Chief of the Prophets

Chief of the Prophets — Page 160

Chapter Eight 160 wielded the axe a second time and again a spark was ignited. Muḥammad sa again loudly proclaimed Allāhu Akbar and said, “This time I was given the keys of Persia and I can see the white palaces of Mada’in. ” When he hit the rock a third time, again a spark ignited and he said, “This time, I have been given the keys of Yemen—and by God, the gates of San‘ā’ have been shown to me. ” This time the rock was weakened so much that it broke into pieces. Muḥammad sa addressing the Companions said, “Gabriel told me that my community will triumph over all these countries. ” 1 The Hypocrites laughed at the Muslims and said, “They do not leave their homes out of fear and are starving to the point where they have stones tied to their bellies, but are still dreaming of the treasures of Caesar and Khosrau. ” 2 A sincere Companion, Jābir bin ‘Abdullāh ra , slaughtered a goat and prepared food for Muḥammad sa. Allah the Exalted miraculously blessed the food so much that after feeding hundreds of people, there was still food left over. 3 The task of digging the ditch was finally completed after weeks of round-the-clock effort. The ditch was barely finished when the mighty army of idolaters from all of Arabia, along with the Christians and Jews (the People of the Book) 4 intoxicated with their power and sense of pride, dawned upon the horizon of Madīnah like a thick cloud. Muḥammad sa divided the Companions into different squads and stationed them around Madīnah at a certain distance from each other. 1 Musnad Aḥmad, Nasā’ī and Baiḥaqī, cited by Fatḥul-Bārī. 2 Ibni Hishām 3 See Sīrat Khātamun-Nabiyyīn regarding the miracle about the food blessed by the prayers of Muḥammad sa , Urdu edition, published by Islam International Publications, 1996, p. 578. 4 ‘People of the Book’ is a term used in the Qur’ān for the Muslims, Christians, and Jews, however here only Christians and Jews are meant. [Publisher]