The Rightly Guided Ones 109friend to remain seated and continue with the service. The prayers
resume, and Muhammad finds a quiet corner in which to sit down. He
wraps his cloak tightly around his body and watches his community
pray together in the manner he had taught them to so many years ago:
moving as one body and speaking with one voice.
He does not stay long. Before the congregation disperses,
Muhammad stands and quietly makes his way out of the mosque and
back to Aisha’s room, where he collapses on the bed. Even this short
trip to the mosque has weakened him. He has trouble catching his
breath. He calls for his beloved wife.
When Aisha finally arrives, Muhammad is barely conscious. She
quickly clears the room of people and drapes the doors for privacy.
She sits beside her husband and places his head on her lap, gently
stroking his long hair, whispering soothing words to him as his eyes
flicker, then slowly close.
News of Muhammad’s death spreads rapidly through Medina. For
most, it is inconceivable that the Messenger of God could have died.
Umar, for one, refuses to believe it. He is so distraught that he immedi-
ately runs to the mosque, where the community has gathered for news,
and threatens to pummel anyone who dares say Muhammad is dead.
It is up to Abu Bakr to calm the situation. After seeing Muham-
mad’s corpse with his own eyes, he too goes to the mosque. There, he
sees Umar rambling incoherently about the Prophet still being alive.
He only appears to be dead, Umar bellows. He has been taken to
heaven, like Moses; he will return shortly.
“Gently, Umar,” Abu Bakr says, stepping to the front of the
mosque. “Be quiet!”
But Umar will not be silenced. In a firm voice, he warns those who
have accepted Muhammad’s death that they will have their hands and
feet cut off for their disloyalty when the Prophet returns from heaven.
Finally, Abu Bakr can take no more. He raises his hands over the
congregation and shouts over Umar, “O men, if anyone worships
Muhammad, Muhammad is dead; if anyone worships God, God is
alive, immortal!”
When Umar hears these words, he crumples to the ground and
weeps.
* * *