5. Would you like to meet him outside the institution? (cont.)

Abu Sufyan asked him repeatedly, but Allah’s Messenger refused to give him any response. Abu Sufyan then left Allah’s Messenger and went to Abu Bakr. He said, “Please, intercede on my behalf with Muhammad. Ask him to renew the treaty and increase the duration, or defend me and my people!” Abu Bakr replied, “I am with the Messenger of Allah . I will not defend anyone against him. As for my view, then by Allah, if I were to find small ants fighting against you, then I would help them in their fight!” Abu Sufyan left Abu Bakr disappointed and went to ‘Umar bin al-Khattab to speak to him about the issue. ‘Umar said in response, “You want me to intercede for you with the Messenger of Allah? Never! Rather, whatever new there was in the treaty, Allah has already caused it to expire, and whatever originally existed in the treaty, Allah has cancelled it, and whatever of the treaty was violated, then may Allah never undo the violation!” When Abu Sufyan heard this, his complexion changed and he Charity before consultation felt humiliated, as if he had been slapped. Abu Sufyan left ‘Umar thinking he had been betrayed by his relative. When he had lost hope in those whom he had just visited, he turned to ‘Ali – may Allah be pleased with him –and said, “Dear ‘Ali, you are the closest of them to me in terms of relations. Please, intercede for me with Allah’s Messenger.” ‘Ali said in response, “O Abu Sufyan, none of the Companions of Allah’s Messenger has the ability to protect anyone from him!” Meaning, no one is able to protect someone when Allah’s Messenger has already decided to fight or punish him, since he does not speak whimsically. ‘Ali continued, “You are the leader of Quraysh and the most noble of them. You are very capable of protecting yourself, so protect yourself and your family.” Meaning, shout out to the people that I give protection to myself, and then go back to where you came from! Abu Sufyan said, “Do you think this would be of any benefit to me?” ‘Ali replied, “No, but this is just my opinion.” Thus, Abu Sufyan went out and shouted, “I have given myself protection amongst the people! By Allah, I do not think I need anyone to guard me!” He then mounted his camel and set off for Makkah. When he met with the Quraysh, they asked him, “What happened? Did you come with any kind of agreement or treaty with Muhammad?” He said, “No, by Allah, he refused to respond to me. I tried to speak to his followers but I have never seen a people as obedient to their king as they were to their leader! I went to Muhammad Charity before consultation and spoke to him, and by Allah, he wouldn’t answer. I then approached Ibn Abi Quhafah, and by Allah I did not find any good in him. I then went to ‘Umar and found him to be an avowed enemy. I then went to ‘Ali and found him to be the gentlest of all of them. He asked me to do something, and I complied, but I do not know if it will be of any benefit to me or not!” They said, “What did he ask you to do?” He said, “He asked me to give myself protection openly in public, and I complied.” They said, “Did Muhammad accept that?” Meaning, did Muhammad acknowledge the protection you gave to yourself and order his followers to respect that? He said, “No.” They said, “Woe be to you! He did no more than play with you! None of what you have said is of any benefit to us!” He said, “By Allah, I could not have done any more than this.” Abu Sufyan was overcome by grief. He visited his wife and informed her of what had happened. She said, “May Allah disfigure the face of this feeble envoy! You haven’t come with any good news!” It wasn’t long after that Allah’s Messenger entered Makkah as a conqueror. A gesture is enough to understand... A large morsel of food requires much chewing before swallowing. Charity before consultation (90) It is not important to always be successful Fahd was once with his friend, who was very proud and arrogant, in a remote desert when suddenly their eyes fell on something black on the ground. The blowing wind would sometimes conceal it and then it would become visible again. Fahd turned to his friend and said, “Any idea what this is?” The friend said, “It is a black goat!” Fahd said, “I think it is a crow.” The friend said, “I am telling you, it is a goat.” Fahd said, “OK, let’s get closer and see what it is.” As they came closer, their eyes became more focused on the object, until it became clear that it was a crow.