Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
7. The Revolution of the Prophet
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Seventy representatives of the people of Madinah
took this oath of allegiance. We can tell under what
precarious conditions they did so from the account
of one of their number, Ka’b ibn Malik. He tells of
how they surreptitiously joined a normal party of
pilgrims belonging to their tribe, pretending that
they too were going on a pilgrimage. Near Makkah,
when the others put up camp, the Muslims also
pretended to have fallen asleep. When a third of the
night had elapsed, however, they rose quietly from
their beds in order to keep their appointment with
the Prophet, proceeding to the place of rendezvous
“like birds, creeping silently in the undergrowth. “
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What an extraordinary time it must have been
when, with the Prophet rejected by the world, a few
individuals arose, eager to follow him. At that time
the Prophet had no place in his own hometown; he
had been chased out of Ta’if with a volley of stone-
throwing and abuse; no tribe was willing to grant
him protection. Yet, under such adverse conditions,
the people of Madinah recognized the truth of his
prophethood, and responded to his call. When the
Ansar
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went forward to swear allegiance, one of
them rose and asked: “Do you know what your
