(Continued)
Third: The courage of the Messenger of Allah and his treatment of Jaabir bin ‘Abdullaah
1- The courage of the Messenger of Allah : It was narrated on the authority of Jaabir bin ‘Abdullaah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said,
When the Messenger of Allah was returning from the Battle of Thaat Ar-Riqaa‘, midday came upon him in a valley with many thorny trees. The Messenger of Allah and the people dismounted and dispersed to have rest under the shade of trees. The Messenger of Allah rested under a tree and hung his sword on it. We all took a nap, and suddenly we heard the Messenger of Allah calling us. [We woke up] to see a Bedouin with him. The Prophet said: ‘This Bedouin took my sword while I was sleeping and when I woke up, I found the unsheathed sword in his hand and he challenged me saying, ‘Who will save you from me?’ I said thrice, ‘Allah.’”
The Prophet did not punish him, and allowed him to sit. The Bedouin was called Ghawrath bin Al-Haarith. He gave the Prophet a covenant not to fight him or help people fight him, accordingly, the Prophet released him. Returning to his people, the man said, “I came to you from the best one of all people [the Prophet ].”
This story is proof of the Prophethood of Muhammad as well as proof of his great courage, firm certainty, patience in the face of harm and forbearance with foolish people. It also indicates the permissibility of allowing soldiers to scatter in different places for the sake of sleeping if there is nothing to fear.
This authentic story proves the extent of the care that Allah The Almighty gave to His Prophet . It also increases one’s certainty about the miracles that the Prophet was granted by the permission of Allah. It was very easy for this polytheist to take the sword that was hanging on the tree and kill the Prophet while he was sleeping. One can notice that polytheist’s self-conceit and pride for having that golden opportunity, which enabled him to stun the Messenger of Allah in his words “Who will save you from me?” Then, what happened afterwards that precluded him from killing the Prophet ?
There is no interpretation for this except the divine care and the divine miracle, which went beyond traditions, norms and people’s powers to support His Prophet and protect his Da‘wah (call). Divine care was sufficient to fill the heart of that polytheist with fear causing his arms to tremble and the sword to fall from his hand. Then, this man sat politely before the Messenger of Allah .
This incident is in conformity with the verses in which Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from people. Indeed, Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.} [Quran 5:67]
Protection in this verse does not mean that the Prophet would not experience any harm or affliction at the hands of his people, for it is the norm of Allah among His slaves that they will do so. However, protection here means that no one would succeed in his attempt to assassinate or kill the Prophet to kill by that the Da‘wah that he was sent to convey.
2- The treatment of the Prophet of Jaabir bin ‘Abdullaah
It was narrated on the authority of Jaabir bin ‘Abdullaah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said,
I set out with the Messenger of Allah for the Battle of Thaat Ar-Riqaa’ on a lean camel of mine. When the Messenger of Allah was returning, my companions went ahead before me and I had to stay behind because my camel was weak, until the Messenger of Allah caught up with me and said to me: “O Jaabir! What is the matter with you?” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, my camel is slow.” The Messenger of Allah said: “Make it kneel down,” and he also made his camel kneel down. Then, he said: “Give me that stick in your hand,” and I did. The Messenger of Allah took the stick, poked the camel several times with it and then said: “Mount it.” And I did. Then, my camel went on, and I swear by Allah who sent him with the truth, as fast as that of the Messenger of Allah .
This story gives us a beautiful and noble image of the morals of the Messenger of Allah with his Companions through his gentle talk, extreme modesty and checking their conditions. The Prophet felt that the reason of Jaabir’s lagging behind was his weak camel, the only camel that he had because of his straitened conditions. His father was martyred in the Battle of Uhud and left behind some daughters and sons for Jaabir, may Allah be pleased with him, to take care of - and he was very poor.