Sharp Intelligence

Another event shows Muhammad’s sharp intelligence, which he used in the service of respect and peace among the people and among the clans.

The Quraysh decided to rebuild the Kaabah, after a sudden flood had shaken its foundations and cracked its walls. The old structure was pulled down to the foundations. They rebuilt it until they reached the place, where the Black Stone (Black Stone is a Muslim relic, which according to Islamic tradition dates back to the time of Prophet Adam and Eve, it is in the eastern cornerstone of the Kaabah, called Hajr-e-Aswad ) was to be placed, in the east corner of the Kaabah. At that point, bitter quarrels broke out among members of the different clans over who would have the honor of putting the Black Stone back in its place. Some were nearly ready to take up arms in order to determine to which clan the privilege would fall. An old man among them suggested that the first man, who entered the sacred place the next morning, be asked to judge the issue, and a consensus was formed on that idea.

Muhammad was the first to enter the sacred space, and clan elders were happy that chance had chosen him to arbitrate the dispute. He listened to them, and then asked for a cloth. He placed the black stone on it and asked the chiefs of each clan to hold the cloth’s edges and lift the stone together. Once they had lifted it to the desired height, he himself placed the black stone in the required space – to the satisfaction of all, since nobody had been wronged. This spontaneous intelligence of Muhammad had immediately managed to reconcile the pride of each clan. Later, during his mission, this characteristic feature of his mind was to be often illustrated by his ability to maintain the first Muslim community’s unity despite the presence of very strong personalities with widely differing temperaments. In the quest for peace, Muhammad constantly strove to achieve again what he had done in this difficult situation between the Quraysh clans: teach the heart not to give way to proud emotions and arrogant thinking; bring the mind to heart-soothing solutions that make it possible to control oneself gently and wisely. In the years before revelation, the Messenger’s Educator, Almighty God had granted him this particular quality, an alliance between a deep heart and a penetrating spirit, of knowing how to be reasonable in all circumstances, with oneself and among other people. By the time Muhammad was thirty-five, he had built such a reputation for himself that many among the Banu Hashim tribe thought that he would soon take up the mantle of his forefathers and restore the greatness of his clan by becoming its leader. With his marriage, his own activities, and his personal qualities, he became politically and financially prominent, and he began to receive marriage proposals for his daughters, as for instance from his uncle Abu Lahab, who wished to marry his two sons, Utbah and Uthybah, to Ruqayyah and Ume Kulsum. Clan ties were woven in the expectation of the benefits that would grow, should Muhammad become clan chief.