Life-of-Muhammad

194Life of Muhammad saeverything which they had been taught and which theyhad learnt? This verse was revealed at the time of Uhud.Rumour had then gone round that the Prophet sa hadbeen killed by the enemy. Many Muslims lost heart andwithdrew from the battle. The verse came from heaven tobrace them. It had the same effect on this occasion.Having recited the verse, Abu Bakr ra added to it a wordof his own. He said, "Those amongst you who worshipGod, let them know that God is still alive, and will everremain alive. But those amongst you who worshippedMuhammad sa , let them know it from me thatMuhammad sa is dead." The Companions recovered theirbalance on hearing this timely speech. ‘Umar ra himselfwas changed when he heard Abu Bakr ra recite the versequoted above. He began to return to his senses, and torecover his lost judgement. By the time Abu Bakr ra hadfinished the recitation of the verse ‘Umar's ra spiritual eyewas fully opened. He understood that the Prophet sa hadreally died. But no sooner had he realized it, than hislegs began to tremble and give way. He fell downexhausted. The man who wanted to terrorize Abu Bakr rawith his bare sword had been converted by Abu Bakr's raspeech. The Companions felt the verse had beenrevealed for the first time on that day, so strong and sonew was its appeal. In a paroxysm of grief, they forgotthat the verse was in the Qur’an.Many expressed the grief which overtook Muslims onthe death of the Prophet sa , but the pithy and profoundexpression which Hassan ra , the poet of early Islam, gaveto it in his couplet remains to this day the best and themost enduring. He said: ‘Thou wast the pupil of my eye.Now that thou hast died my eye hath become blind. Icare not who dies now. For I feared only thy death.'This couplet voiced the feeling of every Muslim. Formonths in the streets of Medina men, women andchildren went about reciting this couplet of Hassan binThabit ra .