Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 398
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 398 been made, yet no army appeared in sight. In token of his gratitude the Holy Prophet bowed his head low upon his camel and offered up thanksgiving to the Lord. The troops were told off in four divisions, and each was assigned a different road by which simu ltaneously to advance, with strict injunctions not to fight except in the last extremity, nor offer violence to anyone. Zubair, leading the left battalion, was to enter from the north, Khalid from the south, the men of Medina under S’ad bin Ubadah from the west, while the mild but vigilant Abu Obaidah, commanding the Emigrants and followed by the Holy Prophet himself, took the nearest road skirting Jebel Hind. This disposition was wisely made; if opposition was offered anywhere, one of the other divisions w ould be at hand to take the enemy in the rear. As S’ad led on the citizens of Medina, he sang, ‘Today is the day of slaughter; there is no safety this day for Mecca. ’ When this was reported to the Holy Prophet, he took the Medina banner from S’ad and gave it to his son Qais, a man of towering stature but of gentler disposition than his father. Khalid’s column encountered some violent opposition, in consequence of which a small number of Quraish and two of Khalid’s men were killed, which saddened the Holy Prophet. He descended into the valley at a spot not far from the tombs of Abu Talib and Khad ija. He was there joined by the division of Zubair and directed his tent to be pitched in the open space to the north of the city. ‘Wilt thou not alight at thine own house?’ inquired a follower. ‘Not so,’ he said, ‘for have they yet left me any house in th e city?’ The great banner was planted at the door of his tent and he retired to repose therein but did not tarry for long. Again