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5. The Rightly Guided Ones
THE SUCCESSORS TO MUHAMMADA STIRRING AT THE rear of the congregation, and every head
turns to see Muhammad emerge from Aisha’s apartment to stand in
the courtyard of the mosque just as the Friday prayers begin. It has
been some time since anyone has seen him out of doors. Rumors
about his health have been circulating throughout Medina for weeks.
During his long absence, Abu Bakr has been leading the Friday ser-
vices, while the rest of the Companions have kept busy leading expe-
ditions, managing the state, dispensing the tithes, and instructing new
converts in the ethics and rituals of the Muslim faith. No one would
give voice to what everyone was thinking: the Messenger is dying; he
may already be dead.
The year is 632 C.E. Two years have passed since Muhammad
walked triumphantly into Mecca and cleansed the Ka‘ba in the name
of the one God. At that time, he was a robust man at the peak of
his political and spiritual power, unquestionably the most dominant