An Islamic Treasury of Virtues
14. Unity
~ 288 ~
that time a Nabataeian, who had come from
Syria to Madinah on business, met him in the
streets and gave him a letter from Ghassanid
chieftain. The letter, enveloped in a silken cloth,
read: “I have learned how you are being
oppressed by your master. May God release you
from a place where you are in disgrace and your
talents are wasted. Come to us and we will give
you a place of honour. Kaab ibn Malik promptly
threw this letter into the fire without replying to
it. After fifty days, Almighty God accepted his
repentance and forgave him.
(AL-BUKHARl,
SAHIH)
FIGHTING ONE’S OWN PEOPLE DEPRIVES
ONE OF GOD’S SUCCOUR
There was one occasion, reports Khabbab ibn al-
Arat, when the Prophet prayed an unusually long
prayer. When asked about it, he said it was a prayer
of hope and fear. “I asked my Lord for three things,
two of which he granted and one of which he
refused. I prayed that my entire community should
not be destroyed by drought; this request was
granted. Then I prayed that they should not be
