28 Preface قالَ ذٰلِكَ بَيني وَبَينَكَ ۖ أَيَّمَا الأَجَلَينِ قَضَيتُ فَلا عُدوانَ عَلَيَّ ۖ وَاللَّهُ عَلىٰ ما نَقولُ وَكيلٌYusuf AliHe said: “Be that (the agreement) between me and thee: whichever of the two terms I fulfil, let there be no ill-will to me. Be God a witness to what we say.”1In patriarchal society it was not uncommon to have a marriage bargain of this kind conditional on a certain term of service. In this case the episode conveys two lessons. (1) A man destined to be a messenger of God is yet a man, and must pass through the ups and downs of life like any other man: only he will do it with more grace and distinction than other men. (2) The beautiful relations in love and marriage may themselves be a preparation for the highest spiritual destiny that may await a Messenger of God. A woman need not necessarily be a snare and a temptation: she may be the understanding help-mate that the Lady Khadīja was to the Holy Prophet.