Guillaume--Life of Muhammad.pdf - Radical Truth

788 The Life of Muhammad
While the other responded:
Camels haltered with ropes of palm
Pass through land knowing water's balm.
The dust of summer does no harm.
This Malik stood before the apostle and said, '0 apostle of God, the
choicest of Hamdan's settled and nomad folk have come to you on fine
swift camels, linked by the cords of Islam. No blame so far as God is concerned
attaches to them from the district of Kharif and Yam and Shakir
the camel and horse folk. They have answered the apostle's call and have
withdrawn from the goddesses and sacrificial stones. Their word will not be
broken while stands mount La'la' and while the young hart runs on Sala'.'
The apostle wrote a letter for them: 'To the district of Kharif and the
people of the high country and the sand hills with their envoy Dhu'l-Mish'a.r
Malik b. Namat and those of his people who are Muslims. Theirs is the high
ground and the low ground so long as they perform prayer and pay alms;
they may eat its fodder and pasture on its herbage. For this they have God's
promise and the guarantee ofHis apostle and their witnesses an: the emigrants
and the helpers.'
Malik b. Namat said concerning this:
I remembered the apostle in the darkness of the night
When we were above Ra1)raqa.n and $aldad
While the camels tired with sunken eyes
Carried their riders on a far-stretching road.
Strong, long-striding camels
Carried us along like well-fed ostriches.
I swear by the Lord of the camels that run to l\1ina
Returning with riders from a lofty height
That the apostle of God is held true among us,
An apostle who comes with guidance from the Lord of the throne.
No camel has ever carried one more fierce
Against his enemies than Muhammad, .
Nor more generous to one who comes asking for kindness,
Nor more effective with the edge of his sharp sword.
898, AI-Yarbu'L
899. He put Abn Dujana al~Sa'idl-otherssay Siba.' b. 'Urfuta al~Ghifariin
charge of Medina.
900. The apostle had sent some of his companions as messengers carrying
letters to the kings inviting them to Islam. One in whom I have confidence
on the authority of Abu Bakr al-HudhaIi told me: 'It' reached me that the
apostle went out one day after his 'umra from which he had been excluded
on the day of al-J:1udaybiya and said "God has sent me as a mercy to all
men, so do not hang back from me as the disciples hung back from Jesus
son of Mary." , They asked how they had hung back and he said: 'He called
them to that to which I have called you. Those who were sent on a near
mission were satisfied and content; those who were sent on a distant mission
showed their displeasure and took it as a burden, and Jesus complained of
Ibn Hishiim's Notes
h G 7 8 9
t at to od. Every one of them the next .
language of the people to whom th mornmg became able to speak the
Th
ey were sent.'
e apostle sent letters with his com a .
inviting them to Islam H t D' p mons and sent them to the kings
of Rum; 'Abdullah b HUd~-fsent Ch 1Dya b. K~alifa aI-KaIbr to Caesar, king
1 D
'. a a 0
a-.amrltotheN k'
asroes kmg of Pers' 'A b U
f . .' 13; mr. mayya
M egus, mg 0 AbyssInIa' Hiitib b Ab - B I .
uqauqis, king of Alexandria' 'Am b 'l;A' . ~ a ta a to the