Читать книгу Muhammad: Man and Prophet - Adil Salahi - Страница 11
ОглавлениеIT IS SAID that Āminah, the Prophet’s mother, had no great trouble with her pregnancy. Everything went right for her. She heard a great deal about other women having all sorts of trouble when they were pregnant. Hers, however, was a very easy pregnancy, associated with the hope that the coming child would brighten her life after the totally unexpected tragedy of her husband’s death.
There was nothing unusual about the birth of Muhammad. The only thing worth mentioning is that his mother reported later that she had an easy delivery. Historians could not determine for certain the exact year of his birth. Most reports, however, suggest that it was in AD 570, the year when Abrahah, the Abyssinian ruler of Yemen, launched his attack against Makkah. As for the date, it was most probably on the 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwāl in the year 53 BH.1 There is nothing particularly significant about determining the exact date of Muhammad’s birth. Whatever celebrations are held nowadays on that date have no Islamic basis. They are merely traditional celebrations which have no religious significance.2
There are some reports about certain happenings which pointed to the forthcoming destruction of the Persian Empire and its pagan faith. Other incidents suggesting the eclipse of other religions are also reported to have taken place on the day Muhammad was born. While Muhammad’s birth heralded the imminent collapse of all erring beliefs, such reports cannot be taken seriously. We have no solid evidence to prove them. Moreover, no importance is attached to them from the Islamic viewpoint, even if one assumes them to be true.3
When Āminah delivered her baby, she sent for his grandfather, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, to come and have a look at him. He was very happy when he saw him. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was still very sad at the loss of his son, ʿAbdullāh, but the birth of Muhammad assuaged his sadness as he looked forward to a bright future for the newborn child. He took the baby and went to the Kaʿbah where he prayed for him at length. He thanked God for giving him a boy to bear the name of his deceased son. Then he took him back to his mother, who told him that she heard voices commanding her to call her child Muhammad.4
Muhammad means ‘often praised’, or ‘worthy of praise’. It was a totally unfamiliar name in Arabia. Nevertheless, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib had no hesitation in calling his grandson by that name. He could never dismiss the thought that the events which led to the birth of this child suggested that he was certain to have great influence on the life of his community. When he was questioned by the notables of Makkah about this unfamiliar name he had given to his grandchild, he answered that he wished the boy to be praised by human beings on earth and by God in heaven.5
Muhammad was given to Thuwaybah, a servant of his uncle, Abū Lahab, to breastfeed him for a few days until long-term arrangements for his nursing were made.
Infancy in the Desert
It was the tradition of the noblemen of Makkah to send their children to be breastfed by Bedouin wet nurses. They felt that the open space of the desert was far better for the children in their early years than the close atmosphere in the city. They thought that when a child was nursed in the desert he was certain to grow up physically strong and healthy.
Every now and then, Bedouin women came to Makkah to seek newborn babies. They were prepared to wet-nurse them for the wages and gifts which were certain to be given to them by the babies’ parents. There was no set fee for the task: it was left to the generosity of the father.
A group of such Bedouin women arrived in Makkah shortly after Muhammad was born. Each of them looked at Muhammad but declined to take him when she realized that his father was dead. Apparently, none of them thought the grandfather would do as well for them as the boy’s own father.
Each one of them managed to get a child to nurse, except Ḥalīmah bint Abī Dhu’ayb. She later reported what she did that day:
I travelled with my husband and our young boy along with a number of women from our tribe, Saʿd ibn Bakr, to seek babies to nurse. It was a bad year in our area of the desert. We had nothing to survive on. I was riding a mule and we had with us an old she-camel which gave us not a drop of milk. We spent many a sleepless night because our little boy was always crying of hunger. I did not have enough milk to satisfy him. Our camel was hopeless, but we still hoped for rain and better days.
Because my mule was also weak, I kept falling behind my companions. I gave them so much trouble because of our weakness. When we arrived in Makkah every woman of us was offered Muhammad to nurse. When she learnt that he was an orphan, she declined. We simply hoped for gifts and presents from the baby’s father. Hence, we always replied when we were offered him: “An orphan! What could his mother or grandfather do for us!”
