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to pursue it secretly so that he alone should be the winner of the reward. He mounted a
swift horse and went in hot pursuit of them. On the way the horse stumbled and he fell on
the ground. On drawing a lot so as to divine whether he should continue the chase or not, as
the Arabs used to do in such circumstances, he found the omens unpropitious. But the lust
for material wealth blinded him altogether and he resumed the chase. Once more he met
with the same fate but paid no heed to it. Again he jumped onto the saddle and galloped at
a break-neck speed till he came quite close to the Prophet (Peace be upon him). Abu Bakr’s
heart agitated and he kept looking back while the Prophet (Peace be upon him) remained
steadfast and continued reciting verses of the Qur’ân.
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The repeated stumbling of Suraqah’s horse and his falling off awakened him to the
situation, and he realized that it was a constant warning of Allâh for his evil design which he
contemplated against the Prophet (Peace be upon him). He approached the travelling group
with a penitent heart and begged of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) forgiveness in all
humility. He addressed the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his companion, saying: “Your
people (the Quraishites) have promised a generous reward to anyone who captures you.” He
added that he offered them provision but they declined his offer. They only asked him to
screen off their departure and blind the polytheists to their hiding place. Then the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) forgave him and confirmed it with a token written by ‘Amir bin
Fuhairah on a piece of parchment. Suraqah hurried back to Makkah and tried to foil the
attempts of those who were in pursuit of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his noble
companions. The sworn enemy was converted into an honest believer.
In a version by Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him), he said: “We emigrated while the
Makkans were in pursuit of us. None caught up with us except Suraqah bin Malik bin
Ju‘sham on a horse. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allâh, this one has caught up with us.’ The
Prophet (Peace be upon him) replied:
·
‘Don’t be cast down, verily, Allâh is with us.’”
4. The party continued its journey until it reached to solitary tents belonging to a woman called
Umm Ma‘bad Al-Khuza‘iyah. She was a gracious lady who sat at her tent-door with a mat
spread out for any chance traveller that might pass by the way. Fatigued and thirsty, the
Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his companions wanted to refresh themselves with food
and some milk. The lady told them that the flock was out in the pasture and the goat
standing nearby was almost dry. It was a rainless year. The Prophet (Peace be upon him),
with her permission, touched its udders, reciting over them the Name of Allâh, and to their
great joy, there flowed plenty of milk out of them. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) first
offered that to the lady of the house, and he shared what was left with the members of the
party. Before he left, he milked the goat, filled the container and gave it to Umm Ma‘bad.
Later on, her husband arrived with slender goats hardly having any milk in their udders. He
was astonished to see milk in the house. His wife told him that a blessed man passed by the
way, and then she gavedetails about his physical appearance and manner of talk. Here Abu
Ma‘bad realized on the spot that the man was the one whom Q uraish were searching for and
asked her to give full description of him. She gave a wonderful account of his physique and
manners, to which we will go in detail later in the process of talking about his attributes and
merits.
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Abu Ma‘bad, after listening to his wife’s account, expressed a sincere wish to accompany
the Prophet (Peace be upon him) whenever that was possible, and reiterated his admiration
in verses of poetry that echoed all over Makkah to such an extent that the people therein
thought it was a jinn inculcating words in their ears. Asma’, daughter of Abu Bakr, on
hearing those lines, got to know that the two companions were heading for Madinah . The
short poem opened with thanks giving to Allâh having given them (the Ma‘bads) the chance
to host the Prophet (Peace be upon him) for a while. It then gave an account of the bliss
that would settle in the heart of the Prophet’s companion whosoever he was; it closed with
an invitation to all mankind to come and see by themselves Umm Ma‘bad, her goat and the
container of milk that would all testify to the truthfulness of the Prophet (Peace be upon
him).
5. On his way to Madinah , the Prophet (Peace be upon him) met Abu Buraidah, one of those
driven by their lust for the reward of Quraish. No sooner did h e face the Prophet (Peace be
upon him) and talk with him, than he embraced Islam along with seventy of his men. He
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