The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 343
VIII - Blow of a Misfortune, Law of Inheritance, Prohibition of Alcohol, Treachery of the Disbelievers and Two Tragic Incidents 343 ‘Umar ra , Abū Sufyān said, “Tell the truth ‘Umar! Is Muḥammad [sa] alive?” “Indeed! Indeed!” said Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra , “By the Grace of God he lives and is listening to your every word. ” In a relatively low voice, Abū Sufyān said, “Then, Ibni Qum’ah has lied, because I consider you to be more truthful than he. ” 1 After this, Abū Sufyān exclaimed, ْ اُعْل ُ ھُبَل , i. e. , “O Hubl! 2 Exalted by thy name!” Upon the instruction of the Holy Prophet sa , the Companions remained silent, but the Holy Prophet sa who ordered silence for his own name, became restless upon hearing the name of an idol in contestation with the name of God the Exalted. “Why do you not respond?” said the Holy Prophet sa. The Companions submitted, “O Messenger of Allāh! How shall we respond?” The Holy Prophet sa said, “Proclaim ّ اَللّٰه ُ اَعْلی ٰ وَاَجَل , i. e. , “Greatness and grandeur belongs to Allāh the Exalted alone. ” Abū Sufyān responded, ْ لَنَا الْعُزّٰی وَلَا عُزّی ٰ لَكُم , i. e. , “We have ‘Uzza 3 but you have no ‘Uzza!” The Holy Prophet sa instructed the Companions to say, ْ اَللّٰه ُ مَوْلٰنا وَلَا مَوْلی ٰ لَكُم , i. e. , “We have Allāh, Who is our Helper, but you have no Helper. ” After this, Abū Sufyān said: “Battle is like a pail, at times, it rises and at times it falls. Consider this day to be a recompense for Badr. You shall find such bodies in the field of battle that have been mutilated. I did not order this, but when I found out about it, I did not find this action of my men displeasing either. 4 Next year, we shall meet again at Badr in the same days. ” As per the instruction of the Holy Prophet sa a Companion responded, “Very well then, we shall meet again. ” 5 After saying this Abū Sufyān descended with his followers and quickly thereafter, the army of the Quraish took the road to Makkah. It is strange to note that on this occasion, although the Quraish had attained victory against the Muslims, and with respect to their apparent means, if they had desired, they could have further capitalized on this opportunity; not to mention, the opportunity to attack Madīnah was open to them in any case. However, the Power of God was such that despite this victory, in their hearts, the Quraish were struck with awe, and considering the victory attained in the field of 1 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 542, Sha’nu ‘Āṣimibni Thābit, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 2 A principal idol of the Quraish 3 The name of another idol 4 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Ghazwati Uḥud, Ḥadīth No. 4043 5 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 542, Sha’nu ‘Āṣimibni Thābit, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)