22. THE QUR’ĀN’S PROPHECY (2)

When the verse وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ (الشعراء : ۲۱٤) “And admonish thy nearest kinsmen“97 was revealed the Prophet gathered his kinsmen and said to them: “If I tell you that a horseman in the valley is going to attack you, will you believe me?” They said: “Yes, for we have never found you lying.” “Well,” said the Prophet, “I am warning you of an impending punishment.” He asked them to follow him and become Muslims. But his uncle Abu Lahab threw stone at him and said; “May you perish the whole day, O Muhammad! Are you gathering us just to tell us this?” He told people that the Prophet was a liar and that they should not believe him. Then Allah revealed Surat al-Masad (Qur’ān, chapter 111) as follows:
تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ. مَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُ مَالُهُ
وَمَا كَسَبَ. سَيَصْلَى نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ. وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ
الْحَطَبِ. فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِنْ مَسَدٍ.
(اللهب:۱-٥)
“Perish the hands of the Father of Flame! Perish he! No
profit to him from all his wealth, and all his gains! Burnt
soon will he be in a fire of blazing flame! His wife shall
carry the (crackling) wood—as fuel—A twisted rope
of palm-leaf fibre round her (own) neck!” 98
This is one of many examples in the verses of the Qur’ān which speak profusely about various events which came true in later times.
We see from Islamic history that many archenemies of the Prophet changed into staunch supporters of Islam. Such persons deserved to be forgiven and rewarded, such as Khālid b. Walīd who fought the Prophet in the battle of Uh.ud, and ‘Umar who had even wanted to kill the Prophet. Abū Lahab, the nickname of the Prophet’s uncle ‘Abd al-‘Uzzā (lit. “servant of the idol ‘Uzzā”) was singled out. The Qur’ān had passed its judgement on him, and so he died accursed a week after the battle of Badr. He is the only enemy of the Prophet mentioned by name in the Qur’ān. Allah did not care whether a man was the Prophet’s own uncle or not.
Strangely enough, Abū Lahab had loved the Prophet when he was still young. He freed the slave-girl who reported to him the birth of the Prophet. The Prophet and his uncle Abū Lahab were neighbours, and earlier, before Muhammad became a prophet, his uncle’s son ‘Atabah and ‘Utaybah married his daughters Ruqayyah and Umm Kalthūm. After the prophetic mission, they became divorced. Ruqayyah married to ‘Uthmān, and when she died he married Umm Kalthūm.
As promised in the Qur’ān, the Prophet remained under divine protection against the innumerable dangers that threatened him from all quarters. The verse runs as follows:
وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ (المائدة: ٦٧)
“And Allah will defend thee from men
(who mean mischief)”99
By this verse, the Prophet had been protected against assassination. The promised was fulfilled, for he died in his bed at the age of 63 among his family, in spite of the numerous plots against his life and the 23 years he spent in continuous armed conflict.
Other Qur’ānic verses promised the protection of the Qur’ān itself against loss and dispersion; this promised was fulfilled. Allah said in the Qur’ān:
لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهِ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهِ. إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآَنَهُ.
(القيامة:۱٦-‍‍ ۱٧).
“Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur’ān) to make
haste therewith. It is for Us to collect it and to recite it.” 100
Allah also reassures:
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ (الحجر: ٩).
“We have, without doubt, sent down the message;and
We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).” 101
The Prophet had a vision that he and his companions entered the Holy Mosque at Mecca where they circumambulated the Ka‘bah, shaved and cut their hair. As we know, prophets’ visions are true visions. But when they tried to enter the Holy City, they were stopped by the Meccan infidels at H...udaybiyyah in 6 A.H. In order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed the Prophet signed the Treaty of H...udaybiyyah and postponed his pilgrimage to the next year. Some people started doubting the vision of the Prophet, saying: “We have neither shaved nor cut our hair, not even seen the Ka’bah. Where is, then, the vision?” Then Allah revealed the following verse:
لَقَدْ صَدَقَ اللَّهُ رَسُولَهُ الرُّؤْيَا بِالْحَقِّ لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ
الْحَرَامَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ آَمِنِينَ مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ لَا تَخَافُونَ
فَعَلِمَ مَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا فَجَعَلَ مِنْ دُونِ ذَلِكَ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا
(الفتح: ‌۲٧)
“Truly did Allah fulfil the vision for His Messenger;
ye shall enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, with
minds secure, heads shaved, hair cut short, and without
fear. For He knew what ye knew not, and He
granted, beside this, a speedy victory.”102
Again this prophecy came true when the Muslims set out for Mecca with the objective of performing pilgrimage without difficulty in 7 A.H. Among them was Walīd Jr., Khālid’s brother. During his stay in Mecca, Walīd looked for his brother. He could not find him, so he wrote him a letter. The letter said: “It is so strange that you do not know the truthfulness of Islam. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, asked me about you and said: ‘Where is Khālid?’ I told him, ‘Allah will bring him.’”
After reading the letter Khālid went to Madinah to see the Prophet and embraced Islam. The Prophet said to him,
“Praise be to Allah Who has guided you. I know you are a bright man.”
“O Messenger of Allah,” said Khālid, “pray to Allah that He may forgive me for what I did against you. I did not know any better.”
“Islam washes away the sins done before becoming a Muslim,” said the Prophet. “O Allah, forgive Khālid for what he did.”
In the same year, 8 A.H., a year after he received his brother’s letter inviting him to Islam, Khālid became a general of his former enemy, one of the leaders of the Muslim army that conquered Mecca, the conquest that had been prophesized by the Qur’ān.
At the fare-well pilgrimage in 10 A.H. the Prophet recited to the Muslims the last Qur’ānic verses revealed to him, as follows:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ
نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينً
(المائدة: ٣)
“This day I have perfected your religion for you,
completed my favour upon you, and have
chosen for you Islam as your religion.” 103
This verse had, in fact, been a prophecy of the end of the Prophet’s message. A year after making this announcement, the Prophet left the wordily life, after discharging the Trust and delivering the Message. He died on Monday 12 Rabī‘ al-Awwal 11 A.H., the same day and date where he had been born 63 years before.

Footnotes:
97. Qur’ān, al-Shu‘arā’ [26]:214
98. Qur’ān, al-Masad [111]:1-5
99. Qur’ān [5]:67
100. Qur’ān, al-Qiyāmah [75]:16-17
101. Qur’ān, al-H...ijr ]15]:9
102. Qur’ān, al-Fath. [48]:27
103. Qur’ān, al-Mā’idah [5]:3