Life-of-Muhammad

36Life of Muhammad saPretender, in an encounter after the Prophet's sa death.Musailima tried to unsettle Habib's ra faith. "Do youbelieve Muhammad sa to be a Messenger of God?" heasked. "Yes," was the reply. "Do you believe me to be aMessenger of God?" asked Musailima. "No," repliedHabib ra . Upon this Musailima ordered one of his limbs tobe cut off. This done, he asked Habib ra again, "Do youbelieve Muhammad sa to be a Messenger of God?" "Yes,"replied Habib ra . "Do you believe me to be a Messenger ofGod?" "No." Musailima ordered another limb to be cut offHabib's ra body. Limb after limb was cut off in this wayand Habib's ra body was reduced to many pieces. He dieda cruel death, but left behind an unforgettable exampleof personal heroism and sacrifice for the sake ofreligious conviction (Halbiyya, Vol. 2, p. 17).Ummi ‘Ammara ra accompanied the Prophet sa inseveral wars.This party of Medina Muslims, in short, attained togreat distinction for their loyalty and faith. They came toMecca not for wealth, but for faith; and they had it inabundance.Moved by family ties and feeling legitimatelyresponsible for the safety of the Prophet sa , ‘Abbas ra thusaddressed the party:O Khazraj, this my relation is respected here by hispeople. They are not all Muslims, yet they protect him. Buthe has chosen now to leave us and go to you. O Khazraj, doyou know what will happen? All Arabia will be againstyou. If you realize the risks entailed by your invitation,then take him away; if you do not, then give up yourintention and let him stay here.The leader of this party Al-Bara’ ra replied assuredly:We have heard you. Our resolution is firm. Our lives areat the disposal of the Prophet sa of God. We are decided,and only await his decision (Halbiyya, Vol. 2, p. 18).The Prophet sa gave a further exposition of Islam andits teaching. Explaining this, he told the party that hewould go to Medina if they would hold Islam as dear as