Muhammad (saw) – The Perfect Man — Page 538
CHAPTER 22 The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa 's Fortitude and Steadfastness 538 to such an extent that they were dying of hunger. 28 Hadrat Sa‘d ra bin Ab i Waqqa s relates that one night he got up to relieve himself. He heard a sound on the ground. He saw that it was the dry skin of a camel. He picked it up, washed it, burnt it and ground it into a powder form. This he swallowed with water and this was his food for three days. When the caravans bringing grain for Makkah arrived and if any of the Muslims wanted to buy it, Ab u Lahab would tell them to increase the price for the Companions of Mu h ammad. So they would increase the price manifold. The Muslims would return empty handed. Their children would cry with hunger but they could not provide them with food. Ab u Lahab would buy grain and clothes at a higher price and the Muslims became destitute, hungry and without proper clothes. 29 Hadrat Sa‘d ra bin Ab i Waqqa s narrates an incident. He was starving. One night he felt something soft under his foot. He picked it up and ate it. He never found out what it was. 30 Besides starving, the Muslims were in extreme danger during this period of siege. The safety of the Muslims and the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa 's own safety was a matter of grave concern. The whole period of three years was the time of fear. Every night Ab u Ta lib called the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa and