Ka‘b ibn Zuhayr was a man from Muzayna, a highly talented poet who used his talent against the Prophet and his companions. Once Macca had been conquered, Ka`b became a fugitive, aware that the Prophet had ordered him executed. His brother, Bujayr, was a Muslim. He sent Ka`b a message that he could only save his life if he came to the Prophet repentant. Eventually Ka‘b agreed to this and came to Madina. The Prophet forgave him, accepted his allegiance, and gave him permission to recite the poem Ka`b had composed in his praise. When he came to the passage,
The Messenger is a light that illuminates
An Indian blade, a sword of Allah, drawn
the Prophet took his mantle, his burda, off his shoulders and put it on Ka‘b’s, signalling his approval. The best swords of the time were Indian and the connection between the sword and light is that the Arabs signalled the way by standing on a rise and brandishing their swords in the sun so that they flashed like mirrors.[24. Ibn Ishaq.]
The light of the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, manifested itself in his parents before and during his birth. His biographers have recorded that his father’s forehead shone with a light that a certain women from Quraysh noticed. She knew that the appearance of the Prophet of the End of Time was imminent and felt that ‘Abdallah’s forehead signalled his being the father. She offered herself to him, but he refused. Soon `Abdallah married Amina and, once she became pregnant with the Prophet, the light vanished from his forehead. He met the same woman again and, noticing she no longer wanted him, asked her why. She replied that he no longer carried that light on his forehead.[25. Ibn Hisham.] As for the Lady Amina, when she became pregnant, she saw in a dream-vision that a light came out of her that lit the land as far north as Syria.[26. Hakim, Ahmad, Bazzar, Tabarani, Bayhaqi and Abu Nu'aym.] She was also told in her dream that she was pregnant with the master of this nation and the sign of that would be that when she gave birth to him she would see a light coming out with him that would shine over Bosra in Syria. "When this happens", she was told, "call him Muhammad!"[27. Ibn Ishaq.] "I conceived him, " she said, "and suffered no pain until delivery. When he came out of me, a light came out with him that illuminated everything from East to West…"[28. Ibn Sa'd, Tabarani, Bayhaqi, Abu Nu'aym, Abu Ya'la, Ibn Ishaq.] She also said, "I saw the night I gave birth to him a light that illuminated the palaces of Syria so that I saw them."[29. Abu Nu'aym.] The Prophet later confirmed this, saying, "My mother saw, when she gave birth to me, a light that illuminated the palaces of Bosra."[30. Ibn Sa'd, Ahmad, Bazzar, Tabarani, Abu Nu'aym, and ibn Asakir.] This event is also a very clear indication of the spiritual rank of the Lady Amina, for to see the palaces of Bosra in Syria from Macca demands the spiritual vision of sanctity. [31. Hakim and Tabarani.] Later, the Prophet’s uncle, ‘Abbas, praised him with a poem, on his return from the Tabuk expedition, saying:
You, when you were born, the earth was lit
And with your light so was the sky