The Prophet (sa) was now fifty years old when he saw a vision in which a man came to him carrying a figure wrapped in silk. The man told the Prophet (sa), "This is your wife, look." Gently, the Prophet (sa) unwrapped the silk covering and saw Ayesha, however Ayesha was still a young girl similar in age to Lady Fatima and Abu Bakr had already promised her in marriage Jubair, Mutim's son. The Prophet (sa), who never disobeyed Allah in anything, did not question the vision but thought to himself, "If this is what Allah intends, then it will be." A few nights later as the Prophet (sa) slept peacefully, he saw another vision. This time it was not a man that came to him but an angel carrying a figure wrapped in silk. With respect, the Prophet (sa) asked the angel to show him what was wrapped in the piece of silk, whereupon the angel raised the cover and once more he beheld Ayesha. Again the Prophet (sa) did not question the vision but thought whatever Allah had ordained would surely come to be. The Prophet (sa) had not mention his visions to anyone, not even Abu Bakr, when Khawlah, who had attended to his household affairs since the death of Lady Khadijah suggested he should remarry. Politely, the Prophet (sa) asked if she had anyone in mind to which she replied, "Perhaps Ayesha, Abu Bakr's daughter, or Swaydah, Zamah's daughter," who was about thirty years old and had lost her husband, Sakran, shortly after their return from Abyssinia. The Prophet (sa) modestly asked Khawlah to propose both marriages, so she went to Swaydah who was honored by the proposal and sent word back saying, "Obedient to you, O Messenger of Allah." Upon receiving her acceptance, the Prophet (sa) respectfully requested her to chose one of her tribesmen to give her in marriage. Lady Swaydah chose her brother−in−law Hatib who had recently returned from Abyssinia and shortly after the marriage took place. Meanwhile, Abu Bakr went to Mutim and asked him to release Ayesha from the agreement with his son Jubair. Mutim agreed and a marriage by proxy took place several months after his marriage to Lady Swaydah, however, it was not consummated until many years later during the second year after the migration.
CHAPTER 41 ABU BAKR AND TALHA
Abu Bakr had, until shortly after his conversion, been a wealthy, influential and well respected citizen of Mecca, but now, on account of the boycott, he was no longer wealthy and his influence had dwindled amongst the unbelievers. There had been a time when all would turn to him with their troubles when he would either help financially or give sound advice, but now many of those whom he had helped turned away and shunned him. One day, when Abu Bakr and his cousin Talha were taking a stroll, Nawfal −− whose son, Aswad, had embraced Islam under the hand of Abu Bakr −− in the company of others attacked the pair, tied their hands and feet together and left them lying on the road for passerbys to see and mock. In those days it was customary for the tribe of the injured party to revenge themselves against the offender, but the leaders of the tribe of Taym, to which Abu Bakr belonged, chose to ignore the incident which was a clear indication that they now considered him to be of little or no standing. Now that it was known no action would be taken by the Taym tribe if Abu Bakr were to be harmed he became the object of persistent abuse so he went to the Prophet (sa) to ask his permission to join those that remained behind in Abyssinia, the Prophet (sa) always had the welfare and safety of his companions at heart agreed so with a sorrowful heart Abu Bakr set out for Abyssinia. As he neared the Red Sea, he met an old friend by the name of ibn Ad−Dughunnah, the chieftain of a small tribe that had settled not far from Mecca and were allied to the Koraysh. Ibn Ad−Dughunnah hardly recognized him and was both shocked and distressed to see Abu Bakr in such an impoverished condition and inquired what had brought about such a dramatic change in his affairs. Abu Bakr related several of the unwarranted hostilities he had faced in Mecca on account of his conversion, then told him that now all he wanted was to be able to worship Allah in peace and to preach during his travels. Ibn Ad−Dughunnah reflected upon former times in wonderment of how people could turn to be so fickle and said, "How could they have done such things? You were without doubt the gem amongst your tribe, in times of trouble you were always there to call upon, your deeds are good, and you always helped others in times of need! Go back, I will support you." Abu Bakr accepted ibn Ad−Dughannah's support and they returned together. Upon reaching Mecca, ibn Ad−Dughunnah declared for all to hear,
"People of Koraysh, the son of Abu Khafah has my support −− let no one treat him badly!" The Koraysh accepted the ultimatum, however, a fellow from the tribe of Jummah −− the tribe from whom Abu Bakr had rescued Bilal, demanded, "Tell him to worship his Lord behind closed doors, and to let his prayers and recitation be confined there so that he can neither be seen nor heard. We fear that if our sons or women see him they will be seduced by his ways!" Ibn Ad−Dughunnah turned to Abu Bakr and asked him to comply, and he agreed.
