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

What did he do? He went to Zuhayr bin Abi Umayyah, whose mother was ‘Atika bint ‘Abd al-Muttalib, and said, “O Zuhayr, are you pleased that you are able to eat food, wear clothes and marry women, whilst your maternal uncles are in a state you are aware of? They cannot be traded with nor be married into? I swear by Allah, if they were the maternal uncles of Abul-Hakam bin Hisham…” – i.e. Abu Jahl, who was the most severe in his enmity towards the believers and a staunch supporter of the declaration – “…he would not have left them in this state!” Zuhayr said, “Woe be to you, O Hisham! What can I do? I am only one man. By Allah, if I had another man with me, I would have stood up to reverse it.” Hisham said, “Well, you have found a man.” “Who is it?” asked Zuhayr. “Myself,” replied Hisham. Untie the bundle Zuhayr said, “We need a third person.” Hisham said, “OK, but please conceal my affair.” Thus he went to al-Mut’im bin ‘Adiy, who was an intelligent person, and said to him, “O Mut’im, are you pleased that two families from Banu ‘Abd Manaf perish, whilst you are not only a witness but also in agreement with Quraysh over this?” Al-Mut’im said, “Woe be to you! What can I do? I am only one man.” Hisham replied, “I have found a second person for you.” “Who is this person?” al-Mut’im asked. “It is I,” Hisham replied. Al-Mut’im said, “We would need a third person.” Hisham said, “I have already found one.” Al-Mut’im asked, “Who is it?” “Zuhayr bin Abi Umayyah,” Hisham replied. Al-Mut’im said, “We want a fourth person.” Hisham said, “Alright, but please conceal my affair.” Hisham then went to Abul-Bakhtari bin Hisham and said to him what he had said to his friends earlier. Abul-Bakhtari became eager and asked, “Have you found anyone to help you in this?” “Yes,” Hisham replied. “Who is it?” Abul-Bukhtari asked. “Zuhayr bin Abi Umayyah, al-Mut’im bin ‘Adiy and I, we are all with you,” replied Hisham. Untie the bundle Abul-Bakhtari said, “We will need a fifth person.” Thereupon, Hisham went to Zam’ah bin al-Aswad. He spoke to him and reminded him of his relationship and their rights over him. Zam’ah said to him, “Is there anyone else with you on this?” He replied, “Yes. So-and-so…” They then all agreed with this opinion and decided to hold a meeting at ‘Hatm al-Hujun’ at night at the highest part of Makkah. They gathered there and agreed to stand up against the declaration and get it reversed. Zuhayr said, “I will start by speaking first, and then you can stand up to speak one-by-one.” In the morning, they went to their gatherings in front of the Ka’bah, where people would meet up to trade. Zuhayr bin Abi Umayyah went forth, dressed in a robe, made seven rounds around the Ka’bah, then turned to the people and said in a loud voice, “O People of Makkah! Do we eat food and wear clothes, whilst Banu Hashim are perishing? They are not able to buy or sell! By Allah, I will not sit until this oppressive declaration is torn apart!” Upon hearing this, Abu Jahl – who was sitting with his companions – screamed and said, “You have lied! By Allah, it will not be torn apart!” Then Za’mah bin al-Aswad stood up and said in loud voice, “Rather, you are – by Allah – guiltier of lying! We were not pleased at the declaration when it was written.” Abu Jahl turned to him to respond, but suddenly, al-Bakhtari Untie the bundle also stood up and said, “Za’mah is right. We are not pleased with the declaration nor do we agree with it.” Abu Jahl then turned to al-Bakhtari, only to see al-Mut’im bin ‘Adiy blaring, “The two of you have spoken the truth and whoever says otherwise has lied! We free ourselves in front of Allah from this declaration and whatever is written therein!” Then Hisham bin ‘Amr stood up and said the same. Abu Jahl became surprised. He stood silently for a while and then said, “This was planned overnight and decided elsewhere.” Al-Mut’im bin ‘Adiy then went to the Ka’bah to tear up the declaration, only to find it already eaten up by an insect.The only words written therein were, “In your Name, O Allah!” Be clever… The experienced doctor feels the body with his hands and only then chooses an appropriate place to inject the needle. Untie the bundle (45) Self torture One of the most memorable moments in my life was once when we went out into the desert. With us was our friend Abu Khalid whose eyesight was very weak. We would serve him and give him water, dates and coffee, whilst he would insist, “I must help you. I want to work with you. Give me something to do,” Meanwhile, we would all forbid him from doing anything.