Life of Muhammad — Page 78
sa 78 Would you not prefer to be safe at home while Muhammad sa was in our hands?" Zaid ra replied proudly, "What, Ab u Sufy a n ra ? What do you say? By God, I would rather die, than that the Prophet sa should tread on a thorn in a street in Medina. " Ab u Sufy a n ra could not help being impressed by such devotion. He looked at Zaid ra in amazement and declared unhesitatingly, but in measured tones, "God is my witness, I have not known any one love another as much as the Companions of Muhammad sa love Muhammad sa " ( Hish a m , Vol. 2). About this time some people of Najd also approached the Prophet sa for Muslims to teach them Islam. The Prophet sa did not trust them. But Ab u Bar a ’ , chief of the ‘ A mir tribe, happened to be in Medina at the time. He offered to act as surety for the tribe and assured the Prophet sa that they would commit no mischief. The Prophet sa selected seventy Muslims who knew the Qur’an by heart. When this party reached Bi ’ r Ma ‘ u na one of them, H ar a m bin Ma lha n ra went to the chief of the ‘ A mir tribe (a nephew of Bar a ’ ) to give him the message of Islam. Apparently H ar a m ra was well received by the tribesmen. But while he was addressing the chief, a man stole up from behind and attacked H ar a m ra with a lance. H ar a m ra died on the spot. As the lance pierced through H ar a m's ra neck, he was heard saying, "God is great. The Lord of the Ka ‘ ba is my witness, I have attained my goal" ( Bukh a r i ). Having murdered H ar a m ra in this foul manner, the tribal leaders provoked the tribe into an attack upon the rest of this party of Muslim teachers. "But," said the tribesmen, "Our chief, Ab u Bar a ’ , offered to act as surety; we cannot attack this party. " Then the tribal chiefs, with the assistance of the two tribes who had gone to the Prophet sa to ask for Muslim teachers and some other tribes, attacked the Muslim party. The simple appeal, "We have come to preach and to teach, not to fight," had no effect. They started murdering the party. All but three of the seventy were murdered. One of the survivors was lame and had