70 in tm Footsteps^4 the Prophet
never heard polytheists say. lv[uhammad asked him where he was from,
and Addas answered that he came from Nineveh. The Prophet added:
"The land of Jonah the Just, son of Matta!" The young man was puzzled
and wondered how this man could know of that. After informing him
that he was a Christian, Addas in turn asked Muhammad who he was and
how he had received his knowledge. The Prophet told him: "Jonah is my
brother. He was a prophet and I am a prophet.,,9
Addas gazed at him for a while, then kissed his head, hands, and feet;
his maSters were shocked at this, and wben he went back to them he told
them tbat owy a prophet could know what that man knew. Addas accept-
ed Islam immediately, after a few minutes' discussion. The Christian king
of Abyssinia had immediately recognized the linkage between the two
messages, and now it was a young slave, also a Christian, who shared the
same inruition. Twice already, in sorrow and isolation, Ivluhammad had
encountered on his path Christians who offered him trust, respect, and
shelter: a king welcomed lvluslim s and granted them ~ecurity, a slave served
their Prophet when everybody else had rejected him and his message.
The Prophet then set off back toward 1 -Iecca. On his way, he met a
horseman and requested that he ask a j\Ieccan dignitary who was a rela-
tive of the horseman whether he wouJd agree to grant l'vluhammad his
protection. The horseman complied, but the dignitary refused, as did
another leader whose support Muhammad sought. The Prophet did not
wish to enter !vlecca in such circumstances and sought refuge in the cave
of Hira, \vhere he had received the first Revelation. It was finally the third
person he approached, Ivlutim, the leader of the Nawfal clans, who agreed
to grant Muhammad his protection, g reeting the Prophet in the Kaba
enclosure to publicize the fact.
T h e Night Journey
The Prophet liked to go to the Kaba enclosure at night. He would stand
there in prayer for long ~1.ours. One evening, he suddenly felt deeply tired and
in great need of sleep.l0 He therefore lay down near the Kaba and fell asleep.
Muhammad has re:ated that the Angel Gabriel then came to him.
Gabriel shook him twice to awaken him, but l\"[uhammad slept on; the
third time the angel shook him,Muhammad awoke, and Gabriel took him