THE JOURNEY TO TA’IF
The people of Mecca knew that Abu Lahab, the new chief of the tribe of Hashim, was not inclined to take action against those who perpetrated the bounds of decency against the Prophet (sa). Now, the road was clear for all and sundry to abuse Prophet Muhammad (sa) and his companions, and so their persecution continued. In hope of spreading the message of Islam and gaining the support of the influential tribe of Thakif, the Prophet (sa) journeyed to Ta'if. Upon reaching the city he went straight to the house of Amr, Umair's son whose sons Abd Yalil, Masood and Habib were its tribal leaders and invited them to Islam, then sought their alliance. The hearts of the brothers were unreceptive, one of them swore that he would tear down the covering of Ka'ba if Allah had sent him as His Messenger. Another mocked the Prophet (sa) saying, "Couldn't Allah have found someone better than you to send!" As for the third brother he said, "By Allah, don't let me speak to you ever again. If you are as you claim, the Messenger of Allah, then you are far too important to speak with me; on the other hand, if you are lying, it is not befitting for me to speak with you!" As the Prophet (sa) endured these harsh remarks with patience and as he got up to leave the brothers called their household and slaves together and encouraged them to hurl abusive statements at the Prophet (sa). The commotion attracted other members of the tribe who joined them and so the Prophet (sa) sought the peace and quite of an orchard belonging to Utba and Shayba. Gradually the crowd dispersed and the Prophet (sa) tied his camel to a palm tree then sat down under its shade and reproached himself as he supplicated to Allah.
THE NAZARENE SLAVE FROM NINEVEH
Now Utba and Shayba had seen what had happened to the Prophet (sa) and their hearts softened a little toward him so they sent a young Nazarene slave by the name of Addas with a dish of grapes to him. As Addas gave the dish to the Prophet (sa) he looked up smiled and thanked him then took some grapes and before eating them said, "Bismillah". The pronouncement astonished Addas who said, "By Allah, this is not the way the people of this country speak." The Prophet (sa) looked up at him and inquired, "Which country do you come from, and what is your religion?" Addas replied that he was a Nazarene, a follower of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, from far away Nineveh (Ninawah). The Prophet (sa) heart was full of joy and commented, "From the town of the righteous man Jonah, the son of Mattal." Addas was even more surprised and asked the Prophet (sa) how he knew about Jonah to which he replied, "He is my brother, he was a prophet and I am a prophet." Addas' heart rejoiced and he bent over and kissed his head, then his hands and feet. Meanwhile, Utba and Shayba had been observing the Prophet (sa) from a distance and were disturbed when they saw Addas respecting the Prophet (sa) by kissing him and said to each other, "Look, he is already corrupting our slave!" When Addas returned to them they asked why he had acted as he did. Addas answered, "He is the finest man in this country and has told me things that only a prophet would know." To this Utba and Shayba exclaimed, "Do not let him seduce you from your religion − your religion is better than his!"
THE VALLEY OF NAKHLAH
The Prophet (sa) realized he could expect no help whatsoever from the people of Thakif, so he mounted his camel and set off back to Mecca. Several days had passed and dusk was about to descend but he decided to continue on his journey then take his rest in the valley of Nakhlah −− which is about a days ride from Mecca. Upon reaching the valley he dismounted and offered his prayer. Whilst he was standing in prayer a party of Jinn from Nasibhin happened to pass by and were captivated by his recitation of the Al-Quran and stopped to listen. The jinn were created before humans, and unlike the human who was created from clay and whose father is Adam, the jinn were created from smokeless fire and their father is satan, the stoned and cursed. But before the creation of the jinn and human, the angels were created from light. Despite the fact that satan is the father of the Jinn, there are among them believers. The Prophet (sa) had received several Revelations that spoke of not only mankind but also jinn, in which both were given good news of Paradise and warned of the punishment of Hell. Now, in the valley of Nakhlah he received another Revelation:
"Say: 'It is revealed to me that a party of jinn listened and then said: 'We have indeed heard a wonderful Al-Quran, that guides to the Right Path. We believe in it and we will not associate anyone with our Lord. He − exalted be the Majesty of our Lord who has neither taken to Himself a wife, nor a son! The ignorant fool among us has spoken outrageously against Allah, we never thought that either human or jinn would ever tell a lie against Allah!'" Al-Quran 72:1−5
THE ROAD TO MECCA
As he set off on the final stage of his homeward journey, the matter of the people of the Thakif’s refusal to accept the mercy of Allah weighed heavily upon the Prophet’s mind. Not long after he had set off, a Meccan riding a fast horse, caught up with him whereupon the Prophet (sa) expressed his concern to him. The Meccan agreed to ride on ahead of the Prophet (sa) and go to Al Akhnas, Sharik's son to ask him if he would be prepared to ally his tribe to the Prophet (sa). However, Al Akhnas was not considered to be a full−blood member of the Koraysh and sent a reply back to the Prophet (sa) saying that on this account he was unable to help in this matter. When the Prophet (sa) learned of Al Akhnas' refusal, his thoughts turned to Suhail, Amr's son, so he asked the Meccan to return again to Mecca and approach Suhail, but Suhail also declined. The Meccan returned yet again to Mecca, but this time the Prophet (sa) asked him to approach Al Mutim, Adiy's son, who, some time ago, retrieved what remained of the boycott document posted in the Ka'ba. Mutim was agreeable, so the Prophet (sa) entered Mecca with his support, where, fully armed, Mutim stood near the Ka'ba with his sons and nephews and announced that he had allied himself to the Prophet (sa). Abu Jahl was among those present that day and asked, "Are you giving him your support, or are you following him!" "Support of course!" replied Al Mutim.
