Life of Muhammad — Page 66
sa 66 it would expose the Prophet's sa face to the volley of enemy arrows. " The few men who were left with the Prophet sa could not have stood the army which they faced. A party of the enemy advanced forward and pushed them off. The Prophet sa then stood alone like a wall, and soon a stone struck his forehead and made a deep gash in it. Another blow drove the rings of his helmet into his cheeks. When the arrows were falling thick and fast and the Prophet sa was wounded he prayed, "My God, forgive my people for they know not what they are doing" ( Muslim ). The Prophet sa fell on the dead, the dead who had lost their lives in his defence. Other Muslims came forward to defend the Prophet sa from more attacks. They also fell dead. The Prophet sa lay unconscious among these dead bodies. When the enemy saw this, they took him for dead. They withdrew in the certainty of victory, and proceeded to line up again. Among the Muslims who had been defending the Prophet sa and who had been pushed by the avalanche of enemy forces, was ‘ Umar ra. The battlefield had now cleared. ‘ Umar ra who saw this, became certain that the Prophet sa was dead. ‘ Umar ra was a brave man. He proved it again and again; best of all, in fighting simultaneously the great Empires of Rome and Iran. He was never known to blench under difficulties. This ‘ Umar ra sat on a stone with drooping spirits, crying like a child. In the meantime another Muslim, Anas bin Na d r ra by name, came wandering along in the belief that the Muslims had won. He had seen them overpower the enemy but, having had nothing to eat since the night before, had withdrawn from the battlefield, with some dates in his hand. As soon as he saw ‘ Umar ra crying, he stood amazed and asked, '' ‘ Umar ra , what is the matter with you that instead of rejoicing over a magnificent victory won by the Muslims, you are crying?'' ‘ Umar ra replied, "Anas ra , you do not know what has happened. You only saw the first part of the battle. You do not know that the enemy captured the strategic point on the hill and attacked us fiercely. The Muslims had