Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 205
205 and exhausted stood by and you wounded them further by shouting, 'Glory to Hubal, Glory to Hubal'? Was it Hubal who gave you victory on that day? If it was Hubal, you can see the end it has come to today. " Abu Sufyan was impressed, and admitted it was quite true that if there had been a God other than the God of Muhammad, they might have been spared the disgrace and defeat they had met with that day. The Prophet then ordered the wiping out of the pictures which had been drawn on the walls of the Ka’bah. Having ordered this the Prophet said two rak‘ats of prayer as thanksgiving to God. He then withdrew to the open court and said another two rak‘ats of prayer. The duty of wiping out the pictures had been entrusted to ‘Umar. He had all the pictures obliterated except that of Abraham. When the Prophet returned to inspect and found this picture intact, he asked ‘Umar why he had spared this one. Did he not remember the testimony of the Quran that Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian, but a single-minded and obedient Muslim? 231 It was an insult to the memory of Abraham, a great exponent of the Oneness of God to have his picture on the walls of the Ka’bah. It was as though Abraham could be worshipped equally with God. It was a memorable day, a day full of the Signs of God. Promises made by God to the Prophet, at a time when their fulfilment seemed impossible, had been fulfilled at last. The Prophet was the centre of devotion and faith. In and through his person, God had manifested Himself, and shown His face, as it were, again. The Prophet sent for water of the Zamzam. He drank some of it and with the rest performed ablutions. So devoted were Muslims to the Prophet’s person, that they would not let a drop of this water fall on the ground. They received the water in the hollows of their hands to wet their bodies with it; in such reverence did they hold it. The pagans who witnessed these scenes of devotion said again and again that they had never seen an earthly king to whom his people were so devoted. 232 The Prophet Forgives His Enemies All rites and duties over, the Prophet addressed the Meccans and said: "You have seen how true the promises of God have proved. Now tell me what punishment you should have for the cruelties and enormities you committed against those whose only fault was that they invited you to the worship of the One and Only God. " To this the Meccans replied, "We expect you to treat us as Joseph treated his erring brothers. " By significant coincidence, the Meccans used in their plea for forgiveness the very words which God had used in the Surah Yusuf, revealed ten years before the conquest of Mecca. In this the Prophet was told that he would treat his Meccan persecutors as Joseph had treated his brothers. By asking for the treatment which Joseph had meted out to his brothers, the Meccans admitted that the Prophet of Islam was the like of Joseph and as Joseph was granted victory over his brothers the