EVENTS FROM THE THIRTEENTH TILL THE TWENTY-FIFTH
YEAR AFTER THE AUGUST BIRTH.

Historians have related that in the beginning of the thirteenth year after the august birth of his prophetic lord­ship —u. w. b.—Abu Tâleb intended to depart on a mer­cantile journey to Syria, without informing the prince of the world. According to a tradition, his lordship took hold of the bridle of Abu Tâleb’s camel on the day of his departure, and said: ‘O uncle, leavest thou me in Mekkah, and I have neither father nor mother?’ Abu Tâleb, moved by these words, replied: ‘By Allah! I shall take him with me, and do not consider it proper to separate from him.’ There is another tradition that he saw on that day Muhammad weeping, and asked the cause of it, but the prince of existences—u. w. b.—remaining silent, Abu Tâleb continued: ‘This crying is probably because I am not taking thee?’ His lordship the prophet replied in the affirmative, whereon Abu Tâleb swore an oath that he would never abandon him. Accordingly, they started together with the caravan of the Qoraish, and travelled till they were but two farsakhs distant from Missr, and alighted in the vicinity of the cell of the hermit Bahira,* who was one of the Christian U’lâma, much respected for his asceticism and piety. He had ascertained from the heavenly books that the seal of prophets—u. w. b.—would be known by certain signs, and would, on a certain occasion, by his blessed arrival in that region, cause it to be envied by the denizens of paradise. In a village, Kufr by name, there was a hermitage, wherein he who was the most excellent of the monks of the period used to offer prayers. Bahira was the model of the ascetics of that epoch, and had, with a view of being honoured by an acquaintance with the seal of prophets, made that her­mitage his chapel. On account of the absence of the signs announcing the advent of the prophet of latter times, he took no notice of caravans and of travellers, and on account of his perfect absorption in his devotions at the Court of Unity he had no intercourse with strangers, but was con­stantly engaged in watching for the signs, in order to be made happy by waiting upon his lordship. On the day when the propitious caravan was coming up from the rear of the hill, Bahira threw a glance on it from the roof of his cell, and perceived that on account of the intense heat of the sun a cloud was overshadowing the caravan, and was simultaneously travelling therewith, and also that a tree and block of clay which were on the road made prostrations to a certain individual of the caravan.

There is a tradition that when the caravan emerged from behind the hill, Bahira heard the trees and stones saying with a loud voice: ‘Salutation to thee, O apostle of Allah!’ When the caravan arrived in the vicinity of the hermitage and halted there, Abu Tâleb also alighted with his lordship, sat down under a tree, which became green and flourishing as soon as the cloud overshadowed it. When Bahira perceived what was taking place he was convinced that his prophetic lordship was in that company. Accordingly, he prepared a meal in haste, without allowing any one of the rich or the poor to enter the hermitage, but nevertheless invited the whole caravan to partake of the repast, and would not accept the refusal of anyone. Therefore, all the Qoraish assembled in the company of the monk, except the paragon of the family of A’bd Munâf, who had, on account of his youth, remained, by the advice of Abu Tâleb, on the spot where the caravan had halted. Bahira scrutinized the countenances of his guests and met with disappoint­ment; but, ascending to the roof of the hermitage and looking at the above-mentioned clump of trees, he ascer­tained that the cloud was overshadowing the same tree as before. Therefore he came down and addressed the Qoraish as follows: ‘I had requested the whole caravan to honour me with their presence, but I think some have refused to come.’ They replied, however, that they had left no one behind except a youth of tender age, for the purpose of watching the goods. The monk continued: ‘I beseech you to bring him also.’

Distich: The host laid a hundred covers for foes,
Hoping that one friend would come to the meal.

H??areth, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, then hastened to call that ornament of the sphere of prophecy—u. w. b.— and when the sun of his joyful stature began to shine in that hermitage, all the surrounding places were illuminated by his august light. Bahira looked with great composure at his holy and prophetic individuality, whereon he per­ceived that the signs foretold in ancient books were realized in his person. When the whole caravan had finished the meal and wished to rise, Bahira requested Abu Tâleb to remain, on account of the resemblance he had discovered, and asked: ‘What is thy connection with this youth?’

Abu Tâleb: ‘He is my son.’

Bahira: ‘His father and mother must be dead.’

Abu Tâleb: ‘He is my brother’s son.’

Bahira: ‘Thou hast spoken the truth.’

Then Bahira approached the best of existences, to examine and to try him, for the purpose of becoming acquainted with him, and of obtaining greater certainty.

Bahira: ‘I adjure thee by Lât, and by U’zza, to answer truly every question I shall ask thee.’

Muhammad: ‘Do not adjure me by these; for I hate nothing more than them.’

Bahira: ‘I ask thee by Allah!’

