38 No god but God
used to hearing the gods speak in poetry, which elevated their lan-
guage to the realm of the divine. But much later, when Muhammad’s
message began to clash with the Meccan élite, his enemies would seize
upon the similarities between the oracles of the Kahin and Muham-
mad’s recitations, asking mockingly: “Should we abandon our gods for
the sake of an insane poet?” (37:36).
The fact that there are dozens of verses in the Quran refuting the
accusation that Muhammad was a Kahin indicates how important the
issue was for the early Muslim community. As Muhammad’s move-
ment expanded throughout the region, the Revelation gradually
became more prosaic and ceased to resemble the oracular style of the
early verses. However, in the beginning, Muhammad knew exactly
what would be said of him, and the thought of being considered a
Kahin by his contemporaries was enough to bring him to the edge of
suicide.
Eventually God relieved Muhammad’s anxiety by assuring him of
his sanity. But it is safe to say that if it were not for Khadija, Muham-
mad might have gone through with his plan to end it all, and history
would have turned out quite differently.
“By her, God lightened the burden of His prophet,” Ibn Hisham
writes of the remarkable Khadija. “May God Almighty have mercy
upon her!”
Still frightened and trembling from the experience in the cave,
Muhammad made his way back home, where he crawled to his wife’s
side, crying “Wrap me up! Wrap me up!”
Khadija immediately threw a cloak over him and held him tightly
in her arms until the trembling and convulsions stopped. Once he had
calmed, Muhammad wept openly as he tried to explain what had hap-
pened to him. “Khadija,” he said, “I think that I have gone mad.”
“This cannot be, my dear,” Khadija replied, stroking his hair.
“God would not treat you thus since He knows your truthfulness,
your great trustworthiness, your fine character, and your kindness.”
But because Muhammad remained inconsolable, Khadija gath-
ered her garments about her and sought out the only person she knew
who would understand what had happened to her husband: her Chris-
tian cousin, Waraqa, the same Waraqa who had been one of the orig-