Once Abu Talib went to Al-Sham on
business concerning him while Muhammad's age was at that time
eight years. Although the heat was sweltering for the time being,
Abu Talib insisted on taking Muhammad with him as his mate in
this journey and when one of them asked about the reason behind
his persistence on having Muhammad with him, he replied by what
indicated his vigorous zeal for protecting his life by
saying:
"I don't like to keep him in trust
with anyone of the people…I want him to be with me." And out of
the excessive concern of Abu Talib for Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) who
was still a small child, Abu Talib had prepared for him a
suitable location to grant him with what keeps him in comfort
during his travel to Al-Sham and stayed close to the camel over
which Muhammad was mounted without departing it.
Abu Talib's caravan which was containing
Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) besides a multitude of people who were going
to Busra in Al- Sham which has been an important commercial
center and there has been a hermitage for a monk called "Buhaira"
who owned indications and remarks about the nearby appearance of
a prophet in the Arab Peninsula and when he saw Muhammad
(P.B.U.H.) he had this dialogue with him as follows: " O
Ghulam! I want to ask you about three merits on behalf of
Allat and Al-Uzza which I am mostly eager to know.
On hearing that, Muhammad,
(P.B.U.H.) got angry for his reminding him of them because they
were two of the Arab gods who were worshipped by them to which
Muhammad promptly responded saying:
"Don't ask me about what they possess, by
Allah I swear I have exasperated none like them and they are but
two idols of stone which belong to my community and by this he
means one of the three merits which were mentioned at the opening
of the dialogue.
Then he proceeded to ask Muhammad
(P.B.U.H.) some more questions: "By Allah, I request you to tell
me?" Muhammad responded saying: "Ask what you have in mind." You
asked me by the name of my Allah and your Allah who both are the
same and who has no one like Him. "The monk said: " I ask you
about your sleep, your attitude, your affairs and the time of
your rising at dawn."
He (P.B.U.H.) told him of his
sleep, his affairs and all of what he wanted to know and what
would happen to him and the monk agreed to what Muhammad
(P.B.U.H.) had told him out of what he knew from respectable
books and sayings… all speaking of the attributes of this
predictable prophet.
The monk, on hearing all that from
Muhammad, couldn't control himself and dropped himself on him
kissing his hands and feet and said to him: " You are the call of
Abraham and the glad tidings of Jesus; you are the sanctified,
the purified from the filth of the pre-Islamic
misguidance!!
When the monk's short dialogue with Muhammad
(P.B.U.H.) came to an end, he turned to Abu-Talib to continue the
series of his questionings, therefore, he opened the following
dialogue with him: " What is the relationship between you and
this boy because, as I see, you are keeping too close to him?" to
which Abu Talib responded:
"He is my son but the monk replied disagreeing
to this answer by saying: "He is not your son and he is not to be
with a living father nor with a living mother as well! At this
Abu Talib came to his senses and promptly rectified the issue and
said: " He is the son of my brother whose father had died while
the mother was pregnant with him and his mother died when he was
six years old.
At this, the monk said:" Now this
is true; this is how he looks!! but I think you had better return
him to his country. If they happen to see this boy and get to
know of him as much as what I had now got of him, they would
cherish evil for him mostly the Jews!
Sat -
23 Sha’ban 1446H -
