THE INCIDENT OF THE BLIND MAN
It happened one day when Mohammad had taken in hand some of the most noted townsmen who were beginning to be moved by his arguments, that a blind pauper, Ibn Umm Maktum, came forward, and humbly begged to be granted a small share of the knowledge vouchsafed to the Prophet by Allah. Engrossed in his discussion with the citizens whose conversion he so ardently desired; fearing, too, to miss an opportunity which might never occur again, Mohammad was seized with a fit of momentary vexation and replied curtly to the blind man, who stumbled away sorrowfully without having been enlightened.
Immediately afterwards, the Prophet fell a prey to remorse. Might not that blind man, enlightened by faith, have been able to open the eyes of other human beings imprisoned in the darkness of ignorance? And the Revelation increased Mohammad's remorse by confirming his error: "He frowned, and he turned his back * Because the blind man came to him ... * As to him who hath become wealthy * Him therefore thou didst receive with honour * Yet it is not thy concern that he endeavours not to be pure; * But as to him who cometh to thee in earnest, * And full of fears, * Him dost thou neglect. * Do not so. Verily this surah is a warning." (The Qur'an, lxxx, 1-11.)
Ever since that day, the Prophet took great care to treat rich and poor, slaves and nobles alike, with the same consideration. The exasperation of the idolaters reached the highest pitch when they saw their own slaves drawn towards Mohammad by his levelling doctrines; and when the town rang with the Revelation of Surahs threatening the rich and the sweaters of the people. "The desire of increasing riches occupieth you, * Till ye come to the grave. * Nay! but in the end ye shall know * Nay! once more; in the end ye shall know your folly. * Nay! would that ye knew it with knowledge of Certainty; * Then shall ye surely on that day be taken to task concerning the pleasures of this life." (The Qur'an, cii, 1-8.)
Abu Jahal, meeting the Prophet at Safa, could not contain himself, and forgetting the self-control befitting a man of his high social position, he blurted out such a vulgar insult that the pen refuses to write it. The Prophet answered not a word, as was his wont, but a freed female slave of Abdullah ibn Jedhan had witnessed the scene, while looking out of the back of her dwelling that was just on the spot. As Hamzah, Mohammad's uncle, came by a few moments later, she told him what she heard.
HOW HAMZAH WAS CONVERTED. UTBAH'S PROPOSALS
Hamzah's disposition was haughty and choleric. He felt his blood boiling with rage when he heard of the affront offered to his nephew. When returning from the chase—his favourite pastime—he generally stopped to gossip with the folks he met on the road, but this time he never halted, hurrying as fast as his legs would carry him towards the Temple. When he caught sight of Abu Jahal, seated in a group of his partisans, he went straight up to him, and brandishing his bow above his head, he slashed the face of Mohammad's uncle by a stinging blow. 'So! thou dost insult my nephew,' he cried. 'Learn that I profess the same religion as he. All he proclaimeth, do I proclaim likewise. Stop me from doing so, if thou dost believe thou canst!'
All the assistants, belonging to the Banu Makhzum tribe of whom Abu Jahal was a chieftain, rose up to avenge him. But Abu Jahal, ashamed at having done a thing unworthy of a high-born lord, under the influence of profound hatred, bid them stand back. 'Let Hamzah go in peace,' he said to them, 'for verily, I did grievously offend my brother's son.'
As for Hamzah, the blessing of Allah was upon him in his outburst of rage and ennobled him by Islam of which he became one of the most devoted and formidable defenders.
Utbah ibn Rabiyah, one of the most noted idol-worshippers, was greatly shocked when his young son, Huzaifah, became a convert to Islam and drew away from his father. Hoping to put an end to the discord established by Mohammad's doctrines, not only in the Quraish tribe, but even in the bosom of families, he planned to come forward as mediator. Seeing Allah's Apostle seated, quite alone, near the Temple, Utbah said to his partisans: 'Will ye authorise me to speak to him, and discuss one or two proposals in your name? Perhaps he may accept them and so leave us in peace.'