Suppose that a government leader finds himself suddenly face to face with an enemy who aims his gun at him and says some threatening words. Suppose also that this leader is able to turn the tables against his opponent and get hold of his weapon: What do we think his reaction would be like? This is a situation the Prophet (peace be upon him) faced on more than one occasion. Jabir ibn Abdullah reports that he accompanied the Prophet on an expedition that went eastwards in the direction of Najd. He was also with him on the way back. They had been proceeding toward Madinah when it was time for rest and relaxation. They were passing through a valley with many trees. The Prophet encamped and his companions dispersed to rest in the shade under the trees. The Prophet went to rest under a tree and hanged his sword on it. We were soon all asleep. Suddenly, the Prophet called on us to come over to him. A Bedouin was with him. The Prophet said: “This man got hold of my sword when I was asleep, and I woke up to find him having drawn my sword. He said: ‘Who can protect you from me?’ I said ‘God’, three times.” The Prophet did not punish the man, but simply sat down. (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, Ahmad).
The least that can be said about the Bedouin’s behavior is that it was threatening. He had the Prophet’s sword in his hand, drawn out, and asking the Prophet who could protect him at such a moment. It is clear that the Bedouin had no good intention. This is also implied by Jabir’s final sentence that the Prophet did not punish the man. Had he not felt that the Bedouin’s behavior merited punishment, he would not have made this comment. But the Prophet did not have any intention to punish the man, because he wanted to soften his heart toward Islam.
This particular Hadith does not mention how the Prophet was able to turn the situation in his favor. It simply says that he called on his companions, but this was clearly done after the Prophet had managed to deal with the situation. By the time he called them, the Bedouin was sitting with him. In another Hadith Jabir gives more details about the incident itself. He mentions that the expedition was against the tribe of Muharib Khasafah. “At one point, they felt that the Muslims were vulnerable. One man came forward until he was standing over the Prophet’s head with the sword drawn in his hand. He said to him: ‘Who can protect you from me?’ The Prophet said: ‘God.’ The sword dropped from his hand. The Prophet took up the sword, and said to the man: ‘Who can protect you from me?’ The man said: ‘Be the best to overpower anyone.’ The Prophet said to him: ‘Will you declare that you believe that there is no deity other than God?’ The man said: ‘No. But I will never fight against you, and I will neither be with you nor with any people fighting against you.’ The Prophet let him go. When he joined his people, he said to them: ‘I have come back after having been with the best of all people.’” (Related by Al-Hakim).
The two Hadiths give us a full picture of the expedition and the incident. This was the expedition known as Dhat Al-Riqa’, because the going was very hard for the Muslims, as they traversed difficult terrain. They had to tie pieces of cloth over their feet to protect them from bleeding. Hence, when they found themselves going through a valley with trees, they felt they earned their rest, and they were soon sleeping under the trees. This left the Prophet unprotected. When the man held his sword over the Prophet’s head, he was not frightened. As he expressed his trust in God’s protection, the sword dropped to the ground. This is because the Prophet’s trust in God was complete. He entertained no doubt that he would come to no harm if God willed so. The immediate effect of such complete trust in God was the dropping of the sword from the man’s hand. This turned the situation in the Prophet’s favor, and he made it stark clear to the man by asking him the same question.
The Prophet then tested the man, asking him whether he would declare his belief in God’s oneness. The man was not yet ready. But he promised not to fight the Prophet or side with anyone who fought him. Thus he offered his own peace terms with the Prophet. This was acceptable and the Prophet let him go. He was so impressed with the Prophet’s generous treatment, realizing that no ordinary leader could be so magnanimous. Hence his remark to his own people, describing the Prophet as the best man he ever met.
The Prophet’s magnanimity is exemplary as he clearly demonstrates his consistent trait of never seeking personal revenge for any harm caused to him by anyone. In fact, when it came to personal injury, the Prophet did not nurse any grudge against anyone. We always see him ready to forgive any personal grievance, because he realized that paying back a bad turn with a similar one would not be in the best interests of his message. And he wanted his message to get across to all people.
We also see in this Hadith how the principle of freedom of belief works in practice. The Prophet could have insisted on the man declaring his belief in God’s oneness, and the man most probably would have done so if he felt that his life depended on it. But the Prophet understood the Qur’anic principle: “No compulsion is admissible in matters of religion.” The man clearly declared his refusal to believe, but offered to be at peace with the Prophet and the Muslim community. This is good enough from anyone, and Islam does not ask anybody more than this.
