Life of Muhammad — Page 39
sa 39 Prophet sa and the guide; the other for Ab u Bakr ra and his servant, ‘ A mir bin Fuhaira ra. SURAQA ra PURSUES THE PROPHET Before setting out, the Prophet sa looked back at Mecca. Emotions welled up in his heart. Mecca was his birthplace. He had lived there as child and man and had received there the Divine Call. It was the place where his forefathers had lived and flourished since the time of Ishmael. With these thoughts, he had a last long look at it and then said, "Mecca, thou art dearer to me than any other place in the world, but thy people would not let me live here. " Upon this Ab u Bakr ra said, "The place hath turned out its Prophet sa. It only awaiteth its destruction. " The Meccans, after the failure of their pursuit, put a prize on the heads of the two fugitives. Whoever captured and restored to the Meccans the Prophet sa or Ab u Bakr ra dead or alive was to have a reward of a hundred camels. The announcement was made among the tribes around Mecca. Tempted by the reward, Sur a qa bin M a lik ra , a Bedouin chief, started in pursuit of the party and ultimately sighted them on the road to Medina. He saw two mounted camels and, feeling sure they were bearing the Prophet sa and Ab u Bakr ra , spurred on his horse. The horse reared and fell before it had gone very far and Sur a qa ra fell with it. Su ra qa's ra own account of what happened is interesting. He says: After I fell from the horse, I consulted my luck in the superstitious fashion common with Arabs by a throw of the arrows. The arrows boded ill-luck. But the temptation of the reward was great. I mounted again and resumed my pursuit and nearly overtook the party. The Prophet sa rode with dignity, and did not look back. Ab u Bakr ra , however, looked back again and again (evidently, out of fear for the safety of the Prophet sa ). As I neared them, my horse reared again, and I fell off. I consulted the arrows again; and