[1]<\/a> He had composed an ode in honor of the Prophet and wanted to recite it in the Prophet\u2019s presence. When Muhammad\u2019s enemies, the Quraysh, heard about this, they were terrified that their enemy\u2019s prestige would be signifi\u00adcantly enhanced by his being praised by so famous and popular a poet. So they intercepted al-Asha on his journey and politely asked him where he was headed.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cTo your relative, Muhammad,\u201d he said. \u201cI intend to accept Islam.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cOh no,\u201d they replied. \u201cYou don\u2019t really want to do that! Don\u2019t you realize that Muhammad will forbid you to do certain things that you like to do?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cLike what?\u201d al-Asha inquired.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cLike fornication,\u201d they said.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cOh,\u201d he replied. \u201cThat\u2019s no big deal. I haven\u2019t abandoned it, but it has certainly abandoned me! What else?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cGambling. Muhammad won\u2019t allow you to gamble.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s fine. Maybe he\u2019ll give me something that will compen\u00adsate me for the loss of gambling. What else?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cUsury. He won\u2019t permit you to lend money out at interest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019ve never borrowed or lent anyway. What else?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019ll drink water.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nSeeing that al-Asha couldn\u2019t be talked out of going to Muham\u00admad and accepting Islam, the representatives of Quraysh changed their approach. They offered him a hundred camels if he would simply go home and wait for a while, to see what the outcome would be of the struggle they were waging against Muhammad. If they won, which they had every intention of doing, there would soon enough be no Islam for him to accept and no danger if he did. And if they lost . . . well, they had no intention of losing.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI agree,\u201d said al-Asha.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cO Quraysh,\u201d cried the leader of the men, \u201cthis is al-Asha, and I promise you that if he becomes a follower of Muhammad he will inflame the Arabs against you by his poetry. Therefore, hurry and collect a hundred camels for him. It is a small enough price to pay!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nCamels, of course, were among the pre-Islamic Arabs\u2019 most val\u00adued possessions. They carried him, along with his family and his property. They gave him milk and, sometimes, meat. They were an emblem of his pride. Yet, threatened by the damage that a poet\u2019s words might do them, the Quraysh hastened to buy that poet off with a large herd of camels.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
[1]<\/a> A word about the name \u201cMuhammad\u201d: Over the years, it has been variously spelled by English writers. \u201cMahomet,\u201d \u201cMohammed,\u201d \u201cMuhammed,\u201d and even the disrespect\u00adful \u201cMahound\u201d are all forms of the same proper name. \u201cMuhammad,\u201d however, repre\u00adsents the Arabic most faithfully and is beginning to become the standard transliteration.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Jerusalem, Israel<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 A bit more from my manuscript on Islam for a Latter-day Saint audience: \u00a0 A couple of stories will make clear the power that poets were thought to enjoy [among the ancient, pre-Islamic Arabs]. The first concerns a man by the name of Maymun ibn Qays, who is generally known by the name […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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