Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (Steadfastness I)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan 

Having met with disappointment and frustration in every direction, the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, made up his mind to proceed to Taif and invite its people to Islam. Taif is a well-known city, distant about forty miles from Mecca to the southeast. It was the home of Banu Thaqeef. It was a rival city to Mecca and many influential and wealthy persons lived in it. Meccans also acknowledged its importance. This is affirmed by the Holy Quran, where it is said: ‘They ask: Why was not this Quran sent down to some great man of the two cities, meaning Mecca or Taif?’ (43:32)

In his journey to Taif, the Holy Prophet was accompanied by Zaid bin Harith. He called on the leading men of the city, one after the other, but all of them rejected him and made fun of him. He stayed in Taif for about ten days. In the end, he called on the most prominent chief of the city, Abd Yaleel, and invited him to embrace Islam. He also rejected him and put him off with the cynical observation, ‘If you are true, I dare not converse with you; if you are false, it is no use talking with you.’ He advised him to leave the city, as no one was ready to pay attention to him. Thereafter, he incited the rabble of the city to chase him out of the town. They started pelting him and Zaid with stones and went on reviling them for a distance of three miles beyond the city. Blood flowed from both legs of the Holy Prophet; and Zaid, endeavouring to shield him, was wounded in the head. The mob did not desist until they had chased them across the sandy plain to the foot of the surrounding hills. There, wearied and mortified, he took refuge in one of the numerous orchards, and rested under a vine. Hard by was a vineyard belonging to two Quraish, Utba and Shaiba, for the wealthy citizens of Mecca had gardens in the vale of Taif, as they have even today. Observing the condition of the Holy Prophet, and moved with compassion, they sent Addas, their servant, with a tray of grapes for his refreshment. The servant, a Christian slave from Nineveh, marvelled at the pious invocation with which the fruit was received by the weary travellers, ‘In the name of the Lord’, and a conversation ensued in which the Holy Prophet, learning from whence the servant came, made mention of the righteous Yunas, son of Mattai of Nineveh, a brother prophet like himself. Thereupon, Addas swore allegiance to the Holy Prophet, who must have been solaced more by the humble devotion of the slave than by the welcome fruit and grateful shade. After a little, composed and reassured, the Holy Prophet betook himself to Prayer and made the following supplication: ‘Lord, I make my complaint unto Thee of my helplessness and frailty, and my insignificance before mankind. Thou art Lord of the poor and feeble, and Thou art my Lord. Into whose hands wilt Thou abandon me? Into the hands of strangers that beset me round about, or of the enemy Thou hast given the mastery over me at home? If Thy wrath be not upon me, I have no concern; but rather Thy favour is the more wide unto me. I seek refuge in the light of Thy countenance. It is Thine to chase away the darkness, and to bestow peace, both in this world and the next; let not Thy wrath alight upon me, nor Thy indignation. It is Thane to show anger until Thou art pleased; and there is no other power nor any resource but in Thee.’

This supplication, made in a state of utter desolation and helplessness, is strong proof of the Holy Prophet’s firm faith in God and in his own truth, sincerity and righteousness. Comforted by his supplication, he set out on his return to Mecca. He halted half way at Nakhla where he tarried for a few days. One night, when he was occupied with the recitation of the Holy Quran, a group of seven persons who belonged to Nasibain passed near him and heard his recitation, by which they were deeply affected. When they returned home, they communicated the substance of what they had heard to their people. This incident is mentioned in the Holy Quran at two places (46:30-3 and 72:2-20), where they are described as jinn, inasmuch as they had come by night and were strangers in the land. The Holy Prophet was informed of this incident through revelation.

He then resumed his journey towards Mecca, but before entering the city, where now he had no protector, he turned aside by a northward path to his ancient haunts on Mount Hira. From thence he sent twice to solicit the guardianship of certain influential chiefs of Quraish, but without success. At last he bethought him of Mut’am bin Adi; and sent him word requesting that he would bring him into the city under his protection. He assented, and having summoned his sons, bade them buckle on their armour and take their stand by the Ka’aba. Assured of his guarantee, the Holy Prophet and Zaid re-entered Mecca. When they had reached the Ka’aba, Mut’am stood upright on his camel and called aloud, ‘O ye Quraish, verily I have given the pledge of protection unto Muhammad; therefore, let not anyone amongst you molest him.’ The Holy Prophet then returned to his house guarded by Mut’am and his party.

Western writers have admired the Holy Prophet’s journey to Taif as something lofty and heroic; a solitary man, despised and rejected by his own people, going boldly forth in the name of God, and summoning an idolatrous city to repent and support his mission, they opine, sheds a strong light on the intensity of his belief in the divine origin of his calling.

