Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq — Page 19
7 The Most Courageous of All A lthough the Holy Prophet sa was protected in the beginning * , eventually even he was not spared from this violence. One day many of the chiefs of the Quraish were sitting in the Ka‘bah. The Holy Prophet sa also went there to perform his T aw a f (circuits of the Ka‘bah) and offer his S al a t (prescribed daily prayers). When ‘Uqbah bin Ab i Mu’ i t saw the Holy Prophet sa , he and his friends attacked him and beat him so badly that he became unconscious. Then ‘Uqbah wrapped his shawl around the neck of the Holy Prophet sa and began to drag him. His friends walked * Ab u Ta lib had gathered the Ban u H a shim and Ban u Mu tt alib and urged that they should protect the Holy Prophet sa. They had all agreed, with the exception of his uncle Ab u Lahab, who was ruthless in his hatred of the Holy Prophet’s sa mission. His evil character and ill fate is mentioned in the Holy Quran, Surah Al-Lahab, ch. 111. (Publishers)