Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 347
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 347 they should stop fighting with me and leave me free to deal with the others. If I am wiped out, Quraish will have no further worry about me, but if God bestows upon me victory over them and my faith becomes supreme, the Meccans should have no hesitation in accepting me. However, if they do not agree and insist upon continuation of war, then by Him in Whose hands is my life, I shall not withdraw from this contest till I lay down my life in this cause, or God bestows victory upon me. ’ Budail was deeply moved by the Holy Prophet’s words, and said that if he was granted some time, he would go back to Mecca and try to bring about an agreement. The Holy Prophet agreed and Budail and his party returned to Mecca. Arriving in Mecca Budail told Quraish that he had met the Holy Prophet who had made a suggestion, which he would like to mention to them. On this some of the unduly excited and irresponsible of Quraish declared that they were not prepared to listen to anyt hing from that person; but the serious - minded of them wished to hear what Budail had to say. After listening to him, Urwah bin Masood, an influential chief of Thaqeef, who happened to be in Mecca, stood up and after obtaining the affirmation of Quraish tha t they had full trust in him, said, ‘In my opinion, Muhammad has made a good suggestion and I think you should accept it. If you will let me, I would go to him and try to carry the matter further. ’ Having been encouraged by Quraish, Urwah came to the Holy Prophet, who repeated to him what he had told Budail. Urwah was in principle in agreement, but as an emissary of Quraish, he replied to the Holy Prophet, ‘Muhammad, if it comes