A Critique of Professor Arnold G. Toynbee’s Understanding — Page 42
42 displeases them. History records the incident of King Henry VII, when he went to meet the Earl of Oxford. After visiting the Earl, when the king was about to leave, the soldiers of the Earl of Oxford put on their uniforms and lined up in a straight line to show respect for the king. The King thanked his host for his hospitality, In addition, he ordered him to pay a large sum as a fine. ( History of England, p. 70, Col Garrett ). In the last days of his rule, Henry VII had become extremely greedy. As a result he had become very unpopular. He always remained eager to snatch money from everyone. One of his Ministers named Martin, invented a scheme for extracting money from all the subjects. The scheme was designed in such a way that neither the wasteful rich nor the miserly ones could escape. ( Ibid. p. 73 ). Contrast the attitude of Henry VII with the Holy Prophet. Towards the end of his ministry, when he ruled the whole of Arabia, sometimes so much of wealth and gold reached Madinah that it was heaped up in mounds. But, the night did not pass before all of it was distributed among the people by the prophet. Hazrat Abu Dhar, one of His companions (may Allah be pleased with him) was in the company of the Holy Prophet as they passed by mount Uhud. The Holy Prophet said, If the mountain of Uhud was to become gold for me, make sure all of it is distributed immediately. I would be very unhappy if even one dinar (coin) is left with me on the third night. ( Bokhari, Vol. ll, p. 56 ) Indeed, the habit of the Holy Prophet was precisely that if he had cash or ready money in his home, he would not rest till all of