Mohammad: The Prophet of Islam Vol

even these gallant soldiers were not able to protect him fully. Utba Ibn Abi Waqqas hurled a stone at the Prophet’s face, knocking out some of his lower teeth. A famed warrior of the Quraish, Abdullah Ibn Qumayya, attacked him with a battle-axe, causing two links of his helmet to stick into his face. So deep did they penetrate into the Prophet’s skin that Abu Ubaida broke two teeth in his attempt to extract them. Then it was the turn of Abdullah Ibn Shahab Zuhri, who threw a stone at the Prophet and injured his face. Bleeding profusely, he fell into a pit. When for a long period the Prophet was not seen on the field of battle, the word went around that he had been martyred. Then one companion spotted the Prophet lying in the pit. Seeing him to be alive, he cried jubilantly, “The Prophet is here.” The Prophet motioned to him to be silent, so that the enemy should not know where he was lying. In this dire situation, the Prophet uttered some curses against certain leaders of the Quraish, especially Safwan, Suhail and Haris. “How can a people who wound their prophet ever prosper!” he exclaimed. Even this was not to God’s liking, and Gabriel came with this revelation: “It is no concern of yours whether He will forgive or punish them. They are wrongdoers.” (Quran, 3:128) This admonition was enough for the Prophet. His anger subsided. Crippled with wounds, he started praying for the very people who had wounded him. Abdullah Ibn Masood later recalled how the Prophet was wiping the blood from his forehead, and at the same time praying: “Lord, forgive my people, for they know not what they do.” Biographies of the Prophet are full of incidents of this nature, which show his life to be a perfect model for mankind. They show that man is God’s servant, and a servant he should remain in every condition. Being God’s humble servant, man should always remain in a state of trepidation before this Lord and the life hereafter. Everything in the universe should serve to remind him of God. In every event he should see the hand of the Almighty, and, for him, every object should portray God’s signs. In every worldly matter he should remember that all matters will finally be referred to God. Fear of hell should make him live humbly among his fellows, and longing for paradise should impress on him the significance of this world. So conscious should he be of God’s greatness that any idea of demonstrating his own greatness should appear ridiculous. No criticism should provoke him, and no praise should make him vain. This is the ideal human character which God displayed to us in the conduct of His Prophet. □