Tufayl ibn `Amr Ad-Dawsi: Prophet Muhammad as I Knew Him

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By Editorial Staff

The problem of the general majority of non-Muslims with Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is briefed in the following story whose hero is a non-Muslim who became one of the greatest companions. He is Tufayl ibn `Amr Ad-Dawsi, the chief of the Daws tribe. He was an eloquent poet and a respected person among his people. Once, he went on a journey to Makkah during the occurrence of Islam’s call at the hands of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

At-Tufayl said, “As soon as I came to Makkah, I was generously received by the chiefs of Quraish, and was extravagantly honored by them. Soon after my arrival, they all came to me together and said, ‘Tufayl, you are a visitor to our city so let us give you our news. A man named Muhammad ibn `Abdullah has been pretending to be a Prophet of Allah. He has left from under our authority and is trying to split our community. We are afraid he will do to you and to the chiefs of your tribe what he has done to us. If you run into him while you are here, don’t talk to him, and don’t listen to anything he has to say, because when he speaks he is like a sorcerer.’

By Allah, they went on telling me about his “sorcery,” scaring me so much that I decided not to approach that man, or talk to him, or listen to him. The next morning I went to make Tawaf around the Ka`bah, to glorify the idols we used to worship. I put cotton in my ears so that not a word of Muhammad’s teachings would reach my hearing. But as soon as I got into the sacred area I found the Prophet (peace be upon him) standing in front of the Ka`bah, making a prayer that didn’t look like the ways of our traditions. I was much taken by this scene. I found myself walking nearer and nearer to him until I was quite close to him, despite my will. It was the will of Allah that I should hear some of what he was saying -it was so beautiful that I told myself, “Woe to you, Tufayl! You are an intelligent poet; you are able to differentiate the good from the bad. Why don’t you listen to the man? If what he says is good, accept it, and if it’s bad, reject it!’

I stood there until the Prophet (peace be upon him) left for his house. I followed him. When he entered the house, I followed him in and said, ‘Muhammad, your people told me many bad things about you. They scared me so much that I put cotton in my ears to prevent myself from hearing you. But the will of Allah let me hear your speech and I found it good. So, please explain to me what this is all about.’

He explained it to me and read Surat Al-Ikhlas and Surah Al-Falaq. I swear, I’ve never heard anything better than that nor have I met someone more fair on this earth. On the spot, I gave him my hand and pronounced the testimony of faith that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger, and I became a Muslim.” (Siyar A`laam An-Nubalaa’ by Imam Adh-Dhahabi)[1]

The story shows us a technique of the media war waged against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during the early days of his call. The chieftains of Arab tribes would ask their people not to listen or meet the Prophet Muhammad because he is a sorcerer, liar, troublemaker, etc. or a terrorist as they claim today despite the fact that Muhammad is completely free of all of this. He was a rational person who sewed peace, love, good neighborhood, and noble manners and combated idolism, ignorance, misguidance and aberration. The same conditions of At-Tufayl are true for the current reality as people are now influenced by media makers who spread false rumors about Islam and its Prophet day and night and manipulate the minds of people in fabricated and unjust course of knowledge.

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Footnotes:

[1] See Al-Alukah.net

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