Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth

256 The Life of Muhammad
the kidneys and the fat (except what was upon the back), for that used to be
offered in sacrifice and the fire consumed it.'I
The apostle wrote to the Jews of Khaybar according to what a freedman
of the family of Zayd b. Thabit told me from 'Ikrima or from Sa'id b.
Jubayr from Ibn 'Abbas: 'In the name of God the compassIOnate the
merciful from Muhammad the apostle of God fnend and brother of
Moses who confinns what Moses brought. God says to you, 0 scripture
folk, and you will find it in your scripture "Muhammad is the apost1~ of
God; and those with him are severe against the unbelievers, mercI.ful
among themselves. Thou seest them bowing, falling prostrate seeking
bounty and acceptance from God. The markoftheir p~ostrationsis on theIr
foreheads. That is their likeness in the Torah and In the Gospel hk~ a
seed which sends forth its shoot and strengthens it and it becomes thIck
and rises straight upon its stalk delighting the sowers that He may anger the
unbelievers with them. God has promised those who believe and do well
forgiveness and a great reward.'" I adjure you by God, and by what
He has sent down to you, by the manna and quails He gave as food to your
tribes before you, and by His drying up the sea for your fathers when
He delivered them from Pharaoh and his works, that you tell me, Do
you find in what He has sent down to you that you should belie~e in
377
Muhammad 1 If you do not find that in your scripture. then.there ~s no
compulsion upon you. "The right path has become plainly distingUIshed
from error'" so I call you to God and His prophet' (3 3)' .
'
Among those people concerning whom the Qura~ came d?wn, especIally
the rabbis and unbelieving Jews who used to ask hIm questIOns and ~noy
him in confusing truth with falsehood-as I was told on the authon~ of
'Abdullah b. 'Abbas and Jabir b. 'Abdullah b. Ri'ab-was AbU YaSIr b.
Akh\ab who passed by the apostle as he was reciting the opening words of
The Cow:' 'Alif, Lam, Mim, That is the book about whIch there IS no
doubt.' He came to his brother I;luyayy who was with some otheI; Jews
and said: 'Do you know that I have heard Muhammad reciting. in what has
been sent down to him Alif Lam Mim, &c?' After expressmg surpnse
I;luyayy and these men went to the apostle and told him what had been
reported to them and asked if Gabriel had brought the message from God.
When he said that he had they said: God sent prophcts bcfore you but we
do not know of anyone of them being told how long his kingdom would
last and how long his community would last. I;luy~yy w~nt up to hiS men
and said to them: f Alif is I; Lam is 30; and Mim IS 40, I.e. 7 I years. Are
you going to adopt a religion whose kingdom and c~m~unity will last
for only 7' years I' Then he went to the apostle and said, Have you anything
else, Muhammad?' 'Yes, Alif Lam Mim $ad.' 'T~ls by God I~
more weighty and longer: Alif 1 ; Lam 30; Mim 40, $ad 90, I.e. 161 years.
r This is the $acrificial1uw given in Leviticus 3, 4,10,15, &c., and the ~radition shows a
remarkable knowledge of the Jewish Law.
2 Sura 4H. 29. 3 Sura 2. 257·
The Life of Muhammad 257
Si~ila: questions were asked and ans\vercd in respect of Alif LafI1 Ra 23 I;
AlIf Lam l\lim Ra: 271; then he said, 'Your situation seems obscure to us,
l'v1uhammad, so that \ve do not know whether vou will have a short or
long duration.' Then they left him. Abu Yasir s~id to his brother Huyayv
and the others, 'How do you know that all these totals should not b~ added
together to make a grand total of 734 years?' They answered, 'His affair
IS obscure to us.' They allege that these verses came down in reference to
them: 'The plain verses are the mother of the Book; the rest are obscure.'I
I heard a scholar above suspicion mentioning that these verses were sent
down about the people of Najran when they came to the apostle to ask
him about Jesus, Son of Mary.
Muhammad b. Abu lJmama b. Sahl b. I;lunayftold me that he had heard
that they were sent down about a number of Jews, but he did not explain
that to me. God knO\vs best.
According to what I hcard from 'Ikrima, freedman of Ibn 'Abbas or
from Said b. Jubayr from Ibn 'Abbas, Jews used to hope that the
apostle \vould be a help to them against Aus and Khazraj before his mission
began; and when God sent him from among the Arabs they disbelieved
III lllm and contradicted \\'hat they had formerly said about him. I 1\1u'adh
b. Jabal and Bishr b. al-Bara' b. Marur broth~r of the B. Salama said to
them: '0 Jc~vs. fear G?d and become Muslims, for you used to hope for
Muhammad shelp agamst us when we were polytheists and to tell us that 379
he would be sent and describe him to us.' Salam b. l\1ishkam one of B.
al-Na