Every woman in the party was able to obtain a child to nurse except me. When we were about to set out on our journey back home, I said to my husband: “I hate to be the only one to go back empty-handed. I am going to take that orphan.” He said: “It is a good idea. He may bring us some blessings.” I went back and brought him. As soon as I put him to my breast, I felt that both my breasts were full of milk. He had his fill, and so did his brother, my own son. Both went to sleep immediately afterwards: we had not had much sleep in the preceding nights because of our boy’s crying.6
It is also reported that in those days the Prophet always sucked the same breast: he never accepted the other one. It is as if he was made to feel that he had a partner and he left him his share.7
Ḥalīmah said: “My husband thought that it was worth trying to milk our old camel. He soon discovered that she had full breasts. He milked enough for both of us to have our fill. It was our best night for a long while. My husband said to me in the morning: ‘You know, Ḥalīmah, you have taken a blessed child.’ I said: ‘I sincerely hope so.’”
We started our journey that morning and I rode the same mule and carried Muhammad with me. She was now moving fast, ahead of all my friends. They were amazed, and asked me whether it was the same mule I was riding on the way to Makkah. When I affirmed that it was, they were very surprised.
When we arrived at our quarters, it was hit by severe drought. Nevertheless, my sheep were always full of milk. We had more than we needed, while no one else had enough. Most of their sheep had no milk at all. People would tell their shepherds to keep their sheep alongside mine, hoping to have some milk. It was only my sheep which had their breasts bursting with milk every evening. We continued to have this Divine blessing until he was two years of age, when I weaned him. He was growing like no other child did. When he was two he was very strong for his age. I took him back to his mother, forming in my mind the best argument I could muster to persuade her to allow me to keep him for a while longer. I said to her: “I wish you would leave my child with me for a little longer until he gets stronger. I fear that he may catch an infection of some sort or another in Makkah.” I tried hard until she was persuaded to send him back with me.8
A Very Strange Event
Muhammad stayed with Ḥalīmah, his suckling mother, in the desert for nearly four years altogether. Nothing eventful normally happens to a child at such an early age; hence nothing much is recorded by historians. An event which happened at the end of that period, however, caused Ḥalīmah to be so disturbed that she preferred to go back to Makkah and return the young child to Āminah, his mother.
While Muhammad was playing with other children, the Angel Gabriel came and took him by the hand. He laid Muhammad down and opened his chest and abdomen, took out his heart and removed from it a black clot, which he threw away. As he did so, he said: “This is what Satan has in you.” He then washed Muhammad’s heart in a gold bowl full of iced water before putting it back in its place. He then sealed the incision and left him.
His suckling brother, Ḥalīmah’s son, ran to his mother to report that Muhammad was dead. She rushed to see him. She found him standing up but pale-faced. She asked him what had happened and he related what had been done to him by “two unknown men wearing white dresses”.
This incident disturbed Ḥalīmah a great deal. She sat several nights thinking about Muhammad and what had happened to him. Some reports suggest that she took him to a fortune-teller to find out the significance of what had happened. The authenticity of these reports is not beyond question. What is certain, however, is that Ḥalīmah felt that the safest course for her was to return the child to his mother. It was her husband who suggested this, expressing his fear that the boy might have been attacked by an evil spirit. “It is wiser to return him to his people now, before any bad consequences appear.”
Āminah was surprised to see Ḥalīmah bringing Muhammad back. She asked why, pointing out that Ḥalīmah had been so keen to keep him. Ḥalīmah said: “There is nothing wrong with him or us. We have discharged our task to the best of our ability. We thought he would be better off with you lest something should happen to him.” Āminah said that was not the full story, there must be something else. She kept pressing Ḥalīmah until the latter told her the story. Āminah said to her: “Do not fear Satan for this boy, for he is protected against him. This boy of mine will have a renowned future. I tell you that my pregnancy was the easiest ever experienced by any woman. One night when I was pregnant it seemed in my dream as if a light came out of me to light up the palaces of Syria. When I gave birth, he lifted his head to heaven. Leave him with me and go back to your people.”9
An authentic tradition points out that the same thing happened to the Prophet when he was fifty years old, one night while he was half-asleep. The angel made a long incision from the top of his chest right down to the end of his abdomen. He took out his heart and washed it in a gold bowl ‘full of faith’. He then put his heart back in its place.10
It is not easy to explain these two events in ordinary terms – the event itself was extraordinary. Moreover, the question of good and evil has nothing to do with the function of any part of the human body. It is clear that a spiritual interpretation of this question is much more relevant. Its understanding is beyond human ability.
