The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 7
I - Commencement of the Second Era of Life in Madīnah 7 During those days, the Holy Prophet sa would go to Thumāmah and inquire of him, “Thumāmah! What are your intentions now?” Thumāmah would respond, “O Muḥammad [sa] ! If you kill me, you have the right to do so, for I have been charged of murder, but if you deal with me in goodness you shall find me grateful. If you wish to accept my ransom, I am willing to pay my ransom as well. ” This exchange of questions and answers continued for three days. Finally, on the third day, the Holy Prophet sa himself ordered his companions to release Thumāmah. The companions released him at once and Thumāmah hurriedly left the mosque. Perhaps the companions thought that now he would return to his homeland, but the Holy Prophet sa had understood that his heart had been won over. As such, he went to a nearby garden and returned after bathing and immediately accepted Islām at the hand of the Holy Prophet sa. After this he said to the Holy Prophet sa , “O Messenger of Allāh! There was a time when I hated your person, and your religion and your city more than anything in the world, but now your person, and your religion and your city are most beloved to me. ” 1 That night in the evening, when food was customarily brought for Thumāmah ra , he ate a little of the food and left the rest. The companions were surprised that until that morning Thumāmah ra would eat extravagantly and was a glutton, but now he had eaten only a little. When this news reached the Holy Prophet sa he said, “Until this morning Thumāmah ate like the infidels and now he has eaten like a Muslim. ” Then the Holy Prophet sa explained this saying, “An infidel eats in seven intestines while a believer eats in one alone. ” 2 By this, the Holy Prophet’s intention was (to express) that where an infidel is so absorbed in the pleasures of this world and is forever engrossed in them, on the other hand, a true believer limits his physical needs only to the extent as is necessary for the sustenance of life. This is because a believer finds true delight in religion alone. It should also be kept in mind that here, the number seven does not infer to the actual numerical value, but in light of Arabic idiom, the number seven is used to imply ‘abundance’ or ‘completion’ as well. 3 In other 1 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Wafdi Banī Ḥanīfah. . . , Ḥadīth No. 4372 * Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, Kitābul-Jihād, Bābu Rabṭil-Asīri Wa Ḥabsihī Wa Jawāzil-Manni ‘Alaihi, Ḥadīth No 4589 2 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 888, Asru Thumāmat- abni Uthālin Al-Ḥanfiyyi Wa Islāmuhu. . . , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 3 Tājul-‘Urūsi Min Jawāhiril-Qāmūs, By Muḥibbuddīn Abū Faiḍ Muḥammad Murtaḍā Ḥusainī, Volume 11, Bābul-‘Ain, Faṣlus-Sīni Ma‘al-‘Ain, Under the root Sa-ba-‘a, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut (2005)