The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 502
A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF MY LIFE & BLESSINGS 501 was alleviated, then only the hands and legs were amputated, but if the culprit was shown mercy, he would be confined to harsh imprisonment until he would die of thirst and hunger before their very eyes. During this entire period, the Muslims were oppressed, wounded, were the victims of wrath and were tortured; there was no escape, ref- uge, saviour, nor any compassionate one for them, for they were driven away from every door. They would build houses but could not dwell in them, and they would earn riches but could neither benefit from them nor enjoy prosperity on their account. They were invaded from all cor- ners and were plundered. Sometimes they were taken captives, while at times they were murdered, with some being expelled from the land. They would till the land with the most gruelling toil, but could not eat out of what they sowed nor could they store its produce. The cities were devastated, roads became dangerous, crops were ruined, posses- sions were lost, mosques became empty, and knowledge disappeared. In their eyes, Muslims were degraded to the level of locusts and they continued to increase in disgrace. Consequently, some of them [the Muslims] began to migrate to other lands. They departed their homes and dwellings and set out in haste. Most of them were like cap- tives under the disbelievers, and the depraved would pounce upon the believers like serpents and devour them. Then, the Muslims turned to their Lord and threw themselves before their Compassionate Master. They fell prostrate in the mosques and kept on praying against them and implored earnestly for the removal of this chastisement from them. Thousands of them were put to death for raising the Call to Prayer, for praying, slaughtering a cow, or hamstringing it. They found no arbi- ter to whom they might take their pleas for judgment, nor any helper before whom they might cry. They, therefore, persistently turned towards their Lord. They were afflicted and tortured and their souls were well-nigh on the cusp of departing them while they wailed and lamented. They were shaken violently, were ruthlessly killed, and were scattered, so much so that the wailing of the orphans, the lamentation of the widows and