forlorn and bear their burdens? You are restoring the virtues which had disappeared from our country. You treat guests with honour and help those who are in distress. Can you be subjected by God to any trial? ( Bukh a r i ). Having said this, Khad i ja ra took the Prophet sa to her cousin, Waraqa bin Naufal, a Christian. When he heard the account Waraqa said: "The angel who descended on Moses as , I am sure, has descended on you" ( Bukh a r i ). FIRST CONVERTS Waraqa evidently referred to the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:18. When the news reached Zaid ra , the Prophet's sa freed slave, now about thirty years of age, and his cousin ‘ Al i ra , about eleven, they both declared their faith in him. Ab u Bakr ra , friend of his childhood, was out of town. As he returned he began to hear of this new experience which the Prophet sa had had. He was told that his friend had gone mad and had begun to say that angels brought him messages from God. Ab u Bakr ra trusted the Prophet sa completely. He did not doubt for a minute that the Prophet sa must be right — he had known him to be both sane and sincere. He knocked at the Prophet's sa door and on admission into his company asked him what had happened. The Prophet sa , fearing