Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
10. The Prophet in Makkah
~ 259 ~
what the Final Prophet would be like. They
recognized the truth of his message. They
confirmed his teachings, and believed in
him.
26
When the Prophet went to the fair of ‘Ukaz and,
entering the tent of the Banu Kandah, explained his
teachings, this is what one youth had to say in
reply:
My people, let us hurry and be the first to
follow this man, for by God, the People of the
Book used to tell us that a Prophet would
arise from the Sacred Territory, and that his
time has drawn nigh.
27
The Aws and Khazraj had become intellectually
prepared, then, for the coming of an Arab Prophet.
When he came, it was comparatively easy for them
to accept him. As far as the people of Makkah were
concerned, however, and most of their compatriots
along with them, truth could only be seen in terms
of who controlled the Ka’bah. In ancient Arab
tradition, the Ka’bah was thought of as a king’s
crown. In fact, its symbolism was of a higher order
even than that of a crown, for the latter brings with
