Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 15
Rushdie: Haunted By His Unholy Ghosts 15 The entry into Mecca of the victorious Muslims, with the Holy Prophet(sa) of Islam at the head, was an event that has been un- surpassed in history in terms of benificence and forgiveness. The thoughts of the Holy Prophet(sa) and his Companions must have gone back to the years and years of persecution that they had suf- fered at the hands of the Meccans; they had been tortured beyond the boundaries of humanity; they had seen their families and loved ones butchered and massacred just because they professed belief in one God. And now finally, when they stood victorious with the enemy literally at their feet, what would their reaction be ? Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, a distinguished Ahmadi scholar in world religions, sets the scene beautifully in his book, Muhammad, Seal of The Prophets: ‘the Holy Prophet (sa), peace be on him, sent for the leaders of Quraish and asked them how he should deal with them. They re- plied that they fully merited whatever punishment he might choose to inflict upon them, but that they knew he was a generous brother and would deal with them as such. The Holy Prophet (sa) pro- nounced judgement in the words addressed by Joseph to his breth- ren: No retribution shall be exacted from you this day (Ch. 12, v. 93). He told them they were free. All the scorn and ridicule poured on him by the Meccans; their implacable hatred and enmity; the long years of bitter, cruel and sustained persecution; all the fighting, the hardship and suffering; the loss of dear and devoted Companions, all - all was in the moment of triumph laid aside, banished from the mind and forgiven in the name of the Lord On High, the Gracious, the Merciful, the Creator and Master of all. . . . . . . . The gates of love and mercy were opened wide. Bitter enemies of the morning became warm friends by midday. Some hearts were still sullen; the humiliation, though softened by magnanimity, was hard to endure, but even these could not long withstand the heal- ing effect of the balm so generously and beneficently applied by the Prophet of God. History furnishes no parallel instance of such