32.3 Qurayshi Spite The Arabs loved to have sons, they were their joy, their pride, and the source of their strength. A man who did not have many sons was considered less strong and of less consequence than a man who had many sons who could help him in peace and fight for him in war. A son was also the natural extension or continuation of the line. A man who had no son had no future. It was therefore a great trial to Mohamed to have each of his sons die before reaching manhood-he who was a father to so many, who guided and helped so many, who had brought up in his house two fine young men, Ali ibn Abi Talib, the most brilliant scholar in Islam, and Zayd ibn Haritha, a brave warrior and devout Muslim. Quraysh who hated Mohamed found nothing to criticize him with except that he had no son. They nicknamed him the "issueless", which in Arabic means figuratively the childless but literally "the amputated". It was a cruel joke and Mohamed felt it until one day these holy verses were sent down: We have given you Al-Kawthar, so pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice. He who loathes you is the "issueless". (108:1-3) In the verses above, the Koran transcends the petty notions of men. With all the good he was doing, the wisdom and faith he instilled into human hearts, the ideals he upheld, the majestic battles he fought with evil, corruption, superstitions, and idolatry, the immortal spiritual path he had opened to man, he was not “issueless”. He has millions of spiritual heirs, sons and daughters in every generation who follow in the broad vistas he has opened to them.