A Legend of the Prophet On the night of the new moon in the month of Rajab, the Prophet put on his robe and went out into the desert to contemplate the wonders of God. In time he returned to the city, but as he came upon his hut a shadow arose before him. It was a monster, its very body forming from the darkness of the city. The Prophet, seeing this, cried out the name of Allah the Merciful. Zayd, his servant, hearing his master's voice, rushed from the hut and struck at the creature with his sword. The blade bit into the monster's side, but it swatted at the sword as a man swats flies and broke the steel into seven pieces. Then the creature turned to the Prophet and laughed. "I have heard your name spoken among the people," it said, "and it pleases me to make you my slave. For through you the people will be made to worship me, and sacrifice the blood of their sons and daughters to sustain me for all time." The noble Zayd cried out in despair, but the Prophet was unafraid. He said, "Though you may have the strength of ten men, and your bones may be as hard as the mountains, there is no God but Allah, and you exist only because He wishes it so. You may drink the blood of men and defy the grave, but that does not make you eternal. The days of this world are numbered, and at the end of time you will be judged like all the rest, man and djinni together. Hellfire waits for those who do not turn their face to Allah and repent." Hearing this, the creature laughed and seized the Prophet by the throat. Its jaws, like a wolf's, gaped wide and closed on Muhammad's throat. Just then Muhammad cried out the name of God, and the monster fell back, crying out in pain. The Prophet's skin shone like iron hot from the forge. The strength of his faith was like a wind, driving the creature to its knees. And the monster realized that for all its power, its strength was of the earth alone, and the earth was doomed to end. "Truly, I am no god," it said. "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet!" Hearing this, the Prophet clapped his hands and took the creature by its shoulders, lifting it to its feet. Then they went into the Prophet's hut like brothers, and prayed together until dawn.
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