A contemporary scholar, Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazālī, suggests that Divine care would not leave a person like Muhammad to experience the petty temptations to which all human beings are liable. If we suppose that there are ‘waves’ of evil all around us and that the hearts of certain people pick up these waves very easily and are influenced by them, the hearts of Prophets, who are favoured with God’s care, do not receive these waves and are therefore not influenced by them. Hence, Prophets do not have to resist any downward tendency to sink into evil; they try to strengthen an upward tendency to purify themselves and their nations of evil.
In support of his argument, al-Ghazālī relates two authentic ḥadīths said by the Prophet on two different occasions, with more or less the same import. One ḥadīth was related by ʿĀ’ishah: the Prophet told her after she admitted that she was jealous of the Prophet’s other wives: “Your evil spirit has influenced you.” When she asked whether an evil spirit was always with her, the Prophet said: “Every human being has an evil spirit.” She asked whether this applied to him also. He said: “Yes, but God has helped me against him and he has accepted Islam.” That is, the evil spirit within the Prophet became an obedient one, and could not suggest any evil thought.11
It seems that the whole incident of opening the chest of the Prophet in his early childhood and again when he was fifty years old is indicative of the immunity God gave His chosen servant to keep him away from worldly temptations ever since he was a young boy.
A New Tragedy
Muhammad lived with his mother, who doted on him and looked after him as the most loving mother could look after the dearest of her children. It is worth noting that Āminah did not marry another man after her young husband died. This was quite unusual in Makkan society, where marriage to widows and divorcees was commonplace. Āminah had several qualities which recommended her to any suitor. Prominent among these was her noble birth, which was a very important factor in that society. Nevertheless, Āminah did not marry again. Perhaps she could not remove from her mind the thoughts of the events which preceded the tragedy of losing her husband. She had enough signs to indicate to her that her son was certain to play a great role. She probably thought that devoting herself to the upbringing of her child would give her all the satisfaction she needed.
It is in this light that we view her trip to Yathrib with her son, now six years of age, and his nurse, Umm Ayman. She wanted him to visit the clan of al-Najjār, his maternal uncles. When a man married into another tribe or clan, everyone in that clan or tribe would be considered an uncle to his children and grandchildren for the rest of time. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s mother belonged to the clan of al-Najjār and this is the reason for counting them as the Prophet’s uncles. More importantly, Āminah wanted her son to visit his father’s grave. Perhaps she thought that it was time for him to realize that his father was buried in Yathrib, a long way from Makkah.12
Muhammad and his mother stayed for a month in Yathrib, before starting their journey back. It was a very sad journey for the young boy. They had not travelled far before his mother fell ill. It was a quick and fatal illness. Although she had covered only a short distance from Yathrib, she could not return there, nor could she continue her journey back home. So the six-year-old Muhammad was now without both his parents. After Āminah had been buried where she died, at al-Abwā’, Muhammad continued his journey to Makkah with his nurse, Umm Ayman, his heart full of sorrow. He felt that nothing could replace for him the love and tenderness of his mother. To his last days he continued to remember Āminah, and to feel the pain of losing her.13
The Prophet continued to show his gratitude to all those women who took care of him in his childhood to the end of his days. He was so grateful to Thuwaybah, the first woman to suckle him immediately after he was born. When he conquered Makkah over sixty years later, he asked for her. When he learnt that she had died, he also enquired after her son whom she was suckling when he himself was born. He wanted to extend his kindness to him. But he was told that he also had died. Ḥalīmah visited him in Madinah. When she arrived he rose to receive her, shouting: “My mother! My mother!” He showed her all the gratitude of a loving and dutiful son. He was also kind to al-Shaymā’, Ḥalīmah’s daughter and his suckling sister. After the battle of Ḥunayn, in which the tribe of Hawāzin was defeated, al-Shaymā’ was taken prisoner by the Muslim soldiers. She made her relationship with the Prophet known to them, so they took her to him. He received her well and extended extra kindness to her before sending her back to her people with honour after giving her the opportunity to stay with him. It was her choice to go back.
Umm Ayman continued to be close to the Prophet for the rest of his life. He married her later to Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, the first man to become a Muslim, whom the Prophet loved more than anyone else. She gave birth to Usāmah, whom the Prophet loved as he loved no child besides his own.
