Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 189now? Ibni ‘Abbas ra , who must have been ten or elevenyears of age at the time of their revelation and who wasnow seventeen or eighteen, volunteered to answer. Hesaid, "Leader of the Faithful, these verses contained aprophecy about the death of the Holy Prophet sa . When aProphet's sa work is done, he wishes no longer to live inthe world. The verses spoke of the imminent victory ofIslam. This victory had a sad side and that was theimpending departure of the Prophet sa from this world."‘Umar ra complimented Ibn ‘Abbas ra and said that whenthe verses were revealed only Abu Bakr ra understoodtheir meaning.LAST DAYS OF THE PROPHET saAt last the day drew near which every human beingmust face. The Prophet's sa work was done. All that Godhad to reveal to him for the benefit of man had beenrevealed. The spirit of Muhammad sa had infused new lifeinto his people. A new nation had arisen, a new outlookon life and new institutions; in short, a new heaven anda new earth. The foundations of a new order had beenlaid. The land had been ploughed and watered and theseed scattered for a new harvest. And now the harvestitself had begun to show. It was not, however, for him toreap it. It was for him only to plough, to sow and towater. He came as a labourer, remained a labourer andwas now due to depart as a labourer. He found hisreward not in the things of this world but in thepleasure and the approval of his God, his Maker andMaster. When the time came for reaping the harvest, hepreferred to go to Him, leaving others to reap.The Holy Prophet sa fell ill. For some days hecontinued to visit the mosque and lead the prayers.Then he became too weak to do this. The Companions rawere so used to his daily company that they couldhardly believe he would die. But he had been tellingthem of his death again and again. One day, touching