Though the Holy Prophet had been re-admitted to Mecca, he could not think of any fresh plan for the purpose of the propagation of his faith. By chance one day, Tufail bin Amr, a respected chief of Daus, who was also a poet, happened to arrive in Mecca. On hearing of his arrival, some Quraish, being apprehensive lest he should encounter Muhammad and become a Muslim, approached him and warned him not to be beguiled by him, as he was a sorcerer who, through his deceptive propaganda, brought about separation between brother and brother and between husband and wife. Tufail has related that Quraish admonished him so repeatedly that, believing in what they said, he became fearful, and, in order to safeguard himself against the wiles of Muhammad, he filled both his ears with cotton lest any word of the alleged sorcerer should penetrate to his mind and he might be involved in trouble. One day, he went early in the morning to the courtyard of the Ka’aba and noticed the Holy Prophet occupied in Prayer in a corner. The sight attracted him and he approached closer to the Holy Prophet. His ears were still filled with cotton, yet he could hear an odd word or two. He then reflected, ‘After all, I am an intelligent person and can distinguish between right and wrong. What harm could I suffer if I were to listen to this person and determine whether he is in the right or not?’ Upon this, he pulled out the cotton from his ears and threw it away and listened to the recitation of the Holy Quran by the Holy Prophet. When the latter had finished his supplications and began to walk away, Tufail came up to him and requested him to tell him something of his mission. The Holy Prophet recited a passage of the Holy Quran to him and called him to the Unity of God. He was so deeply affected that he immediately affirmed his faith in Islam. He then said to the Holy Prophet, ‘I am respected in my tribe and they listen to me. I beg you to pray that God Almighty may guide them to Islam through me.’ The Holy Prophet supplicated, as he desired. When he arrived among his tribe, he explained to his wife and his father what had happened in Mecca and invited them to embrace Islam. They responded to his invitation and made their affirmations of Islam. Tufail then addressed himself to his tribe and invited them to Islam, but they rejected his invitation and adopted a hostile attitude. On this, Tufail returned to the Holy Prophet and told him that his people had refused to accept Islam and had become hostile and he requested that the Holy Prophet should curse them. The latter raised his hands in an attitude of Prayer and supplicated, ‘Allah do Thou guide Daus.’ He then directed Tufail to go back and continue to summon his people to Islam courteously and affectionately. He went back and continued his efforts as directed by the Holy Prophet and they bore fruit some years later. Tufail then migrated with seventy families of his tribe to Medina. This happened when the Holy Prophet was campaigning against Khaibar. Hazrat Abu Hurairah, who became a well-known narrator of hadith, was of Daus and came to Medina with them.

The Holy Prophet, on his return from Taif, was leading a lonely life. He supplicated God Almighty that He should guide him in the matter of his marriage, so that he might choose rightly and wisely. A short while later he saw the angel Gabriel in his dream who presented him with a green silk kerchief and said, This is your wife in this world and the next.’ The Holy Prophet observed that the kerchief bore a likeness of Aisha, daughter of Abu Bakr.

Sometime later, Khulah, daughter of Hakim and wife of Usman bin Maz’un, came to him and asked him, ‘Messenger of Allah, why do you not marry?’ He inquired, ‘Whom shall I marry?’ She submitted, ‘If you wish, you can marry a virgin, and if you prefer, you can marry a widow.’ He asked, ‘Who are they?’ Khulah submitted, ‘The virgin is the daughter of your close friend, Abu Bakr; and the widow is Sudah, daughter of Zamaa and widow of Sakran bin Amr.’ On this, the Holy Prophet asked her to find out about both. Accordingly, Khulah first approached Abu Bakr and his wife, Um Ruman, and mentioned the matter to them. They were surprised and wondered whether the match was permissible as Abu Bakr looked upon the Holy Prophet as his brother. On this being mentioned to the Holy Prophet, he pointed out that a spiritual relationship was no bar to marriage. Being apprised of this, Aisha’s parents signified their assent with great pleasure. Thereafter, Khulah went to Sudah bint Zamaa and mentioned the proposal to her, whereupon she and her relations accepted it gladly. Thus the nikah of the Holy Prophet was performed, both with Sudah and with Aisha, in the month of Shawal of the tenth year of prophethood. The dower of the bride in each case was four hundred dirhems. Hazrat Sudah took up her residence with the Holy Prophet immediately, but as Aisha was only ten years of age at the time of her nikah, her wedding was postponed till after the Migration to Medina.

