Al-M
uhaimin
The Help
in Peril
The
Spider and the Dove
Call Him Muhaimin,
"Help in danger's hour," Protector of the true who trust His power.
THE spider and the
dove!--what thing is weak If Allah makes it strong?
The spider and the
dove!-if He protect, Fear thou not foemen's wrong.
From Mecca to Medina
fled our Lord, The horsemen followed fast;
Into a cave to shun
their murderous rage, l Muhammad, weary, passed.
Quoth Abu Bekr,
"If they see, we die!"
Quoth Ebn Foheir,
"Away!"
The guide Abdallah
said, "The sand is deep,
Those footmarks will
betray."
Then spake our Lord,
"We are not four, but Five;
'He Who protects' is
here.
Come! Al-Muhaimin
now will blind their eyes;
Enter, and have no
fear."
The band drew nigh;
one of the Koreish cried,
"Search ye out yonder cleft,
I see the print of sandalled feet which turn
Thither, upon the left!"
But when they drew unto the cavern's mouth,
Lo! at its entering-in,
A ring-necked desert dove sate on her eggs;
The mate cooed soft within.
And right athwart the shadow of the cave
A spider's web was spread;
The creature hung upon her net at watch;
Unbroken was each thread.
"By Thammuz' blood," the unbelievers cried,
"Our toil and time are lost;
Where doves hatch and the spider spins her snare
No foot of man hath crossed!"
Thus did a desert bird and spider guard
The blessed Prophet then;
For all things serve their Maker and their God
Better than thankless men.
Allah-al-Muhaimin! shield and save Us, for his sake within that cave.
-Sir Edwin Arnold
THE MUSLIM
DIGEST , September, 1955
Post a Comment