Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 43
Inter-Religious Peace 43 left the other Companions yearning to barter it from the son at the cost of all their possessions. Not only that, the Holy Prophet sa decided to lead his funeral prayer. This decision must have deeply disturbed many of his Companions who could never forgive ‘Abdull a h for the grievous offence mentioned above. Yet, it fell to the lot of Umar ra , who later succeeded the Prophet sa as the Second Caliph to give voice to their suppressed uneasiness. It is reported that as the Holy Prophet sa was proceeding to the funeral, Umar ra suddenly stepped forward and stood in the way begging the Prophet sa to change his decision. In doing so, Umar ra reminded the Prophet sa of the verse of the Holy Quran in which reference is made to some known hypocrite on whose behalf intercession would not be accepted even if the Holy Prophet sa prayed for him seventy times. Incidentally, the number seventy should not be taken too literally because, according to Arab usage, it was only employed to indicate a large number. However, the Holy Prophet sa smiled and responded: Stand aside, Umar ra. I know better. If I know God would not forgive him even if I seek forgiveness seventy times, I would seek forgiveness for him more than seventy times. The Prophet sa then led the funeral prayer. 52 This is a fitting rebuttal to those who are crying themselves hoarse in demanding death for the blasphemer who dares to insult the Holy Founder sa of Islam and nothing but death. Such a religion must have a claim to establish inter-religious peace in the world.