Mohammad: The Prophet of Revolution Vol

Deep concern for the life to come was always welling up inside him. Sometimes it would surge to his lips in the form of supplication, and sometimes in the form of heartfelt contrition. He lived on a completely different plane from ordinary human beings. This is illustrated by many incidents, of which a few are mentioned here. Once the Prophet was at home with Umm Salma. He called maidservant, who took some time in coming. Seeing signs of anger on the Prophet’s face, Umm Salma went to the window and looked outside. She saw the maid playing. The Prophet had a twig in his hand. “If it wasn’t for the fear of the retribution on the Day of Judgement,” he told the maid. “then I would have hit you with this twig.” Even this mildest of punishments was to be eschewed. The men taken prisoner in the Battle of Badr were the Prophet’s bitterest enemies, but still his treatment of them was impeccable. One of these prisoners was a man by the name of Suhail Ibn Amr. A fiery speaker, he used to denounce the Prophet virulently in public to incite people against him and his mission. Umar suggested that two of his lower teeth be pulled out to dampen his oratorical zeal. The Prophet was shocked by Umar’s suggestion. “God would disfigure me for this on the Day of Judgement, even though I am His Messenger,” he said to Umar. □ Phototypeset by The Word, Nehru Place, New Delhi, Printed by J.K. Offset Printers, Delhi. Annual Subscription Rates: INLAND Rs 36 Supporting Subscription Rs 200 ABROAD Air Mail US $ 20/£ 12 Surface Mail US $ 10/£ 6 Supporting Subscription US $/£ 30 Cheques, drafts, postal orders and money orders should be made payable to: ‘AL-RISALA MONTHLY’