Our God — Page 120
120 distressed, they used to say: When shall we see the days wherein we shall live in peace and tranquillity and fear no one other than God. ( Lub a bun-naq u l f i asb a bun-nuz u l ) At that time, the Muslims were no more than a handful—mostly poor, weak, and ill-equipped. They were confronted by the well- equipped, united forces of the whole country, surging against them like a great deluge to wipe them off the face of the earth. The sacrifices that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, and his saw Companions had to make and the hardships they had to endure during this unique struggle are recorded in every authentic history book and need not be repeated here. There is one incident, however, that I cannot leave out. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, was passing through a valley in Hejaz, accompanied by a large party, when an enemy tribe suddenly unleashed a volley of arrows. The Muslim allies retreated in the face of this unexpected attack, creating panic in the Muslim army; the camels, horses, mules, and donkeys along with their riders turned back and fled hel- ter-skelter. The enemy noticed this, roared forward and started raining arrows on the fleeing Muslims. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, looked around and found the battlefield deserted—not the new converts of Makkah, nor the faithful Ans a r [Helpers] of Madinah, nor the old Muh a jir i n [Emigrants] were to be seen. There was only the enemy surging forward like a great deluge and arrows rained incessantly; but he stood his ground like a mountain and very calmly told his fright- ened companion who was standing nearby to hold the rein of his