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The Sealed Nectar

 The Sealed Nectar by Shaykh Safi ur-Rahman

One day they could find no shelter from the scorching heat so Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) cast a glance and found a little shade beside a rock. He cleaned the ground, spread his mantle for the Prophet(Peace be upon him) to lie on and himself went off in search of food. He came across a shepherd, a bedouin boy, who was also seeking a shelter. Abu Bakr asked him for some milk and took it to the Prophet (Peace be upon him), cooled it with some water and waited till the Prophet (Peace be upon him) woke up and quenched his thirst.
Whoever asked Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) about the identity of his honourable companion, he would reply that he was a man who guided him on his way. The questioner would think that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was a guide, in terms of roads, whereas Abu Bakr used to mean guide to the way of righteousness.
Quraish, as we have already mentioned, had declared that whoever would seize Muhammad (Peace be upon him) would receive a hundred camels as reward. This had spurred many persons to try their luck. Among those who were on the lookout for the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his companion in order to win the reward was Suraqah, the son of Malik. He, on receiving information that a party of four, had been spotted on a certain route, decided to pursue it secretly so that he alone should be the winner of the reward. He mounted a swift horse and went in hot pursuit of them. On the way the horse stumbled and he fell on the ground. On drawing a lot so as to divine whether he should continue the chase or not, as the Arabs used to do in such circumstances, he found the omens unpropitious. But the lust for material wealth blinded him altogether and he resumed the chase. Once more he met with the same fate but paid no heed to it. Again he jumped onto the saddle and galloped at a break-neck speed till he came quite close to the Prophet (Peace be upon him). Abu Bakr’s heart agitated and he kept looking back while the Prophet (Peace be upon him) remained steadfast and continued reciting verses of the Qur’ân.
The repeated stumbling of Suraqah’s horse and his falling off awakened him to the situation, and he realized that it was a constant warning of Allâh for his evil design which he contemplated against the Prophet (Peace be upon him). He approached the travelling group with a penitent heart and begged of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) forgiveness in all humility. He addressed the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his companion, saying: “Your people (the Quraishites) have promised a generous reward to anyone who captures you.” He added that he offered them provision but they declined his offer. They only asked him to screen off their departure and blind the polytheists to their hiding place. Then the Prophet (Peace be upon him) forgave him and confirmed it with a token written by ‘Amir bin Fuhairah on a piece of parchment. Suraqah hurried back to Makkah and tried to foil the attempts of those who were in pursuit of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his noble companions. The sworn enemy was converted into an honest believer.
In a version by Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him), he said: “We emigrated while the Makkans were in pursuit of us. None caught up with us except Suraqah bin Malik bin Ju‘sham on a horse. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allâh, this one has caught up with us.’ The Prophet (Peace be upon him) replied:

‘Don’t be cast down, verily, Allâh is with us.’”
The party continued its journey until it reached to solitary tents belonging to a woman called Umm Ma‘bad Al-Khuza‘iyah. She was a gracious lady who sat at her tent-door with a mat spread out for any chance traveller that might pass by the way. Fatigued and thirsty, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his companions wanted to refresh themselves with food and some milk. The lady told them that the flock was out in the pasture and the goat standing nearby was almost dry. It was a rainless year. The Prophet (Peace be upon him), with her permission, touched its udders, reciting over them the Name of Allâh, and to their great joy, there flowed plenty of milk out of them. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) first offered that to the lady of the house, and he shared what was left with the members of the party. Before he left, he milked the goat, filled the container and gave it to Umm Ma‘bad. Later on, her husband arrived with slender goats hardly having any milk in their udders. He was astonished to see milk in the house. His wife told him that a blessed man passed by the way, and then she gavedetails about his physical appearance and manner of talk. Here Abu Ma‘bad realized on the spot that the man was the one whom Quraish were searching for and asked her to give full description of him. She gave a wonderful account of his physique and manners, to which we will go in detail later in the process of talking about his attributes and merits.
Abu Ma‘bad, after listening to his wife’s account, expressed a sincere wish to accompany the Prophet (Peace be upon him) whenever that was possible, and reiterated his admiration in verses of poetry that echoed all over Makkah to such an extent that the people therein thought it was a jinn inculcating words in their ears. Asma’, daughter of Abu Bakr, on hearing those lines, got to know that the two companions were heading for Madinah . The short poem opened with thanks giving to Allâh having given them (the Ma‘bads) the chance to host the Prophet (Peace be upon him) for a while. It then gave an account of the bliss that would settle in the heart of the Prophet’s companion whosoever he was; it closed with an invitation to all mankind to come and see by themselves Umm Ma‘bad, her goat and the container of milk that would all testify to the truthfulness of the Prophet (Peace be upon him).
On his way to Madinah , the Prophet (Peace be upon him) met Abu Buraidah, one of those driven by their lust for the reward of Quraish. No sooner did he face the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and talk with him, than he embraced Islam along with seventy of his men. He took off his turban, tied it round his lance and took it as a banner bearing witness that the angel of security and peace had come to imbue the whole world with justice and fairness.
The two Emigrants resumed their journey. It was during this time that they met Az-Zubair at the head of a caravan returning from Syria. There was warm greeting and Az-Zubair presented to them two white garments which they thankfully accepted.
On Monday, 8th Rabi‘ Al-Awwal, the fourteenth year of Prophethood, i.e. September 23rd. 622, the Messenger of Allâh arrived at Quba’.

As soon as the news of Muhammad’s arrival began to spread, crowds came flocking out of Madinah . They would come every morning and wait eagerly for his appearance until forced by the unbearable heat of the midday sun to return. One day they had gone as usual, and after a long wait and watch they retired to the city when a Jew, catching a glimpse of three travellers clad in white winding their way to Madinah , shouted from the top of a hillock: “O you people of Arabia! Your grandfather has come! He, whom you have been eagerly waiting for, has come!” The Muslims immediately rushed holding their weapons, (to defend him). The joyful news soon spread through the city and people marched forward to greet their noble guest.

Ibn Al-Qayyim said: “The shouts of ‘Allâhu Akbar’ (Allâh is Great) resounded in Banu ‘Amr bin ‘Auf. Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) elation correspondingly increased, but with rare sense of timing and propriety, called a halt. Serenity enveloped him and the ñ evelation was sent down:

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