Chief of the Prophets

Chief of the Prophets — Page 75

Chapter Five 75 sought the approval of Muḥammad sa to destroy the people by bringing the two mountains together. But Muḥammad sa said, “Nay! Nay! I trust that Allah the Exalted will produce such people among them who shall worship one God. ” 1 Three miles from Ṭā’if, in the shade of a wall in the orchard of ‘Utbah bin Rabī‘ah, a chieftain of Makkah, Muḥammad sa pleaded before God the Exalted about his weakness, lack of strength, and helplessness. ‘Utbah, overwhelmed by seeing the condition of the Prophet sa , sent his Christian servant ‘Addās with a bunch of grapes for Muḥammad sa. Muḥammad sa addressing ‘Addās said, “Where are you from and what is your religion?” He said, “I am a Christian from Nineveh. ” Muḥammad sa said, “The same Nineveh which was the land of God’s righteous person Jonah as , son of Matthew?” ‘Addās said, “Yes, but how do you know?” Muḥammad sa replied, “He was my brother and a prophet of Allah like me. ” The words of Muḥammad sa had a deep impact on the heart of ‘Addās, and he, out of passionate sincerity stepped forward and kissed Muḥammad’s hand. Muḥammad sa before entering Makkah sent a message to Muṭ‘im bin ‘Adiyy requesting his protection. Muṭ‘im was a firm disbeliever, but having a good nature agreed to become the guarantor of Muḥammad sa. 2 Conversion of Ṭufail bin ‘Amr Dausi ra , the Chieftain of the Daus Tribe In that period, acceptance of Islam by a person of a tribe would generally be followed by more conversions in that tribe through him. Among these types of conversions, the acceptance of Ṭufail bin ‘Amr ra of the Daus tribe is especially worth mentioning. Ṭufail ra himself described it as follows: 1 Bukhārī , Kitābul-Bad’il-Khalq (Book of the Beginning of Creation). 2 On his way back from the Ṭā’if journey, a delegation of Jinn appeared before Muḥammad sa. For details, see Sīrat Khātamun-Nabiyyīn, Urdu edition, published by Islam International Publications, 1996, p. 184.