Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 246
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 246 Muslims and charged into their ranks. The surprise was fatal, and the discomfiture complete. It might still have been possible to rally the Muslims had not a brave Quraish warrior, Abdullah bin Qami’a, attacked the Muslims’ standard bearer, Mus’ab bin Umair, and severed his right hand with his sword. Mus’ab supported the standard with his left han d and advanced towards Ibn Qami’a who then severed his left hand also, where after Mus’ab folded both his arms round the standard and held it against his chest. Ibn Qami’a attacked him a third time and felled him to the ground. In the meantime, Wahshi, a N egro slave whom Jubair bin Mut’am had brought with him, promising him his freedom if he succeeded in killing Hamzah, who had killed Jubair’s uncle, Ta’eemah bin Adi, in the battle of Badr, perceiving Hamzah passing near him, swung his javelin at him with u nerring aim and brought him lifeless to the ground. It was a moment of great peril for the Holy Prophet as well as the Muslims, some of whom, in their bewilderment, attacked each other and inflicted injuries upon their own people. Yaman, the father of Hudhaifa, was killed in this moment of peril and confusi on by the Muslims despite Hudhaifa’s shouts that they were attacking his father. The Holy Prophet had been standing in the rear watching from a rising ground the first success when he narrowly escaped the sweeping charge of Khalid’s horse. With the staff of followers who surrounded him, he joined in discharging arrows at the enemy till his bow was broken; then he betook himself to casting stones. One of Quraish pressed madly forward to cut him down,