Life of Muhammad — Page 129
sa 129 with a commercial caravan. The court officials took him to the Kaiser. Ab u Sufy a n ra was ordered to stand in front of the other Arabs, who were told to correct him if he should tell a lie or make a wrong statement. Then Heraclius proceeded to interrogate Ab u S ufy a n ra. The conversation is thus recorded in history: H: Do you know this man who claims to be a Prophet sa and who has sent me a letter? Can you say what sort of family he comes from? A-S: He comes of a noble family and is one of my relations. H: Have there been Arabs before him who have made claims similar to his? A-S: No. H: Did your people ever charge him with lying before he announced his claim? A-S: No. H: Has there been a king or a ruler among his forefathers? A — S: No. H: How do you judge his general ability and his capacity for judgement? A — S: We have never found any fault in his ability and his capacity for judgement. H: What are his followers like? Are they big and powerful persons or are they poor and humble? A — S: Mostly poor and humble and young. H: Do their numbers tend to increase or decrease? A — S: To increase. H: Do his followers ever go back to their old beliefs? A — S: No. H: Has he ever broken a pledge? A — S: Not so far. But we have recently entered into a new pact with him. Let us see what he does about it. H: Have you had any fight with him yet?