Saturday, February 27, 2010

How it all begin (15)

Muhammad (pbuh) was very happy, because he greatly respected Khadijah. He went with his uncles, Abu Talib and Hamzah, to Khadijah's uncle, and asked his permission to marry her. The uncle gave his permission and soon after, Muhammad (pbuh) and Khadijah were married.
Their marriage was a joyful one and Muhammad (pbuh) and Khadijah were well suited. Their life together, however, was not without some sadness. They were blessed with six children, two sons and four daughters. Sadly their first born, a son called Qasim, died shortly before his second birthday, and their last child, also a son, only lived for a short time. Happily, their four daughters-Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah-all survived.
For a few years Muhammad (pbuh) lived a calm and quiet life as a merchant in Mecca. His wisdom benefited many people. One such time was when Quraysh decided to rebuild the Ka'bah. It was a difficult decision for them because they had to knock it down before rebuilding it and the people were afraid that Allah might be angry with them for knocking down His sanctuary.

t last one of the wise old men of Quraysh decided to begin, then everybody followed him. They worked until they reached down to the first foundation that Abraham had built. As soon as they began to remove the stones of this foundation, however, the whole of Mecca began to shake.
They were so afraid that they decided to leave these stones where they were and build on top of them. Each tribe brought stones and they built the Ka'bah up until they reached the place where the black stone was to be set. They then began to argue about who should have the honor of carrying the black stone and lifting it to its place in one of the corners of the Ka'bah.
They almost came to blows but fortunately one of the men offered a solution. He suggested that they should be guided by the first person to enter the place of worship. They all agreed and as Muhammad (pbuh) was the first to enter everyone was pleased, because they all trusted him.


They told him the cause of the argument and he asked them to bring a large cloak. They did as he asked, and after spreading the cloak on the ground he placed the black stone in the centre of it. Then he asked a man from each tribe to hold one edge of the cloak and together to raise it to the height where the stone should be set. When this was done, he took the stone off the cloak and put it into place himself. This story shows how all Quraysh respected and trusted Muhammad (pbuh) and how, by his wisdom and good sense, he was able to keep the peace.

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