After this, Bahira questioned his prophetic lordship, and found all the replies agreeing with what he had learnt before [from the revealed books]. On asking him about sleeping, his lordship replied: ‘My eyes sleep, but not my heart.’ Then he looked at his blessed eyes, and asked Abu Tâleb, as well as some other intimate friends who were sitting near him, whether this redness of his eyes ever disappeared or not? But they said that they had never seen them without it. After this he desired for his own consolation to behold the seal of prophecy, which had in ancient books been designated as a characteristic sign of the last of prophets—u. w. b. Therefore he requested his holy prophetic lordship to bare the spot between his shoulders, but he refused on account of his great bashfulness. At last, however, after Bahira had much pressed him, and Abu Tâleb had interceded for the hermit, his lordship allowed his garment to be taken off; and when the monk beheld the seal of prophecy between the august shoulders of that prince, all the hair of his body bristled up from awe, and he was honoured by being allowed to kiss the spot of the seal, and said: ‘This is the prince of the inhabitants of the worlds, who was given by Allah as a mercy to them.’ When the Qoraish heard these words they said that the monk appears to entertain a very high opinion of Muhammad.

It is related that after the above conversation Bahira said to Abu Tâleb: ‘This youth is the last of prophets, the surface of whose law will be spread over the whole world, and whose solid religion will abrogate all former ones. Therefore thou must not take him to Syria, because the Jews are his enemies, and if they ascertain that he is the promised manifester [of the new religion] they will probably injure his person.’ These words disquieted Abu Tâleb, and therefore he returned to Mekkah after he had sold his goods profitably in Missr. There is, however, a tradition that Abu Tâleb sent only his sacred and prophetic lordship back to Mekkah, and that he himself travelled on to Syria for the purpose of completing his mercantile transactions. It is also said that a company of Jews from Rûm,* who entertained the intention of murdering his sacred and prophetic lordship, had arrived at the hermitage of Bahira on the very day when he was feasting the caravan of the Qoraish, and had secretly said to Bahira: ‘We have ascertained from celestial books that Muhammad will to-day alight in this place with a Qoraish caravan, and as we now intend to execute our design, thou must aid us therein.’ Bahira, however, replied: ‘If he be the individual described in the celestial books, you will not be able to kill him; and if he be another, there will be no use in doing so.’ The Jews, having perceived the justness of this remark, gave up their intention.

It is said that after this journey to Missr, Abu Tâleb no more took his lordship the refuge of prophecy on any of his travels. Others, however, assert that when his lordship was in his seventeenth year Zobeir, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and according to another tradition A’bbàs, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, intended to trade in Yaman, and said to Abu Tâleb: ‘We wish the blessing of Muhammad— u. w. b.—to redound also upon our enterprise, and there­fore we beseech thee to allow him to accompany us in this journey.’ Abu Tâleb complied with the request of his brothers, and sent the princely descendant of Adam, with his uncle, to Yaman, where innumerable miracles were witnessed during the journey in connection with the person of the chief of prophets and greatest of saints.

During this year Hormuz, the son of Naushirvân, was dethroned, and his world-embracing eyes were lanced.* In the nineteenth year after the propitious birth [of Muhammad], Khosru Parviz, the son of Hormuz, was installed on the throne. In the twentieth year Sidiq-Akbar* started on a mercantile journey to Syria with his prophetic lordship, and in the company of many other persons. When they reached a certain halting-place, the prophet sat down under a lote-tree, and Abu Bakr went to Bahira, the hermit of that locality, to bring food. The monk asked for the individual sitting at the foot of the tree, and being told that he was Muhammad, the son of A’bdullah, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, Bahira exclaimed: ‘By Allah! he is not only a prophet, but the seal of prophets, and I have heard that after I’sa [Jesus] no one will sit at the foot of this tree, except the prophet of the latter times.’ Therefore on that very day the truth of his lordship’s—u. w. b.—prophetship became evident to Sidiq. Some chroniclers relate that this journey was the same with the one in which Abu Tâleb had been present with the prophet.

One of the events which took place during that year was the ‘Covenant of the Factions.’ At that time the Qoraish were oppressing each other, and for the purpose of relieving the oppressed, Zobeir, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and A’bdullah, the son of Juda’an, assembled the Qoraish princes, all of whom entered into a covenant, by oath, to put an end to the tyranny, as had been done long ere this time, when assemblies congregated in this manner in the sanctuary and entered into a confederacy.

During this year angels began to appear to his lordship, and one day he said to Abu Tâleb: ‘Uncle, several nights ago three men came to me, looked at me acutely, and said: “This is he, but the time of his appearance has not yet come.” I was frightened at this sight.’ Abu Tâleb replied: ‘Do not be dismayed; such things may be the sport of imagination or dreams.’ On another occasion he said: ‘Uncle, one of those three men came and attacked me, and introduced his hand into my abdomen, so that I experienced freshness and tranquillity.’ This made Abu Tâleb apprehensive, lest some disease might have invaded his blessed body, and he took him to a physician somewhat acquainted with soothsaying, explained the matter, and asked for a medicine. The soothsaying doctor felt his noble pulse and fully investigated his limbs, but, after catching sight of the seal of prophecy, exclaimed: ‘Abu Tâleb, thy son is free from every blemish, as well as from the machinations of devils. The individuals who are appear­ing to him are noble angels, who look after him on account of his prophetship; but if the Jews learn anything about it, they will endeavour to slay him.’ A short time after­wards his lordship said that in his sleep he had seen a portion of the ceiling of the house raised, and two indi­viduals descending on a long ladder. One of them sat down at a distance, but the other approached him [i.e. Muhammad], opened his side, took out his heart, and said: ‘It is a good heart, the heart of a pious man and of a prophet.’ Then he again replaced it, and he [Muhammad] awoke.