Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 455
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 455 from him. The position was now reversed. ‘Who can save thee now?’ inquired the Holy Prophet. ‘No One!’ exclaimed the man in terror. ‘Why do you not say “Allah”?’ asked the Holy Prophet as he released the man. To the Companions who had now gathered round them, the Holy Prophet explained what had happened, and inquired from the man, ‘Will you bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship save Allah, and that I am His Messenger?’ The man said he could not do that, but he would promise that he would not fight against him. The Holy Prophet let him go free. This incident is a testimony to the Holy Prophet’s presence of mind in situations of extreme danger and his complete trust in God. It will be recalled that on the occasion of his flight from Mecca when Quraish had tracked him to the mouth of the cave in wh ich Abu Bakr and he had taken refuge, and Abu Bakr became apprehensive lest they might be discovered and the Holy Prophet might be exposed to serious danger, he reassured Abu Bakr with, ‘Have no fear. We are not only two, there is a third with us, even God. ’ In his early days in Medina, there was an alarm one night and the Muslims began to gather in the mosque as they had been directed to do on such occasions. They were awaiting the Holy Prophet when they observed him appear through the gloom riding a pony, re turning from the plain. He reassured them that he had ridden out to investigate, and that there was no cause for alarm and that they should go back to sleep. He proved himself the most alert of them all. At the commencement of the battle of Hunain when the