Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 149
149 launched their attack upon them. The party fought without thought of defeat. Seven of the ten fell fighting. To the three who remained the disbelievers renewed their promise to spare their lives, on condition that they should come down from the eminence. These three believed the disbelievers and surrendered. As soon as they did so, the disbelievers tied them up. One of the three said, "This is the first breach of your plighted word. God only knows what you will do next. " Saying this, he refused to go with them. The disbelievers started belabouring the victim and dragging him down the way. But they were so overawed by the resistance and determination shown by this one man that they murdered him on the spot. The other two they took with them and sold them as slaves to the Quraysh of Mecca. One of the two was Khubayb, the other Zayd. The purchaser of Khubayb wanted to murder him so as to avenge his own father, who had been killed at Badr. One day, Khubayb asked for a razor to complete his toilet. Khubayb was holding the razor when a child of the household approached him out of curiosity. Khubayb took the child and put him on his knee. The child’s mother saw this and became terrified. Her mind was full of guilty feelings, and here was a man whom they were going to murder in a few days holding a razor so dangerously near their child. She was convinced that Khubayb was going to murder the child. Khubayb saw the consternation on the face of the woman and said, "Do you imagine I am going to murder your child. Do not think so for a moment. I cannot do such a foul thing. Muslims do not play false. " The woman was impressed by the honest and straightforward bearing and behaviour of Khubayb. She remembered this ever afterwards and used to say she had never seen a prisoner like Khubayb. At last the Meccans led Khubayb to an open field to celebrate his murder in public. When the appointed moment came, Khubayb asked for leave to say two rak‘ats of prayer. The Quraysh agreed and Khubayb addressed in public view his last prayers to God in this world. When he had finished praying, he said he wanted to continue, but did not do so lest they should think he was afraid of dying. Then he quietly submitted his neck to the executioner. As he did so, he hummed the verses: While I die a Muslim, I care not whether my headless body drops to the right or to the left. And why should I? My death is in the way of God; if He wills, He can bless every part of my dismembered body. 166 Khubayb had hardly finished murmuring these verses when the executioner’s sword fell on his neck and his head fell to one side. Those who had assembled to celebrate this public murder included one Sa‘id bin ‘Amir who later became a Muslim. It is said that whenever the murder of Khubayb was related in Sa‘id’s presence, he would go into a fit. 167 The second prisoner, Zayd, was also taken out to be murdered. Among the spectators was Abu Sufyan, chief of Mecca. Abu Sufyan turned to Zayd and asked, "Would you not rather have Muhammad in your place? Would you not prefer to be safe at home while Muhammad was in our hands?"