Life of Muhammad — Page 72
sa 72 to Medina, he saw women and children who had come out of Medina to receive him. The cord of his dromedary was held by Sa ‘ d bin Mu ‘ a dh ra , a chief of Medina. Sa ‘ d ra was leading the dromedary pompously. He seemed to proclaim to the world that Muslims had after all succeeded in leading the Prophet sa back to Medina hale and hearty. As he was advancing he saw his own aged mother advancing to meet the returning party of Muslims. This aged woman was very weak-sighted. Sa ‘ d ra recognized her and, turning to the Prophet sa , said, "Here, O Prophet sa , is my mother. " "Let her come forward," replied the Prophet sa. The woman came forward and with a vacant look tried to spot the Prophet's sa face. At last she was able to spot it and was glad. The Prophet sa seeing her said, "Woman, I grieve over the loss of thy son. " "But," replied the devoted woman, "after I have seen you alive, I have swallowed all my misfortunes. " The Arabic expression she used was "I have roasted my misfortune and swallowed it" ( Halbiyya , Vol. 2, p. 210). What depth of emotion does this expression indicate. Normally, grief eats up a human being, and here was an aged woman who had lost her son, a staff for her old age. But she said that, instead of letting her grief eat her up, she had eaten up her grief. The fact that her son had died for the Prophet sa would sustain her during the rest of her days. The Prophet sa reached Medina. In this battle, many Muslims were killed and many wounded. Still the battle cannot be said to have ended in defeat for Muslims. The incidents which we have related above prove the reverse. They prove that U h ud was as great a victory for Muslims as any other. Muslims who turn to the pages of their early history can derive sustenance and inspiration from U h ud. Back in Medina, the Prophet sa returned to his mission. He engaged himself again in training and teaching his followers. But as before, his work did not go on uninterruptedly. After U h ud, the Jews became more