He then evoked the remembrance of the martyrs of Uhud, to whom he devoted the best part of his prayer, imploring Allah's blessings in their favour. He wound up as follows: 'Allah hath offered one of His servants the choice between the riches of this earth and those that are to be found at His side.' At these words, divining that the Prophet was alluding to himself and the state of his health, Abu Bakr burst into tears, and exclaimed: 'Ah! why cannot we offer our lives as a ransom for thine?'--'O Believers!' replied Mohammad, 'it hath come to my ears that ye fear your Prophet may die; but before me hath any Prophet been immortal as he accomplished his Mission? How can I dwell eternally among you? Every soul is doomed to die. I must return to Allah and ye likewise will return to Him.'
Quoth Ayishah: "After this effort, when the Prophet came back to my room, he fainted away again. When the call of the Muazzin was heard, he rose up and asked for water wherewith to perform his ablutions, meaning to lead the prayers. He swooned three times.
"As the Faithful awaited his coming in the Mosque, he sent Bilal to fetch Abu Bakr, so that he could perform the duties of Imam instead of the Prophet. The crowd, guessing the reason of this change, broke out into fits of sobbing....
"The Prophet was frequently seized with delirium. One Thursday, whilst all his companions gathered round his bed, he said to them: 'Bring hither to me ink and parchment; I would place on record a book for you which shall prevent your going astray for evermore.'--'Allah's Messenger is burdened by pain,' said Umar; 'have we not the Qur'an? Allah's Book sufficeth for us.'
"Several of his companions, accustomed never to argue about anything said by the Prophet and remembering that he was illiterate, thought that in this supreme moment a miracle was about to be accomplished. Therefore they wanted to give him what he asked for. They were opposed by his partisans sharing Umar's opinion, and a quarrel began, the Prophet recovering his senses by the noise. He told them reproachfully: 'It is not seemly to quarrel thus at a Prophet's bedside. Go away!'
"To soothe his unbearable pain, he dipped his hands in a pitcher of cold water and passed his wet palms over his face, as if to wipe it: 'O Allah!' he cried, 'help me to support the terrors of the death struggle!'