After his mother’s death, Muhammad was in the care of his grandfather, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. Umm Ayman, a slave girl whose real name was Barakah, continued to look after him. She had belonged to his father and now she was his own. She loved him dearly – perhaps more so because she was fully aware of the fact that he had lost both his parents before his sixth birthday. Muhammad’s grandfather indulged him more than was customary in Arabian society, where the emphasis was on strict discipline in the upbringing of young ones. No child was admitted to a room where his father was meeting other men. Yet ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, chief of Makkah, allowed his young grandson to sit on his couch when he was in a meeting with Makkan notables. His own children, now all grown up, remained standing, but Muhammad was allowed to sit on his grandfather’s couch. If Muhammad’s uncles tried to stop him, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib would tell them not to do so. On one occasion he told them: “Leave my child alone. He senses that he will one day acquire a kingdom.” At another time he said: “He will certainly have a great future.”14
A Transfer of Care
ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib realized that his own death would not be long in coming. The future of the orphan child was one of his most immediate concerns. He therefore called in his son Abū Ṭālib and asked him specifically to look after Muhammad, his nephew, when he himself had died. It was good that he did so, because ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib died within two years of Muhammad coming into his care. It is said that ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was a hundred and twenty when he died, but his grandchild was only eight. Again, death snatched away a loving soul from Muhammad’s life. He was extremely distressed to lose his grandfather. He felt he had lost the man whose kindness to him could not be equalled by any other. He grieved for his loss as only a loving child could grieve when he realized that he would not be seeing his beloved one any more. Perhaps ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib chose to trust Muhammad to the care of Abū Ṭālib because the latter had the same mother as ʿAbdullāh, Muhammad’s father. He might also have realized that Abū Ṭālib was the kindest and most caring of his children. This explains why Abū Ṭālib was chosen for this task, despite the fact that he had many children of his own and was a man of little means. Many of Muhammad’s other uncles were better placed to look after him, from a financial point of view. Yet ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib chose Abū Ṭālib, and what an appropriate choice it proved to be.
Abū Ṭālib continued to look after Muhammad until he became a man. Even then, he continued to show him the loving care a father shows to his adult son. He was never slow in giving him sound advice and guidance. When Muhammad started to receive his message and convey it to people, Abū Ṭālib supported him in the face of strong opposition from the Quraysh. He never failed him even when the pressures were too strong to bear for an old man, as Abū Ṭālib was at that time. There was a relationship of mutual love and respect between uncle and orphan nephew. Indeed, Abū Ṭālib loved Muhammad as much as he loved his dearest child, if not more.
Again when he was in the care of his uncle, there were signs that God’s blessings were associated with the presence of Muhammad. While there was no sudden influx of riches into the house of Abū Ṭālib, there always seemed to be enough when Muhammad was there. If dinner was served and Muhammad was not present, Abū Ṭālib would order his children to wait for him. He had noticed that when Muhammad was eating with them, the food seemed plentiful and everybody had his fill. If he was absent, the food seemed not to be sufficient and everybody asked for more. On the whole, Muhammad’s childhood was very pleasant. He radiated happiness to all around him. Hence it was not surprising that he was loved dearly by all those close to him.15
We have several reports of that period in the life of Muhammad which suggest that various people recognized him as the future Prophet. Many suggest that the people recognizing him tried to get him killed. The first reports speak of Ḥalīmah taking Muhammad to a fortune-teller to divine his future. None of these reports, however, attains a sufficient degree of authenticity to make it of any great value. Such things might have happened. Their effect either on the boy himself or on those looking after him was limited indeed.
Nor can the story of Muhammad’s encounter with the Christian monk of the town of Buṣrā in southern Syria be of great importance. This story suggests that Muhammad clung to his uncle, Abū Ṭālib, when he was about to depart on a trade journey to Syria, and would not let him go without him. Abū Ṭālib then decided to take his twelve-year-old nephew with him. It is said that on their way back home after finishing their business in Syria, this monk, Baḥīrā, invited the whole caravan to a dinner. This was a marked departure from his past habit. He insisted that everybody in the party should attend. He recognized Muhammad and spoke to him, questioning him on many aspects of his life. He also recognized a mark on Muhammad’s shoulder which indicated that he was to be the last Prophet. When he was certain of that fact, Baḥīrā asked Abū Ṭālib what relation the boy was to him. When Abū Ṭālib said that he was his son – as the Arabs considered that an uncle was in the same position as a father – Baḥīrā said: “He is not your son. This boy’s father should not be alive.” Abū Ṭālib told him that Muhammad was his nephew and that his father had died before his birth. Baḥīrā said: “That is right. Take your nephew back to his home town, and watch him carefully. Should the Jews recognize him as I have done they would try to harm him. This nephew of yours is certain to have a great future.”16
Whatever the truth about this story and the other reports to which we have referred, it is certain that they did not influence Muhammad in any way. We have to remember that he was still a child, and he could not have aspired to any distinction as a result of Baḥīrā’s discourse. Moreover, it seems that the men who heard Baḥīrā’s conversation with Abū Ṭālib did not bother to relate it to other people. The only value of these reports is that they confirm the fact that learned men of other religions were aware of the imminent appearance of a Prophet in Arabia. Their knowledge is based on what is definitely contained in their scriptures.
