Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth
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Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth

Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth

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280 The Life of Muhammad The J4e of Jlllhanmwd was the most fever-infested land on earth, and his companions suffered 414 severely from it, though God kept it from His apostle. 'AmiI' b. Fuhayra and Bilal, freedmen of Abu Bakr, were \vith him in one house when the fever attacked them, and I came in to visit them, for the veil had not then been ordered for us. Only God knows how much they suffered from the fever. I came to my father and asked him how he fared and he said: Any man might be greeted by his family in the morning \Vhile death was nearer than the thong of his sandal. I thought that my father did not know what he was saying. Then I \Vent to

282 The LIfe of Muhammad \Vith how many of them have we tics of kinship, Yet to abandon piety did not weigh upon them; If they turn back from their unbelief and disobedience (For the good and lawful is not like the abominable); If they foUO\v their idolatry and error God's· punishment on them will not tarry; We are men of Ghiilib's highest stock From \vhich nobility comes through many branches; I swear hy the lord of camels urged on at even by singing, Their feet protected hyoId leather thongs, Like the rcd-backed deer that haunt :Mecca Going down to the well's slimy cistern; I swear, and I am no perjurer, If they do not quickly repent of their error, A valiant band will descend upon them, \Vhich ,'viII leave women hushandless. It will leave dead men, ''lith vultures \vheeling round, It will not spare the infidels as Ibn J:Iiirith did.' Give the Bam-l Sahm with you a message And every infidel who is trying to do evil; If you assai!! my honour in your cvil opinion I will not assail Z yours. 'Abdullah b. al-Ziba'rii al-Sahmi replied thus: Does your eye wcep unceasingly Over the ruins of a Jwelling that the shifting sand obscures? And one of the \vonders of the days (For time is full of wonders, old and new) Is a strong army ·which came to us Led by 'Ubayda, called Ibn Hiirith in war, That \ve should abandon images venerated in IVIecca, Passed on to his heirs by a noble ancestor. \Vhen we met them with the spears of Rudayna, And noble steeds panting for the fray, And swords so whitc they might be salt-strewn In the hands of warriors, dangerous as lions, 4IR \Vhere\vith wc deal with the conceited 3 And quench our thirst for vengeance \vithout delay, They withdrew in great fear and awe, Pleased with the order of him who kept them back. Had they not done sO the women would have wailed, I i.c. 'ChayJa. 2 Abu Dharr refers the meaning of this word to the divine omniscience. In this line possihly 'ancestry' rather than 'honour' is the meaning- of 'ir(f. J Lit., the turning away of him who turns to one side. Possibly the writer has in mind Sura 31. I7, 'Turn not thy cheek in scorn towards people'. The LIfe of llll!wlI1l11ad Bereft of their husbands all of them. The slain would have been left for those concerned And thQse utterly heedless to talk aboLit. Give Abu Bakr \vith you a message: You have no further part in the hOI'.our 1 of Fihr, No binding oath that cannot be broken That war \vill be renewed is needed from me (3-P). Sa'd b. AbCl \\raqqa~, according to reports, said about his having shot an arrow: Has the news n:adH.:d the apostle of Cod That I protected m:y companions with Ill.y arrows? By them I defended their \/unguard In rough ground and plain. ::\0 archer who shoots an arrO\v at the enemy \Vill be counted before me, 0 apostle of God. 'Twas because thy religion is true Thou hast brought what is just and truthful. By it the believers are saved And unbelievers recompensed at the last. Stop, thou hast gone astray, so do not slander mc. \Voe to thee Abci Jahl, lost one of the tribe! (:)42). The flag of T1bayda b. al-l.Iarith according to my' information was the first flag which the apostle entrusted to a believer in Islam. Some scholars allege that the apostle sent him when he came back from the raid of a1­ Abwa' before be got to IVlediIl

280 The <strong>Life</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Muhammad</strong> The J4e <strong>of</strong> Jlllhanmwd<br />

was the most fever-infested land on earth, and his companions suffered<br />

414 severely from it, though God kept it from His apostle. 'AmiI' b. Fuhayra<br />

and Bilal, freedmen <strong>of</strong> Abu Bakr, were \vith him in one house when the<br />

fever attacked them, and I came in to visit them, for the veil had not then<br />

been ordered for us. Only God knows how much they suffered from the<br />

fever. I came to my father and asked him how he fared and he said:<br />

Any man might be greeted by his family in the morning<br />

\Vhile death was nearer than the thong <strong>of</strong> his sandal.<br />

I thought that my father did not know what he was saying. Then I \Vent to<br />

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