Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
10. The Prophet in Makkah
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womenfolk, they would not allow themselves to
snatch them off the womens’ bodies with their own
hands: instead, they would tell the women to hand
over their valuables, and they themselves would
look in the opposite direction, so that they did not
catch sight of them while they were taking off their
clothes.
It would be misleading to think of the desert Arabs
as pure simpletons who knew nothing. They were a
highly intelligent, alert people, quick to penetrate to
the depths of a matter.
Seven Muslim converts came to the Prophet from a
certain tribe. They told him that they had learnt five
things during the time of ignorance that preceded
Islam. They would adhere to these principles, they
said, unless the Prophet gave them other
instructions. The Prophet then asked them what
these characteristics that they had inherited from
the time of ignorance were. “Thankfulness in times
of affluence,” they answered, “and patience in times
of difficulty. Steadfastness on the field of battle and
resignation to fate. We learnt not to rejoice over
another’s setbacks, even if it was one’s own enemy
