Understanding Islam — Page 201
199 These words were so offensive to the Muslims, and because of this utterance their tempers were running so high, that no less a person than the son of ‘Abdull ā h came to Prophet Muhammad sa seeking permission to kill his father. However, Prophet Muhammad sa refused to grant him his request, and forbade others from harming ‘Abdull ā h. ‘Abdull ā h continued to live his life peacefully despite the above incident, but when he died, Prophet Muhammad sa gave his own shirt to be used as a shroud to cover his body. In addition to that, Prophet Muhammad sa decided to lead his funeral prayer. Such an act of forgiveness and compassion was so astounding that some companions did not understand the wisdom behind this decision. Hazrat ‘Umar ra even came to Prophet Muhammad sa to express his unease. The narration is as follows: Allah’s Messenger sa had hardly got up to observe the prayer for [‘Abdull ā h bin Ubayy] that ‘Umar ra stood up and caught hold of the garment of Allah’s Messenger sa and said: “Allah’s Messenger sa , are you going to conduct prayer for this man, whereas Allah has forbidden you to offer prayer for him?” Thereupon, Allah’s Messenger sa