Weeks, months and years pass with hardship, they pass slowly...

Weeks, months and years pass with hardship, they pass slowly over their tired bodies and spirits but all continue to step in sympa­thy with each other and with the Prophet. The family of the Prophet has a special position in the midst of this group. The head of the family holds the heavy weight of their bitter fate upon his shoulders. Umm Khulthum, her happiness destroyed, has moved from the home of her husband to that of her father.

His other daughter, Fatima, is still a young girl either two or three years old or twelve or thirteen. At the same time that she has a weak constitution, she…