Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 221
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 221 most highly by the leading Companions of the Holy Prophet after his death, on account of her superior knowledge and understanding of the faith. Whenever they encountered any intellectual difficulty, they had recourse to Aisha, who always succeeded in resol ving the difficulty for them. She survived the Holy Prophet for about forty years and died at the age of sixty - eight. The battle of Badr added tremendously to the heavy burden of responsibility that the Holy Prophet already carried. The disaffected under the leadership of Abdullah bin Ubayy were a source of apprehension close to the Holy Prophet, their machinations had to be carefully watched and they had to be wisely and sympathetically dealt with. The Jewish tribes and their adherents were another cause of continuous uneasiness. They had hoped that Islam, upon which they looked as a heresy, and the Muslims, would be either wiped out at Badr or so weakened that nobody thereafter would pay any attenti on to the Prophet and his message. But all their calculations were falsified by the event and their hopes were frustrated. They began immediately to intrigue with Quraish against the Muslims. Quraish were only too ready to lend ear to the whisperings of th e Jews, Thus, the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, had need of even greater alertness than before the battle of Badr. In the following passages, Sir William Muir has set out an account of the situation with which the Holy Prophet was faced at that time ( Life of Muhammad, pp. 243 - 5): Abu Sufyan, smarting under the defeat at Badr, and still