Life of Muhammad — Page 7
sa 7 and knocked at Ab u Jahl's door. Ab u Jahl came out and saw that his creditor was standing with the Prophet sa. The Prophet sa mentioned the loan and suggested its payment. Ab u Jahl was taken aback and, making no excuses, paid at once. When the other chiefs of Mecca heard of this they reproved Ab u Jahl, telling him how weak and self-contradictory he had proved. He preached the social boycott of the Prophet sa , yet he himself accepted direction from the Prophet sa and paid a loan on his suggestion. In self-defence, Ab u Jahl pleaded that any other person would have done the same. He told them that as he saw the Prophet sa standing at his door, he also saw two wild camels standing one on each side, ready to attack. We cannot say what this experience was. Was it a miraculous appearance designed to upset Ab u Jahl or was it the awe-inspiring presence of the Prophet sa which produced this hallucination? A man hated and oppressed by a whole town had taken the courage to go alone to the leader of that town and demand the restitution of a loan. Maybe this very unexpected sight frightened Ab u Jahl and for a moment made him forget what he had sworn to do against the Prophet sa , and forced him to do as the Prophet sa suggested ( Hish a m ). HOLY PROPHET'S sa MARRIAGE WITH KHAD I JA ra When the Prophet sa was about twenty-five years old, his reputation for integrity and fellow-feeling had spread over the whole of the town. People would point admiring fingers at him and say, here was a man who could be trusted. This reputation reached the ears of a rich widow who approached the Prophet's sa uncle, Ab u Ta lib, to let his nephew lead a trading caravan of hers to Syria. Ab u Ta lib mentioned this to the Prophet sa and the Prophet sa agreed. The expedition met with great success and brought unexpected profits. The rich widow, Khad i ja ra , was convinced that the success of the caravan was due not only to the conditions of the market in