Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 127When the agreement had been written down and thesignatures of the parties affixed, there soon arose anoccasion which tested the good faith of the parties. Ason of Suhail, the Meccan plenipotentiary, appearedbefore the Prophet sa , bound, wounded and exhausted.He fell at the Prophet's sa feet and said, "O Prophet sa ofGod, I am a Muslim at heart, and because of my faith Ihave to suffer these troubles at the hands of my father.My father was here with you. So I escaped and managedto come to you." The Prophet sa had not spoken whenSuhail intervened and said that the agreement had beensigned and he would have to go with him. AbuJandal ra —this being the young man's name—stoodbefore the Muslims, a brother of brothers, driven todesperation by the ill-treatment of his father. To have tosend him back was an obligation they could not endure.They unsheathed their swords and seemed determinedto die or save this brother. Abu Jandal ra himselfentreated the Prophet sa to let him remain. Would hesend him back to the tyrants from whose clutches hehad managed to escape? But the Prophet sa wasdetermined. He said to Abu Jandal ra , "Prophets do noteat their words. We have signed this agreement now. Itis for you to bear with patience and to put your trust inGod. He will certainly provide for your freedom and forthe freedom of other young persons like you." After thepeace had been signed, the Prophet sa returned toMedina. Soon after, another young convert from Mecca,Abu Basir ra by name, reached Medina. But in accordwith the terms of the agreement, he also was sent backby the Prophet sa . On the way back, he and his guardshad a fight in the course of which he killed one of theguards and thus managed to escape. The Meccans wentto the Prophet sa again and complained. "But," said theProphet sa , "we handed over your man to you. He hasnow escaped out of your hands. It is no longer our dutyto find him and hand him over to you again. A few dayslater, a woman escaped to Medina. Some of her relationswent after her and demanded her return. The Prophet sa