Letters ( revised ) | THE NINETEENTH LETTER | 194
(111-259)
And We have put a bar in front of them and a bar behind them, and further, We have covered them up, so that they cannot see.”(36:8-9) It is also related by the most learned commentators and scholars of Hadith. They relate that Abu Jahl took an oath, saying: “I shall strike Muhammad with a stone if I see him prostrating.” He took a large stone and went to find God’s Messenger (UWBP). He lifted his hands to cast the stone when he saw him prostrating, and they remained raised. God’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) stood up on completing the prayers, and Abu Jahl’s hand was released. He could move it either because the Messenger (UWBP) permitted, or because there was no longer any need for it to remain thus.[294]

In a similar incident, a man from the same tribe as Abu Jahl, al-Walid b. Mughira according to one narration, went to the Ka‘ba with a large stone in his hand, to strike the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) while he was prostrating, but the man’s eyes were sealed and he could not see the Messenger (UWBP) entering, nor was he able to see the people who had sent him; he could only hear their voices. When God’s Messenger (UWBP) finished praying, his eyes were opened, for no need remained for them to be sealed.[295]

Also, it is related through an authentic narration from Abu Bakr the Veracious that after the Sura about Abu Lahab [296] had been revealed, his wife, “Hammalat al- Hatab” (the wood carrier) Umm Jamil, came to the Ka‘ba with a stone in her hand. She saw Abu Bakr, who was sitting beside the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace), and asked him, “Where’s your friend? I hear that he mocked me. If I see him, I will hit him in the mouth with this rock.” She could not see God’s Messenger (UWBP), although he was sitting beside him. [297] Of course, a wood-carrier of Hell like that could not enter the presence of “the Sultan of Lawlak,” [298] who was under divine protection, and see him. How could she?

The Fifth Event: It is related through a sound narration that ‘Amir b. Tufayl and Arbad b. Qays conspired to assassinate God’s Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace).


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[294] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 351; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’, iii, 241; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, viii, 227; Muslim, No: 2797; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya, iii, 42-3.

[295] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 351; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’, iii, 242.

[296] Sura 111, al-Masad.

[297] Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 349; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’, iii, 233; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, i, 353; Ibn Hibban, Sahih, viii, 152; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, ii, 361.

           [298] This refers to the Hadith Qudsi: “But for thee, but for thee, I would not have created the spheres.” (Tr.)

No Voice

Letters ( revised )