Life of Muhammad — Page 222
sa 222 anybody in conversation no attention would be paid to him. " On hearing this the Prophet sa observed: "The worth of this poor man is much greater than the value of a quantity of gold sufficient to fill the whole universe" ( Bukh a r i , Kit a bur Riq a q ). A poor Muslim woman used to clean out the Holy Prophet's sa mosque in Medina. The Prophet sa did not see her in the mosque for some days and made inquiries concerning her He was told that she had died. He said: "Why was I not informed when she died? I would have wished to join her funeral prayers," and added, "perchance you did not consider her worthy of consideration as she was poor. This was not right. Direct me to her grave. " He then proceeded to her grave and prayed for her ( Bukh a r i , Kit a bu s S al a t ). He used to say that there were people with tangled hair whose bodies were covered with dust and who were not welcomed by those who were well-to-do but who were so highly valued by God that if, trusting in God's beneficence, they swore in His name that a certain matter would take a certain turn He would support them. " ( Muslim, Kit ab ul Birr Wa s S ila ). On one occasion some Companions of the Holy Prophet sa who were freed slaves were sitting together when Ab u Sufy a n ra (who was a chieftain among the Quraish and had fought the Muslims up to the surrender of Mecca and had accepted Islam only on that occasion) happened to pass by. These Companions ra , addressing him, recalled the victory that God had bestowed upon Islam. Ab u Bakr ra also heard this and did not approve of a chieftain of the Quraish being reminded of their humiliation and he reprimanded the group of Companions ra. He then went to the Holy Prophet sa and related the incident to him. The Prophet sa said: "O Ab u Bakr ra ! I fear you may have hurt the feelings of these servants of God. If that should be so, God would be offended with you. " Ab u Bakr ra at once returned to those people and inquired: "Brothers of mine! Did you feel hurt over what I said?" To which they