THE ANGER OF UTBA
One day, Prophet Muhammad (sa), Abu Jahl and some of the leaders of the Koraysh happened to be near the Ka'ba at the same time. In his usual way Abu Jahl turned to some members of the tribe of Abdu Manaf and said in a tone that mocked, "Is this your Prophet, children of Abdu Manaf?" Utba, Rabia's son replied in an angered tone saying, "What is wrong if we have a Prophet or a king!" The Prophet (sa) overheard his reply and spoke to Utba in a kindly reminded, "O Utba, your anger was not for the sake of Allah, but on your own account." Then he turned to Abu Jahl and warned, "As for you Abu Jahl, a great affair will befall you. It will cause you to laugh a little, but weep a lot." Then he spoke to the leaders of the Koraysh saying, "A great affair will come upon you which you will indeed hate." Despite Mutim's inclination toward the Prophet (sa) he did not embrace Islam and died shortly before the encounter of Badr.
THE MESSAGE AND THE TRIBES
It was the time of the pilgrimage and many pilgrims camped outside Mecca before visiting their idols at Ka'ba. It was also the season of many fairs such as the one at Ukaz to which many eloquent poets would gather and compete against one another. The Prophet (sa) decided to visit the camps of the tribes of Kinda, Kalb, Amir, Maharib, Fazara, Ghassan. Murra, Sulaim, Abs, Nadir, Adhruh, Hudharima, Hanifa, Harith, and Ka’b’s son to recite portions of the Al-Quran to them and then ask if they would like to allie themselves, but it was not to be, and the beauty of his recitation as well as his invitation to ally themselves with him fell on deaf ears. The most bitter response to the Prophet (sa) came from the tribe of Hanifa. Later, its chief, Musailima proclaimed that he himself was a prophet! The fair was well underway when the Prophet (sa) approached Bayhara, Firas' son, from the tribe of Amir the son of Sasaa. Bayhara listened to the Prophet (sa) then exclaimed, "By Allah, given this man I could conquer all of Arabia." Then, a thought occurred to him and he asked, "If we give you our allegiance and Allah gives you victory over the enemies of Islam, shall we then be given leadership after you?" To this the Prophet (sa) replied, "The matter rests with Allah." Bayhara didn't like the reply and exclaimed, "Then I think you want us to lend you our support against the Arabs, and then, if Allah gives you victory someone else will reap the benefit − no we do not accept!" Abu Bakr had accompanied the Prophet (sa) when he visited the tribe of Dhul, Shaiban's son − the chiefs of this tribe were Mafruk, Muthanna and Hani, Kabisa's son. When Abu Bakr met Mafruk, Mafruk asked if he had heard about the coming of a Prophet, whereupon Abu Bakr turned towards the Prophet (sa) and introduced him saying, "This is he." Mafruk asked the Prophet (sa) to tell him about the message entrusted to him, to which the Prophet (sa) replied, "There is no god except Allah, and I am His Messenger." Then the Prophet (sa) with the sweetness of his voice proceeded to recite the following verse from the Al-Quran:
"Say: 'Come, I will recite to you what your Lord forbids you; that you shall associate anything with Him; that you shall be good to your parents, that you shall not kill your children because of poverty, We provide for you and for them, that you shall not commit foul deeds whether openly or in secret; and that you shall not kill the soul that Allah has forbidden except by right. With such Allah charges you, in order that you understand." Al-Quran 6:151
The three leaders listened to the recitation and all expressed their liking of the verse, however, they told the Prophet (sa) they were reluctant to abandon the religion of their ancestors because they would loose their authority with their fellow tribesmen. They also pointed out that they had already pledged their allegiance to the King of Persia and as such were already bound. The Prophet diligently (sa) continued to invite all who would listen to Islam and asked their leaders to ally themselves to him. Like Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab viewed Islam as a threat and whenever he heard the Prophet (sa) preaching, he would make it his business to try and break−up the gatherings by crying out, "This man is an apostate, he lies. He is trying to mislead you and wants you to abandon Al Lat and Al Uzza as well as your allies, the jinn from the tribe of Malik!" Although no allies were gained, many had listened to the verses of the Al-Quran and were aware of the message the Prophet (sa) preached.
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