The Excellent Exemplar - Muhammad — Page 23
THE EXCELLENT EXEMPLAR — MUHAMMAD 23 his presence again, the bishops and nobles urged that the Meccan fugitives deserved no sympathy on account of what the Qureish had alleged against them. The Emperor made inquiry concerning this from the Muslims, who replied that far from this allegation be ing true, they held both Jesus and his mother Mary in great honor and believed in Jesus as a righteous prophet of God. Their leader, the cousin of the Prophet, recited relevant verses from the Quran in support of their statement (19:17 - 41) The Emperor, dee ply affected by the recitation, affirmed the truth of these verses and stated flatly that he believed neither more nor less concerning Jesus than that which had been recited. He dismissed the Qureish and told the Muslims that they could dwell in the land w ithout fear of molestation. About this time, the persecuted and harassed Muslims in Mecca received some support and encouragement by the adherence of Umar to Islam. Umar was a leading Meccan whose courage and prowess were well known. Much troubled by the strife agitating Mecca as a r esult of the preaching of the new doctrine by Muhammad, he made up his mind to put an end to it all by putting an end to Muhammad. On the way to search out the Prophet, he was stopped by a friend who inquired whither he was bent. Umar explained his design; the friend retorted that he should look nearer home first, inasmuch as his sister and brother - in - law had already embraced Islam. In a rage, Umar stormed into his brother - in - law’s house and by his violent entry interrupted a recitation of the Quran to whic h his sister and her husband had been listening. Umar drew his sword to attack his brother - in - law, but his sister parried the blow, and received a