The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 324
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 324 Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra narrates that, “By this, my disposition was delighted. ” Following this, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra said, “O Messenger of Allāh, the time of our departure has come. ” “Yes,” said the Holy Prophet sa , “let us move on!” As such, the Holy Prophet sa started off, but only a short time had passed when Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra noticed that a man was racing his horse in pursuit of them. Upon this, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra worriedly said, “O Messenger of Allāh! A man pursues us. ” The Holy Prophet sa said, “Do not worry, Allāh is with us. ” 1 This pursuant was Surāqah bin Mālik, who describes the tale of his pursuance in the following words: When the Holy Prophet sa left Makkah, the infidels of the Quraish announced that whosoever brings back the Holy Prophet sa or Abū Bakr ra dead or alive, shall be given such and such a bounty, and this announcement was given to us through their messengers as well. After this, one day, I was sitting in a gathering of my people, the Banū Mudlij, 2 when one man from the Quraish came to us and addressed me saying, “ I have just seen two personages to the coast of the sea. I perceive that perhaps they are Muḥammad and his companions. ’’ Surāqah says, I immediately figured that this must be them, but to brush it off (and acquire this honour for myself) I said, “ They are such and such people who just passed us. ” Shortly thereafter, I left that gathering, and came to my lady- servant and said, “ Saddle my horse and take it to the rear of the home. ” Then I took a spear and quietly left from the back of my home. I raced my horse until I neared Muḥammad [sa] and his companions. At that time, my horse struck something and I fell to the ground. I quickly regained myself, and as per the way of the land, I took out my quiver to seek an omen by a throw of arrows. The omen turned out against my wish, but I ignored it (due to my enmity of Islām and greed for the bounty), and mounted myself again in pursuit. This time I reached so close that I could hear the voice of the Holy Prophet sa (who at the time was reciting the Holy Qur’ān). At that time I saw that the Holy Prophet sa did not even turn his face once, but Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra (in concern for the Holy Prophet sa ) would turn his face again and again. When I moved a bit closer, my horse struck something again, and this time its feet were driven into the sand, and I fell to the ground again. When I regained myself and saw the horse, its feet had been driven into the ground so deep that it could not hoist them out 1 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Faḍā’ili Aṣḥābin-Nabī sa , Bābu Manāqibil-Muhājirīna wa Faḍlihim-minhum Abū Bakrin ‘Abdullāh bin Abī Quḥāfah, Ḥadīth No. 3652 2 A branch of the Banū Kinānah. (Author)