Sword Of Allah (P5)

These thoughts were now disturbing Khalid, perhaps embarrassing him too. Many a time,

Quraish-men had thrown garbage into Allah's Prophet's 8 house. If ever a Muslim was found

preaching Islam, Quraish-men would gather around to create nuisance. Uncouth, vulgar men had

been assigned the job of vexing and insulting Allah's Prophet S.

Amidst all this, Khalid felt sort of relieved that his father had never committed any of such

unworthy acts. He had instead confronted Allah's Prophet's uncle Abu Talib and demanded of

him to put a brake to his nephew. Visiting him in the company of a few Quraish chiefs, Al Walid

had warned him that if he did not stop his nephew from insulting the idols and claiming

prophethood, the dear nephew may get killed by somebody. On each of the occasions, Abu Talib

had refrained from any commitment.

A great sacrifice of his father flashed before Khalid. His brother 'Umarah was a very handsome

youth, smart, intelligent and full of high spirits. Khalid' s father had offered this charismatic

youth to two chiefs, asking them to take him to Abu Talib and exchange him for his nephew

Muhammad it. At this decision of his father, Khalid had felt a tremor in his heart. And when the

two chiefs had gone away with his brother, he had in fact cried in solitude.

"Abu Talib!" said one of the chiefs gravely, bringing 'Umarah in front of him. "You are well-

familiar with him. He is Umarah bin Al Walid. You also know that your clan Banii Hashim 3

hasn't produced a youth like him in charm and intellect. We gift him to you forever. If you keep

him as your son, he will be obedient to you all your life. If you keep him as a slave, then by

Allah, he will even sacrifice his life for you!"

"But why are you giving him to me?" enquired Abu Talib suspiciously. "Have the mothers of

Banii Makhziim started auctioning their sons. . . Ok, well. Then say, what price you want for

him."

"In return, we ask you your nephew," replied one of the chiefs in an unbelievably calm voice.

This nephew of yours has been a stain for you, a cause of dishonour for your clan. He has refuted

your forefathers' religion and come up with one of his own invention. Don't you see how he has

divided the tribe and turned mutually loving men into enemies for life?"

"What will you do with my nephew?" There was a note of scare in Abu Talib 's voice.

"We will kill Muhammad. And mind you, it won't be unjust! As you see, we are offering our son

in return for your nephew."

"In fact, it will be grave injustice," retorted Abu Talib. "You kill my nephew and in return I

should take care of your son, spend my money upon him and provide him with the comforts of

life. What convoluted justice you have brought to me! With due respect, I would rather say

farewell to you."

3 Banii Hashim was a sub-tribe of Quraish. The holy Prophet's SB uncle, Abu Talib was its chief at the time.

Khalid's heart had leapt with delight when he saw his brother returning with the chiefs and then heard from them that Abu Talib had rejected the barter.

Rukanah meets Sabt

"Have you ever been capable of inflicting any harm upon Muhammad, Abu Sulaiman?" The

enquiring voice had risen from his inside. In his imagination, he shook his head and in his heart,

he said, "Never. ... No doubt, Muhammad has a strong physique. But mere physique won't be

enough to lift up a wrestler like Rukanah into the air and then throw him down upon the ground."

Khalid silently wondered.

Rukanah bin Abd Yazid was a distant uncle of the holy Prophet it who had not yet embraced

Islam. He was a highly-acclaimed wrestler of Arab. Well-known wrestlers challenged him and

he fell them to the ground in a single move, leaving them incapable of rising up ever again. He

looked quite barbaric as if he knew only fighting.

The moments of past seemed to come close to Khalid as he remembered the three-four men who

had persuaded Rukanah for a get-together. One day, they hosted a feast for Rukanah in which

they provided sumptuous meal and delicious drinks for him. Then they said to him, "Your

nephew Muhammad listens to nobody and continues his preaching without fear of anyone. And

people are flocking to him as if charmed by his magic. Can't you put his mind straight?"

"Do you wish to have his bones broken by my hands?" Rukanah had bellowed in an arrogant

voice in the manner of a mighty frenzied buffalo. "Bring him in front of me. . . But, no. The

moment he hears of my challenge, he will flee from Makkah. No, no, I consider wrestling with

him an insult to my name."

He was not persuaded by the inciters. He had never considered any wrestler an equal. The

enemies of Muslims went away quietly but kept scheming to get Allah's Prophet pinned to the

ground by Rukanah to make a mockery of him.

The Jews of Makkah were even more hostile towards the noble Prophet is, but they never came

out in the open to challenge him. They were celebrating the recent turn of events in which the

Quraish tribe had got divided and become mutual enemies. They somehow got the information

that some men of Quraish had tried to urge Rukanah to wrestle with Allah's Prophet but he had

not agreed.

One night, Rukanah was passing through a Makkah lane when a charming young girl passed by

him. In the moonlit night, the girl recognized Rukanah. Smile spread on her flower-like lips.

Rukanah, barbaric in his temper, stopped at this and came before the girl obstructing her way.

"Do you know when a woman looks at a man and smiles, what it means?" Rukanah asked.

"Anyway, who are you?"

"It means that the woman loves the man," replied the young girl. "As for me, I am Sabt bint

Arman."