Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 386
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 386 on the same condition as with the public lands, namely surrendering half the produce. An appraiser was deputed yearly to assess the amount, to realize the rents, and bring them to Medina. So long as he was alive Abdullah bin Rawaha was charged with the per formance of this duty. The Jews greatly esteemed his justice and impartiality in making the assessment. On the way home the Holy Prophet had the pleasure of welcoming his cousin, Jafar, who, with some of the Migrants, had just returned from Abyssinia and had gone out to meet him. The Holy Prophet expressed great joy on meeting them; and the army, no less ple ased, acceded cheerfully to his proposal that Jafar and his companions should share equally with them in the spoils of Khaibar. During the autumn and winter of the seventh year of the Hijra several expeditions were dispatched, under different leaders, in various directions. They were not attended by any important results, but served to extend the influence of the Holy Prophet and t o bring him into relations with surrounding and even distant tribes. The time came round when the Holy Prophet, according to treaty, might visit Mecca and perform Umra. Besides those who had accompanied him the previous year to Hudaibiyya, many others joined the cavalcade which now numbered about 2,000 men. Muhammad bin Mas lamah, with 100 horses, marched in advance of the pilgrims. The sacrificial animals were sent forward to a spot in the immediate vicinity of Mecca. Meanwhile Quraish, apprised of the approach of the Muslims, according to agreement evacuated the city in a b ody and, ascending the adjacent hills,