Muhammad the kindred to Humanity — Page 9
9. Still. Mecca for the Haj, they began to forge plans by which to prejudice all visitors against him. One said "Let us. proclaim him to be a poet. " Another said, "No, not a poet but a simple liar. " another, "No, neither a poet nor a liar but a mad man. " Upon hearing all this, an unrelenting enemy of his, one whose hostility remained unabated to the end of his days, intervened and said, "You can only say something that can make a plausible impression on the people. When, for instance, you describe. Muhammad as a liar, would not the people ask, 'Then why have you, for so long, sworn by his sincerity and truthfulness?' How can a man who has been truthful all. You have to forge a his life, suddenly turn out a liar? plausible account about him. " account. . But they could forge no such. The Holy Prophet has himself told us that on two occasions during the period of his youth he desired to go to an entertainment such as a juggler's performance. But it was so ordained that on both occasions instead of being able to carry out his desire he went off to sleep. His youth, in short, was as pure as the rest of his life, unequalled by anybody known to human history. Nor is the Prophet one of those heroes, the facts of whose lives are not well-known. . There is nothing in his life which we should like to know and of which a fair account is not preserved for us in the traditions. . Daring Solicitude for the Poor. Let us now turn to another point. Let us describe the moral side of his character and the solicitude he had for the poor and the down-trodden. In this respect too, we cannot find his equal in the entire history of man. It is said that some Meccans got together and founded an association whose purpose was to protect the rights of the poor. As the names of most of its founders end with Fazl, the inauguration of the association is known in history as the. Hilf-ul-Fazul (or the Oath of the Fazul). The Holy. Prophet was also one of its founders. This was before he