Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
16. The Companions of the Prophet
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followed his lead, but some of them took it so hard
that they told the Muhajirs that they had as good as
killed Sa’ d ibn ‘Ubaydah.
The Ansar had made enormous sacrifices for the
cause of Islam. They had given shelter to the
stranded ship of Islam when it had been forced to
leave its own waters. Yet despite their sacrifices,
they agreed to make another one. They disowned a
share in power, and united behind a Qurayshi
caliph. There was good reason for the appointment.
The Quraysh, to which clan the Muhajirs belonged,
had been considered leaders of Arabia for centuries.
A leader from any other tribe would not have
commanded the support needed to administrate a
burgeoning empire. The Ansar were realistic
enough to acknowledge their own shortcomings in
this respect, and accept the Muhajirs’ unilateral
decision. It is hard to find a comparable example of
such selfless realism in the history of the world.
RATIONAL DECISIONS, DURING EMOTIONAL
CRISES
The Battle of Uhud (A.H. 4) was the severest battle
in Islamic history. All the warriors of the Quraysh,
