The life of the Holy Prophet of Islam — Page 4
On five occasions, the life of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was in serious danger and had he not been a true prophet of God, he would certainly have been destroyed. One was the occasion when the disbelieving Quraish had surrounded his house and had sworn that they would kill him that night. The second occasion was when pursuers had arrived with a large body of men at the entrance to the cave in which he had taken shelter along with Hadrat Abu Bakr. The third occasion was when he had been left alone in the battle of Uhud and the Quraish had surrounded him and attacked him in a body but were foiled of their purpose. The fourth occasion was when a Jewish woman gave him meat to eat which had been saturated with a fatal poison. The fifth occasion was when Khusro Pervaiz, Emperor of Persia, had made up his mind to destroy him and had sent his emissaries to arrest him. His delivery on all these dangerous occasions and his ultimate triumph over all his enemies is a conclusive proof that he was righteous and God was with him. (Chashma Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 23, pp. 263-264, footnote) Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had a great jealousy for the name and honor of God. He never liked that some one should laugh at or make fun of God or dishonor His name. Any negative remark of the enemy about himself did not bother him at all; but he was always worried about any humiliation to the name of God. Such a situation appeared on one occasion during the battle of Uhud, which is recorded in Hadith. It shows how much the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was dedicated to the love of God. Hadrat Al Bara narrates: We faced the pagans on that day (of the battle of Uhud) and the Prophet placed a batch of archers (at a special place) and appointed ‘Abdullah bin Jubair as their commander and said, “Do not leave this place; and if you should see us conquering the enemy, do not leave this place, and if you should see them conquering us, do not come even to help us. ” So, when we faced the enemy, they took to their heel till I saw their women running towards the mountain. Abdullah bin Jubair said, “The Prophet had taken a firm promise from me not to leave this place. ” But his companions refused to stay. So when they refused to stay there, Allah confused them so that they could not know where to go, and they suffered seventy casualties. Abu Sufyan ascended a high place and said, “Is Muhammad present amongst the people?” The Prophet said, “Do not answer him. ” Abu Sufyan said, “Is the son of Abu Quhafa (Abu Bakr) present among the people?” The Prophet said, “Do not answer him. ” Abu Sufyan said, “Is the son of Al-Khattab (‘Umar) amongst the people?” He then added, “All these people have been killed, for, were they alive, they would have replied. ” On that, ‘Umar could not help saying, “You are a liar, O enemy of Allah! Allah has kept what will make you unhappy. ” Abu Safyan said, “Superior may be Hubal!” On that the Prophet said to his companions, “Why do you not reply him?” They asked, “What may we say?” He said, “Say: Allah is More Elevated and More Majestic!” Abu Sufyan said, “We have the idol, Al-’Uzza, whereas you have no ‘Uzza!” The Prophet said to his companions, “Reply to him. ” They said, “What may we say?” The Prophet said, “Say: Allah is our Helper and you have no helper. ” Abu Sufyan said, “This day compensates for our loss at Badr and in the battle the victory is always undecided. ” (Sahih Bukhari) The Prophet of Islam always trusted in God and never became dependant upon any one. God the Almighty was his refuge, in every moment of relieve or danger. When he started his mission as a prophet, he had great support from his uncle Abu Talib. But he never depended solely upon him, and never left God’s help aside. The unbelievers were frequently reporting to Abu Talib about the activities of the Prophet of Islam. And they asked him to advise his nephew to stop