I am a Snake

I know what you’re saying. You’re saying: “Allah protect us!” But you needn’t be afraid. I am too far t hurt you. I lived along time ago. My home was crack in the wall of a house in Makkah called the Meeting House. This was a place where people would gather to discuss their affairs. One day I peered out of my crack in the wall to find a man in front of me wearing black clothes. As soon as I saw him I knew who it was. 

“You’re Satan, the Devil,” I said. “Be quiet!” he said. “I don’t want anyone to hear you.” “Why are you here?” I asked him. “I want Muhammad,” he replied. “I want to get rid of him. That man will change the whole world. A light comes from his heart that blinds the people of all the demons. Can you help me snake?”

I looked at him for a long time without saying a word. I had helped him before to do wicked deeds, and people hated me for thousands of years. They even run away when they see me because they are afraid of the harm I can cause. But I wanted to make up for my sins and become a good snake. I wanted to keep Satan away from Muhammad. I heard voices approaching and I rushed back to my crack in the wall to hide. The men sat down and I heard them talking about how they could get rid of Muhammad.

“Let’s throw him to prison,” one of them said.
“He’ll escape from you,” replied Satan.
“Let’s expel him from the city,” said another.
“He will only come back,” replied Satan.

Each one explained his idea but none of the others agreed. At last Satan said:

“The best thing is to choose one person from every tribe to go to his house. When he comes out they are to attack him and finish him off.That way his tribe won’t be able to defend him or take revenge for his life.”

All present agreed to Satan’s plan and off they went to carry it out.

I sneaked out of my crack in the wall and crawled through the night to Muhammad’s house. I saw the men surrounding it waiting for him to come out. They were looking through a hole in the door at the bed where Muhammad lay asleep with a blanket over him. 

Then something strange happened. The men who where surrounding Muhammad’s house felt their eyelids become heavy.

My eyelids felt heavy too, and soon we were all fast asleep. We didn’t wake up until it was dawn.

The men stood up and looked through the hole in the door and found Muhammad’s cousin Ali Ibn Abu Talib in the Prophet’s bed. Ali was a young brave and was not afraid to take the Prophet’s place and put his blanket over him. When Ali came out the men grabbed him and questioned him he did not tell them anything. “Who are you? Why are you in Muhammad’s bed? Where did Muhammad spend the night? Where is Muhammad now?” All that Ali said was: “I don’t know.”

By that time though Muhammad and his friend, Abu Bakr, had left Makkah where they had endured so much suffering and abuse. When Satan knew what had happened he began to scream at the men: “How can he escape? Look for him everywhere.” Then he looked at me, the snake, and said: “You! Why didn’t you catch him? Why didn’t you block his way?” “He had already left,”

“You can command the serpents and snakes to bite him,” he yelled. Then he looked at Suraqa Ibn Malik’s horse and said to it: “You! Hurry up. Look for Muhammad. There will be a reward for you and you master.”

When Muhammad and his friend Abu Bakr Al Siddeeq reached the cave where they planed to hide, snaked and serpents were already there, hiding in cracks and crevices inside the cave waiting to carry out the orders of Satan and myself. Abu Bakr sensed their presence and the snakes and serpents told me later that he tore up his clothes and used the pieces to fill the cracks and imprison them inside. There was only one crack left and since he did not have anything to fill it with, he sat on top of it and put his heel over it. 

The snake in the crack managed to bite Abu Bakr while the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him salvation, was asleep on his lap. Abu Bakr wept from the pain and as his tears fell on Prophet’s cheek, Muhammad woke up to discover what had happened.

The Prophet laid his tender hand on the bite mark and the pain went away. Abu Bakr was able to stand on his foot as if nothing had happened and the men set off on the long journey to Al Madeenah Al Munawwara.

My fellow snakes and I could not stop him or catch him. Allah saved him from us and from Satan too.

"And remember when the disbelievers plotted against you to imprison you, or to kill you, or to get you out (from your house in Makkah); they were plotting; and Allah is the Best of those who plot." (8:30)

Almighty Allah has spoken the truth.
Surat Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War)