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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294 The <strong>Life</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Muhammad</strong><br />
with you. By God, if you were to take us to Bark al-Ghimiid,' we would<br />
fight resolutely with you against its defenders until you gained it.' The<br />
apostle thanked him and blessed him. Then he said, 'Give me advice, 0<br />
Men,' by which he meant the An:;;ar. This is because they formed the<br />
majority, and because when they had paid homage to him in al-'Aqaba<br />
they stipulated that they were not responsible for his safety until he entered<br />
their territory, and that \vhen he was there they would protect him as they<br />
did their wives and children. So the apostle was afraid that the An~ar<br />
would not feel obliged to help him unless he was attacked by an enemy in<br />
l\ledina, and that they would not feel it incumbent upon them to go with<br />
435 him against an enemy outside their territory. 'Vhen he spoke these ,vords<br />
Sa'd b. 1\1u'adh said, 'It seems as if you mean us,' and when he said that<br />
he did, Sa'd said, '\Ve believe in you, we declare your truth, 'and we witness<br />
that what you have brought is the truth, and we have given you our word<br />
and agreement to hear and obey; so go \vhere you wish, \ve are with you;<br />
and by God, if you were to ask us to cross this sea and you plunged into it,<br />
we would plunge into it with you; not a man would stay behind. We do<br />
not dislike the idea <strong>of</strong> meeting your enemy tomorrow. \Ve are experienced<br />
in war, trustworthy in combat. It may well be that God \'lilllet us show<br />
you something which will bring you joy, so take us along with God's<br />
blessing.' The apostle was delighted at Sa'd's words which greatly encouraged<br />
him. Then he said, 'Fornrard in good heart, for God has promised<br />
me one <strong>of</strong> the two parties,2 and by God, it is as though I now saw the<br />
enemy lying prostrate.' Then the apostle journeyed from Dhafriin and<br />
went over passes called A~iifir. Then he dropped down from them to a<br />
town called al-Dabba and left al-Banniin on the right. This was a huge<br />
sandhill like a large mountain. Then he stopped near Badr and he and<br />
one <strong>of</strong> his companions (359) rode on, as <strong>Muhammad</strong> b. Ya!)ya b. Babbiin<br />
told me, until he stopped by an old man <strong>of</strong> the Beduin and inquired about<br />
Quraysh and about 1\1uhammad and his companions, and what he had<br />
heard about them. The old man said, 'I won't tell you until you tell me<br />
which party you belong to.' The apostle said, 'If you tell us we will tell<br />
you.' He said, 'Tit for tat?' 'Yes,' he replied. The old man said, 'I have<br />
heard that <strong>Muhammad</strong> and his companions went out on such-and-such a'<br />
day. If that is true, today they are in such-and-such a place,' referring to<br />
the place in which the apostle actually was, 'and I heard that Quraysh<br />
went out on such-and-such a day, and if this is true, today they are in<br />
such-and-such a place,' meaning the one in which they actually were.<br />
When he had finished he said, 'Of whom are you)' The apostle said, 'We<br />
are from 1\1;1'.'3 Then he left him, while the old man was saying, 'What does<br />
436 "from Ma'" mean? Is it from the water <strong>of</strong> Iraq?' (360).<br />
I A place in the Yemen, others say the farthest point <strong>of</strong> I;Iajar. T. 1300 adds 'a town <strong>of</strong><br />
the Abyssinians'.<br />
2 i.e. the caravan or the army. Cf. Sura 8. 7<br />
3 i.e. \Vater.<br />
The 14e <strong>of</strong> ]'v1uhammad<br />
Then the apostle returned to his companions; and when night fell he<br />
sent 'Ali and al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwam and Sa'd b. Abu Waqqii~ with a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> his companions to the \yell at Badr in quest <strong>of</strong> news <strong>of</strong> both<br />
parties, according to what Yazid h. Ruman from 'L'rwa b. al-Zubayr told<br />
me, and they fell in with some water-camels <strong>of</strong> QlIraysh, among whom<br />
were Aslam, a slave <strong>of</strong> B. al-Uajjaj, and 'A.ri~i Abu Yasar, a young man <strong>of</strong><br />
B. AI-'A~ b. Sa'id, and they brought them along and questioned them<br />
while the apostle was standing praying. They said, '\Ve are the watermen<br />
<strong>of</strong> Quraysh; they sent us to get them water.' The people were displeased<br />
at their report, for they had hoped that they would belong to Abti Sufyan,<br />
so they beat them, and when they had heaten them soundly, the two men<br />
said, '\Ye belong to Ahll Sufyan,' so they let them go. The apostle bO\ved<br />
and prostrated himself twice, and said, '\Vhen they told you the truth you<br />
beat them; and when they licd you let them alone. They told the truth;<br />
they do belong to Quraysh. Tell me :Y'0l1 two about thc Quraysh.'l They<br />
replied, 'They arc behind this hill which you sec on the farthest side.'<br />
(The hill was al-'Aqanqal.) The apostle asked them how many they were,<br />
and \vhen they said, ':\.1an1',' he asked for the numher, but they did not<br />
know; so he asked them how many beasts they slaughtered every day, and<br />
when they said nine or ten, he said, 'The people are bet\\Ten nine hundred<br />
and a thousand.' Then he asked how many nobles <strong>of</strong> Quraysh were<br />
among them. They said: "lJtba, Shayba, Abti'l-Bakhtari, ~Iakirn, ::\"allf