Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 79
! ! 79 very bad. Do not do so again. ” When Hazrat ‘Umar’s ra paternal aunt hea rd of this, she admonished him, “Who are you to interfere in the affairs of the Holy Prophet’s sa household?” At a time when women were treated no better than cattle, the Holy Prophet sa himself sought their opinion and advice. A Problem Solved b y a Woman’s Advice Once the Holy Prophet sa had a dream in which he saw himself performing the Umra h [secondary pilgrimage]. It occurred to him that he should perform Umra h that same year. In view of harassment by the M ecc ans , the M e dinites often could not travel to M ecc a. After they heard of his dream, thousands gathered to accompany the Holy Prophet sa. When the Holy Prophet sa arrived at M ecc a with a multitude of thousands, the M ecc ans said, “Under no circumstances, will we let you in. ” They felt that if they allowed Muhammad sa , the Messenger of Allah , to enter M ecc a with thousands of his followers, people would believe the Meccans to be scared and they would thus lose face. After much deliberation, it was decided that leaders from both sides would negotiate a settlement. In the end, it was determined that the M e dinites [Muslims] would turn back [without performing Umra h ] to return the following year. The companions of the Holy Prophet sa were greatly saddened when the Holy Prophet sa agreed to the disbelievers ’ terms. The Holy Prophet sa then directed them to perform the sacrifice of the animal whic h they had brought with them. N o one m oved. After repeating his instruction three times, still the co mpanions remained seated. Upon witnessing this, the Holy Prophet sa became greatly concerned, lest this act of [disobedience] bring tribulation upon the companions. Finally , he stood up and went home, where he asked one of his wives, “What should be don e? Today is the first time I have instructed them , and the y have not obeyed. ” She replied, “Say no more to them. G o straightaway and slaughter the animal you have brought for sacrifice. ” Consequently, he left and drew his knife upon his camel’s neck. Upon seeing this, everyone immediately rose as if they wished no other should be the first to obey. I n truth, they had been so heartbroken that they did not rise until they saw the Holy Prophet sa perform his own