Muhammad was only twelve when he went on this trip with his uncle, Abū Ṭālib. Some reports suggest that he was even younger. Not long after he came back to Makkah he realized that he had to do something in order to help his poor uncle, who had a large family to support. Although from the time of his birth Muhammad brought his blessings to his immediate environment, wherever it happened to be – as clearly related by Ḥalīmah, his wet nurse – he was not meant to enjoy a life of affluence. There always seemed to be enough for everyone around, but there was little to spare. Muhammad himself needed very little: he was content with whatever was available to him. But he always had a keen sense of what was going on around him. His uncle’s situation cried out for help, and Muhammad was aware of that.
First Employment
In the Makkan society of that time there was little a young boy of Muhammad’s age could do. The life of the whole community depended largely on trade, which thrived through the regular trips to Syria and Yemen. These trips meant that the Makkan trade was essentially what we call nowadays ‘foreign trade’, depending on export and import. To be successful in such a field required multifaceted experience which could not have been acquired by a young boy in his early teens. Moreover, travelling at such a tender age through a difficult terrain like that of Arabia was too much of an adventure for a young boy. There was little or no agriculture in Makkah or the area around it. Few, if any, industrial occupations were available. The Arabs actually looked down upon anyone engaged in such employment. The only occupation worthy of the Arabs of Makkah was trade. Hence there was nothing Muhammad could do to help his uncle except to work as a shepherd.
The life of a shepherd is associated with contemplation and patience. A shepherd has long periods of time when there is little for him to do, except watch his animals grazing. As he sits alone, his thoughts must inevitably turn to the universe around him. He thinks of its creation, and its limitless expanse. He thinks how different varieties of creatures share their lives in a little corner of it, and of what lies beyond the realm of human perception. He thinks of the great variety of plants that come from the earth, each with its distinctive characteristics and widely different fruits. Yet they all come out of the same type of soil and feed on the same water. His thoughts are bound to lead him to think of the great power that controls everything in the universe.
A shepherd needs patience, and as he goes about his work he is bound to develop that quality without which he cannot really tend his sheep. Perhaps it is for these two qualities, along with other less important ones, that God has chosen this type of work for His messengers and Prophets. It is well known that Moses and David were given prophethood when they were actually engaged in tending sheep. The Prophet was once asked whether he also tended sheep, and he answered: “Yes, indeed. Every Prophet tended sheep at one time or another.” When we think carefully about it, we are bound to conclude that Prophets, who in the latter part of their lives look after human beings and shepherd them, receive their early training when they begin their practical life as shepherds. This particular occupation is a form of education. It helps the shepherd to acquire a keen sense of what is around him and develop his ability to attend to detail. He also develops another quality which is essential in his later career – an ability to work consistently towards the achievement of a definite goal set in advance, and to persevere with it until it is achieved.
Muhammad was not the only boy who worked as a shepherd in Makkah – this was the job which noble families in Makkah did not despise. Other boys of similar age also tended camels and sheep. Sometimes some of them met and developed friendships. They talked about what they did at night. On many occasions, parties and social events were organized in Makkah. Boys of Muhammad’s age frequented these. When they met during their long days, they talked about the fun they had at these parties. It was natural, therefore, that Muhammad should think of doing as other boys did. He is quoted by ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, his cousin, to have said:
I never thought about taking part in what the people who lived in ignorance were organizing in the way of entertainment except on two nights. On both occasions, God protected me against evil. One night I said to one of my fellow shepherds: “Would you kindly look after my sheep to give me a chance to go down to Makkah and attend a social function like other boys do?” He was willing to do that. I went to Makkah. As I entered, I heard music and singing in the first house. I asked what the occasion was and I was told that it was a wedding party. I sat down to look. Soon my head was heavy and I slept. I was awoken only next morning by the heat of the sun. I went back to my friend and reported to him what had happened. I did it again, and the same thing happened to me. I never again thought or did anything of this sort, until God honoured me with prophethood.17
In this way Muhammad was protected by God against indulging in any form of entertainment which was unbecoming of the one who would become the last of His Messengers to mankind.