It might be permissible, in view of Western criticism of the concept of marriage in Islam, to offer some observations on the subject, which might prove helpful in appreciating the attitude of Islam towards marriage. Islam considers married life as the norm and regards marriage essential for the complete fulfilment of life. It prohibits celibacy. Polygamy is permissible in certain situations, but on condition of equal treatment of the wives, without the least discrimination. A person who has any apprehension of not being able to conform to the strict standard required in that respect, is forbidden to marry more wives than one (4:4). The purpose of marriage is that the parties may be enabled to lead their lives at the highest level of righteousness. Islam does not permit self-indulgence and voluptuousness in marriage, and forbids unchastity. Husband and wife are required to assist each other in upholding the highest moral and spiritual values. A Muslim, who fails to uphold that standard in marriage, whether monogamous or polygamous, falls seriously short of that which is required of him, and would fail to achieve beneficent fulfilment of life. Self-indulgence, in any form or shape, whether in marital relationship, or in eating or drinking, or in any other respect whatever, is inconsistent with the spirit of Islam.

The West is critical of Islam and the Muslims in respect of the attitude of both towards marriage and marital relationship. So far as Islam is concerned, Western criticism is based upon a total misconception of the spirit that Islam inculcates. So far as the Muslims are concerned, there are unfortunately many among them who fall short of the standard that Islam prescribes in this respect, as there are many who fall short in other respects, for instance those who indulge in liquor and gambling, etc. It is as unfair to ascribe the shortcomings of such Muslims to Islam, as it would be to ascribe the vicious immorality that is unfortunately so prevalent in the West today to Christianity.

So far as Judaism and Christianity are concerned, the righteous among them in earlier ages, for instance, all the Prophets of the Old Testament, married more wives than one, which is proof that polygamy is not inconsistent with the highest standard of spirituality. The truth is that in modern times the thinking of the West on these matters has been progressively vitiated, so much so that today almost all values in the West revolve around sex, which appears to be the principal preoccupation of men and women in all walks of life, so that the standards of Islam and the West in this respect may be contrasted by saying that Islam insists upon chastity and the upholding of moral and spiritual values, as against the Western preference for nominal monogamy and unchecked promiscuity.

When the Holy Prophet married Sudah bint Zamaa, she was a widow and of an advanced age. The principal motive of the Holy Prophet in marrying Sudah was to procure suitable female companionship and to provide protection and comfort for one who had suffered for the faith and deserved his compassion. In no single marriage of his was he inspired by any purely personal desire or motive. At the time when his nikah was performed with Aisha, she was only ten years of age. She was the daughter of his closest and most devoted friend; had been brought up from her birth in an atmosphere of piety and righteousness; her mind under the Holy Prophet’s care could be moulded along lines of utmost beneficence; she could be instructed in an intimate relationship with regard to all that Islam required of a woman and could thus prove most helpful in guiding Muslim women, both by precept and by example, along the ways of righteousness; and she could be expected to survive the Holy Prophet for a long period and to serve as a source of instruction for the whole Muslim community, as indeed it proved to be the case in fact. A great part of the knowledge of the ways and practice of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, was handed down to future generations of Muslims through Aisha.

All his subsequent marriages were with widows or divorced women, and personal desire played no part in the motive behind any of those marriages. An insinuation to that effect has crept into some accounts of his marriage with his cousin, Zainab bint Jahsh, after she was divorced by Zaid bin Haritha. The circumstances, however, do not lend the least support to any such insinuation. The Holy Prophet had known Zainab, his first cousin, from the moment of her birth, and had he developed any fondness for her he could have married her at any time after Khadija’s death. He had himself arranged her marriage with his freedman, Zaid bin Haritha, whom he loved as a son and whom he had adopted. When Zaid, despite the Holy Prophet’s urging that he cleave to his wife, made up his mind to divorce her, the Holy Prophet felt himself under an obligation to provide her solace and comfort, but hesitated to offer her marriage as, according to Arab custom, marriage with a woman who had been married to one’s adopted son was not considered lawful. He feared that such a marriage would draw hostile criticism upon him. While he was in that state of mind, he received divine assurance that adoption did not establish any legal relationship between the adopted son and the adoptive father, and that, therefore, his hesitation in offering marriage to Zainab should be laid aside. At the time of her marriage to the Holy Prophet, she was thirty-eight years of age, which for Arab women of the time was a period of advanced middle age. There was thus nothing in the circumstances attendant upon this marriage, which could justify the reflection that it had been inspired by passion or desire. The subject is adverted to in the Holy Quran (33:38).

About the same time, the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, had experience of two very significant spiritual visions at the highest level. In one of these, he was conducted to Jerusalem where he encountered several of the past prophets and went through other spiritual experiences, which constituted strong indications of the victory and supremacy of Islam. This spiritual journey is referred to in the Holy Quran in 17:2.

