Life of Muhammad — Page 229
sa 229 you seem to have brought upon yourself what I had feared. ' I then went to the Holy Prophet sa and found him lying down on a rough matting. He was at that time wearing no shirt and his body bore the marks of the pattern of the matting. I sat down near him and said: ‘ O Messenger of Allah! the Kaiser and the Chosroes do not deserve any of God's favours and yet they pass their lives in great comfort and you who are His Messenger pass your days in such discomfort. ' The Prophet sa replied: 'That is not so. The Messengers of Allah are not expected to spend their time in comfort. That kind of life befits only secular monarchs. ' I then related to the Prophet sa all that had passed between me and my wife and daughter. Hearing me, the Prophet sa laughed and said: ‘ It is not true that I have divorced my wives. I have merely thought it advisable to spend a little time away from them' " ( Bukh a r i , Kit ab un Nik ah ). He was so careful concerning the sentiments of women that on one occasion when he was leading the prayers he heard the cry of a child and concluded the service quickly, explaining thereafter that as he had heard the cry of the child he imagined that the child's mother would be distressed at its cry and he had therefore concluded the service quickly so that the mother could go to the child and look after it. When during any of his journeys women were also among the party he always gave directions that the caravan should move slowly and by easy stages. On one such occasion when the men were eager to push forward, he said: "Take care of glass! Take care of glass!" meaning thereby that women were of the party and that if camels and horses were put to the gallop they would suffer from the joltings of the animals ( Bukh a r i , Kit ab ul Adab ). During a battle confusion arose among the ranks of the mounted soldiers and the animals became un- manageable. The Holy Prophet sa fell from his horse and some of the women also fell from their mounts. One of his Companions ra , who was riding a camel immediately behind the Prophet sa jumped down and ran towards him