150 THE MADINA PERIOD

Many of the Meccans mocked, and then a revelation came to show that by nature all men are equal, and that in the sight of God noble birth and pride of race or rank is of little worth as compared with the fear of the Lord. The Quraish are rebuked in:—

O men! Verily we have created you of a male and a female; and we have divided you into peoples and tribes that ye might have knowledge one of another. Truly, the most worthy of honour in the sight of God is he who feareth Him most. Sura Al-Hujurat (xlix) 14.1

In reply to a question asking the Meccans what they thought of him, Muhammad received the answer from some of them, 'we think well of thee, O noble brother and son of a noble brother. Verily thou hast obtained power over us.' Referring to the Sura Yusuf (xii) the Prophet quoted the words in the ninety-second verse, which were said by Joseph to his brethren:—

No blame be on you this day. God will forgive you for He is the most merciful of those who show mercy.2 Sura Yusuf (xii) 92.

With a few exceptions, 3 mostly of those who, it must be admitted, deserved their fate, a general
1 For a full account of the special circumstances which now called forth this revelation, see Khalasatu't-Tafasir, vol. iv, pp. 269-72.
2 Raudatu's-Safa, part ii, vol. ii, p. 602.
3 About ten persons were excluded from the amnesty, of whom four were put to death. Amongst the number thus excluded was 'Abdu'llah ibn Sa'd, who was for some time the amanuensis of the Prophet at Madina. It is related that one day the Prophet was dictating to him the passage concerning the creation of mankind in Sura (xxiii) 12-14, the last words of which are 'Blessed, therefore, be God, the most excellent of Makers.' These words were spoken by 'Abdu'llah ibn Sa'd in astonishment, but the Prophet was so pleased with them that he said, ' write them down, for so it has descended.' 'Abdu'llah had doubts about this and said, ' If
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TRIUMPH OF MUHAMMAD 151

amnesty extended to all the inhabitants of the city. The result was that the Prophet soon won the hearts of the people. There were no Munafiqun in Mecca as there had been in Madina. It was a day of great triumph to Muhammad, for now had 'the mercy' of God come upon them.1 Eight years before he had left Mecca as a fugitive, a despised outcast. Since then the Quraish had been unwearing in their opposition and now that was at an end. The sacred city was in his possession and his word was law. He had stood in the temple, sacred for many centuries to the worship of al-Lat and al-'Uzza and a host of inferior deities, and with a word had banished for ever idolatry from it. He by his own authority had now appointed new officers to it, and made it the centre of the new religion. No wonder that success so great caused Islam to
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Muhammad is right, on me also has inspiration descended.' Husain is the authority for this statement which he gives in the following passage:—
حضرت رسالت بناة كفت بنويس كة همجنين نازل شدة عبد الله در شكت انتاد مرتد كشت كفت اكر محمد صادقست بس بر من هم وحى فرود مى آيد
Tafsir-i-Husaini, vol. ii, p. 80.
The Prophet was very indignant at this, and this verse, which Baidawi says refers to the action of 'Abdu'llah ibn Sa'd, was revealed concerning it:—

Is any man more wicked than he who deviseth a lie or saith, 'I have a revelation,' when nothing was revealed to Him? and who saith, 'I can bring down a book like that which God hath sent down.' Sura Al-An'am (vi) 93.

This verse occurs in a late Meccan Sura, but the event it refers to happened in Madina, so it is evident that it is an interpolation in the place it now occupies, for which no other reason can be assigned than that the preceding verse deals with the superiority of the Qur'an over other Scriptures. Another curious thing is, that in it a man is condemned who claimed to produce a verse equal to Muhammad's and yet the Prophet himself had challenged men to do so. Did Muhammad mean the challenge to be accepted or not?
1 Baidawi says that the words 'fulfilled my mercy upon you' in Sura Al-Ma'idah (v) 5 may refer to this victory.