Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 412
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 412 At her solicitation Adi presented himself before the Holy Prophet, and having embraced Islam, and been confirmed in the chiefship of his tribe, distinguished himself thereafter in the service of Islam. The Mosque of the Holy Prophet was now the scene of frequent embassies from all quarters of Arabia. His supremacy was everywhere recognised; and from the most distant parts of the peninsula, from Yemen and Hadramaut, from Mahra, Oman and Bahrain, from the borders of Syria and the outskirts of Persia, the tribes hastened to offer submission. They were uniformly treated with consideration and courtesy. Their representations were heard publicly in the court of the Mosque, which formed the hall of audience, and there whatever matters required the directions of the Holy Prophet were discussed and settled. Simple though its exterior, and unpretending its forms and usages, more power was exercised, and affairs of greater importance transacted, in the courtyard of t he Mosque of the Holy Prophet than in many an Imperial Palace. In the autumn of 631, intimation reached the Holy Prophet of the gathering of a large army on the borders of Syria, and he resolved to meet the danger with as large a force as could be collected. The journey in contemplation was so distant and the heat of the season so excessive that, contrary to his custom, the Holy Prophet gave timely warning of his objective so that the necessities of the way might be foreseen and provided for. Though some of the Bedouin tribes showed little alacrity in obeying the Holy Prophet’s command to join the army, and some men of Medina were on various pleas excused, extraordinary