Chief of the Prophets

Chief of the Prophets — Page 59

Chapter Four 59 Then how shall we show him as one who casts spells and performs tricks? Someone said: O ‘Abd-Shams, then you ought to tell us what we should do. Walīd responded: In this regard, I am myself perplexed, as to the proper course of action. Whatever we suggest does not seem to apply to Muḥammad sa and to make a statement that the people do not accept shall make us the target of laughter. It was then decided by mutual consent that it would be publicized among the men, women, children, elders, and youth of Makkah to call Muḥammad sa a magician from then onwards. This propaganda was carried on with such intensity that in a few days a storm of disorderly conduct was raised against Muḥammad sa and the Muslims. The Quraish did not stop there; the propaganda was accompanied by cruel and heinous acts. Once, someone threw a very dirty and foul-smelling object into Muḥammad’s house. Muḥammad sa threw the object out of his house and only said, “O Banū ‘Abdi Manāf, what a good way of fulfilling your obligations towards your neighbors!” The Quraish were so determined in their opposition that instead of calling Muḥammad sa ‘Muḥammad’ they would call him ’Mudhammam‘, meaning ignominious and scornful. When Muḥammad sa heard about it, he smiled and said, “My name is Muḥammad. How can the one who is Muḥammad be called Mudhammam?” Once he was offering Ṣalāt 1 close to the Ka‘bah, when ‘Aqabah bin Abī Mu‘īṭ put a cloth around his neck and pulled it so hard that he almost choked him. Fortunately, Abū Bakr ra came 1 Muslims are obligated to offer 5 daily prayers called Ṣalāt. [Publisher]