The Life of Muhammad ﷺ Chapter 4: The Recovery of a Loss (2021-12-14) ​

0:00:01 i continue to read from muhammad his
0:00:04 life based on the earliest sources by
0:00:07 martin lings
0:00:15 chapter 4 the recovery of a loss
0:00:20 adjoining the north west side of the
0:00:23 kaaba there is a small precinct
0:00:25 surrounded by a low semicircular wall
0:00:30 the two ends of the wall stop short of
0:00:32 the north and west corners of the house
0:00:35 leaving a passage for pilgrims
0:00:39 but many pilgrims make wide their circle
0:00:41 at this point and include the precinct
0:00:44 within their orbit
0:00:46 passing round the outside of the low
0:00:49 wall
0:00:51 the space within it is named hija
0:00:54 ishmael because the tombs of ishmael and
0:00:57 hagar lie beneath the stones which pave
0:01:00 it
0:01:03 so loved to be near the kaaba that he
0:01:06 would sometimes order a couch to be
0:01:08 spread for him in the hijra
0:01:11 and one night when he was sleeping there
0:01:14 a shadowy figure came to him in a vision
0:01:17 and said
0:01:19 dig sweet clarity
0:01:22 what is sweet clarity he asked but the
0:01:24 speaker vanished
0:01:27 he nonetheless felt such happiness and
0:01:30 peace of soul when he woke that he
0:01:33 determined to spend the next night in
0:01:35 the same place
0:01:38 the visitant returned and said
0:01:40 dig beneficence
0:01:43 but again his question received no
0:01:45 answer
0:01:47 the third night he used he was told
0:01:50 dig the treasured horde
0:01:52 and yet again the speaker vanished at
0:01:54 his questioning
0:01:57 but the fourth night the command was
0:02:00 dig zamzam
0:02:02 and this time when he said what is
0:02:04 zamzam the speaker said
0:02:08 dig her thou shalt not regret
0:02:12 for she is thine inheritance from my
0:02:15 greatest ancestor
0:02:18 dry she never will
0:02:20 nor fail to water all the pilgrim throng
0:02:26 then the speaker told him to look for a
0:02:28 place where there was blood and dung an
0:02:32 ants nest and pecking
0:02:34 ravens finally he was told to pray for
0:02:38 clear full flowing water that will water
0:02:41 god's pilgrims throughout their
0:02:44 pilgrimage
0:02:46 when dawn was breaking abd al-muttalib
0:02:50 left rose and left the hija at the north
0:02:53 corner of the holy house which is called
0:02:55 the iraqi corner
0:02:57 then he walked along the north east wall
0:03:00 at the other end of which is the door of
0:03:03 the kaaba
0:03:04 and passing this he stopped a few feet
0:03:08 beyond it at the east corner where he
0:03:11 reverently kissed the black stone
0:03:14 from there he began the right of the
0:03:17 rounds going back past the door to the
0:03:20 iraqi corner across the hija to the west
0:03:23 corner the syrian corner and thence to
0:03:26 the yemenite corner which is towards the
0:03:29 south
0:03:31 the children of abraham are like the
0:03:34 lines of ishmael and isaac
0:03:36 go round their sanctuaries with a
0:03:38 movement opposite to that of the sun
0:03:43 as he walked from the yemenite corner to
0:03:45 the black stone he could see the dark
0:03:48 slope of abu kubais
0:03:51 and beyond it the further eastern hills
0:03:54 sharply outlined against the yellow
0:03:57 light
0:03:58 seven times he went the round and each
0:04:01 time the light appreciably brighter
0:04:05 for in arabia the dawns and the dusks
0:04:08 are brief
0:04:10 having fulfilled the right he went from
0:04:12 the black stone to the door and
0:04:15 taking hold of the metal ring which hung
0:04:18 from the lock
0:04:19 he prayed the prayer which he had been
0:04:21 told to pray
0:04:25 there was a sound of wings and a bird
0:04:28 alighted in the sand behind him
0:04:31 then another bird alighted and having
0:04:33 finished his supplication he turned and
0:04:36 watched them strut with their raven's
0:04:39 gate towards the two statuesque rocks
0:04:43 which had which were about a hundred
0:04:46 yards away almost opposite the door
0:04:50 these had been adopted as idols
0:04:54 and it was between them that the quraish
0:04:56 sacrificed their victims
0:04:59 abdal muttalib knew well as did the
0:05:02 ravens that there was always blood in
0:05:05 the sand at that place
0:05:08 there was also dung
0:05:10 and going up to it he now saw that there
0:05:13 was an ants nest
0:05:16 he went to his house and took two
0:05:18 pickaxes one of which were his was for
0:05:22 his son harith whom he brought with him
0:05:24 to the place where he knew that he must
0:05:28 dig
0:05:29 the thud of the talls in the sand and
0:05:32 the unusual sight for the courtyard
0:05:35 could be seen from all sides
0:05:37 soon attracted a crowd
0:05:40 and despite the respect generally felt
0:05:43 for abd al mutalib it was not long
0:05:46 before some of them protested that it
0:05:49 was sacrilege to dig at the place of
0:05:52 sacrifice between the idols and that he
0:05:55 must stop
0:05:58 he said he would not
0:06:01 and told harith to stand by him and see
0:06:04 that no one interfered with his digging
0:06:08 it was a tense moment and the outcome
0:06:12 could have been unpleasant
0:06:15 but the two hashemites were determined
0:06:17 and united whereas the onlookers have
0:06:21 been taken by surprise
0:06:24 nor did these idols issaf and na ila
0:06:28 hold a high rank among the idols of
0:06:31 mecca
0:06:32 and some even said that they were a
0:06:35 jerunite man and woman who had been
0:06:37 turned to stone for profaning the kaaba
0:06:42 so abd al-muttalib continued to dig
0:06:45 without any actual move been made to
0:06:48 stop him
0:06:49 and some of the people were already
0:06:52 leaving the sanctuary
0:06:53 when
0:06:54 suddenly he struck the wells stone
0:06:58 covering and uttered a cry of
0:07:01 thanksgiving to god
0:07:04 the crowd reassembled and increased and
0:07:07 when he began to dig out the treasure
0:07:10 which jerhum had buried there
0:07:12 everyone claimed the right to a share of
0:07:15 it
0:07:16 abd al-mutaleb agreed that lots should
0:07:19 be cast for each object
0:07:22 as to whether it should be kept in the
0:07:24 sanctuary
0:07:25 or go with him personally or be divided
0:07:28 amongst the tribe
0:07:31 this had become the recognized way of
0:07:34 deciding an issue of doubt
0:07:37 and it was done by means of divining
0:07:39 arrows inside the kaaba
0:07:42 in front of the moabite idol hubal
0:07:46 in this instance some of the treasure
0:07:49 went to the kaaba and some to abd
0:07:52 al-muttalib
0:07:53 but none of it to the croatia in general
0:07:58 it was also agreed that the clan of
0:08:00 hashim should have charge of zamzam
0:08:04 itself
0:08:05 since in any case it was their function
0:08:08 to water the pilgrims
0:08:12 that was chapter four the recovery of a
0:08:15 loss
0:08:16 till next time