Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
4. Sublime Character
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the enemy!’ he cried to the Muslims. This was an
extremely sensitive moment. The companions of the
Prophet drew their swords. The sight of Abu Jandal
had aroused their feelings to such a degree that
most of them wanted to break the treaty and save
his life. The Quraysh meanwhile reminded the
Prophet that this was an occasion on which he
would be obliged to abide by the pact that had been
made between them. Finally the Prophet decided
that he could not go back on the terms that had
been agreed upon. Painful as this decision was for
the Muslims, Abu Jandal was returned to the
Quraysh. Ostensibly the Prophet was putting an
innocent victim of oppression back into the clutches
of his oppressors. But, in effect, he was acting on the
highest of moral principles. The oppressors in turn
were confounded and awestruck by such uniquely
moral conduct, and then it became no ordinary
matter for them to take Abu Jandal away and
imprison him; rather the event became symbolic of
their own degradation in contrast to the moral
ascendancy of Islam. The result of this was that the
people of Makkah were won over by the high
ethical standards of Islam, which many of them
started to embrace. Abu Jandal’s very presence in
