Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
16. The Companions of the Prophet
~ 400 ~
reinforcements had been sent at his request. Abu
‘Ubaydah’s companions did not agree. They
thought that Abu ‘Ubaydah should be leader of the
whole army, or otherwise the division should
remain under separate command. When the quarrel
escalated, Abu ‘Ubaydah addressed ‘Amr, telling
him that the final promise the Prophet had taken
from him was that the two of them should agree
with one another, and work in unity. “Even if you
disobey me,” he said, “I promise to obey you.”
Had Abu ‘Ubaydah so desired, he could have
remained obdurate and left it to Amr to give way.
Substantial arguments in support of his position
could have been found. But he eschewed such a
course, and instead took it upon himself to put an
end to the argument unilaterally. In community life,
it is essential that people should be able to do this.
Only when people are magnanimous enough to
accept their own responsibilities, instead of arguing
about their rights, can a community function
harmoniously. It requires exceptional courage to do
this, but there is no other way of preserving unity in
a society.
