Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 84
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 84 of God, supplicate Him that there should be streams of water running in this country as they run in Syria and Iraq, and let these hillocks and dunes be levelled and become fertile arable land. If you can bring this about, we shall acknowledge you a messeng er of God. ’ To this, the Holy Prophet responded: ‘I am a messenger of God and my function is only to point out the way of truth and falsehood to you and to expound to you that which would benefit you and that which would do you harm. I do affirm, however, that if you will respond to the call of God, He will, in due course, make you heirs of the bounties of this life as well as of the hereafter. ’ Quraish retorted: ‘If you are unable to do that which we have suggested, we would yet have believed in you if we had seen an angel descend upon you, or if you had dwelt in a palace and had at your disposal heaps of gold and silver. But you have none of the se things available to you. We observe that you go about in the streets like us and seek your livelihood in the same manner as we do. Then what is that on account of which we might acknowledge you as a Messenger of God?’ The Holy Prophet explained once mor e: ‘I do not claim these things in the way that you desire. I can only repeat that if you will believe in me, then, according to the eternal way of God, you will surely partake of the bounties of this life and the next. ’ Quraish began to lose patience, and challenged the Holy Prophet: ‘If you can do none of these things, then bring upon us the chastisement with which you threaten us. Let a piece of heaven fall upon us; or let an angelic host confront us under the banner of God. It seems to us, indeed, that we cannot exist at the same time with you and your followers; either we shall survive, or