Life-of-Muhammad

158Life of Muhammad sadissolved as he advanced inviting Meccans to peaceunder a standard held aloft by his brother.While the Muslims marched towards Mecca, theProphet sa had ordered ‘Abbas ra to take Abu Sufyan ra andhis friends to a spot from where they could easily viewthe Muslim army, its behaviour and bearing. ‘Abbas radid so and from a vantage-point Abu Sufyan ra and hisfriends watched the Arab tribes go past on whose powerthe Meccans had banked all these years for their plotsagainst Islam. They marched that day not as soldiers ofdisbelief but as soldiers of belief. They raised now theslogans of Islam, not the slogans of their pagan days.They marched in formation, not to put an end to theProphet's sa life, but to lay down their lives to save his;not to shed his blood, but their own for his sake. Theirambition that day was not to resist the Prophet's saMessage and save the superficial solidarity of their ownpeople. It was to carry to all parts of the world the veryMessage they had so far resisted. It was to establish theunity and solidarity of man. Column after columnmarched past until the Ashja‘ tribe came in AbuSufyan's ra view. Their devotion to Islam and their selfsacrificingzeal could be seen in their faces, and heard intheir songs and slogans."Who can they be?" asked Abu Sufyan ra ."They are the Ashja‘ tribe."Abu Sufyan ra looked astonished and said, "In allArabia, no one bore greater enmity to Muhammad sa .""We owe it to the grace of God. He changed thehearts of the enemy of Islam as soon as He deemed fit,"said ‘Abbas ra .Last of all came the Prophet sa , surrounded by thecolumns of Ansar and Muhajirin. They must have beenabout two thousand strong, dressed in suits of armour.The valiant ‘Umar ra directed their marching. The sightproved the most impressive of all. The devotion of theseMuslims, their determination and their zeal seemedoverflowing. When Abu Sufyan's ra eyes fell on them, hewas completely overpowered.