The other vision was one in which his spirit ascended to heaven, in the course of which ascent he also met some of the past prophets, and continued his ascent beyond them to the very precincts of the Divine. This experience of his is also described in the Holy Quran in some detail (53:8-19). During the course of this vision, the Holy Prophet traversed several spiritual stages and ultimately arrived at the highest pinnacle of spiritual glory.

At the mention of these experiences, his opponents derided him and made fun of him. With regard to his first vision, some of them who had been to Jerusalem put him questions concerning certain features of that city, and were surprised that he was able to describe them accurately. But even this did not serve to convince them that he was the recipient of divine revelation and was a true Messenger of God.

It was in the course of his second vision that the Salat was prescribed and was made obligatory to be performed five times a day, at appointed hours, in congregation. These times are: from the first flush of dawn till a few minutes before sunrise, for Fajar; from noon till mid-afternoon for Zuhr; from mid-afternoon till the decline of the light of the sun for Asr; from sunset till the end of twilight for Maghrib; and from the end of twilight till midnight for Isha.

Even as few as two worshippers make a congregation. But a single Muslim who has no opportunity of associating himself with another Muslim to form a congregation must nevertheless observe the Salat alone at its appointed hours. In certain contingencies, Zuhr and Asr may be joined together, and Maghrib and Isha may be similarly joined.

The postures of Salat are: Qiyam, during which the worshippers stand in a row with their arms folded in an attitude of the utmost humility; this is followed by Ruku, in which the worshippers bow down in even greater humility before their Lord; this is followed by two prostrations, one after the other, which are indicative of the uttermost humility of the worshippers before their Lord. These three postures constitute one raka’a, that is to say, one unit. At the end of two raka’as, the worshippers continue their glorification of God and their supplications in a sitting position, which is called Qa’dah, and is indicative of serenity. The praise and glorification of the Divine and supplications to Him are prescribed for each posture and have to be repeated in Arabic, but it is permissible for the worshipper to supplement them with supplications in his vernacular. The worshippers must face towards the Ka’aba during the Salat. The Salat should preferably be performed inside a mosque behind the Imam (leader), but may be performed anywhere provided only that the place is clean. Before joining in the Salat a worshipper must wash his mouth, face, forearms and his feet.

The Salat is the principal form of worship in Islam. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said that the Salat is the spiritual ascension of the believer during which he holds communion with God. There is no doubt that if the Salat is offered with full concentration and in conformity to all the prescribed conditions, it becomes a means of achieving nearness to God. The Salat combines the body and the soul in divine worship, which is in accord with the verity that there is an intimate relationship between the body and the soul in consequence of which each of them reacts to the condition of the other. During Salat both are united in the worship and glorification of God. The different postures are indicative not only of the humility of the body but also of the humility of the soul. The prescribed glorification of God for each posture is appropriate to that posture. For instance, during prostration the worshipper glorifies God in the terms ‘Holy is my Lord, the Most High’, whereby both the body and the soul feel and acknowledge their own extreme humility before the Lord.

In all worship, Islam insists upon the participation of the soul along with the body. Mere physical performance according to the prescribed procedure has no value and is strongly condemned. For instance, it is said: ‘Woe unto those who pray but are unmindful of their Prayer, and pray only to be seen of people’ (107:6,7). In the same way, concerning sacrifice, it is said (22:38):

The flesh of the animals that you sacrifice reaches not Allah, nor their blood, it is your righteousness that reaches Him. Thus has He subjected them to you that you may glorify Allah for guiding you; and give glad tidings to those who carry out all commandments in their true spirit.

Regarding the fast, it is pointed out: ‘O ye who believe, fasting is prescribed for you during a fixed number of days, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may safeguard yourselves against moral and spiritual ills’ (2:184). The Holy Prophet said: ‘He who does not give up uttering falsehood and misconduct abstains in vain from food and drink during the fast, as Allah does not require merely physical compliance from him.’

Thus it will be seen that Islam insists upon the body and the soul being joined together in all types of worship. Indeed, it not only insists upon spiritual as well as physical compliance, but assigns priority to spiritual compliance, for whenever physical compliance may be difficult or inconvenient, it may be modified or even dispensed with, but spiritual compliance must be carried out fully in all conditions and circumstances. The Islamic system of worship of the Divine in all its aspects is another strong proof that it was established under divine direction and was not prescribed by the Holy Prophet on his own.

