The Excellent Exemplar - Muhammad — Page 28
THE EXCELLENT EXEMPLAR — MUHAMMAD 28 contact with parties from other parts of the country who visited Mecca on the occasion of the annual pilgrimage, and to make an effort to interest them in his mission and message. On one such occasion he met a party of six or seven pilgrims from Medina, th en known as Yathrib, who were encamped in a valley outside Mecca. At that time Medina was inhabited by two Arab and three Jewish tribes. The Arab tribes - Aus and Khazraj - were pagan idol worshippers, but had to some degree become familiar with Jewish traditi ons. They had heard from their Jewish fellow townsmen that the latter were expecting the advent of a Prophet which had been foretold in their Scriptures (Deut. 18: 18). The men whom the Prophet encountered on this occasion belonged to the Khazraj tribe. When he told them that God had appointed him as Messenger and had charged him with a message for mankind, they gave him a ready and eager hearing. In the end they declared their faith in him and his message, agreeing to convey it to their fellow townsmen on their return to Medina. The following year twelve men of Medina, representing both the Khazraj and Aus tribes, came to the pilgrimage and met the Prophet in secret. It was necessary to take precautions lest the Meccans learn of their adherence to Islam and try to create difficult ies for the people of Medina performing the pilgrimage. When the Prophet explained his mission in greater detail to them, they announced their own acceptance of Islam, and also the readiness of many people in Medina to accept it. The Prophet asked them to ascertain from their fellow Muslims and their fellow tribesmen whether they would be willing to give shelter to the harassed and persecuted Muslims of Mecca. They promised