The following is a folktale from Indonesia or cerita rakyat as it is called in Indonesian, called Mohammed (Muhammad) and the Spider taken from Indonesian Legends & Folk Tales Told By Adlle De Leeuw. While much of folklore is based on local oral traditions, this story is based on a hadith or a saying of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) reported by Imam Ahmad, though it differs from it in several respects. At the end of the folk tale I have included the hadith. Happy reading!(Selamat membaca!)
Mohammed and The Spider, an Indonesian folktale as Told by Adlle De Leeuw
IN THE DAYS when Mohammed was living on the earth as an ordinary mortal, he often angered his father-in-law by his prophecies and his wonderful deeds. The old man hated Mohammed, and one day he roused the people against the prophet. They made life so miserable for him that finally Mohammed fled the city.
Unfortunately, some wicked people saw him flee. They immediately told Mohammed’s father-in-law, who ordered them to follow the prophet and bring him back. “And if he refuses to return with you, kill him”, the old man said.
The wicked men went in search of Mohammed who, in his despair, had taken the wrong road a lonely road where no tree grew, where no house stood, and where there was not even any underbrush in which he could hide himself. He looked about him anxiously, and then he saw his pursuers who were coming closer and closer. This made Mohammed even more anxious, and he asked Allah to help him.
And Allah did help him, for all at once the prophet noticed a grotto that lay just a few steps ahead. He ran to it; but he discovered that the opening in the cave was so narrow that a man could not crawl through it. But again Allah helped him by widening the opening sufficiently to enable Mohammed to creep through it and hide himself from his pursuers.
Now in this cave there lived a great many insects, among them a giant scorpion and a great spider with a cross on its back. The spider felt kindly toward people, but the scorpion hated everything that was called “man.” When he saw Mohammed enter the cave, he became angry and flung his pointed tail so hard against the walls of the cave that all the other insects crept back into their holes and crannies in fright. And when he saw that Mohammed did not fear him, the scorpion was even more furious. He crept up to him, and tried to chase Mohammed away with his venomous stings. But before he could attack the prophet, the spider came out of her cranny, faced the scorpion, and asked him, “What are you doing? Why don’t you leave the poor man in peace? Do you think he has hunted out a hiding place for pleasure?”
“I suffer no man in our house.” said the scorpion angrily, and he struck out even harder with his tail.
“Man doesn’t belong in a grotto; he belongs on the earth, and he should not live, as we do, in holes and cracks. He must go; I insist on it!”
The scorpion’s attitude toward the prophet angered the spider. She placed herself in front of the scorpion and spoke threateningly, “Don’t touch him, or I will weave such a strong, thick web around you that you’ll never be able to get out of it!”
While the spider was saying this to the scorpion, Mohammed was listening at the opening of the cave for the footsteps of his pursuers. His worry showed on his face, and the spider noticed it and said, “Why are you afraid, man? You have nothing more to fear from the scorpion. If he tries to sting you, I will weave him fast in my strong web.”
“I fear the people who are following me much more than I fear the sting of the scorpion.” said Mohammed. “If they find me here in this cave, they will kill me.”
“They will never find you here.” the spider replied. She went to the opening of the cave and wove a great, strong web, and when it was done, she sat down in the center of it Mohammed was not listening to what the spider said. He was listening to the footsteps of his pursuers coming closer and closer, and now he heard their voices.
“I clearly saw him go into that cave,” said the first voice.
“He must have hidden himself here. Come, let us search for him. You Achmed,” the voice continued, “are the smallest of us. You will creep through the opening and drag Mohammed out”
“Stupid one!” cried Achmed. “How can he have entered the cave without chasing away this spider, sitting in the middle of her web? He would have had to destroy the web itself!”
“Achmed is right,” said another voice. “Mohammed cannot be hidden in this grotto. Come, men, let us go on. We shall find him somewhere.”
In a little while Mohammed knew that the men had gone on. And now for the first time he saw the spider, sitting in the middle of her web, and realized what she had done for him.
Later, much later, he told his friends of his wonderful escape. And ever since that time no follower of the prophet ever kills a spider, because it was a spider that once saved the life of Mohammed.
Hadith
“And (remember) when the disbelievers plotted against you (O Muhammad) to imprison you” [al-Anfaal 8:30]. He said: Quraysh met together one night in Mecca. Some of them said: When morning comes, imprison him in chains – meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Some said, No, kill him; and others said, No, drive him out. Allah informed His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) of that, so ‘Ali slept in the bed of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that night, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out and hid in the cave. The mushrikon spent the night lying in wait for ‘Ali, thinking that he was the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). When morning came, they pounced on him, and when they saw ‘Ali, Allah thwarted their plot. They said, Where is that friend of yours? He said, I do not know. So they set out after him and when they reached the mountain, they were confounded. They climbed up the mountain and passed by the cave, and saw a spider’s web over its entrance. They said, If anyone had entered here, the spider would not have spun a web over the entrance. And he stayed there for three nights. (Imam Ahmad, 3251)
Perspectives Of A Fellow Traveler 