Other reports exist which suggest that Muhammad was ‘protected’ against any moral slip from the time when he was a young boy. Certain values introduced by Islam were unheard of in the Makkan society in which he grew up, as indeed they have always been unfamiliar in societies that do not observe a strict moral code. For instance, to appear in the nude in front of people of the same sex is acceptable in most non-Islamic societies. Some communities go even further. In our modern times the ‘naturist’ idea has found many supporters, and naturist clubs which promote communal nudity have been established in many places in Europe. This is contrary to the Islamic idea of propriety. In his youth, Muhammad was totally unaware of the Islamic values of propriety. Nevertheless, he was made to abide by them.18
A few years before the beginning of Qur’ānic revelations, the Quraysh decided to repair the building of the Kaʿbah (which we shall discuss in more detail later on). The Prophet helped in the repair work along with many Makkans. Those who carried the stones and went to and fro took off their lower garments and put them on their shoulders as cushions on which to place the stones. Since the Arabs had no underwear at that time, those who did this were working in the nude. Only Muhammad carried the stones with his lower garment on. His uncle, al-ʿAbbās, who was working with him, suggested to him that he should use his garment to protect his shoulder. When Muhammad did this he fell to the ground unconscious. A moment later he regained consciousness, searched for his garment and tightened it round his waist. He then resumed work.
A very similar report suggests that the same thing happened to him much earlier. The Prophet is quoted to have said that when he was a young boy he was playing with boys of his own age, carrying stones from one place to another. He said: “We were all undressed. We took our garments and placed them on our shoulders to put the stones on them. I was moving around with the other children when someone I did not see levelled at me a very hard punch. He said: ‘Put on your garment.’ I wrapped myself with it and made it tight. I continued to carry the stones on my shoulder, but I was the only one wearing my garment.”19
Both reports are clear examples of how essential moral values of undistorted human nature were applied to Muhammad even before he became a Prophet. This was part of the ‘education’ he received. Although Muhammad was not educated in a formal school or by any particular tutor, he was placed in the thick of many events which gave him a keen sense of the values which needed to be preserved in any morally healthy society. Personal education was also given to him so that he could develop a code of behaviour which made all types of frivolity alien to his nature. Such an education is far more effective and longer lasting than any formal schooling. As we shall see in the next chapters, Muhammad’s understanding of all aspects of life was much more profound than that of any philosopher or man of wisdom.
NOTES
1. BH signifies ‘prior to the start of the Islamic Calendar’, which dates from the Prophet’s settlement in Madinah.
2. Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dār al-Qalam, Beirut, Vol. 1, pp. 167-168. Also, Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, ʿUyūn al-Athar, Dār al-Turāth, Madinah, 1996, pp. 79-81.
3. Muhammad al-Ghazālī, Fiqh al-Sīrah, Dār al-Daʿwah, Egypt, 6th edition, 2000, pp. 51-52. Also, Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., pp. 83-85.
4. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 168-169.
5. Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., p. 90.
6. Ibid., pp. 91-92.
7. Ibid., p. 94.
8. Ibid., pp. 92-93.
9. Ibid., pp. 93-94.
10. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Suhaylī, al-Rawḍ al-Unuf, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, Beirut, pp. 290-291. Also, al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, Dār ʿĀlam al-Kutub, Vol. 1, Riyadh, 1996, p. 91, and Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, Dār ʿĀlam al-Kutub, Vol. 1, Riyadh, 1996, pp. 103-104.
11. Muhammad al-Ghazālī, op.cit., pp. 54-55.
12. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., p. 177. Also, al-Suhaylī, op.cit., pp. 297-298; Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., p. 90 and Muhammad al-Ghazālī, op.cit., p. 56.
13. Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., p. 100. Also, Amīn Duwaydār, Ṣuwar Min Ḥayāt al-Rasūl, Dār al-Maʿārif, 4th edition, Cairo, pp. 63-65.
14. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., p. 178. Also, Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., p. 99.
15. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., p. 189. Also, Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., p. 103.
16. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 191-194.
17. Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., pp. 110-111.
18. Ibid., p. 109.
19. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 194-195.