During the last three years of the Holy Prophet’s stay in Mecca, the prospect of the spread of Islam in Mecca was bleak and most discouraging. The hostility of Quraish and their persecution of the Holy Prophet and the Muslims were daily on the increase. His journey to Taif had been equally disappointing. The Holy Prophet was, however, assured of the ultimate triumph of Islam, and the revelations vouchsafed to him during this period contained strong indications of the approach of such triumph. He was, therefore, anxious that his striving in the cause of Allah and the propagation of Islam must not slacken. Consequently, he now turned his attention more and more towards the Arab tribes. The best way of conveying his message to them was to make an approach to them when they resorted to Mecca and Mina on the occasion of the pilgrimage, or when they gathered together on the occasion of certain festivals at Okaz, Majannah and Zul Majaz. In order to take full advantage of these opportunities, he started visiting them repeatedly. He was sometimes accompanied by Abu Bakr, or Ali, or Zaid bin Haritha. But, as has been mentioned earlier, Quraish continuously obstructed him in such efforts. For instance, his uncle Abu Lahab made it his business to follow him everywhere and to tell everyone not to pay any attention to him as he was a renegade, and was seeking to mislead them. When they found that his own near relations accounted him false, they shied away from him and sometimes ridiculed him and laughed at him. Abu Jahl also obstructed him in the same way. He would follow him, throw dirt upon him and warn people not to be beguiled by him, as he was seeking to wean them away from the worship of Lat and Uzza.

On one occasion, the Holy Prophet betook himself to the camp of Banu Aamir bin Sa’s’a. Fortunately, none of Quraish had followed him on the occasion. He preached the Unity of God to them and sought their support for Islam. When he had finished, one of them, Buhairah bin Faras, called out, ‘If I could get this man to support me, I could dominate the whole of Arabia’, and then addressing the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, asked him, ‘If we were to support you, so that you might prevail over your opponents, then after you pass away, would we have a share in government?’ He replied, ‘Kingdom is in the hands of God Almighty; He bestows it upon whomsoever He wills.’ Buhairah exclaimed, ‘You invite us to stand up in your support against the whole of Arabia, but when you triumph the fruits thereof would go to others. Be gone. We have no need of you.’

In this manner, the Holy Prophet went round to different tribes, Banu Maharab, Fazarah, Ghassan, Marrah, Haneefah, Suldim, Abs, Kandah, Kalb, Harith, Azrah, Hadhramah and others, and called each of them to Islam, but they all rejected him. Banu Haneefah of Yamamah treated him harshly. Musailamah Kazzab, who later claimed prophethood, was the chief of Banu Haneefah.

This was a strange spectacle. The Messenger of God, whose message within a very few years thereafter found acceptance over wide areas of the earth, was seen making his solitary way to the tents of the chiefs of tribe after tribe and presenting God’s message to each one of them, and entreating them to accept it as it portended great good for them; but every ingress was closed upon him and the response from every tent was ‘Begone, we have no concern with you’. But he was not discouraged and from one tent he preceded to another where he met with the same response.

In the meantime the revelation that was vouchsafed to him presented a wider and wider horizon to him and to his followers. They were invited to lift their eyes from the citizens to tribes and from the tribes to the nation, and from the nation to the international situation. The two mightiest powers of the time were the Persians and the Byzantines. The dominions of both were close to Arabia. The Persian Empire was to the northeast of Arabia, and the Byzantine to the northwest. As their borders met in the north of Arabia, they had been at odds with each other at the time of which we are writing. For some time, the Persians had been pressing the Byzantines hard and had deprived them of a large part of their territory in what is today known as the Middle East.

Byzantium suffered another setback about the time of which we are writing. When news of this reached Mecca, Quraish, who favoured Persia and were not too well disposed towards Byzantium, interpreted the victory of Persia as a good augury that they would prevail over the Muslims and vanquish them as the Persians had vanquished the Byzantines. On this, the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, received the revelation (30:3-7):

The Byzantines have been defeated in the land near-by, but after their defeat, they will be victorious within a few years; Allah’s is the Supreme authority before and after, and the believers will rejoice on that day, with the help of Allah. He helps whom He pleases; He is the Mighty, the Ever-Merciful. This is the promise of Allah; He goes not back on His promise, but most people know it not.

This was a prophecy not only of the victory of the Byzantines within a few years, but also of the victory of the believers over their enemies about the same time, and thus it happened at the battle of Badr. The news of the victory of the Byzantines over the Persians was received about the same time, which delighted the Muslims. The receipt of this revelation predicting this double victory, at a time when the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, and the small company of believers in Mecca, were almost facing extinction in the estimation of Quraish, was both a source of reassurance for them, which strengthened their faith, and was another conclusive proof of the truth of the Holy Prophet.