Allah Protected Muhammad (sws), in Life and in Death
Allah says,
وَٱللَّهُ يَعۡصِمُكَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِۗ
[ المائدة : 67 ].It means,
{Allah will protect you from mankind.}
[Al-Ma'idah 5: 67]
This verse of Quran is a miracle that challenged the unbelievers and the hypocrites. It explains that Allah Almighty protected His prophet. Thus, his enemies could not harm him, whether he was alive or dead. Despite their aggressive attacks and their vicious attempts to harm and kill him, Allah protected him.
They gained nothing but failure, regret and repentance. Although their various attempts all had elements of success, in the end, they inevitably failed. That is true evidence that the Prophet (sws) was for real and that he was the last of all prophets.
Some examples that show their attempts to kill or harm the Prophet (sws):
A - On his immigration, they gathered at the door of his room carrying their swards to kill him, but Allah protected him. They went blind and could not see him on leaving his home.
Allah says,
وَجَعَلۡنَا مِنۢ بَيۡنِ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ سَدّٗا وَمِنۡ خَلۡفِهِمۡ سَدّٗا فَأَغۡشَيۡنَٰهُمۡ فَهُمۡ لَا يُبۡصِرُونَ
[ يس : 9 ].
It means,
{And We have put a barrier before them, and a barrier behind them, and We have covered them up, so that they cannot see.}
[Ya-Sin 36: 9]
B - During his emigration, he tried to shake the unbelievers off his trail, so he traveled in the opposite direction until he reached a cave at the top of a mountain, called "Thawr Cavern." The unbelievers began to look for him everywhere until they reached the entrance of that cave.
Imam al-Bukhari reported
that Anas told him on the authority of Abu Bakr that: I was with the Prophet (sws) in the cave and I lifted my head only to see the feet of the people (chasing them), so I said, "Oh Prophet of Allah, if any of them shift their gaze, he will see us!" He said, (ثالثھما الله اثنان بكر أبا يا اسكت (which means, "Hush, Abu Bakr, (we are) two and our third is Allah!"
[Related by al-Bukhari]
[and in another narration, he said
, ( الله باثنان بكر أبا يا ظنك ما ثالثھما (which means, "And what do you think, oh Abu Bakr, of two whose third is Allah?"]
[Related by al-Bukhari]
Many other narrations of incidents that happened during the Hijrah, or the Prophet's Migration, indicate that Allah Almighty was protecting him.
C - The Jews had already tried many times, through deceit and treachery, to kill the Prophet (sws), when one day he was sitting next to the wall of one of their houses. The Jews conspired and said, "Which of you will take this grindstone up, throw it on his head and bash it in?" The vile `Amr ibn Jahhash said, "I'll do it!" But Salaam ibn Mishkam warned them, saying, "Don't do it! By Allah, he will be told about what you were about to do and that will break the treaty between us and him!" However, they were determined to carry out their plan, so the Angel Gabriel (peace be upon him) descended from the Lord on high to the Messenger of Allah (sws) to inform him of their intentions. The Prophet (sws) got up quickly and headed back to Medina. Then he laid siege to the Jews until they surrendered and left the city of Allah's Messenger (sws).
D - After the Prophet's victory at Khaybar, he expelled the Jews from the land. A woman named Zainab bint al-Harith, the wife of Salaam ibn Mishkam, sent the Prophet (sws) a roasted lamb as a gift. However, she poisoned the lamb, especially the shoulder, for she had inquired about the Prophet's (sws) favorite part. When it was offered to him, he tore off a bite to eat, but did not ىswallow it. Then, he spit it out, saying, (مسموم أنه ليخبرني العظم ھذه أن (which means, "Verily, this bone is telling me that it is poisoned!" So he called for her and she admitted it. He (sws) asked her, (ذلك؟ على حملك ما (which means, "And what made you do that?" She replied, "I told (myself):
if he is a king, I will relieve myself of him, and if he is a prophet, he will be warned." With the Prophet (sws) was Bishr ibn al-Baraa'. He had taken some of the food and swallowed it, so he died from this. In his mercy, the Prophet (sws) had pardoned the woman (for what she had done to him), but when Bishr died, she was executed in retribution.
