Life of Muhammad — Page 40
sa 40 again they boded ill-luck. My horse's hoofs sank deep into the sand. Mounting again and resuming the pursuit seemed difficult. I then understood that the party was under divine protection. I called out to them and entreated them to stop. When near enough I told them of my evil intention and of my change of heart. I told them I was giving up the pursuit and returning. The Prophet sa let me go, but made me promise not to reveal their whereabouts to anybody. I became convinced that the Prophet sa was a true one, destined to succeed. I requested the Prophet sa to write me a guarantee of peace to serve me when he became supreme. The Prophet sa asked ‘ A mir bin Fuhaira ra to write me a guarantee, and he did. As I got ready to return with it, the Prophet sa received a revelation about the future and said, "Sur a qa ra , how wilt thou feel with the gold bangles of the Chosroes on thy wrists?" Amazed at the prophecy I asked, "Which Chosroes? Chosroes bin Hormizd, the Emperor of Iran?" The Prophet sa said, "Yes" ( Usud al- Gh a ba ). Sixteen or seventeen years later the prophecy was literally fulfilled. Sur a qa ra accepted Islam and went to Medina. The Prophet sa died, and after him, first Ab u Bakr ra , and then ‘ Umar ra became the Khalifahs of Islam. The growing influence of Islam made the Iranians jealous and led them to attack the Muslims but, instead of subjugating the Muslims, they were themselves subjugated by them. The capital of Iran fell to the Muslims who captured its treasures, including the gold bangles which the Chosroes wore at State functions. After his conversion, Sur a qa ra used to describe his pursuit of the Prophet sa and his party and to tell of what passed between him and the Prophet sa. When the spoils of the war with Iran were placed before ‘ Umar ra , he saw the gold bangles and remembered what the Prophet sa had told Sur a qa ra. It was a grand prophecy made at a time of utter helplessness. ‘ Umar ra decided to stage a visible fulfilment of the prophecy. He, therefore, sent for Sur a qa ra and ordered him to put on the gold bangles. Sur a qa ra protested that the wearing of gold by men had