and  prayed for rain. Immediately clouds from all directions gathered and rain fell heavily and caused the  flow of springs and growth of plants in the town and the country.
BAHIRA, THE MONK:
When the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) was twelve years old, he went with his uncle Abu
Talib on a business journey to Syria. When they reached Busra (which was a part of Syria, in the  vicinity of Howran under the Roman domain) they met a monk called Bahira (his real name was
Georges), who showed great kindness, and entertained them lavishly. He had never been in the habit  of receiving or entertaining them before. He readily enough recognized the Prophet (Peace be upon  him) and said while taking his hand: “This is the master of all humans. Allâh will send him with a
Message which will be a mercy to all beings.” Abu Talib asked: “How do you know that?” He replied:
“When you appeared from the direction of ‘Aqabah, all stones and trees prostrated themselves, which  they never do except for a Prophet. I can recognize him also by the seal of Prophethood which is  below  his shoulder, like an apple. We have got to learn this from our books.” He also asked Abu Talib to send  the boy back to Makkah and not to take him to Syria for fear of the Jews. Abu Talib obeyed and sent  him back to Makkah with some of his men servants.
THE ‘SACRILIGIOUS' WARS:
Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was hardly fifteen when the ‘sacrilegious’ wars — which continued  with varying fortunes and considerable loss of human life for a number of years — broke out between
Quraish and Banu Kinana on the one side and Qais ‘Ailan tribe on the other. It was thus called because  the inviolables were made violable, the prohibited months being included. Harb bin Omaiyah, on  account of his outstanding position and honourable descent, used to be the leader of Quraish and their  allies. In one of those battles, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) attended on his uncles but did not  raise  arms against their opponents. His efforts were confined to picking up the arrows of the enemy as they  fell, and handing them over to his uncles.
ALFUDOUL CONFEDERACY:
At the conclusion of these wars, when peace was restored, people felt the need for forming  confederacy  at Makkah for suppressing violence and injustice, and vindicating the rights of the weak and the  destitute. Representatives of Banu Hashim, Banu Al-Muttalib, Asad bin ‘Abd Al-‘Uzza, Zahrah bin Kilab  and Taim bin Murra were called to meet in the habitation of an honourable elderly man called
‘Abdullah  bin Jada‘an At-Taimy to enter into a confederacy that would provide for the above-mentioned items.
The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) shortly after he had been honoured with the ministry of
Prophethood, witnessed this league and commented on it, with very positive words: “I witnessed a  confederacy in the house of ‘Abdullah bin Jada‘an. It was more appealing to me than herds of cattle.
Even now in the period of Islam I would respond positively to attending such a meeting if I were  invited."
In fact, the spirit of this confederacy and the course of deliberations therein marked a complete  departure from the pre-Islamic tribal-pride. The story that led to its convention says that a man from
Zubaid clan came as a merchant to Makkah where he sold some commodities to Al-‘As bin Wail As-
Sahmy. The latter by hook or by crook tried to evade paying for the goods. The salesman sought help  from the different clans in Quraish but they paid no heed to his earnest pleas. He then resorted to a  mountain top and began, at the top of his voice, to recite verses of complaint giving account of the  injustices he sustained. Az-Zubair bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib heard of him and made inquiries into the matter.
Consequently, the parties to the aforesaid confederacy convened their meeting and managed to force
Az-Zubaidy’s money out of Al-‘As bin Wa’il.
MUHAMMAD' S EARLY JOB:
Muhammad (Peace be upon him), had no particular job at his early youth, but it was reported that he  worked as a shepherd for Bani Sa‘d and in Makkah. At the age of 25, he went to Syria as a merchant  for Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her) Ibn Ishaq reported that Khadijah, daughter of Khwailid  was a business-woman of great honour and fortune. She used to employ men to do her business for a  certain percentage of the profits. Quraish people were mostly tradespeople, so when Khadijah was  informed of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), his truthful words, great honesty and kind manners, she  sent for him. She offered him money to go to Syria and do her business, and she would give him a  higher rate than the others. She would also send her hireling, Maisarah, with him. He agreed and went  with her servant to Syria for trade.