Allah protected His prophet (sws) from being killed or captured despite all the wars and assassination attempts the unbelievers tried to get rid of him and his call. The Prophet's (sws) enemies tried to harm him after his death after they failed to do during his
lifetime.
In the year 557 after the Hijrah, during the reign of the righteous, ascetic sultan, Mahmoud Nuruddin Zinki, the enemies of Muslims tried to steal the noble body of the Prophet (sws). They recruited two criminals to perform this dangerous task. They set off to Medina wearing Muslim uniforms. They made a show of their worship and piety and spent plenty on the poor of Medina until the people came to love them greatly. Meanwhile, every night they were digging a tunnel under the ground from the room where they lived near the Prophet's (sws) mosque.
They kept on digging until they reached the wall of the Prophet's (sws) room. As is well- known, prophets are buried where they die, so the Prophet (sws) was buried in Aisha's room, which was adjacent to the mosque. With the first blow to the wall of the Prophet's noble grave, Sultan Mahmoud saw him (sws) in a dream. In the dream, the Prophet (sws) was pointing to two blonde, ruddy-complexioned men, asking to be saved from them.
Sultan Mahmoud was frightened out of his sleep. He performed ritual ablution, prayed as much as Allah willed and went back to sleep. Again he saw the Prophet (sws) pointing to the same two men and asking the sultan to save him. The sultan woke in a fright again, performed ablution, prayed two units of prayer and went back to sleep. He saw the Prophet (sws) for the third time,
pointing to the same two men and asking him to save him. The sultan rose from his sleep and said, "By Allah, there is no more sleeping after this!"
He sent for his good and pious minister, who was called Jamal al-Din al-Musali, telling him about that dream. The minister advised him not to tell anyone about it, and immediately headed for Medina. So, they set off at once to Medina carrying large sums of money with them. He entered the Prophet's Mosque to perform prayers. Then he sat between the Prophet's pulpit and his grave, thinking of what to do. The good minister gathered the people to tell them that the sultan had come to greet the nobles and the rich to contribute money to the poor, and so, all the people had come out to meet the sultan.
He intended to give the sultan the chance to look at all the peoples' faces. Maybe he could recognize the faces the Prophet (sws) had pointed to, and this did indeed happen. The sultan cried aloud and pointed them out.
The sultan accompanied them to their room beside the Prophet's Mosque and went in to investigate. He found nothing but some money, two copies of the Holy Quran and a straw mat on the side of the room. Allah inspired to him to draw back the straw mat, only to find a tunnel under the ground. He walked through it until he reached the wall of the Prophet's noble grave. He ordered the two men to be whipped until they confessed to their vile task of stealing the honored body of the Prophet (sws).
The sultan ordered the men to be executed at the door of the Prophet's grave. Then he ordered a deep trench to be dug around it and filled with concrete in order to prevent any such further attempts. Finally, he wept, for Allah had chosen him for this great honor and made him a reason to save the honored body of the Prophet (sws).
This incident is great evidence of the protection of Allah over His prophet (sws), the last of all prophets, even after death. And this is recorded in all the history books.
The attempt of the enemies of Islam to steal the honored body of the Prophet (sws) is clear evidence that they are certain of his prophecy and the truth of his message. It is known that the dead bodies of prophets do not decay, while the dead bodies of any other people vanish to dust in just a few months, especially when the whole body is covered with dirt.
The question here is why the enemies of Islam would be interested in stealing his dead body more than 500 years after his death. There is no doubt that they were certain of the truth of his message and his call; rather, it is due to their insolence and the ingratitude that controls them.
Allah granted the Islamic nation divinely-guided scholars who can defend the Prophet (sws), his biography and his example after his death. They confront their slander and lies without demanding any honor, money, position or sovereignty in return for defending this great religion and this honest prophet. All of this is clear evidence of the protection of Allah for His prophet after his death and until the Last Day.
The question that presents itself then is: Why all of this protection for the Prophet (sws)? What does this prove?
This proves that protection is from Allah because Muhammad (sws) was the last of all prophets, and his message was the one that completed all the previous messages. This protection enabled the Prophet (sws) to fulfill his message and convey it in a perfect way. This proves that
Muhammad (sws) was the last of all prophets and messengers.