Trial!, E/u'(J/ion, I1nd Hops^69
o f suange tribes? Not only did they refuse to discuss the matter, but they
mobilized the population against rum: as he was leaving, insults followed
him and children threw stones at him. More and more people gathered
and jeered at him as he passed; he fmally had to seek refuge in an orchard
in order to escape rus pursuers. Alone, having found no protection among
his fellow human beings, he turned toward the One and prayed:
o God, to You alone I complain of my weakness, the meagerness of my
resources and my insignificance before men. 0 Mos t Merciful of the
[\·1crciful, You are the Lord of the weak and You are my Lord [Robb,
"EducatOr"j. Into whose hands do You entrust me? To some remOte
stranger who will ill-treat me? Or to an enemy to whom You have granted
authority over my affairs? I harbor no fear so long as You are not angry
with me. Yet Your gracious support would open a broader way and a wider
horizon for me! I seek refuge in the light of Your face, by which all dark-
ness is illuminated and the things of this world and the next are set aright,
so that I do not incur Your anger and am not touched by Your wrath.
Nevertheless, it is Your prerogative to admonish as long as You are not sat-
isfied. There is no power nor strength but in You.^8It was toward the One, his Protector and Confidant, that he turned
when there appeared to be no way out. His questions did not express
doubt abom his mission, but it clearly voiced his helplessness as a human
being as well as his ignorance of God's purposes. At that particular
moment, away from other people, in the solitude of his faith and of his
confidence in the :Most Gracious, he literaJJy and wholly pm himself in
God's hands; in this sense, this p rayer reveals all the confidence and seren-
ity Muhammad drew from his relationship to the Most Near. T his prayer,
which has become famous, tells of humanity's helplessness and of the
l\ lesscnger's extraordinary spiritual strength. Seemingly lonely and with-
out support, he knew that he was not alone.
The two owners of the o rchard had seen Muhammad from a distance
as he entered, and they had observed him as he raised his hands and
prayed to God. They sent their slave Addas, a young man who was a
Christian, to take him a bunch of grapes. When Addas gave him the
grapes, he heard the Prophet say the formula: "BismiLLah!" ("In the name
of God," "1 begin with God'). Addas was most surprise d and inquired
about the identity of this man, who said words that he, a Christian, had